Cuir Infrarouge Maison Crivelli 2024

Cuir InfraRouge is one of the more complex fragrances in the leather-raspberry category. It's bitter, fruity and animalic, but also sweet, comforting and of course leathery. I have to applaud its boldness, despite preferring Jordi's more elegant blends, e.g. Oud Stallion.

The opening is a mixture of sour citruses, spices and suede, giving off a sexy animalic tinge. This is balanced by a jammy raspberry note which brings some sweetness, while cinnamon and orris make the leather smoother with their powdery, almost dusty nuances.

Similarly to other MC extraits, Cuir InfraRouge's loud projection calms down after an hour and starts settling into a skin scent. I get dry woodiness from cedar and gentle oud accord, accompanied by sweet facets of tonka bean and vanilla. The deep drydown reminds me of "London (Extrait de Parfum) | Widian / AJ Arabia" and Emporio Armani - Stronger With You Leather.

I've found the claims about longevity to be greatly exaggerated. Maybe it's because vanilla doesn't work too well with my skin chemistry, but I get 8 hours at best. While that's decent, it's nowhere as potent as Oud Maracujá or Oud Cadenza.

All things considered, it's a well-executed blend. Despite the sweet and "generic" drydown, the first hour will satisfy leather and citrus afficionados alike. It's bold enough to stand out and keep the wearer's attention, but the fruitiness makes it very approachable.

Alright, Cuir InfraRouge, this fragrance is a RIDE, and I’m ready to explain what it’s all about…

Being a Selfridges exclusive right now and me living in Alaska, USA. I found this was quite hard for me to acquire, but after finding a 5ml piccolo on eBay I jumped on it before it disappeared.
Understanding this profile requires some context of Crivelli’s “Defining Adventure”: Created out of the passion for Thibaud Crivelli’s love of leather, he combines this note with memories of nights spent with friends at night clubs over his favorite cocktail, a Raspberry Daiquiri.
And I think he and Jordi translated these themes well into a very punchy, clubbing/night-out profile fragrance.
Of course, as per usual with all the Crivelli extraits, the longevity of this scent persisted well over the 15hr mark on skin (I usually measure 17-18 on me), with a very strong sillage for the first 4-5hrs – after which it seems to linger around conversation distance, then dies to just above skin (maybe 3-4”). And of course it’s Crivelli prices, at 247€/50ml if I recall, but I’ve never needed more than one spray of any of the extraits so, it would go quite far.

As to the profile itself? An opening thick of a synthetic raspberry note hits my nose, it’s intense (like very intense), and it fills the space around you. Following just behind the raspberry, a spicy-citric-animalistic aroma begins to slither into the mix. Cinnamon, mandarin, touches of bergamot, and a ‘clean’ animalistic note – combine into this warm “fuzzy” musky aroma (no fecal facets in this at all), that oscillates between the warmth of spices and the brighter effervescent citruses. This profile is quite odd in the opening I’ll admit, there’s a quality to it that kinda makes me shudder in delight (reminding me of Patchouli Magnetik). The juxtaposition of the stark synthetic fruitiness to these spicy-woody-animalistic notes, is a little eyebrow raising. This sharp fruitiness does taper down to a deep red raspberry note, but the first 1hr or so is very juicy and mouthwatering (read: synthetic).
The “signature” (if you want to call it thus) Crivelli Oud accord is present in the base of this, it’s not as overwhelmingly pungent as Oud Maracujá in construction, but it’s not completely vapid from the aroma either. It’s mixed with the balsamic notes of the Tonka and gourmand notes of the vanilla beside it quite well, softening the Oud out making it very palatable.
Now the leather note… Yes, it’s very much a suede leather note, a little fuzzy, supple, and a light touch of orris root adds just a smidge of powdery earthiness to the dry down, making the leather smell very soft and plush. The leather, spice, and animalistic notes are really–really seducing in my opinion, it screams “smell me”.
The far–far dry down, I mainly smell lingering orris powder, vanilla, and some balsamic woodiness. A little simplistic, but at this point it’s quite literally the next day, you’re going to shower anyway, and put something new on.

This scent is, very Crivelli and very Jordi Fernández. If you’ve sampled either of their work or collaborations and didn’t like them? I’d find it hard to say you’d like this Crivelli/Fernández collab.
But if you’re wanting a fruity-Oud, and a strangely… seductively animalistic profile? Give this a sample if you can! It’s hard to acquire right now or sample if you’re outside the UK, at least until it’s made available on their website. Which, I feel will happen eventually? The previously released Oud Stallion, was a Harrods Exclusive on launch, but was later brought to their [Crivelli’s] web store.
I managed to get a BNIB manufacture 5ml on eBay for around USD$46, to me? Well worth it. This scent fits between The Oud Trilogy, but really it should’ve been released as part of the Collection Particulière, it’s [[just]] special enough to me that – I wouldn’t have blinked twice had it been announced as such.
I really–really want a full bottle of this…

sweet candied raspberry not a tart raspberry a sweet one.with a really nice vanilla and a sweet subtle floral note, and a subtle oud with leather and some woods. this scent is sweet, woody, leather, fruity, a REALLY subtle syrupy medicinal, spicy, clean animalics, I like to layer it with oud marcuja to make it one of the most peak party scents it is absolutely amazing fragrances!!!

I own four by Maison Crivelli and Cuir Infrarouge is one of my favourites from them. I have a bit of a love affair with leather DNA fragrances anyway and I think Cuir Infrarouge is one of the best examples. It has everything you want. A gorgeous, deep and rich leather accord, performance that is off the charts and enough going on in the background to keep it interesting.

The opening is, as with Hibiscus Mahajad, Tubereuse Astral and the wonderful Oud Maracuja, a really intense hit that almost seems aggressive. The first thing you get is slightly sour, plump raspberry and a very heavy saddle leather. There is some cinnamon in there in the top if you really go looking for it but this is to move the leather away from the barnyard, and there is some subtle bergamot tucked away there too but again, this is to keep the raspberry honest.

The heart is aimed at moving the opening into softer and more manageable territory and it does this with a little bit of osmanthus that provides a bridge between the fruit and the leather in a very clever way. The orris again, is here to stop this from going too sour and it never really takes this in a powdery direction to my nose. The patchouli and vanilla in the base are there to soften and smooth; to manage the leather and the fruit and to ensure the oud in the heart doesn't push this too sour or animalic either.

It is almost like a conceptual study in how ridiculously strong you can make a leather accord and still keep it under control. The oud in the base almost feels like a flex, as if Jordi Fernandez spends most of the rest of fragrance reining in the leather and the berries, and then jokingly adds some oud just to highlight how well he's done it. If you've ever got your nose on this one you will know how strong it is. The control and assurance here to keep it all tidy and managed in such a wearable and attractive way is out of this world. I promise you it is much, much harder to do than Jordi Fernandez makes it look here.

This should be an unwearable, noxious mess. That it is wearable at all is testament to the skill that has gone into this. That it is - and this is a hill I am prepared to die on - one of the finest leather fragrances ever made (and one of my all time favourites full stop) is borderline miraculous.

Layering Suggestion: Eau De Ombre Leather by Tom Ford

Three Word Summary: Masterful Red Leather

Scent - 10/10
Drydown - 9/10
Sillage - 10/10
Bottle/packaging - 8/10
Performance - 10/10

47/50

As a Selfridges Exclusive, it wasn't easy to get my hands on the "Cuir InfraRouge | Maison Crivelli," but it was worth it! As everyone here knows, the "London | Widian / AJ Arabia" is a masterpiece and remains undisputedly leading in its domain. Therefore, I was even more surprised at how well Maison Crivelli took this composition as a foundation but went in a completely different direction.

How do I perceive the "Cuir InfraRouge | Maison Crivelli"?
- The "Cuir InfraRouge | Maison Crivelli" starts with a sweet-fruity-fresh raspberry note that is truly convincing and brings a smile to your face. It is a voluminous sweet raspberry, carried by a light citrus and fruitiness. Yes, at this stage, "London | Widian / AJ Arabia" and "Cuir InfraRouge | Maison Crivelli" smell slightly similar due to the raspberry, but in "London | Widian / AJ Arabia," the raspberry is fruity, yet somehow dry-fruity and only marginally sweet... and not as fruity-sweet as in "Cuir InfraRouge | Maison Crivelli."

- Then comes a beautiful, present leather accord, which is relatively well blended with woody accords and cinnamon; neither the leather, nor the woody accords, nor the cinnamon dominate, but they are all in harmony; yes, the leather remains the star of the heart note, but it doesn't stand alone on the pedestal like in "London | Widian / AJ Arabia." The "London | Widian / AJ Arabia" is much more leathery and dry at this stage - which is not bad, it's just different. Here, the "Cuir InfraRouge | Maison Crivelli" is sweeter, fruitier, woodier, somehow fuller.

- ...in the drydown, the typical Maison Crivelli oud accord joins in, which together with vanilla and tonka bean leads to a rather sweet-leathery drydown... yes, the "Cuir InfraRouge | Maison Crivelli" remains overall sweet-leathery-fruity until the end, whereas the "London | Widian / AJ Arabia" continues the fruity raspberry with a rather dry leather accord until the end; yes, a bit of amber and vanilla join in, but much less strongly dosed. Is one better than the other? Absolutely not, the fragrances are simply - fortunately - designed differently, and each fragrance does what it is supposed to do, brilliantly in its own way. They are just different fragrances.

- The longevity is fantastic with the "Cuir InfraRouge | Maison Crivelli," much stronger than with the "London | Widian / AJ Arabia," and the sillage is also significantly stronger. This should not be understood as a quality feature, but it is a fact that the performance takes it up a notch.

Yes, I understand that there is so much comparison with the "London | Widian / AJ Arabia" due to the leather and raspberry, but the fragrances are completely differently interpreted aside from the listed notes and main players. Both are masterpieces, but in the domain they belong to; accordingly, test and decide which one suits you better.