Tauer Perfumes Decants

One perfumer, one bench, and some of the most quoted indie scents ever made.

Andy Tauer composes and bottles everything himself in Zurich, which is why the house feels so consistent and so personal. L’Air du Désert Marocain is the one everyone arrives for, a dry cedar and ambery incense that reads like heat coming off stone, and it is still the benchmark for the whole indie category.

Origin Zurich, Switzerland
Founded 2005
Known for L’Air du Désert Marocain
Here 1 fragrance

Tauer Perfumes L'Air du Desert Marocain pentagon cobalt bottle on cream, resinous amber niche perfume decant

Tauer Perfumes L’Air du Désert Marocain

From $14.00

Founder: Andy Tauer
Concept: Self-taught Zurich perfumery, made by hand

01

From the lab and the office

Andy Tauer is a chemist by training and a molecular biologist with a PhD, and he came to perfume from a job in IT. Mixing scents began as a hobby and turned serious when his first perfume landed on a shelf in a bookstore. Tauer Perfumes started in Zurich in 2005 as a one-man operation. His first fragrance was Tauer Le Maroc pour Elle, composed that year, and Tauer L'Air du Désert Marocain was his second. He has written a blog about his work for years.

02

Cistus, rose and a Moroccan night

Tauer works with a large share of natural materials and leans on cistus for its woody, balsamic depth, with rose and jasmine to refine it. Tauer L'Air du Désert Marocain pictures warm air on a Moroccan night: coriander, cumin and petitgrain over cistus and jasmine, settling into cedar, vetiver and an ambergris accord. Tania Sanchez gave it five stars in Perfumes: The A-Z Guide. Lonestar Memories, Incense Rosé, Une Rose Chyprée and Dark Passage sit beside it in the range.

03

Filled and labelled in Zurich

Every Tauer perfume is created by Andy Tauer and made by hand in Zurich. He writes formulas in a spreadsheet, top notes to base, mixes trials in a former guest room and lets them rest for days because of the naturals; most scents take one to two years. The glass is handmade in Spain, the labels are made in Germany and applied by hand in Zurich, the caps are genuine Bakelite from Silac in Switzerland, and the boxes are Swiss made by Vögeli on FSC certified board.