Alecto

[jj_j]

Olive leaf, raspberry leaf, vetiver and cedarwood.

With a complete opposite in the fruity greenery of raspberry leaf setting it off, cedarwood is the middle note of this scent that never ends up smelling like a cedar tree. Olive leaf has to be the crisp green note that makes me think of sweetest green grass - it has just a hint of astringency- and this clear, striking scent has just the tiniest drop of vetiver to anchor it, as it's all but unnoticeable here.

These blend so beautifully, and so unexpectedly - and they mellow into a perfect blend that no longer has individual notes. Alecto is fascinating and inspiring, and there's no doubt I'll be ordering it.

[Shollin]

First sniff: Big dark leaves shrouding a stone patio near an Italian kitchen. There really is something in Alecto that reminds me of Italian food. Olive leaf, I’d wager.

 

Wearing: When first on it’s dark green and … somehow kitcheny and sinister at the same time; the herbs have a very sharp edge. It turns fresher and brighter as it dries, and while the sharpness is still there, the green leafy/grassy scent stays on top. It kept the odd kitcheny-ness throughout its wearing... not really my thing.

[any_old_actress]

FIRST SNIFF: satsuma or something from the body shop but greener and darker!

 

WEARING IT: i can definitely smell the raspberry leaf & cedar. has a bit of a tang to it that makes it so delicious. it's a light scent on me, so i'd probably need to re-apply quite often, but it's really worth it in my opinion. it's beautiful, unique and upbeat.

 

VERDICT: a keeper! i LOVE it! will be buying a larger bottle...

[TygherRayn]

In the bottle: I immediately smell the cedar, which makes me worry if this will be okay on my skin. But it's somehow greener than Tombstone and Catheral's cedar, so it might work out. Hope so .. I so want the Furies to work for me.

 

Wet: Not so much woody as it is green. Kind of a piney green .. the leaves, probably. And that's okay with me. This strikes me as a wintery scent. It smells almost like the house does for a few days after you bring in a fresh tree and are waiting for the branches to fall before decorating it.

 

Wearing: Still that Yuletime smell. I'm not so sure this works for me as a perfume .. the hot, woodsy smell of this makes me think of a bonfire. We used to have them often at school, and up north, pine is a common wood to be burned. When I'd go home, I'd always smell like ashes and smoke and pine tar somehow .. which is what this reminds me of.

[arachne]

First of all, I want to thank Beth for including this as an extra.

 

With my first whiff came chocolate covered raspberries. Yum! I was intrigued so I put some on my wrist. Very light. I don't think the fragrance will last long on me at all. After an hour it's fading softly and it smells very waxy. I don't care for the way it's drying down on me. After 2 hours the scent is almost completely gone. There's one lonley berry that is just haging on for dear life. Interesting, just not my cuppa. Too foody, too faint.

[Tesseljoan]

When first applied, I can smell green leaves and some fruitiness. It goes on very light and pleasant, but after about 15 minutes or so, it seems to me that a distinct body odour note is coming out. What the... it fades and turns back to the lovely green leafy scent, but I really hope my chemistry is just temporarily wonky.

[omly]

In the bottle I could smell the cedar but it still had a significant "greenness" so I was still hopeful that I had found a good "leafy" scent. The dry down smelled fairly harsh on my skin but mellowed to a more intriging subtle leafy smell where the cedar does not dominate but rather adds a little more depth. I really liked this one but found it faint on my skin. For subtleness I like this, but I think I would have to reapply this too often to be plausible (every 2-2.5 hours or so).

[hypothermya]

This one was one of the June update scents that immediately caught my eye, because I love cedarwood, but also because I was really interested in what olive leaf and raspberry leaf would smell like.

 

First Impression

 

Smells like wood. Bitter and dry wood. The cedar is pretty much aparent, but the other ingredients just lend themselves to the dry/woody quality of this blend. I'm not sure I like the smell of it.

 

Wearing It

 

Oh, wow, this sure sweetens up when I put it on! It isn't sugary sweet, like Fae or Jester or Lady Macbeth, but sweeter than it was in the vial. It went from a dry, bitter woody smell to the smell of raspberry tea served next to a stick of cedar. Delicious. There's the slightest hint of that olive leaf, which smells a great deal like olive oil rather than olives themselves. jj_j was right: it does remind me a lot of Italian food.

 

It shouldn't surprise me, but this strikes me as very masculine (moreso in the bottle than on my skin, due to the raspberry leaf making an appearance). And in a moment of bizarreness, the vetiver isn't making its presence known at all. Sure, there's that slightly earthy/dark scent here, but normally my skin reacts really badly to this.

 

Lasting Power

 

Not much. About an hour after I applied this, my skin had sucked up the majority of it, and the next hour was spent squeezing out the last bit of staying power.

 

I don't think this will be an every day scent for me, by any means -- it's just too dry, and stolid for me (and I suppose I'm not the "unceasing anger" variety either). I'll probably pass this one on to my boyfriend, though, and see how delicious it smells on him. However, this has definitely made me eager to see more blends with raspberry leaf in them.

[nevermore]

This reminds me slightly of Goneril – but green and slightly fruity instead of floral. The raspberry leaves give a slightly fruity and green edge to the cedarwood (which is the prominent note). I think that Goneril is a nicer cedarwood scent with my chemistry, but I will certainly use up my imp of Alecto.

[allamanda]

Alecto

 

When I first applied this I got the green, sharp, herby smell of raspberry leaves that I love.

 

Sadly cedarwood and I have a love-hate relationship and in this blend the cedarwood and vetiver were too much with my skin-chemistry. After about an hour this had such an unpleasant sharpness I have marked my notes not to apply again!

Edited September 13, 2004 by allamanda

[UltraViolet]

I smell a very green but sharp scent. There seems to be some citrus swimming around in there somewhere as well. I don't think I like the sharp undertone which makes me wriggle my nose.

As it was drying the scent did not change that much on me.

Unfortunately, I don't think this scent is for me.

 

ADDED July 27:

 

In the bottle

rasberry and lovely light wood

On

Wow, this is beautiful. The scent of the rasberry leaf is so nice, and the cedarwood is almost coco-like. The vetivert is doing it's best to get my attention but really it's not bad at all.

Now I smell the olive leaf.

This is one of the first imps I was given a year or more ago. The first time I was given this and tried it, I didn't like it.

Now I remember why. At the time I didn't realize about "morphing", but this just turns into something scary on my skin after about 5 minutes.

30 minutes

 

Throw:

average

 

Scent category:

Fruity/green/woodsy

 

Summary

At first the rasberry leaf is primary.

Then the rasberry leaf, cedarwood are primary with the olive leaf being the bottom note and the vetivert just sort of "hanging out".

 

Purchase again?

No. No leaf-like for my taste.

 

1-5 rating (5 being best)

3

[erehwesle]

This was another good one on me. It smelled very berry like in the bottle, couldn't smell cedar all that much at all.

 

First on, a berry note with a hint of sharpness to it.

 

It mellows on me fairly quickly, though, as the cedar comes out. Ends up smelling dark and green, with a woodsy undertone and a bit of a bite.

 

Made me smell almost comforting. I had a trauma nurse in a bar tell me a long involved story about her day involving car accidents and other mayhem, and eventually wonder out loud why she was telling me this, she never talks about work. People held open doors.

 

This probably won't be an everyday scent for me, as I think dissapation might, but definately is right for if I'm in a mood. It is on me a social, gregarious smell with just a hint of the woods and an edge of bite. I smell like someone you'd feel comfortable talking to, but gradually realize you're not quite sure where you ended up, or how you got there.

[malanna]

On me, this was very olive-y (suppose it'd be the olive leaf). It smelled like a jar of olives, except less salty. It made me think of standing on the inside of a large, homey kitchen, staring out an open door, with the sun setting. It's also a bit of a woodsy smell, so I guess a combination of the olive jar juice spilled onto the deep oak island in the kitchen. This didn't last very long for me, though.

[Nepthys]

This began as a very woodsy smell on me and after an hour changed to a very comforting, more herbal scent - a suggestion of nourishment, solidity, well-stocked cupboards. At first I thought I would use this just as a room-scent but in fact it smells very pleasant on.

Edited September 9, 2004 by Nepthys

[Ina Garten Davita]

I got this as a freebie from the lovely fairywingmaker!

 

First Impression: Earthy and woodsy.

 

Second Impression: The cedar backs off and now the leaves have appeared. They remind me so much of the back garden at my mother's home. There are berry bushes and a grapevine, tomatoes and peppers, onions and every type of lettuce, all sorts of trees and the composted earth they are growing in. It reminds me of home.

 

Final Analysis: It's comforting in all it's deep herbal goodness. It's not a "perfume" that I'd normally reach for but I like it nonetheless.

[glampyre]

Alecto is gorgeous!

 

I love the cedar, but on my skin it fades really quickly.

 

There's a fresh green smell, like cut grass (must be the olive leaf), and a sweet fruit (raspberry leaf?) I put on a drop, then a smear, then a little pour...and I'm really having to stop myself from overdosing. It's so clean and beautiful.

 

I wish the cedar would remain as prominent as it is on first application. My skin absorbs all wood-smells.

 

This is now on my "Must have big bottle" list.

[lixolux]

oh i wanted to love this one. upon wearing it it immediatly became funky olive and 20 minutes later it smells like a funky deli (funky olive + black pepper + oily smell) on me. i can smell the raspberry and the ceder but its too far in the background to get me out of the deli

[jessamynit]

I traded for this one without really knowing if I wanted it or just wanted to smell something new. when I got it, I thought, ugh, way too cedary for me. so it's been sitting here on my desk and I've been trying to re-trade it, and occasionally sniffing to reconfirm, oh, yeah, too cedar.

then today I was bored and put some on and went for a bike ride - it was so much different on! still cedary, but much softer than I would've suspected, and mixed in with so many nice, green, foresty smells. I can sort of smell the olive and raspberry if I try but mostly it's a soft, cheerful (where does the unceasing anger come in?) mix of dirt, trees, flowers, and I really like it. it's not something I would wear every day but it's now on my list (oh boy). even my highly selective boy likes it, saying "it smells like a REAL flower, not just a flower scent; like the whole flower, including stem and dirt". plus a bunch of cedar

[Morrighana]

In the bottle: Hmm...I can smell the raspberry leaves, which is very promising, but also the cedar, which usually hates me, so...

Wet: Mmm, pure raspberry leaves! I'm trying to not get my hopes up, here, though, as this could go south pretty quickly.

Dry: *dies* This is SO GOOD. The cedar is even behaving!!! A sharp green scent has appeared, which I assume to be the olive leaf, but my lovely raspberry leaves are still detectable!

 

Overall: I almost can't believe it (though, considering Beth's talent, it's not that hard to believe) but I've actually found a wood scent that I can wear! I don't think I'll be ordering a large bottle of it anytime soon, but my imp has migrated over to the "permanent" side of the impbox.

[sarahmarie]

A-ha! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

 

In the imp, I can pick out the olive underneath, but the cedar and the raspberry leaf seem to come through the strongest. It's a very fresh, woodsy scent even with the sweetness of the raspberry, and it's very nice. It was also exactly what I needed to smell after trying Bon Vivant earlier today and finding that after a while, the sweetness of that made me feel sort of headachey and icky. Alecto lifted me right out of that, and refreshed my nose. Aaah.

 

Wet: It smells much like it did in the bottle. It starts out smelling a lot like Christmas to me (and by that I mean, woodsy everygreenish scent, I guess. ) My spouse and I sniff my arm repeatedly.

 

After a while: It's dried down nicely, with the cedar becoming the scent that holds out the most. I can still smell the cedar being rounded out by the olive, and the raspberry has mostly faded away, leaving just a hint of...kind of a rich feeling, not quite sweet. And there's a very subtle, warm spicey scent that's very faint and sort of mingled with the cedar (I'm not sure what vetiver is, maybe it's that?) It doesn't smell like Christmas anymore. (I don't know much about describing perfume, so forgive me if I'm needlessly wordy!)

 

All in all, this one is great. It's not strong now - it's been about 3 hours and I have to sniff my arm to smell it - but I love it. This is the first scent I will be adding to my future list of possible bottles. And I didn't even pick it out for myself - I got it in a swap (and thank you! ). Hooray for Alecto!

Edited September 3, 2004 by sarahmarie

[Northernminx]

A sharp herbal crispness at first sniff, the cedar is readily apparant. The woodsy smell fades quickly on me, which is a bit dissapointing. There's an under current of something dark green, herbal - possibly the olive leaf that flickers in and out under a sort of sweetness. The berry, light, fruity sweetness of this is gorgeous but I wish the herbal had stuck around a little longer to balance it. I can't decide if I want to keep this one or not...so another test later.

[AnnetteL]

This starts off as an almost peanutty scent when wet (comparable to L'Artisan Bois Farine, if anyone is familiar with that), then the cedar starts coming through.

 

I begin to get glimpses of sweet raspberry after half an hour or so, but it stays predominantly woody. I don't really know what olive leaf smells like (next time I come across an olive tree I'll crush one up!) but I'm guessing it's the slightly herby note I'm sensing in this.

 

It's interesting, but the cedar is just... well... it smells like pencil shavings! If only it were a different wood it would be delicious, I love everything else about this scent. *sigh* I'm going to give it a few more wearings, to see if it grows on me, but I'm not hopeful.

[grrrlennyl]

alecto

 

at first: weird. almost vegetable-like. reminds me of olive oil, obviously from the olive leaf. i'm going to assume that i won't end up liking this one.

on: weird. floral, but a bit...sour, i guess. maybe salty. this is interesting.

1 hour later: this is really bad on me. pickle-like. cedar is evil.

2 hours later: this is awful. it's just...eww.

overall: i can't blame the oil, since it's definitely just something my skin does with cedar.

[TheDarkMother]

This was a freebie in my order, ah glorious BPAL sent me a Fury!

 

In the Bottle: Chocolate covered raspberries with cedar wood in the background. Mmmmmm.....yummy!

 

On me: Oh wow....there's the olives! And the raspberries are a lot more potent on me than in the bottle. The leaves are just wonderful together, reminding me of a very aged raspberry wine boxed up in cedarwood. You walk by the box that you are still waiting on opening until that special occasion, and you can smell of the scents mingling together from that one time that you popped the cork, smelling to see if it was just right yet.

 

This just screams Greece with the olives. What I wouldn't give for a good Greek restaurant around here somewhere. Maybe I could make some Baklava this weekend if I could find good enough Phyllo Dough.

 

This will SO be a bigger bottle for me in the furture, as well as getting the rest of the Furies. I love this! I want to move to Greece!!!

[linaerys]

This reminds me slightly of Intrigue, my favorite scent ever. The Raspberry leaf gives it some of the same rich, cool, sweetness, and both have a woodsy undertone.

 

I don't get any note overpowering the others.

 

I am actually rather angry today, so this is a perfect scent. It is buried, banked anger, but yes, never ceasing.

 

I think this is going to find a place among my other favorites.

Edited October 21, 2004 by linaerys