Reviews of L'Air du Desert Marocain
by Tauer

herbal opening notes which reminds me of balms used in india..those ayurvedic ones which treats both with its vapors and warm healing qualities...for other references, think Amber Sultan or Spirit of the tiger...though they dont smell similar..but, they sure do are first kissing cousins. i enjoy such scents and it's always is welcome and my pockets are always open..but, just when i was opening my wallet...the hot wave of heat passed...a smell which is damn similar to something i hate...oh yes..Terre D Hermes...i just dont like tht treatment of vetiver and pepper...it's just not for me. however, this is much more fuller and enjoyable than Tdh or Red Vetyver..maybe when i develop my taste for this kind of vetiver..i wud firts appraoch LddM and not the other two..

A modern surrealist work of art wherein a beehive falls from the sky into a tar pit and the bees not only manage to survive but convert the tar into honey.

In other words, I have to agree with Sir Slarty's assesment. This is one weird mother of a scent and I find it quite interesting, but hard to wear.

I have been infomed that it is dry. Not only by so many of you who have reviewed it here, but by a certain female acquaintance who pronounced it so, after a mere ten minutes on her skin. I was astounded as I found the predominant note creamy vanilla , despite the counter-notes. She replied that she found the scent on her skin to be primiraly smoky, with only a hint of sweetness.

Perhaps I should have waited and tested Ruggles' assesment that this contains the driest sandalwood drydown on the planet. However, so far I've been waiting for a mere 24 hours, so I haven't been able to discern this yet, as I'm still waiting for the drydown. No one can fault this one for longevity . . .

Perhaps I'll change my mind one dayafter applying a very light spritz--make that 1/2 a spritz--on my abdomen, (arms and chest being too close to my nose) and being rewarded by a zillion compliments, wherupon I'll give it a thumbs up instead of a neutral.

However, at present, I simply feel an urge to go out to my favorite Moroccan restaurant, flirt shamelessly with the belly dancers, enjoy the exotic main courses, but skip my favorite finale: the delicious kaab el ghzal

It would be redundant.
For me, L'air du Desert Marocain is much more about dessert than desert.

Well I agree with purplebird, this is an atmospheric scent.
It really recalls the mix of dust, cold stone, shady zouk, cologne and male skin that reminds me so vividly on my moroccan times... but for my dear who is homesick, it is exactly what I will buy to make him feel better

This joins the growing list of what I consider to be "atmospheric" fragrances designed to evoke a place or setting. I like to smell them, but I don't want to smell like them. Apparently there is a demand for environmental aromas in hotels and stores to strengthen memory and feelings of loyalty among customers. People are starting to enjoy man-made fragrances which create a hyper-reality, like smoky bonfires or old libraries. L'Air du Desert Morocain is a clever composition that uses a host of ingredients to deftly imitate lemony frankincense ground to a dusty powder and laid upon polished black leather. It is dry, citrusy, and bittersweet. I could experience a similar aroma by donning a leather jacket and putting my nose into a bag of olibanum. Both are equally enjoyable, but they fall short of constituting an entire perfume. As a point of reference, Messe de Minuit is deeper, more complex, and accomplishes a greater range of contrasts, although it also can be difficult to wear. For use on the skin, I still prefer softer, sweeter, more traditional, skin-compatible scents.

In trying to conjure up an image for this fragrance, it struck me that if I took a potato skin, rubbed some spices on it, sprayed it with some sort of scented cleaning fluid, then let it dry out in the sun for a week or so, this is what would result. It's interesting, but I can't say it's pleasant. I prefer something like Witness instead, which is a lavender/cinnamon with a dusty quality, if I'm looking for something along these lines. It's well done, no doubt, but I can't help comparing to others, and while I'm wearing this, wishing I was wearing something else.

a little too heavy for me so a 3/5 - would be a 4/5 if it were lighter.
spicy. like the air above the desert is so filled up with melange (see Frank Herbert's Dune).
the air does not move. it is the centre of the world, under the sun.
not a scent I would wear to work. but maybe a scent I would use to seduce, If I wished to do so...

A light dry and airy incense and sage. Also vanilla and cedar. Too exotic for my taste but very interesting.

At first I wasn't sure what to think about this one. On first application, it came across as quite faint. I also noticed some similarities with Lonestar Memories, and initially deemed L’Air as a lighter version of Lonestar – how wrong I was! After re-applying, the differences became a lot more noticeable. L’Air also reminded me of the drydown of Piper Nigrum. However, while Piper Nigrum was slightly irritating for me to wear, L’Air was simply sensual and intoxicating.

The sweetness balances perfectly with the spices and is never overwhelming. As for sillage, it isn't loud but is definitely present. There's also something almost 'effervescent' about the spicy sweetness of L’Air that I really love - it just simmers on the skin very nicely. After several hours, the ambery drydown blends perfectly with my skin chemistry in the most natural way. Amazing.

Personally, this is everything that Richard James should have been but wasn't (this one was a sore disappointment in all the main departments). L’Air is truly magnificent and is definitely in my top 5.

I was suprised by L'Air du Desert Marocain - it really did not smell at all like what I was expecting. In fact, I halfway wondered if I somehow erroneously had received a sample of Andy Tauer's Lonestar Memories instead given the notes that I caught.

It started out smelling like spicy amber incense and then in the same fashion as Tauer's Reverie au Jardin, L'Air du Desert Marocain did a 180 and started emitting notes of smoke, cedar and old leather. Other than the intial incense note, it did not remind me of Morocco at all (which I've visited). Rather, L'Air du Desert Marocain evoked thoughts of a taciturn, weather beaten cowboy pulling off his burnished leather boots by a crackling cedar bonfire.

Top: petitgrain, lemon, bergamot
Mid: coriander, cumin, jasmine, geranium, cistus (labdanum)
Base: bourbon vetiver, cedarwood, vetiver, vanilla, patchouli, amber
L’Air du Desert Marocain – what a beautiful name! The scent too is lovely, yet I only give it the sideways thumb rating. It may be a bit churlish for me to complain that this lovely oriental is exactly that, namely a scent with exotic spices on a sweet amber base. Vanilla and amber are present at every stage, and surround everything in a velvety brown cloud. Vanilla is a deal-breaker for me, unfortunately. This has superb resinous notes, excellent cedar and vetiver, and good dry spices. If you don’t mind vanilla then give this a try!

A peculiar one, and the first niche fragrance I ever tried. First impression out of the tester: how can a perfume smell so *dry*? Smelling it was not completely unlike inhaling dust or sand. Desert indeed! And yet, at the same time, there was this smooth, warm, sweet presence. Honey? Incense? Sweetness was what it eventually dried down to as well. A comfortable experience so far, but nothing overwhelming. Time will tell.

The opening does make you think of hot shimmering air and sand but as it progresses what I maily get is the signature dry-paper notes of L’Artisan. A complex and interesting “clean” scent, but getting dangerously close in my opinion to the fakeness of L’Artisan.