Translate

Thursday 24 October 2013

Shopping in Tangier: the Madini perfume shop

If you want to buy perfume in Tangier, there is only one address: Madini Oriental Perfumes. You can smell the perfumes from down the street and once inside you are in perfume paradise. You can't leave Tangier without having at least looked (and smelled) inside. Trouble is, you will not be able to come out empty-handed. 

The history of the Madini oils begins with the Hariri, an eminent Saudi Arabian family who were perfumers and silk traders for centuries in the city of Medina. When Moulay Hafid, a Moroccan sultan, married into the Hariri family around the turn of the century, several members of the Hariri family came to Tangier where they established an enduring reputation for producing the finest perfumes. There they were known as the Madinis, meaning "the ones who came from Medina". (quoted from http://eu.simplynatural.se)


Si vous voulez acheter du parfum à Tanger, une seule adresse: Madini Parfums Orientaux. La rue entière sent le parfum et une fois à l'intérieur, on se trouve dans un paradis olfactif  On ne peut pas quitter Tanger sans avoir au moins vu (et senti) l'intérieur du magasin. Le seul problème est qu'il est difficile de repartir sans craquer pour quelque chose.

L'histoire des Madini commence par les Hariri, une famille éminente d'Arabie Saoudite, qui étaient des parfumeurs et des marchands de soie dans la ville de Medina. Lorsque Moulay Hafid, un sultan marocain, épousa une fille de la famille Hariri au début du siècle dernier, plusieurs membres de la famille Hariri vinrent s'installer à Tanger se faisant une réputation de parfumeurs hors-pair. Ils furent surnommés les Madinis, ce qui veut dire "ceux qui viennent de Medina". (d'après http://eu.simplynatural.se)




The store windows give you an idea of what awaits inside: antique glass and christal perfume containers, an antique copper perfume distiller, soaps and jewelled perfume bottles.
Les devantures donnent une idée de ce qui vous attend à l'intérieur: énormes vases en verre et cristal remplie de parfum, alambic ancien en cuivre, savons et bouteilles ciselées.



On the top shelf all around the shop walls are huge glass jugs containing the basic extracts that are mixed together to make different perfumes: rose, vanilla, lemon, violet, fern, musc and so many others.
Sur l'étagère supérieure le long des quatre murs du magasin se trouvent les essences servant à faire les mélanges de parfums: rose, vanille, violette, citron, musc et fougère pour n'en citer que quelques unes.


 Madini makes perfumes "inspired" by well known perfumes. A list of those well known names with their Madini number equivalent is ready for customers.
Madini "s'inspire" de parfums connus du monde entier. On vous présente une liste de ces parfums avec leur équivalent numéraire afin de faciliter votre choix.
.

Soaps are for sale. I love the jasmine scented ones.
Il y a des myriades de savons à tous les parfums possibles. Je recommande celui au jasmin.


Images: Joelle desparmet

5 comments:

  1. Sou do Brasil, Sao Paulo, estive na perfumaria Madine no inicio do mes, trouxe alguns frascos de algumas fragrâncias, simplesmente MARAVILHOSOS, quero comprar mais. Como devo fazer

    ReplyDelete
  2. pode informar se existe loja em marrakech

    ReplyDelete
  3. How can i purchase madini perfume oils in the US? The company talisman seems to be out of business and from whom I have been ordering for years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Try asking here: https://www.facebook.com/Madini.Parfum/.
      I came to this page with the same question, having just run across some old papers from Talisman, including a few scent samples which had held their wonderful fragrance for over 25 years! That says something about their quality.

      Delete
  4. These perfumes are not over powering as cheap perfumes can be, and you do get what you pay for with a Vera Wang perfume. Parfum Halloween


    ReplyDelete