Alcohol is a dessicant and also can be a solvent of the waxy layer on the succulent and should not be applied either liberally nor at full strength. Individual plants also show variations in their tolerances of it.

This plant looks very wet. at this point I would take it out of the pot to check the roots as they may also be infested with mealies or rotting. I would take out any mushy/weak leaves and cut out rotten roots, let the whole plant out to let the cut wound dry before replanting it in a small pot with a whole and dry fast draining C&S soil. Water after a few days to a week. You seem to be located in a cold/humid area going into winter with plants indoor so I would be very gentle with watering throughout the season.

Also not every plant react the same way to rubbing alcohol, quantity and concentration. I use rubbing alcohol diluted to 50% in water when spraying a whole plant, keeping the plant away from direct sun following treatment with good ventilation to allow the alcohol to evaporate quickly. The bugs are killed upon contact, no need to soak the plant. It's better to do gentle spray and come back several times for a couple weeks. Sorry if I am saying things you already know :)

EDIT: sorry just saw others comment as I was writing mine, so might be a little repetitive now :(

Just my two, but I use diluted alcohol on my echeverias all the time, never had a bad reaction. This looks like straightforward rot to me.

I use rubbing alcohol on succulents, diluted (maybe 70:30) or full strength without any problems. Keep plants out of sunlight when spraying with anything. RC dries up really fast. Plant could have problems because of mealy bugs, but what you describe sounds like rot.

I wonder about how you water your plants? Are they potted in containers with drainage holes? Is the mix fast draining? How do you determine when to water?

The alcohol was diluted with water, I'm not sure what the ratio was however. I did spray this particular plant with a lot, as there were large bugs right by the stem and I wasn't able to spray them directly. I guess I was just a bit too overboard with the rubbing alcohol...

I have this plant in a fast draining mix with lots of perlite and I check the wetness of the soil with a cocktail stick to see if the pot needs watering or not. The containers all have drainage holes.

I will take out the plant tonight to check the roots and remove and rotted ones if need be.

Thanks for all the help, I'll make sure to update if I find the cause of the problem or not : )

Harry

Looks like you sprayed too much.

Hope the roots are in good shape. If not, maybe plant could re-root. As long as stem is not rotting. If you find that it is, all rotten parts should be cut off, until only healthy flesh is visible - no black/dark spots at all. If unsure, post photos before doing anything.

I was removing the dirt from the roots and the leaves were just dropping off :( However there are healthy white roots and the stem doesn't appear affected yet

I've now removed all of the rotting leaves, and it looks considerably sillier, but there were more healthy leaves than I thought. There is discolouration at the top of the stem, but I don't know whether to just chop off the top if the stem and be done with it, or to just remove the rot. Will the leaves be able to grow back if I chop off the whole top?

I only removed the rot on the top of the stem in the end

If you chop the top, it'll put out shoots and pups - if it's healthy enough.

I believe I had this same succulent, it never really did well. After about a month, I suddenly noticed mealies one day (my first experience with them) and went nuts with the rubbing alcohol (and kept it out of the sun). I also made the mistake of spraying it heavily multiple days in a row. Within 10 days or so, the whole thing hd pretty much dried up. I've never had an issue with rubbing alcohol with any other plant, so I figure it was a combo of drowning it in rubbing alcohol and an already fragile plant. I hope yours can still survive!

Spraying for bugs should be done in certain intervals, not drowning plant daily. Depending on a bug, it is best to check their life cycle. First thorough spraying will (hopefully) kill many adults. It should be followed by spraying for new 'hatchlings'.

If there is rotting on the stem, rotting part should be cut off until there is no sign of rot at all. Taking off thin slices works well. Use sharp blade/razor, dip in alcohol in-between the cuts (or even bleach) to sterilize. If not removed, rotting often continues.

As in my previous comment, I removed the discoloured bit on the stem- and now less than a month later my little plant is flourishing!

There are also some babies on the other side among the existing leaves :D

After they get MUCH bigger, you may want to separate and root the plantlets.

Thanks, I've never dealt with so many pups before- the existing ones on my other plants are quite small and have been for quite some time so I'm a little clueless when it comes to seperating them and rooting them

I would leave them on until they get much bigger as dbarron already suggested. Only remove early if there is rot on mother plant. Here is different Echeveria that has many pups (and that is after biggest were already removed), mother plant is just fine and blooming right now:

Your plant may be Echeveria shaviana but there are other 'frilly' echeverias. Care would be same for them.

Thanks rina, I actually have that plant in the picture (or something along those lines) and I have some pups on it so its reassuring to know that I don't have to worry about removing them for a long time! : )

Sharry

That is Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy', which is a mutant with upside-down positioned leaves. There are few different cultivars.

I don't think it is crucial to remove pups of other plants, only if one wants to - but some ppl suggest that they "suck-up energy" from mother...I don't know if that is true, never had plant to decline because of 'babies'...just like kids - they could make mother tired but she doesn't get rid of them, lol...

I wouldn't do it because of any reputed effect on the mother, I would probably do it because I prefer the single rosette look.