Soir de Marrakech (Eau de Parfum) by Benchaâbane

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Soir de Marrakech Benchaâbane 2004 Eau de Parfum

8.0 / 10 282 Ratings

A popular perfume by Benchaâbane for women and men, released in 2004. The scent is oriental-sweet. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Oriental

Sweet

Spicy

Powdery

Floral

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Lime

Heart Notes

Patchouli

Vanilla

Orange blossom Jasmine

Jasmine

Base Notes

Amber

Musk

Sandalwood

Perfumer

Abderrazzak Benchaâbane

Ratings

Scent

8.0282 Ratings

Longevity

7.6223 Ratings

Sillage

6.5217 Ratings

Bottle

6.6184 Ratings

Value for money

6.317 Ratings

Submitted by Louce · last update on 09/21/2024.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Soir de Marrakech Eau de Toilette

Black Amber

Ambre

Blue Amber

Ambra Aurea

Ambre 114

Reviews

22 in-depth fragrance descriptions

07/23/2023

4Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

MrsGuerlain
614 Reviews

MrsGuerlain

To me no camels…

The name of this one makes me expect a total North African market feeling - with the camels, spices, colours and all. I expected amber and strong flowernotes. But that was not what I got.
The top note is lime. For 2-3 minutes I can smell this but the vanilla in this scent is so strong that it soon takes over the whole scene. A bit like Dior Addict, the vanilla bomb. It is definitely a lovely, warm and sweet vanilla, so I am not disappointed. No orange, no Jasmine and no patchouli on my skin. I sense the base weakly, mostly the sandalwood, but right to the very end it is vanilla that dominates.
I see that this is a popular scent and I am not saying that it is the opposite. But personally, I would pick Dior Addict.
12/365

Updated on 07/23/2023

10/06/2015

7Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Meggi
1018 Reviews

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Meggi

Top Review 32

With Usage Alternative

Green lemon sounds like a sour threat at the start. It’s not quite that intense. I would have guessed bergamot; the citrus note is oddly restrained, hardly fruity, but rather sour-astringent-fuzzy. Life is tough in the desert.

After a few minutes, a wax note emerges. That it later becomes amber is only hinted at initially; for now, it simply reminds me (at least) of wax. Additionally, jasmine and orange blossom blend together to create a kind of honey impression, and consequently, in the first hour, I think more of "Soir de Waldorf Christmas Market": orange blossom honey, more floral than sweet, along with natural wax scented candles.

It smells almost tasty, yet it remains sufficiently distant from dessert thoughts - thanks to the dry-bitter wax, which is very present for one to two hours and mixes nicely with the floral honey note. The remaining citrus residue adds a certain zing, a small portion of freshness. This makes the scent surprisingly airy, despite the heavy other elements.

Amber (especially; for now, it has fully come out) and musk (a bit more restrained) fit perfectly as a statement after three hours, being drawn into the floral-oriental by a barely detectable orange alongside jasmine in white floral harmony. Additionally, there’s a considerable portion of somewhat bitter vanilla, which is thankfully present. Everything feels a bit artificial by now, but it is very pleasant to wear. Very close to the skin. Like a cocoon.

By noon, we are dealing with an amber-vanilla scent, only slightly soured. The amber note eventually becomes caramel-like and gourmand in the afternoon, yet it consistently retains its waxy character, which prevents anything worse from happening, even into the evening.

My wife was quite taken with the scent and immediately had a usage alternative ready: “Definitely also a great room fragrance. Smells like honey, candles, gingerbread...” (sic!). I can’t expect more from her regarding scents from this corner.

I thank Ergreifend for the sample.

06/11/2015

9Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Ergreifend
529 Reviews

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Ergreifend

Top Review 23

The quieter you are, the more you can hear.

- An old Chinese wisdom.

And here it holds true - the quieter you are, the more you can perceive from the scent.

Soir de Marrakech is a wonderful oriental fragrance that presents itself very warmly. It also has a passionate character and is extremely generous. I was merged with it all day long. In somewhat muggy, noticeably oppressive temperatures. Yet it doesn’t weigh me down further, but surrounds me with its gentle nature. It’s a hit, even in the not always so cold temperatures. You can also catch a hint of dryness, which brings me great joy. A lot has already been said about this fragrance, and I can only echo what others have said. Soir de Marrakech is a noble, high-quality oriental that shows fine nuances of powder, crossed with beautiful spices. It is warm right from the application, although distinctly marked. However, this initial marked character quickly settles, and Soir de Marrakech becomes warm and powdery, accompanied by hot air, where spices and flowers mingle.

Jasmine is notably precise here, as it is by no means overbearing and does not overwhelm anyone. Vanilla gradually joins in, making the fragrance noticeably denser. The mentioned dryness comes to mind repeatedly, even though the scent is bursting with warmth.
It seems like a forbidden fruit to some.
For others, it is the secret that lies behind the thick doors of the East.
And very few feel no heart skips when they let the scent seep into their skin.

You must be completely still when you savor Soir de Marrakech.
Understand the scent.
Enjoy its warmth to the fullest.
Occasionally absorb the dryness.
Turn off your thoughts. Just leave them aside.
Let yourself drift through the East.
Hour after hour.
Finally, land softly on the warm sandy ground.

For me, the scent is a lovely companion for the entire season. I will also dab it discreetly behind my ear in the height of summer! Indeed - it is not a powerhouse and not a scent that is so strong that you constantly have trouble with it. I would say it is average. While it is dense, it does not have the strength of a bull that pulls everything forward with immense force. Nevertheless, I know that some classify the scent as very strong and would never wear it in summer or spring. Of course, everyone should decide for themselves. I also belong to the species of people who let their skin be anointed with No. 02 - L'Air du Désert Marocain in extremely hot temperatures. A delight in itself!

This also applies to Soir de Marrakech.
It easily lasts up to 12 hours. The sillage is somewhat reserved, but still present.
I pile compliments onto the freight elevator of my ego :D
Some are enchantingly taken with me, while others are noticeably irritated.

08/14/2011

9Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Louce
138 Reviews

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Louce

Top Review

Tadelaktamber marrakchia

The scent comes from Marrakech, is called "Soir de Marrakech," and plays in the amber league... that I had to sniff it was a logical conclusion.

And indeed, the substance immediately transports me directly to Marrakech - however, not to the spice, leather, or wood-carving souk, nor to the bustling activity in Djemaa el Fna, or on a typical riad rooftop terrace of the Medina during the dry evening heat, to smoke a water pipe with mint-extreme-sugar tea and blow rings over the loud, colorful, and fragrant evening...
... but rather into the tadelakt bathroom of a chic kasbah, where henna-tattooed skin is washed, oiled, and dressed in something silky to then engage in more private matters.

The reference to tadelakt is not just an atmospheric image I conjure up, but actually descriptive of the scent.
Tadelakt is a Moroccan typical smooth clay plaster that is often used in bathrooms. Aside from being super pretty, this plaster has a distinctive effect on bathroom activities and their smell: There is absolutely none of that clinical fresh hygiene that is possible in a white-tiled bathroom. Everything, but really everything, smells more natural, material, tactile, somehow denser and richer, regardless of whether you use Aleppo soap or citrus, aquatic, or soap-musk-like clean scents. A tadelakt bath feels very clean but breathes noticeably and somehow creates a very unique air - especially with the sometimes high humidity in a "wet cell."
This corresponds very much to a quality that amber can have: When amber is imagined as very dull, matte, wet-powdery, and tactilely "solid" and "flat," I call it "tadelakt amber." And such a one is here the main character and perfectly captured, as I have not smelled anywhere else.
To develop and unfold, SdM initially starts with a fulminant, not at all green sweet lemon and then lightly dances to a fruity-oriental staged orange-orange blossom-jasmine combo, which is super clearly dusted with cocoa powder not listed above (zero chocolatey, very unsweet-dark cocoa). On this fruit-flower-oriental-cocoa parquet, a velvety-sandy-warm amber now takes voluminous steps.
Very beautiful, very unique, very marrakchia (= originating from Marrakech).
After just an hour and a half, the tadelakt amber magic is over, leaving a very down-to-earth, "normal" appearing amber that has a strong vanilla-like quality in the base. This lingers long and well.

I discovered SdM at the Parfumo meeting.
A beautifully precious scent that evokes not only images of Marrakech but also memories of a wonderful July 30.

EDIT 10/2012: After a conversation with the perfumer Abderrazak Benchaâbane, I know a little more about SdM: It uses real ambregris (the secretion of sperm whales that has inspired synthetic amber fragrance materials). The porous-powdery yet simultaneously firm-smooth quality of the note is due to the natural amber, which nowadays is hardly ever found in perfume. The cocoa impression mentioned above arises from patchouli. (cf.: http://www.parfumo.de/blog/2012/10/16/von-garten-sehnsucht-und-duft-ronin-und-louce-zu-besuch-bei-abderrazak-benchaabane/)

12/06/2012

10Scent

FrauHolle
556 Reviews

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FrauHolle

Top Review 20

Not of This World.

So that Louce doesn't have to rave and praise all alone, and rightly so, I’ll join in, out of conviction, to sing the praises for this, God knows, excellent super-amber fragrance.
And when I say super-amber, I mean above-and-beyond amber.
The one that greets you in the head, has come to stay in the drydown, and keeps giving little paws in your throat and brain.

We all know by now that perfumes from Chanel and Guerlain don’t come from France, just as the Bonds and Marc Jacobs don’t come from America;
All, all perfumes actually come from Holzminden.

But wait! With Les Parfums Du Soleil, it’s different (and this has nothing to do with one’s own horizon) Soir de Marrakech truly does not come from this world.

More reviews

Statements

42 short views on the fragrance

Hermesh

10 years ago

8Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

Much amber, vanilla, delicately spiced, later slightly fresh. But exciting is the floral note: although discreet, it's fine and beautiful.

Yatagan

5 years ago

7.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

The scent caused a little hype here years ago (2013): not without reason! Ambered musk base, woody-floral heart.

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Camey5000

5 years ago

6Scent

Orange-gray.
Swamp little green.
Mud little brown.
Heavy without glow.
Starfish so old.
Balm only cold.
Back to the sea
Gives nothing in return.

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Gold

5 years ago

8.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

A competitor for Shalimar. And the opening is excellent. I've never been to Marrakech. But now I'm here. And I want to stay longer.

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Unchaned

4 years ago

10Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Floating bright amber powder that slowly swirls into the heart. In the background, Chet Baker's 'My Funny Valentine' (The Last Great Concert)

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Shaking

5 years ago

6Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

In the Christmas bakery..
Cookie dough with orange extract, plus a bit of vanillin and a hint of soap brittle.
Only the kids like it..

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Ergoproxy

5 years ago

9Scent 7.5Longevity 6Sillage

Funny that I didn't like it during the first test. A great scent focused on amber. The rest just rounds it out.

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Greenfan1701

2 years ago

7.5Scent 7Longevity

Definitely has something of gingerbread, candied orange peel, soft vanilla; fits well in the Advent season, so I have to wait a bit, will test it again then.

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Serenissima

1 year ago

8Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Patchoulidämmern: Warm vanilla, sprinkled with orange blossoms, wrapped in white jasmine sensuality; spicy, woody, creamy, awakening evening and the Orient.

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