Morocco

[MaeKitty]

Old Morocco

 

The intoxicating perfume of exotic incenses wafting on warm desert breezes. Arabian spices wind through a blend of warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood and cassia.

 

In the Bottle: Yummy. I can't pick out a single note here.

On me: I love this scent. Love it. Completely. I don't know what the difference is between old and new morocco, but this is one of my all time favourite blends. It's warm, it's interesting, it's spicey without being too much. The carnation seems to keep the spice down, and the musk and sandlewood keep things toasty. Love this scent. I think this is going to be my bellydance blend.

 

As it dries, the Sandalwood comes out a bit more and reminds me of the incense I used to burn as a teenager. Lovely.

[rachel2205]

This is incredibly faint on me, barely there even though I slathered it.

 

Phew, glad it's not just me - was beginning to think I was very strange. It's so LIGHT on me - I just get a gentle, softly spicy vanilla. pretty, but I think I'd need to BATHE in it for people to smell me!

[zankoku_zen]

One word: Full.of.Win

 

This on me is like a spicier version of Antique Lace but much more subtle and delicate. There is not a single note that stands out on me, but rather is a very warm, sexy blend.

 

It's been a while, but I really enjoy this scent. A lot.

[homunculus]

First tantalising sniff (hardly had time to form an opinion before it vanished!) reminding me of sweet spicy gingerbread mixed with a sharper floral - then it suddenly faded to nothing on my skin! Looks like I'm one of those people whose skin neutralises this in some weird way. It's not my nose - OH can't smell it on me either.

 

Still hoping to review this I put lots more on and it gradually comes back. No spiciness now, just a high-pitched floral smell ... but that fades quickly too (seconds in fact). A bit later the same evening it seemed to warm up again and reappeared faintly, briefly, as a lovely floral (reminded me of freesias) with a hint of spice - but then it vanished once more in a matter of minutes. Boo hoo - just enough of a hint that it probably smells gorgeous on some people where it chooses to linger - but not me alas. My skin chemistry says "no" and even if I sat in a barrel of this all night it would still only hang around for a minute or so and then the smell would be gone.

 

Edited to add: a few months later ...

 

Well something has happened - either the Morocco in the imp has aged in some mysterious way or my nose has aged in an even more mysterious way but I am now getting a much stronger smell from this when I put it on my skin and it really is delicious. A kind of rich buttery spicy warmth is the best I can describe it. How intriguing. So lovely is it now that I'm wondering whether to splash out on a bottle when I have some money. Moral of the tale - test imps over time!

Edited June 9, 2008 by homunculus

[naeelah]

I don't often favor the forum top 10 types of scents, but this is one where I'd have to say, everything you've heard is true. I have no idea how old my imp is (I can't recall if it came from the lab or a swap), but it's definitely at least a 3-4 months old, so it has at least a little age behind it.

 

This doesn't morph a great deal on me, and it's very evenly blended, so I can't pick many things out. Wet, the musk is distinctive, with a wave of sweet, creamy spices. It's very spicy -- I can feel it in my nose -- but not hot or overwhelming. The spice blend definitely contains vanilla, which provides the sweet, creamy quality. I can't pick out the carnation, per se, but I think it provides levity and smoothness. (However, this is definitely not a floral blend.) It's really lovely right from the start.

 

As it dries, the musk loses a little bit of its edge and more of the wood notes emerge, to provide a firm foundation. (I tend to amp sandalwood, so this is typical, but so far it has not taken over.) I can hardly believe this has cassia in it, or red sandalwood, because they behave so well. I think they're very low in the blend. It's a creamy, golden kind of scent, with a liberal dose of sweet vanilla and warm spices. Once dry, it's a little bit less "WOAH sweet spices" and more well balanced -- so, rather than changing noticeably, it just settles in.

 

Throw seems to be fairly good. I don't know yet about wear life, but blends of this type tend to last well on my skin.

 

Try it if you like: Antique Lace, Black Lace, Haloes, Shub, etc. If you hate sweet or vanilla blends, you might not like this. If you want a vanilla blend that is more than just soft creamy notes, you should definitely try it. If you're a fan of spicy blends, you should also definitely try this.

[taramarie]

Maybe it's my nose (or my chemistry), but I'd swear there's vanilla in Morocco. On me, it's spice and vanilla. I love it and I only wish it were stronger.

[tsukara]

In the vial it smells spicy and sweet, how a flaky, spicy baklava would smell after a good meal out of the hot, blowing wind.I want to love it, because it smells bright and lovely and mysterious, all at the same time. It really brings me there.

 

But on me? It turns into baby powder. The spiciness is all lost, however hard I search for it and the sweet is over-whelming and cloying. I don't even get the sandalwood from this, all it is is baby powder. Not for me, alas!

 

ETA: Hold up, what's this? *looks sidelong at Morocco* I tried it again, more than a month later and...

 

It's completely different. Spicy, sweet, dry and subtle--not a warm, lush jungle scent but one of dry warmth. Gone the soap, gone the powder-freshness, all replaced by desert (and a faint hint of dessert) winds. I'm SO glad I kept this one. It would have been a pity to miss out on this!

 

Perhaps all it needed was to be aged. We'll see where we go from here.

Edited May 9, 2008 by TimeTwinAnne

[suileach]

Resinous, spicy, soapy. Sometimes sandalwood does go soapy on me - I suspect that when combined with carnation, as in this blend, it is inevitable!

 

But oh, does it become lovely after a while on the skin. I'd forgotten I'd applied it, and kept getting these dark, spicy whiffs of something gorgeous. A-ha, 'twas Morocco on my arm...now resembling something rather Smut-like. What the? It's like a polite version of Smut!

[donnatron]

Imp: Surprisingly gentle. I was expecting the wood to knock me off my seat.

 

Wet: I kind of want to eat it. It goes cake-y on me.

 

Dry: Nice enough. Like a few others up the thread, it's not particularly enamoured with my skin chemistry.

 

Throw: Minimal. I could easily use my imp up in one application it's so faint on me.

 

Overall: It's nice. It's definitely not what I was expecting but I'll hang onto it for summer or something. It feels like something that would cheer me up on a rainy day.

 

ETA: As this dries down further it kind of starts to smell like root beer on me. Sexy root beer, but root beer nonetheless. For some reason, that makes me like it more.

Edited March 22, 2008 by paperrose

[haigus]

I'm in love this soo BEAUTIFUL all the notes blending together a very sweet creamy delicate floral, with that white musk that I love. Definately have to get a big bottle of this!

[coldandsleepy]

Okay, I've mainly been avoiding the big forum favorite scents because I hate a lot of things that it seems like everyone else on the forums loves. For instance, vanilla is the anti-me. (Antique Lace made me want to die.) I also don't really like sugary sweet things much at all. And I'm allergic to aloe, so Embalming Fluid is a no go for me!

 

In my misguided quest to avoid forum favorites, I almost didn't try Morocco. Almost. Fortunately, the Lab sent me a frimp of it and I resigned myself to seeing what the big deal is about it. So without further ado, my review:

 

In the imp: cherry cola. Odd.

 

On me, wet: cherry cola and creamy amber. Oddly delicioius.

 

On me, dry: spicy cherry cola and delicious creamy amber. I know this is not really a foodie scent, but it smells edible on me. Like some extremely delicious otherworldly candy.

 

Throw and duration: above average throw. A little goes a long way, but not so far away that I worry about stinking out other people on the bus. Duration's excellent as well-- I got about 14 hours out of this, which is almost a BPAL record for me. (Makes sense. Amber lasts forever on me.)

 

Overall: hey! Turns out I love this! I guess you lot were right after all. Hanging onto my imp for dear life... maybe someday I'll need a bottle of this.

[alianthe]

In the imp: Sharp, woody, but somewhat creamy, with something... lemony? in there. Seasoning spices are in there, but it's like glimpsing the edge of somebody's clothes around a corner - you know they're there, but they're not actually in the room with you. Very liquid, of medium viscosity for oil. Yes, my *nose* is informing me on viscosity now - it actually smells quite a bit more viscous than the oil actually is. Slightly creamy.

 

On my skin, after drydown, initial impressions: Spicy! Woody! Definitely some muskiness in the background.

 

Several hours drydown time: Spiced vanilla, with a soft glowing wood support. Exotic but comforting, warm and quiet and gently glowing, as if cast in evening sun. 

 

Conclusions: Definitely going on my list to get a bottle!

[ElinaMakropulos]

I really, really wanted to love this one, but it smells overwhelmingly, cloyingly sweet on me...and exceedingly generic, like a Britney Spears perfume or something What the hell, skin?! It also smells, as I pointed out in another thread, like the perfume this gawdawful temp we had at work would wear and so I can't sniff Morocco without thinking of her. I was hoping for something spicy and exotic, what I got was the perfume aisle at Walmart

 

I'm going to give it another try in a couple of months and see how it goes...I'm going to keep my fingers crossed!

[ouch!]

The description of this had me at Hello! I've actually had my imp for ages but am only just using it now.

 

I do have to say though, this smells nothing like I thought it was going to. Completley threw me off. This smells extremley sweet and vaniallry to me, the same vanilla that's in Antique Lace. There is a slight spice/woodsy element, but overall the oil has hardly any throw. Only after re applying a good few times does it start to jump off of my skin.

My chemistry always amps vanilla and I'm not sure if it's in here but this basically smells like a musky vanilla on me!!

 

Even though it doesn't smell like I thought it would. It's still very very nice. If it had more throw I would be buying a bottle of this but, As far as the more "Famous" blends go. This one is a slight dissapointment. I expected more...I don't know if that's hype or not but hey!!

[greenranger]

In the imp, florals and spice? I really can't pick out a note.

 

Wet on me. mmmmmmm. carnation and musk. This is subtle and not as spicy as I had expected.

 

Drying on me, once again, different spots are different flavors. On my wrist, it just vanished, except for a bit of musk. On the back of my hand I smell very faintly the carnations, musk, and spices. My elbow is holding up a little better as I can still smell the carnations and spice there, even if it is fading, or faded, elsewhere.

[veronicafranco]

So sad. I almost can’t comment on this one, because as soon as I put this on, I only smell the musk, and it’s the kind that goes yucky marshmallowy on me. I want spiiiiiiiiice.... I want the dream Morocco experience that some other girls have! sigh.

[hkhm]

imp: sandalwood with a nice whiff of carnation in the background.

 

wet: this is awfully faint on me. a faint spicy sandalwood/floral.

 

dry: was there a scent here? it seems to have vanished! tehre is a faint whiff of sandalwood but other than that the scent seems to have completely dissapated.

[kelpsoda]

I suspect my imp might have been quite old, or from a weak batch. The scent seems to be fading.

 

Wet: Barely anything. Slightly sweet, with a hint of spice, but not much that I can make out.

 

Dry: still a bit sweet. . .. but only if I sniff really, really hard.

[Raqassah]

Initial impression: Spicy musk layered with carnation and sandalwood.

Wet: A warm golden brown smell. As it dries the carnation peeks out. Woodsy carnation – some musk - with a sweet base note. Almost a treacle smell. Spice disappears.Not a huge amount of throw.

Dry down. As before. Later on a faint plastic/synthetic note develops then dissapears.

Final thoughts: Nice but not really me.

[milo]

I really thought I'd like this, as I enjoy all the notes. It is spicy, sweet, exotic, a little foody. The combination of all the particular notes, though doesn't work for me. It reminds me of a commercial perfume, that I can't quite put my finger on.

[Pika]

I'm also getting generic perfume from this. I'm getting very strong vanilla-musk, and not a lot of the other wonderful spices or woods other people mention. I'm very sad, because many of the other spicy blends (Baghdad, Bengal, Scherezade, Seraglio) do nicely on me.

 

This does remind me of Antique Lace, which was unfortunately another well-loved blend that didn't work for me.

[Pamlwell]

Just got an imp of this in the mail and thought I would throw my two cents in here because I seem to sometimes have very different reactions to scents that many forumites would die for. For once, I really agree that this scent is top ten material.

 

Wet in bottle: I agree that this one doesn't really have much scent when wet. It's an interesting quality and one I really love because the initial phase of many blends is a bit much for me.

 

Wet on skin: as soon as it hits my skin the spices begin to unfurl. Not in an overwhelming way, but delicately, like a spiced carnation slowly opening to the sunrise. The scent is still predominantly spice, but I personally get the most carnation during this phase. Super sexy.

 

Dry on skin: The carnation fades into the background at this point. It's still there in the supporting cast, along with the Arabian musk, keeping the spices from being too dry, but the spice takes center stage now. I can see why other reviewers have found this to be a foodie scent: It is very creamy and spicy. For me however, the musk and the carnation maintain enough of a presence as "inedibles" to keep Morocco firmly away from the foodie category for me.

 

I am one of those girls that is wary of incense-y scents and was worried that Morocco might go the way of the head shop for me. Not so. Spicy and sexy without being hippy-ish to my hippy sensitive nose. I also tend to turn a number of scents into soap or powder. Luckily for me, Morocco fell into neither of those two categories. Lovely lovely lovely. I am going to keep testing this over the course of the week to see if anything changes ('cause we have all had that happen), but if Morocco keeps living up to its first impression then this will likely be my first big bottle purchase! Whoo-hoo!

Edited June 20, 2008 by Pamlwell

[idoru]

All I wrote in my little notebook: "OMG yum."

 

This is easily in my top 5 favorite BPAL scents; I'm going to have to buck up and order a bottle. I nearly cried when I managed to lose my imp.

 

It took me forever to figure out what the glorious cloud of scent was -- it's almost entirely carnation on me, backed with spices and musk. It's golden, it's dry, it's.. incomparable. 'OMG yum' pretty much sums it up.

[Andrea912]

Wet: pretty spices, but the musk is so powedery and the sandalwood is a turnoff.

 

Verdict: not for me; too much like incense

[agnusdei]

Oh Morocco, we've been through so much together!

 

When I first read the notes for this, I was head over heels. Carnation with spices? Cassia!? It sounded like the stuff my BPAL dreams are made of. Getting an imp to try first didn't even cross my mind, if Morocco didn't qualify for an unsniffed bottle purchase I have no idea what would. And so I eagerly awaited the arrival of my bottle, expecting to rip the cap off & float away in a cloud of carnations & spice... but I was in for a world of disappointment. Instead of the exotic & spicy carnation musk I was expecting, the bottle smelled faintly of vanilla & nothing else, a dry & sharp scent not unlike a shy & much more grumpy version of Black Lace. Not only was it not what I was expecting, but it smelled downright unappealing, & the dryness was so harsh that it hurt my nose to wear it, like the olfactory version of inhaling sharply through your front teeth. So with my dreams of a perfect carnation & spice scent in the GC shattered, I cellared Morocco in one last hope of getting something remotely wearable out of it. I'd check on it every few weeks, thinking I could smell a change but wondering if maybe I was just imagining it...

 

Four months later, & I'm wearing Morocco 3 or 4 days a week. One day, it just started smelling right, & from then on it has just gotten better & better. There's still a touch of vanilla, but it's a delicate, sweet vanilla that's a far cry from the sharpness it once was. The carnation has finally come out, & it's so gorgeous that it makes all the disappointment & worrying in the beginning totally worth it. It isn't floral so much as it's a spicy & creamy confection of a note, with the smooth, slightly dusty sandalwood & swirls of heated musk & cassia supporting it perfectly. It reminds me of a lighter, more understated version of Hod; it lacks Hod's richness but has that same glowing golden warmth. It's a light scent but it sticks around, and after a few hours of wear it becomes an aura of almost pure carnations on me. Despite the rough start, Morocco is absolutely one of my very favorite scents now... I think it may have even beat out Alice as my #1 GC.