Andy Tauer • L'Air du Desert Marocain by Andy Tauer • Fragrances
(63 reviews)
| Average Rating. | 4.2 |
| Would buy this product again. | 68% |
| Package Quality | 3.5 |
| Price | 3.7 |
| Ingredients | |
windkey on 12/1/2012 5:49:00 PM more reviews by windkey
Age: 36-43 Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Warm Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine Eyes: Blue
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.
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SmellyFaerie on 9/12/2012 9:14:00 AM more reviews by SmellyFaerie
Age: 36-43 Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine Eyes: Brown
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.
10 out of 11 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
MauveRebelle on 8/25/2012 2:31:00 PM more reviews by MauveRebelle
Age: 30-35 Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Cool Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine Eyes: Green
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.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
tecumsum on 6/28/2012 1:13:00 PM more reviews by tecumsum
Age: 44-55 Skin: Combination, Dark, Warm Hair: Black, Kinky, Coarse Eyes: Brown
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.
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mricci on 6/12/2012 1:50:00 PM more reviews by mricci
Age: 30-35 Skin: Oily, Olive Hair: Brunette Eyes: Hazel
probably better on a man...does nothing for me tho.
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kassinator on 12/22/2011 11:05:00 AM more reviews by kassinator
Age: 30-35 Skin: Oily, Fair Hair: Blond Eyes: Blue
Absolutely beautiful. This is hands down one of my favorite perfumes out of my ever growing collection.
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*TOP REVIEWER* ifthe on 10/2/2011 8:24:00 AM more reviews by ifthe
Age: 36-43 Skin: Combination Hair: Other Eyes: Hazel
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.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
pata1 on 5/20/2011 8:01:00 PM more reviews by pata1
Age: 30-35 Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
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.
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*TOP REVIEWER* ccspringer on 2/1/2011 12:07:00 AM more reviews by ccspringer
Age: 19-24 Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
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.
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Fantomia on 1/7/2011 7:06:00 PM more reviews by Fantomia
Age: 44-55 Skin: Sensitive, Fair Hair: Brunette Eyes: Blue
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.
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*TOP REVIEWER* ella343 on 11/29/2010 7:24:00 PM more reviews by ella343
Age: 25-29 Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Cool Hair: Black, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Brown
Though technically an oriental, with a sweet, resinous ambery warmth in the drydown, L'Air du Désert Marocain has been thoroughly desaturated. It lacks the heavy bone structure of Shalimar—and therefore the traditional gravitas of the genre—as if the skeleton has been hollowed out, like a bird's wing. On this pared-down frame, like the sculptural designs of Balenciaga on a pencil-thin model, the sandy, balsamic woods and whiffs from the rose garden beyond are elevated into prominence. It may be the influence of the heat and humidity, which burns off the hesperidic top more readily, but I find myself startled by L'Air du Désert Marocain. Whatever did I sniff before? How could I miss such utter splendour? Suddenly, I can access the curls of dry, balsamic cedarwood, the aromatic nutty-herbal coriander (a note I adore), and lushly feminine roses lurking in the background. L'Air du Désert Marocain is suave, unusually arid, and masterfully coherent, not a single jarring or unnecessary note within its meticulously worked-out whole. Furthermore, this is the rare unisex that is substantive rather than apologetic, which demands an instinct for balanced composition unlike no other. If your taste goes for rich, heady perfumes during the cooler months, this makes a brilliant warm-weather alternative, especially in the way it blooms on the skin and surrounds its wearer with an aura of benediction.
4 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Alinambarrie on 11/29/2010 10:32:00 AM more reviews by Alinambarrie
Age: 30-35 Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine Eyes: Brown
Pleasant but just smells like Paco Rabanne Ultraviolet for Men to me. Which costs a lot less.
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*TOP REVIEWER* proximitythe53rd on 7/14/2010 9:53:00 AM more reviews by proximitythe53rd
Age: 25-29 Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Neutral Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine Eyes: Green
This is just a beautiful fragrance, and I would urge anyone who's even remotely interested in this 'sort' of fragrance to give this one a try. If you like fragrances like Serge Lutens's Chergui or Borneo 1834, sampling L'Air du Desert Marocain is a must.
To give you some idea of the progression of the fragrance - in the opening, you can smell citrus (bitter orange in this case) in the top notes. The citrus seems to blend, on one hand, with a coriander note which makes everything feel slightly green, in a spicy way. On the other hand, the citrus also seems to blend with a lighter touch of intoxicating floral (jasmine, softened and linked to the rest of the fragrance by rose). Under this opening, I start to smell boozy, darker, sweet (but not cloying) and darkly musky notes. Cedar has a definite presence here and it's a bit spicy and just a touch green, but fairly dry. It doesn't smell like woodshop-cedar though, the note is not as strong or distinct as that. The fragrance goes through a lot of changes and it's very alive on the skin. You smell different facets of the composition come to the forefront from moment to moment. The notes are there to be picked out as distinct entities, but they also blend together to give the fragrance an overall feel of being beautiful but not inaccessible (though certainly unusual exotic) and really pulling you in and sweeping you up (but not overwhelming you) with its unique character and the path of its development. The patchouli gives it a touch of a Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 feel (a more real, 'wrapped in patchouli leaves to protect rare silks from moths' sort of a smell), as opposed to a hippie or head-shop sort of patchouli. It has a bit of a slightly musty chocolately tone to it which seems fundamentally tied to the dark amber note, which itself has a resinous, incensnse-y, un-sweetened quality. Once the fragrance has been on your skin for a while, you don't really smell the bitter orange or coriander anymore, and the other notes are more smooth and seamless, not as easy to pick one from the other as in the opening. This fragrance is long lasting, and continues to evolve on the skin until it reaches the dry-down - sweeter, more vanillic and gentle, a bit cozy but still without becoming boring. The dry-down is long lasting, this is a fragrance you may very well still be able to detect the next morning.
I know people often wonder how this fragrance compares to Serge Lutens's Chergui. There are similarities, but they are absolutely not the same. I think others have covered the differences in the notes (Chergui: sweeter, more hay and tobacco; L'air du Desert Marocain: dryer, with cedar and an incense and patchouli vibe), but I would go on to say that though the fragrances do have a similar 'mood' they are quite distinct, and I feel *almost* equal desire for both. However, Chergui stole my heart first, and there is something about it that I've never been able to quite put my finger on that absolutely captures me. This fragrance has that quality as well, but not *quite* to the same degree. That doesn't mean I want to have to pick between them, and I intend to simply solve the problem by getting a full bottle of each when I'm not dead broke.
L'Air du Desert Marocain has this wonderful quality of being warming on a cold day, and cooling on a hot day. I might consider not wearing it on the hottest of hot days, but really ... I've worn it privately for my own pleasure on some pretty hot days, and zero complaint here. It doesn't seem to become suffocating.
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*TOP REVIEWER* bluenote on 4/12/2010 3:03:00 AM more reviews by bluenote
Age: 25-29 Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
YES! I layer this perfume under more typically girly, pink and bubblegum offerings. The incense and desolate reverie of this fragrance gives a certain depth to anything else. It is also fabulous on its own.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
izika on 2/17/2010 11:25:00 PM more reviews by izika
Age: 30-35 Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral Hair: Brunette Eyes: Green
As your perfume collection grows you inevitably end up with some favourites, which you reach for again and again. This perfume is one of those.
The thing I like about this perfume is that it provides you with the same lovely comforting feeling that most people seem to think they can only get from gourmand inspired fragrances.
L'Air du Desert Marocain provides this same sense with benzoin, frankincense and rose among other notes. It smells clean, as in frankincense clean rather than laundry clean, yet it is warm and comforting it's not a standoffish fragrance at all. I tend to wear this in Winter.
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Coquii on 1/23/2010 7:42:00 PM more reviews by Coquii
Age: 25-29 Skin: Combination, Olive Hair: Brunette Eyes: Brown
Sensual, smoky perfection.
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*TOP REVIEWER* brookebaird on 1/2/2010 12:21:00 AM more reviews by brookebaird
Age: 36-43 Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Blond, Curly, Medium Eyes: Green
This has become my go-to fragrance of 2009. It works beautifully in both summer and winter. It has a dryness and smokiness that is breathtaking without being too heavy on the incence. The scent usually lasts at least 8 hours for me and it's gorgeous from application (2 sprays), through the drydown. It can easily be worn by a man or woman.
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TGarden on 12/27/2009 11:43:00 PM more reviews by TGarden
Age: 36-43 Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Cool Hair: Blond, Curly, Fine Eyes: Blue
i just bought my 3rd bottle of this for my husband as a christmas present. originally tried it as a fragrance for myself, and i LOVED it...but then my husband smelled it. now, let me tell you about my husband. he has allergies to just about everything, and as such, he doesn't particularly care for smelly stuff. but he smelled this and he was instantly in love. so i turned over the bottle to him, and for the first time in his entire life, he had a fragrance that he actually wanted to wear for the sheer pleasure of being surrounded by the scent all day long. now, this is not cheap stuff, but it is absolutely top notch quality, all-natural artisanal perfume. after several years of smelling it on my husband every day, i still let out an involuntary "mmmmmm" when i smell it on him in the mornings while he is getting ready for the day. friends have pulled friends over to him to hug him just to smell him. :) not to mention that andy tauer, the perfume creator, is about the nicest fellow you could ever hope to meet and is truly and deeply passionate about his art. and yes, it is ART that he creates. we will be buying this stuff for the rest of our lives, as long as he (please oh please) keeps on making it.
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*TOP REVIEWER* Quilley on 12/6/2009 1:58:00 AM more reviews by Quilley
Age: Unknown Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
I waited a few weeks before writing my review. I'm a novice when it comes to describing perfumes, so I will refrain from being poetic, but did like this description from two other websites... "Like a bag of Garam Masala that's well beyond it's use-by date." "The result in summation is a fragrance that smells ancient and mystical". I've only had emotional reactions to one other fragrance and that was Hermes. This EDT was a very generous gift to me by another MUA'er and I just happened to love the notes of this. I'm one happy girl.
From Lucky Scent: L'Air du Desert Marocain is the scent of desire, inspired by the fragrant world of the Maghreb desert, powerful, sensual and pure. It's a dry, resinous cedar scent, rounded out with rock rose and jasmine, and hints of typical Moroccan spices such as coriander, cumin and petitgrain. A unisex scent, the cedar and vetiver base notes hover over a fine amber background. Here are the notes: Coriander, Petitgrain (Bitter orange), Lemon, Bergamot, Jasmin, Cistus, Bourbon, Geranium, Cedarwood, Vetiver, Vanille, Patchouli and Ambergris.
The dry-down on this makes it an almost skin-scent to my nose, which is what I like about it so much. If it's possible to have a frangrance be spicy and fresh at the same time, this is it. I never thought this possible, but it's just that complex. After the dry-down it turns into something much softer, but it's STILL quite complex. I've been wearing it everyday since it arrived. Thankfully, it is a huge bottle, so I won't have to order it anytime soon, however this is a definate repurchase when the time comes.
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sayde on 10/27/2009 9:24:00 PM more reviews by sayde
Age: 56 & Over Skin: Combination Hair: Brown Eyes: Blue
I am a neophyte when it comes to niche perfume and until now have loved and worn only light and fleeting florals like AG Charlotte and Chevrefeuille. Have been on a bender lately to educate myself -- I've got dozens of samples but LDDM is the first intense perfume that has captivated me. I had always thought amber was just too suffocating but in LDDM it seems lighter and delightful. It is also the first one I've tried that lasts for hours and has notable sillage. My husband rarely notices anything but he picked up on this. After wearing this for one day I've decided I must have more. Though a little goes a long way and I will be able to get several more days out of my tiny vial I have already gone for a larger decant. But I can't imagine using up a whole 50 ml bottle -- this stuff is quite potent.