Marrakesh in a Bottle Orange Blossom | 24 Eau de Parfum

This is such a lovely little fragrance. It was a successful blind but for me, as I had been searching for a sweet orange blossom scent, but I hadn't found one that fit my taste and my budget, until now. I liked Lattafa Ansaam Gold, but something about it smelled 'cheap' to me. Maybe it's a bit too loud? I found Love Don't Be Shy to be a bit sickly and synthetic, and at any rate way out of my budget. And my most recent attempt - Ellie Saab - had a prominent rose note that killed it for me. This is a light and airy, sweet orange blossom that actually lasts. I can smell the bergamot and orange blossom the most in the opening. The neroli peeks through after a couple of hours, and its slightly bitter aspect is the only thing I don't like about this scent, but it's by no means a deal breaker. I applied two sprays to my neck and one to my forearm 12 hours ago, and I keep catching whiffs of the late dry down as I'm moving around even now. It's less easily identifiable as orange blossom now, but still light, sweet and floral, and I definitely detect the amber and musk at this stage, which are mentioned on the Kayali website, but not listed here. I suspect there might be some vanilla (the Kayali accord?) in here too, which might account for the slight sweetness. I detect no pink pepper or cedar (which is always the case for me) and no rose either, for which I'm grateful. I would wear this all year round, but especially during spring days.

A solid, lovely ear accurate interpretation of the orange blossom scent imo. I'm surprised by some of the reviews here and elsewhere - I was expecting something astringent, bitter and obnoxiously peppery... a potentially challenging scent. With a name like Marrakesh I suppose people were expecting something more rose and oud forward? Or maybe with soemthing that had a bunch of cardamon or saffron. People are being over dramatic. After sampling it I'd say it's appropriately named and evocative of Marrakesh for two reasons: It's a pretty faithful representation of what when orange blossom is in full bloom in Marrakesh between February and March - where the city's green spaces and courtyards are filled with the heady scent of orange and jasmine. It literally smells like walking around the raised garden at the El Badi Palace ruins in early spring. Secondly, it's honestly near identical in smell to those small round pots of fragrance oils you can buy in the souk where you buy your kohl. I get the 'dirty orange blossom' comments, but real orange blossom does have a certain 'body' to it - so it really does capture the essence of orange blossom far more effectively many supposed 'orange blossom' perfumes that overkill with the neroli and try to clean it up too much. It's perfect if you want to be reminded of your trip and can't get to Morroco anytime soon at the very least.

Out of the 4, I do not like Orange Blossom at all... It was such a disappointment. I love floral fragrances, especially with hints of sweetness to balance it out. But this just smells like straight-up black pepper to me. It's so spicy and interesting, but not what I expected. This scent is NOT for me. I wish this release sold these 4 individually, because I'm actually LOVING the other 3. The second Kayali fragrance I was disappointed of that I've personally smelled -- Marrakesh and Cafe Oud (never smelled rose or tobacco oud). Praying Mona releases Lemon Sugar, Sweet Banana, and Ylang Coco in 50 mL bottles in the future! Update: 7/18/24 - What was I thinking... I wore this lovely perfume more, and layered it with others and I don't detect as much pepper anymore. Instead I let it dry down and played around with it, and I got a beautiful realistic orange peel/blossom smell. Still definitely spicy/peppery in the BEGINNING, but now I detect more florals and sweetness that balance it out. This one turned from a hate to a love! Way to go Kayali on making a complex perfume! Now I'd actually get this in a bigger bottle if there was one haha

Wow, this is neroli heavy in the first 1 hour or so, also very bitter in the beginning, it reminds me strongly of JPG Classique Pin Up perfume. However, as it evolves, it transforms into a more beautiful and niche scent - the rose emerges but it's not fresh, it adds unique sweetness to the scent, reminds me of fine smelling Turkish rahat loukoum - it is very beautiful and subtle on a background of moderately strong spicy citruses. At this point it smells more like Marrakesh but only about 70-80%, the rest is a unique sweet scent, very nostalgic, it does evoke good memories and vacation indeed. Must be coming from the unique combination of orange blossom and rose plus the spicy citruses. I like it a lot and I am willing to tolerate the almost unpleasant bitterness in the beginning for the beauty and uniqueness from the dry down. It is not terribly long lasting, unfortunately, only 4-5 hours max on my skin.

I did not like this one at first at all! I just could not get past the orange blossom and pepper in the opening. I immediately put it aside and haven’t touched it since. That was over a year ago. Dec 2025: The opening is a bit more calmer and I am enjoying the neroli and rose. This is such a relaxing scent. That’s the best way to express how it makes me feel. The scent became more and more smoother until dry down. I will get the full bottle now. I love perfumes and it always surprises me how I could dislike something at first, but in another time and space, enjoy it. Just like life. Anyhoo...disclaimer: I do love this fragrance house.