Oud Maracujá Maison Crivelli 2023
3
The best parts go missing when you most need them
This is largely on an indoors test.
When releasing sophisticated fragrances, it nevertheless remains a priority to retain some wearability. This is one thing that Opus XV - King Blue did wrong - it built excessively around the animalic assam without giving people the opportunity to enjoy the better parts of the scent. At first, it may appear that this is one thing Maison Crivelli did right - balancing the wearable and unwearable parts. But the deeper we go into this scent, the less I tend to agree with the statement.
Oud Maracujá opens with a very aggressive, barnyardy-smoky Eastern leather. I say leather because the accords list it as leather - I smelled this and naturally thought it was oud. My initial impressions upon first spray were pretty negative, wondering "where's the fruit!?" But upon first sniff up-close, you can notice the fruit - clearly tropical fruity, and it's prominent enough to the point where it's a clear part of the heart notes. The opening barnyardy-smoky accords largely fade away. Within 15 minutes the main thing you are smelling is the dominant passionfruit note flanked by a tame leather & a supporting smoke accord. In contrast to many other reviews, I get zero rose (actually zero) and I don't get any saffron either.
But all nice things come to an end. The more time you give it, the more the passionfruit note dies off, leaving mainly a smoky leather accord. This is the downfall of Oud Maracuja. In aggregate, while the blend quality is very high and doesn't have anything screechy like the synthetic saffron/calone notes I've smelled in many releases this year, it's the overt reliance on the leather tones that takes away from what this scent could've been.
In terms of scent profile, the uniqueness is a question of perspective. This could very well be a new-age take of Tuscan Leather Eau de Parfum (which has been duped to bits), it similarly might offer accord resemblance to Milano (albeit there are no hints of the Erba Pura scent profile). Realistically, tropical leather isn't a contested market segment, and Maison Crivelli will for the moment basically enjoy a monopoly. But assessing the scent off the peak parts of the profile may be inaccurate, as the tropical fruity tones do die off unlike most scents in the Tuscan Leather atmosphere.
Closing impressions - performance on this is a little bit lackluster. The opening is strong, but not nuclear. It appears to latch onto skin (minimum 10h longevity), but not emit much without a higher body temperature. Value is good-to-strong by virtue of this Extrait being priced in 50ml at the same price as most brands now sell their general lines. One thing some (incl. myself) will love is that this was previously a Harrods exclusive and as a result, it's not a popular scent since PR product is ~zero.
A certified contender for niche release of the year, but unlikely to claim top spot.
When releasing sophisticated fragrances, it nevertheless remains a priority to retain some wearability. This is one thing that Opus XV - King Blue did wrong - it built excessively around the animalic assam without giving people the opportunity to enjoy the better parts of the scent. At first, it may appear that this is one thing Maison Crivelli did right - balancing the wearable and unwearable parts. But the deeper we go into this scent, the less I tend to agree with the statement.
Oud Maracujá opens with a very aggressive, barnyardy-smoky Eastern leather. I say leather because the accords list it as leather - I smelled this and naturally thought it was oud. My initial impressions upon first spray were pretty negative, wondering "where's the fruit!?" But upon first sniff up-close, you can notice the fruit - clearly tropical fruity, and it's prominent enough to the point where it's a clear part of the heart notes. The opening barnyardy-smoky accords largely fade away. Within 15 minutes the main thing you are smelling is the dominant passionfruit note flanked by a tame leather & a supporting smoke accord. In contrast to many other reviews, I get zero rose (actually zero) and I don't get any saffron either.
But all nice things come to an end. The more time you give it, the more the passionfruit note dies off, leaving mainly a smoky leather accord. This is the downfall of Oud Maracuja. In aggregate, while the blend quality is very high and doesn't have anything screechy like the synthetic saffron/calone notes I've smelled in many releases this year, it's the overt reliance on the leather tones that takes away from what this scent could've been.
In terms of scent profile, the uniqueness is a question of perspective. This could very well be a new-age take of Tuscan Leather Eau de Parfum (which has been duped to bits), it similarly might offer accord resemblance to Milano (albeit there are no hints of the Erba Pura scent profile). Realistically, tropical leather isn't a contested market segment, and Maison Crivelli will for the moment basically enjoy a monopoly. But assessing the scent off the peak parts of the profile may be inaccurate, as the tropical fruity tones do die off unlike most scents in the Tuscan Leather atmosphere.
Closing impressions - performance on this is a little bit lackluster. The opening is strong, but not nuclear. It appears to latch onto skin (minimum 10h longevity), but not emit much without a higher body temperature. Value is good-to-strong by virtue of this Extrait being priced in 50ml at the same price as most brands now sell their general lines. One thing some (incl. myself) will love is that this was previously a Harrods exclusive and as a result, it's not a popular scent since PR product is ~zero.
A certified contender for niche release of the year, but unlikely to claim top spot.
NicheOnly
