Morocco

[Kay Torres]

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.

I'm trying to figure out what Morocco, O and Snake Oil have in common. I'm tempted to believe it's vanilla, but Morocco doesn't have vanilla listed as a note. I love the idea of this, I truly do and I wanted this to smell like a sexed up version of Bengal. Unfortunately, it just smells like Play Doh. I'm going to try layering this with Bengal to see if I can get anything else out of it.

[Miss Landau]

I think this is gorgeous. Lots of red sandalwood and carnation. I was worried the main spice would be cinnamon, which doesn't really work on me (and seems to cause terrible contact dermatitis) but it smells like vanilla.

[lizabelle]

Gorgeous! On me this is a soft, musky sandalwood/vanilla (although I'm not entirely sure if there's actually vanilla in here). This will probably sound bizarre to some people, but this smells exactly like the aged bottle of Dior Addict I have--not sure exactly how old that juice is, but it's old enough to have turned brown and smells like a soft vanilla/sandalwood cloud on me and lasts about 16 hours (yes, really). Somehow this is a dead ringer for it, which means that when I run out I won't have to worry about reformulations or whatever. I'll just stock up on Morocco!

[sisterbastard]

Oh, Morocco. What to say about you, you beautiful, elusive minx.

 

First impression: One of the best things I've ever smelled, I think. Vanilla perfectly balanced by spice and dry woods. Gorgeous.

 

Wet: Spices and sandalwood to the forefront wet; just a hint of a rougher edge, but not much. Why am I getting vanilla? There isn't any vanilla in the notes.

 

Dry: (I'm sticking by my vanilla mis-translation.) Dries to an incredible spiced vanilla: beautiful, balanced, warm, comforting like a blanket straight out of the dryer. Can't stop sniffing my wrists, and honestly my imp is almost gone and I've already ordered a full bottle. That's how good this is. How much of it is due to the sandalwood, carnation, cassia, or anything else, I have no idea. This is a terrible review! But Morocco is life.

[slyvanestra]

Immediately I get spices and incense, and something creamy. Maybe it's carnation. But something is deepening it. Whatever it is, it's lovely and smooth, and a really comforting scent, in its own way.

 

Cardamom keeps coming to mind. Maybe in the spice notes. Or maybe that's the cassia, since I don't think I've ever smelled it on its own before.

[roseus]

Well I've been wearing this scent for I don't know, seven or eight years now, so maybe I should review it? As much as I swoon over other scents that come into my life, Morocco is my soulmate. It's comforting and familiar but still always excites me.

 

In the bottle: a low vanilla-sandalwood, toasty and slightly musky.

 

Wet: Spicy carnation, musk, and spices (cardamom? cassia too, but just a little) and sandalwood.

 

Dry: Creamy vanilla base (which gets super apparent with 4-5 years of aging), and a beautiful cloud of carnation, sandalwood, and musk. The spices give it a hot arid scent. I swear to god it smells like a breeze coming off a baking dune.

[Lucchesa]

I wanted to adore this because it is so beloved, and these notes should be fantastic on me. And tragically on my skin it smells like those coca cola bottlecap candies that were a thing when I was a kid. SO disappointing.

[goldentipyunnan]

I actually purchased this scent for someone who loves spicy scents, but I may just keep it for myself and give them something more spicy. In the bottle, I mostly smell sweet sandalwood. The spices are really toned down to me, in fact I would consider this one of the least spicy perfumes I have tried from BPAL. That being said, I really love it! It dries down into a lovely, smooth, warm amber scent. To me, it feels quite wintery so I probably won't be using it much this summer, but I'm excited to wear it more in the colder months. My only gripe with this scent is that it doesn't seem to last very long. After about 1 hour of sitting at my desk, I can't smell it anymore. If I'm out walking around or exercising, it disappears almost immediately. I don't mind re-applying throughout the day though, it makes me feel very luxurious.

[Shadowdawn]

How have I never reviewed my most favorite BPAL scent?! One that I have had and loved since 2008! In fact, it is one of the most comforting things I own-- a tiny, little, beat up imp from 2008. I just realized that this imp has almost been aged an entire decade! Woah.

 

I don't know how to describe how much I love this one. It smells of a home that I can't place, that I've been without having gone to. Of summer sunsets in markets, baking, old gods, and familiarity. It is ephemeral and almost esoteric for me. It is sexy, spicy, comforting, and sweet. It is both exotic and homey somehow. It is a smell of a place, and a time, and the sunlight filtering through warm wood shutters, of shared laughter and exotic nibbles. Like the drapes pulled back on a fortune teller's tent to reveal a smoky crystal orb.

 

At this point it is so well blended that there is not a single individual spice or floral note I can pick up-- not even cinnamon, but it smells like hot, fragrant desert breath just coming off of an oasis with many date trees, a few lush blooms, and a procession of old priests burning incense while they carry offertory cakes. It is a *toasted* vanilla/sandalwood//incense/dry petal blanket that I want to wrap up in. And yet there is something feminine and 'human' about it too. Hard to describe honestly.

 

Edit to add that the final drydown for me comes the next day, after a shower (with unscented soap), and that it settled into a creamy toasted vanilla/lightest caramel, sun-baked dusty blooms of deliciousness. Ultra feminine and soft, yet alluring, with very toned down 'spice' quality.

Edited June 29, 2017 by Phox

[achildoftime]

It's sweeter than I was expecting. It reminds me of cream soda, but it's been dusted with cinnamon. I get some nice warmth from it as well, but there's some vanilla in this that just makes my nose unhappy. Vanilla almost always goes to some sort of baked good or over-the-top sweets on me. I can see that it's a really wonderful blend, but it's just not for me.

[fizzbangdangcharade]

Spicy and sweet, a milky vanilla peppered with a blend of spice. Like homemade chai steeped in honeyed cream. I’m instantly transported to a shaded, intimate space who’s only light comes from the blazing sun streaming in through the doors; the air thick with cloying incense and the spices from the market outside. Occasionally, when the wind shifts just right, it blows the soft scent of flowers across your face.

This is a beautifully warm scent. The balance of vanilla, spice, and floral is just right on my skin where it isn’t ‘too much.’ I do wish it was less vanilla more spice (on me vanilla is the slightly stronger of the scents) but the spice and floral cut the vanilla enough where it smells less like I spilled vanilla extract on myself and more like I might have a nice warm vanilla milk chai sitting just out of sight. This one if very close on me, so you have to be standing next to me to smell it at all. It also blends nicely with my usual soaps (tea tree/mint and peppermint) so that it doesn’t get buried (or clash unpleasantly.) I only wish it stayed as spicy dry on me as it does when wet. When wet, it feels less ‘cozy tea drinking near a temple’ and more ‘stand on a dune in the warm summer sun.’

In the bottle: spicy floral- like cinnamon sticks shoved into a lovely bouquet of flowers, set up next to a burning stick of incense.
Wet: Smoky vanilla, bright spice, a floral note that isn’t super floral.

Dry-down: The spice comes out front and center, the vanilla burning in the background. The florals receding.

Dry: Still obvious vanilla, but now more of the floral is coming through. Overall picture a bouquet of red cassia sitting on your desk next to a steaming mug of vanilla chai from the little coffee place down the street.

Weirdly, I notice this gets more vanilla the colder out it is. I'm not sure if it's just the way the smell of the air changes up here in the north when it gets cold, or my skin drying out from the sudden lack of moisture that comes with winter, but the warmer it is the more spice I get.

[CitrusFiend]

This scent is very well blended, such that it's hard to tell exactly what I'm smelling. No one note sticks out above the rest. Overall it smells warm, dry, sweet and a little spicy. Exactly what I imagine Morocco smells like. Nice, I really like it.

[Aveya]

I often browse reviews as I contemplate my review. Morocco I know I've tried before and yet always think I haven't. Because the notes and the way people talk about this makes it seem like it should Rival Bengal in "Spice". But it does not. If you're on the hunt for IN YOUR FACE SPICE SCENTS this one will not scratch that itch.

 

 

homemade chai steeped in honeyed cream.

 

That is exactly this scent, just the dry-version.

 

On my skin this just feels... odd. wrong. Something is just tweaked a little off in the wrong direction. Like almost sour milk but not quite there. I think the "warm musk" + sandalwood just isn't sitting right either in my nose or on my skin. Oh well.

Edited April 15, 2018 by Aveya

[Miss_Unicorn]

Oh wow, this is quite lovely.

In the wet phase, the carnation threatens to go soapy, and there seems to be a risk of "too incensy" and "too sweet" tor my liking. I decided not to wash it off because of all the good reviews I've read, and it paid off! I kept stopping what I was doing to sniff my wrist...

On drydown, it warms up to sandalwood with spices, warm and golden. It smells like something mysterious and delicious waiting just around the corner. It is quite sweet, but the sweetness is balanced out by the spices. I was surprised that vanilla isn't listed as an ingredient, but perhaps vanilla's obscure Arabian cousin is hiding in there somewhere? I can see why others have made comparisons with Snake Oil, but this is way lighter.

Later, it reminds me of middle-eastern baked sweets, but without being foody. I agree with paperdoll, it does smell like a tasty exotic baked good one moment and a tasty exotic seductress the next.

Some people have mentioned Marocco disappearing almost immediately, and I was afraid that my skin might eat it right up, since it does that with a lot of blends. But no; it's two hours later and it's still going strong!

Verdict: Delicious. I know I'm going to love this even more in winter! I will be cherishing my imp, but not sure if I'll get a bottle.

Edited July 31, 2018 by Miss_Unicorn

[Ghost of a Rose]

Frimp from a BPAL retailer.

 

In the imp: Lovely! Vanilla, but not too foody. With spices and incense.

 

On me, wet: A flowery vanilla, about half and half. I can also pick up the musk. With spice and incense in the background.

 

At 5 minutes: This is totally surprising me. Vanilla is my death note, but I love this! The equally strong carnation keeps it from being foody, and all the other notes - I am getting them all! - make it interesting.

 

At 10 minutes, the carnation is winning over the vanilla. This is so smooth. Every note in this loves every other note. Creamy, too. Catch me before I swoon!

 

At 15 minutes: I spoke too soon. Or maybe they just get along so well that they are politely taking turns. It's vanilla's turn now. I'm swooning.

 

At 30 minutes: Carnation is now in the background, and the vanilla is lighter, but still the main event. Musk is coming out for a turn, though.

 

At 1 hour: I am reminded of a delicious creamy rice pudding with cinnamon sprinkled on top. But there is enough musk and incense on the side to prevent this from being a foody scent overall.

 

At 2 hours: Faded some, but still vanilla with a touch of floral, musk, spice, and incense. It has gone a little powdery, as musk always does eventually on my skin, but I don't mind a bit because it is such a beautiful powder.

 

After 4 or 5 hours, it dies down to a soft baby powder with just a trace of vanilla lingering.

 

Verdict: I'm gobsmacked! I hate vanilla! Vanilla in perfumes is one of my pet peeves! But here is an emphatically vanillic perfume that has made it to my shortlisted favorites list. It goes to show, there really is no such thing as a death note. Beth can always surprise us!

 

I tried this immediately after Silk Road - Resurrected in order to compare the two, because so many people mentioned this in their reviews of both versions of Silk Road. This one is by far my favorite, but really they are so different it's like comparing apples and oranges. This is vanilla, Silk Road is cinnamon. My conclusion is that I am glad to have both! All three, actually. Because there's also Baghdad, which is orange (mandarin and bergamot.). The florals are different, too: Morocco is carnation, Silk Road is magnolia (champaca), and Baghdad is Bulgar rose. All three have Middle Eastern spices and incense.

 

Morocco is unexpectedly soft, gentle, and feminine. It's a harem, rather than a bazaar full of men doing business and smoking hookahs. Baghdad evokes the sense of place best, for me. I think it's the orange notes.

 

6 out of 6 stars

Edited September 6, 2018 by Ghost of a Rose