I didn't like this much on first sniff, but after that I read a lot of swooning reviews which persuaded me to try it again, in particular ones advising me that it "developed."
I should have listened to my instincts. On my skin, I get none of the exotic spices, dry desert air, or "sense of open space." It's an overwhelming, old-fashioned, old-lady amber fragrance, nothing more. And it's been following me around all day like a mad, ancient actress waggling her badly-drawn eyebrows at me. I thought I could live with it this morning, despite its utter unsuitability to my tastes or person, but at this point I despise it cordially. It has not "developed" to anything; it remains exactly the same irritating, heavy, unsubtle thing it was when I put it on.

L’Air du Desert Marocain, by Andy Tauer is a love it or hate it fragrance. Literally, at least for me: the first times I tried it, I almost lost some skin on my arm trying to scrub it off (it is tenacious). Took me a while to finally understand it an appreciate it, but when that happened, I finally found out how awesome it can be.



I can’t imagine a scent with a more perfect name than this. L’Air du Desert Marocain means “the air of the Moroccan desert” and this is exactly how I imagine the place to smell like: bone dry, resinous, smoky and spicy. The notes are: coriander, petitgrain, lemon, bergamot, jasmin, labdanum, bourbon, geranium, cedarwood, vetiver, vanille, patchouli and ambergris.



On my skin, LADDM (let’s call it this way from now on, or this review will be huge) starts with a blast of cumin and coriander, which is probably what put me off the first times. But it soon starts to drydown to a fantastic blend of resins and incense. The resins and incense will keep on gaining momentum until the late drydown, and what a drydown! Don’t be fooled by the amber and the vanilla listed among the notes: this is not a sweet fragrance, those notes just keep it from becoming too “masculine”.



Talking about that, I THINK this is marketed as masculine scent, but I don’t believe in genders when it comes to perfume. Still, I can get the appeal: coriander, vetiver and cedarwood are present in a lot of the so-called masculine scents, but this one could (and should) be worn by women too.



LADDM comes as Eau de Toilette Intense, but it is far more powerful than your average EDT and even than some of the EDPs currently in the market: it is a powerhouse. The projection will depend on how much you apply and the lasting power is absurd (I mentioned that before). As for its usage, I’d say it is a winter/fall scent, the coriander and the cumin may be a bit too much for the summer heat, but that’s just my opinion.



Finally, let me say that I am not a big fan of the bottle design, but again, I am not wearing the bottle on a chain around my neck, so who cares? The packaging itself is really nice: it comes in a pentagram shaped can, with foam inside, so the bottle stays in place, and with a hand-signed card by Andy Tauer.

This is something special to try. Go and order a sample together with incense rosé. "L'air du désert marocain" takes you there and lifts up your mood. It's got power and it proves it ! You expected it to be an additional piece of beauty product to add to you vanity, a kind of smelling makeup or smelling jewelry, and you get something completely different. Yet you like it, it's pleasant, it won't hurt in any way! It won't bite you if you have a different opinion. And it well deserves 5 stars. Truly it's not my style and I ain't gonna wear it all the time. I am not a hippie chic and I don't have that sort of lifestyle. But "L'air du désert marocain" feels so good to me that I gonna give it some room. It's rather unusual, balancing and pleasant, fresh and clear. It's almost an unusual way to wear perfume. I don't quite recognize any note, except amber and frankincense. It rather leaves me with an impression than with an odor. When wearing it, you'll be feeling like nothing could come and disturb you. You'll learn to smile like they do in Morocco. You'll definitely take the time to think instead of trying to concentrate on something and you will start tasting instead of eating. To wear it, you must choose your time, it must be an appropriate moment. Especially the first time. The packaging is, let's say....hippie, but not quite chic ! But you will soon forget this detail. Yes it's true there ain't much lasting power. You must know that mine just vanished almost entirely after 4 hours. I'm already missing it. Well thanks to LT for finding and sharing this great scent with us.

Exceptional, devine. Words simply escape me. I love, love, love this fragrance. Smells like fresh air in Moroco. Not for everyone, but I absolutely bow down to Andy Tauer. Such a gracious man too.

probably better on a man...does nothing for me tho.

Absolutely beautiful. This is hands down one of my favorite perfumes out of my ever growing collection.

I really expected this to be a "challenging" fragrance from what I've heard about this line. No challenge here. Spiced & rich with the barest, tiniest hint of sweetness. Totally evocative of hot desert wind rustling a white cotton caftan. Just keep in mind that it could be a man or a woman's caftan!
If you find Serge Lutens' Chergui too sweet, try this. I deducted one star due to the lack of lasting power on my skin. I got about 6 hours out of it. continued >>

I'm sorry, I really wanted to like this one. And in fact, I was pretty fascinated by it in the store, how it seemed to transition into various smells and stages. So maybe it's a chemistry thing on my skin. But as soon as I put it on, I just smell rubber-plastic "gummy eraser," then about 30 minutes later start washing it off.

If you've ever wanted to explore a fragrance that really changes over time, you must try L'Air du Desert Marocain. It does not have a drydown so much as a sustained journey. Imagine a rollercoaster ride through the desert at night - the smells of spices, smoke, dry wood, and dusty flowers fly by.
From the resinous and spicy opening, L'Air du Desert Marocain becomes a rich, smoky, masculine oriental, then slowly becomes softer and rounder, yet without losing any strength. Suddenly, it's all bitter citrus; then spiced wood; and finally, unexpectedly, it fades to an incense-dusted violet. This perfume has many distinct stages and, though a bit too masculine for me, is really very fun to wear!

Notes according to Tauer: Coriander, rock rose, jasmine, cedar, vetiver, ambergris - but, don't pay any attention to the notes, they barely hint at the many phases of L'Air du Desert Marocain.

L'Air du Desert Marocain starts with a pine-y green twig note, and that part is very promising and nice, but very soon it morphes into a warm, dry smell that suits its name - I get sweet smelling wood burning in a hot, dry place - or at least the smells of this idea - it smells very smokey sweet & dry in the sense of not wet. Nice & interesting because the smoke is very realistic and it's not overly perfumery, or trying to be interesting - it's just a very well rounded & well made smokey sweet blend, and it's true to it's name, but too sweet for me, and a little meh. For reference, other incense frags I prefer for this is Norma Kamali Ceremony, L'Artisan passage d'Enfer and Ava Luxe Olibanum, and there are others too, but they would be too light & floral & different too compare, and none of those I mentioned is really similar either. I wouldn't compare this to Shalimar - Shalimar is much wetter and more balsamic, and no smoke, and it's def a Pefume.
LAdM is really unique in it's dry, clean, undisturbed smoky sweetness, and I guess I'm just not enough of a smoke-lover to appreciate it the way it deserves. But I def recommend it for perumistas that are - + for the substitute for a fireplace - it's a really nice & sweet smell - I just don't care for it so much as a personal fragrance. continued >>