01 Le Maroc Pour Elle

I bought this on the pretence it would transport me to a specific place and time, and it did exactly that; a nostalgic one where as a child in the streets and alleyways of old Cairo in Egypt, where street vendors would walk about selling garlands of voluptuous jasmine flowers, fragrantly bursting with their nocturnal sensuality. In the background, a mixture of sweet aromas from nearby shisha cafes and spices intermingling in the air, but with the jasmine commanding its assertive hold, like the main pianist in an orchestra. The night is warm and humid, with an almost stationary breeze, carrying the dense fragrant smells, with the odd florals from flower shops in the background. The smells are unmistakingly North African, but not near a coast of any sorts, more of humid density, the kind of intensity that accentuates the weight of the florals. This is most definitely not a Mediterranean vibe, and it holds extreme accuracy in what it delivers. I know this is marketed towards women, but I find that completely irrelevant, moreso now that the majority of fragrance lovers do not see fragrances through a gender specific lens. I find this a transportive scent, one that anyone can wear, I personally find it extremely comforting and would spritz it on mostly at night, a warm one to be precise, but any night would suffice, because that's where it takes me. I have attempted to layer this over darker fragrances akin to Patchouly and Ambra Aura from Profumum Roma, and they simply add yet another dimension and take me to the summer nights in Alexandria, near the Med, or with Neroli from the same house, lifting it up to a daytime brighter fragrance. The core of the fragrance is not diminished, rather akin to wearing a red shawl over an elegant suit, to dress it down or up accordingly, but the main suit is still there, just simply slightly amended to meet a different occasion. This was blind bought, and I have no idea if there have been any reformulations along the way since it was initially introduced two decades ago. I suspect not, due to the way it still carries the same message that Andy intended to deliver back then, and is successfully executed with meticulous precision. I paid full retail + delivery, ands blind bought as I buy all any fragrances. In my books the cost is completely justified due to the quality of the Jasmine Absolute alone, let alone the remaining raw materials, and the artisanal blending The atomiser and lid are indeed not of a calibre that reflects the quality of the juice, as many already know and mentioned, but to me I could not care less. I'd rather have a cheap bottle with golden juice, than a synthetic chaos akin to that of the offerings of Xerjoff in an outlandishly extravagant presentation. Highly recommended, I wouldn't say extremely versatile, but that's subjective opinion, not objective. Gof bless and enjoy :)

A beautiful and opulent Floral-Oriental perfume with a misleading name. Le Maroc Pour Elle does a "Portrait of a Lady" type of labeling when, in reality, it could easily pass as "Le Maroc Pour Lui." Leaving the name aside, this is a beautiful Oriental treatment of Jasmine, the most prominent floral note, supported by Rose and Lavender. I love Jasmine in perfumes, but it has to be natural-smelling. I came to develop an aversion toward the Hedione built-up accords that saturate the market. Furthermore, it needs to be handled with care. Not too fruity, nor too rubbery or indolic. Yes, I am picky. Here, it is used exquisitely by a nose who has proved numerous times that he understands and appreciates floral materials and that he knows how to handle them. What he decides to do with the remainder of the composition might not always please my fancy, but I love the way he weaves it here (as well as in Une Rose Chypree). The opening of Le Maroc is fizzy and bright due to the mandarin and the lavender. I find this sparkling opening prevalent in many of Andy Tauer's perfumes, and I am a fan. It is invigorating and different from the usual choice of introductory greetings most perfumers opt for. Jasmine enters the scene almost immediately, opulent and assertive with the right amount of indolic facets and sweetness, while nothing about it feels excessive. The lavender helps to balance the queen of the night until the rose and later, the woods and resins take the burden. You see, she is always restrained by the secondary players and never allowed to overshadow the composition. The rose is present but merely guards her, never crossing the line. The base of Le Maroc is creamy and woody. I get the cedar mostly, and thankfully, none of the Iso-E Super that prevents me from loving PHI Une Rose De Kandahar. Along the cedar, a melange of resins gives a hint of smokiness, sweetness, and a dusty texture. I would say the woods are more prevalent than the resins and almost give off an antique furniture vibe (or an apothecary). Le Maroc Pour Elle makes me picture a well-kept flower garden in the Orient, maybe within the domain of a luxurious palace, a stroll through the garden at dusk when the flowers speak the loudest. I think men can easily enjoy this as the lavender gives off a nice fougerish touch in the opening that lasts through the heart, where the strong woody notes (mainly the cedar) take over. Don't judge by the name, but let your nose guide you. IG:@memory.of.scents

Here in Seattle, Washington, we have a farmer's market called "The Pike Place Market". You can buy fresh fruit, veggies, flowers, fish... all the normal farmer's market goods. There are also shops sprinkled around the edges of the market where you can buy handmade wares, and then there are specialty shops. It's a wonderful place to take folks to who are from out-of-town, and I certainly like to find an excuse to travel to the northwest edge of Seattle to experience this wonderful place. In a certain area, deep in the 100+ year old wooden buildings where the shops are, is a few head shops, and of course there is lots of incense burning. There are tea & spice shops, along with scented oils and candle shops, and stalls and stalls of fresh cut flowers. So, this area has the most wonderful, old fashioned, woody, incensey, tea & spices, and floral (mostly rose) like scent that brings back so many memories of my entire life through which I have visited the Pike Place Market many, many times. This Tauer creation is that scent. Absolute dead ringer for Seattle's Pike Place Market. I keep sniffing my wrist. I can't decide if it is something I want to smell like though. Or, if I do, I'm not sure how often I'd wear it. It starts out strong, but it really does melt and soften over the course of a half hour or so. And then it becomes this wafting scent that continues to flit around and greet my nose with a cheerful, rosie, woody aroma. This scent certainly brings back memories of a place I love and am intimately familiar with. I currently own a bottle of the 02 L`Air du Desert Marocain which I adore. It is dry and wonderful. I recently ordered, and am awaiting, 09 Orange Star. My next planned Tauer purchase is the Pentachords Auburn which I absolutely love love love. I will need to use this a few times and see if it grows on me. Tauer's potions usually do! Edit: I bought the big bottle! Even before my precious Auburn Pentachord! The PPM memories were too strong to ignore. It does have a lovely rose scent I am surprised I have fallen so hard for, since rose usually gives me a headache. This is wonderful. I see why it launched Andy Tauer into a stunning creative vocation.

I am probably not the best person to for this task but I'll give it a go. I originally bought L'air du desert Marocain blind and really liked it but I wanted something just a tad bit more feminine. It took LuckyScent several tries to get me a sample of Le Maroc Pour Elle. Why did I wait for a sample, well because this website has it as an oriental floral and the word floral is frightening to me. I like scents that are slightly feminine or have implied femininity but all out floral/fruity scents are waaaay too girly for me. With orientals I never know how floral floral is going to be. Well the sample arrived today and of course I tried it and it was perfect. I immediately decided to order a bottle which would entitle me to 3 free samples. This decision was going to take some time but I had my new Le Maroc Pour Elle to entertain me. As time passed the floral quitted a bit and the spices woke up as I expected but all was good. I could smell this stuff forever. I then got involved in selecting my free samples and before I knew it I was in dry down. When I took a whiff of my wrist I thought “OMG I can’t believe it”. I had the Ides of March from Portland, Oregon right there on my wrist. The Ides of March was a head shop I frequented back in ‘72/’73. As soon as you opened the shop door you were hit with a fragrance that was absolutely wonderful. The inside of the shop was all done in wood. They sold custom handmade leather products made right there in the shop. They had incense, attars and oils from all over the world. They had tapestries and Persian rugs for sell as well. And of course they sold things that did not smell. I always found going there such an olfactory treat. Not only has Le Maroc Pour Elle turned out to be a fragrance I love but it can provide me with a bit of time travel as well.

Le Maroc pour Elle has been a love ever since I first smelled it more than a decade ago. Back then my heart and money went to Une Rose Chyprée but Le Maroc was always on my mind. Fast forward to now and I’ve finally bought a bottle. A new batch and a new formulation. Yes, Andy has reformulated Le Maroc, no doubt mostly because of restrictions on jasmine and rose use. Good news though; the scent profile hasn’t been altered even though it has gone from an almost extrait intensity to a rich edp. But that’s ok, because the sticky resins, the rich rose and jasmine and the sharpness of lavender are still there. And it’s still like I remember it. Headshop incense! Le Maroc was always, for me, headshop incense. Slightly heady, slightly cheap. Rich. Saturating. A full rose and jasmine attar like bubble that expands only to be calmed by a sharp lavender strike. That incense sweetness (nothing at all like incense in the church style) always reminded me of esoteric shops, crystal balls and tarot cards. The scent of entering a shop where incense burns incessantly. Jasmine, sandalwood, rose... that entire atmosphere was (and still is) Le Maroc. All while being sensual, erotic, larger than life. Not so much Morocco but India. It’s still that. It’s still big, although now you can spray more liberally. It’s still a rich red/brown color. It still stains skin and clothes. And it still lasts all day. So I’m happy it’s back, I’m happy that the scent hasn’t been compromised and even though it’s not the beast it was, it is a perfume that deepens with time. Like Rose Chyprée, one of Andy’s best works and a modern masterpiece!