Eau d'Épices
Tauer (2010)

One of the things that fascinates me about Tauer perfumes is the way that you can sense the notes that you can't precisely smell lurking in the background. It's like walking into a fantastic house. You'll probably spend your time admiring the precision of the joinery in the custom-built kitchen cabinets and the polished, seamless floor, and never think about all the effort that want into laying the foundation and doing the framing; but without the care lavished on those hidden elements the perfection that you can see would be impossible.

The fragrance is rich, opulent and full of nuances of incense, amber, orange blossom and spices. The flowery notes up top maintain the spiciness depth and the woody, sticky, wonderfully incensey-ambery, goo lower down just goes on, and on and on. For me, Eau d'Épices, dry down is the best part of this challenging journey. I can't imagine fancying a man wearing that but it might work as a contrast on a rugged masculine type. For the confident wearer, not someone who is afraid of offending. This is for the person who stands pridefully, and wants to smell luxurious, knows he/she smells luxurious, but it's just another day.

It opens in a feminine way with beautiful, fat flowers and evolves towards the masculine side with musk-associated notes. You get the spices, of course, but instead of being brown, they mix into shades of green and blue. They get fresh.

Eau d'Épices seems to have come and gone rather quickly – at least I presume it's gone as it is no longer listed for sale on the Tauer site. It's a bit contrary to the expectations raised by its name as the spices seem covered by a cooling, starchy layer of orris-violet waxiness. These are not warming spices, they feel distant, locked up and a bit old. What does burst into life is a juicy orange blossom, redolent of high summer and light. And, indeed, in Eau d'Épices's trail this is what others will smell, something golden and floral, a bit clean and soapy, with an accent of amber. This is an appealing olfactory halo to carry around, though the experience on skin is not as transparent.
The spices and a touch of seaside skin courtesy of the ambergris give the feel of a Caron-like base, which should glow like a hearth from the core of this perfume, but there seems also to be a constant damping down of it that ages the scent profile somewhat. It sits a bit uneasily with the florals and is bridged somewhat by some incense smoke and shavings of dry wood bark.
At which point this reviewer was guilty of staring at the pixels and ignoring the picture, because if one stops analyzing the architecture, real or imagined, one is in the presence of a breezy, orange blossom-led perfume, with a good presence and a burble of complexity in the background to keep things interesting but lighter than most Tauer creations. That, actually, is more than enough.

The opening is an intriguing mix of coriander, cinnamon, and cardamom - a unexpectedly gentle and elegant spice mix that is the antithesis of the usual heavy Oriental spice bombs. There is an airiness about this, and the lack of any ceremonial - temple or high mass - feeling is notable.

This lovely spicy introduction is further enhanced by an overarching mandarin-based citrus layer that is not the crisp and fresh type, but more a warmly glowing version.

Later in the drydown a nigh-herbal woodsy note combines with a brighter cistus impression, and whiffs of vanilla - lightened up by a fairly restrained and clean vetiver - provide further variation. Closer to the end a light mild powderiness is present on my skin.

I get moderate sillage, good projection and an excellent ten hours of longevity on my skin.

This a light, unstuffy incense creation that is probably not great on hot summer days, but is suitable for most other climes, seasons and occasions - a very versatile scent. Unlike many other products of this house this fragrance is not mostly synthesized in laboratories, but contains good natural ingredients and is well blended. Tauer proves he can leave the trodden path. 3.25/5

Eau d'Epices is my favourite Tauer's stuff.
It opens with dry spice notes, like cumin, clove, pepper, cinnamon. Overall a dry leather accord Very nice..
i like this dry, dusty feel! Not a powerful intrusive scent, but with a soft and natural body.
The woody-amber drydown gets a beautiful skin scent!
My 2011 summer scent!

This smells extremely natural and at the same time fabulous.
It is not a powerhouse and tends to woo you softly. Excellent longevity and keeps getting better. If you are around people who are easily offended by fragrances, this may work. It can be appreciated by sophisticates and beginners alike. Deceptively simple, if the bottle I ordered yesterday was here, it would be on me now.