Andy Tauer was born in Switzerland and trained as a chemist. He worked as a molecular biologist with a PhD and spent time in IT, making perfume at home as a hobby. In 2005 he left science and founded Tauer Perfumes in Zurich as a one-man operation. A year later he started a blog that opened his working process to customers.
He writes formulas in Excel and mixes them in a former guest room at home. Natural materials carry much of the weight, so trial versions rest for days before he smells them, and a new perfume usually takes one to two years. Everything is handmade in small batches. Tauer Perfumes Le Maroc pour Elle, composed in 2005, came first. Tauer Perfumes Lonestar Memories is smoky leather with birch tar, Tauer Perfumes Incense Rosé sets rose against incense and myrrh, and Tauer Perfumes PHI Une Rose de Kandahar pairs rose with apricot and tobacco.
Tauer Perfumes L'Air du Désert Marocain was his second perfume and the one he is best known for. It is an eau de toilette intense: coriander, cumin and petitgrain on top, rock rose and jasmine at the heart, then cedar, vetiver and an ambergris accord. The result is a dry, smoky amber. Perfumes: The A-Z Guide gave it five stars.
