MAISON CRIVELLI
MUSC NURASANA

2026

PERFUMER
Gael Montero

bergamot
ginger
cardamom

frankincense
damask rose

tonka bean
cistus
fir balsam
musk

‘Through this new collection centered on musk, Thibaud Crivelli captures the physical sensations he experienced during his unique adventures. Musc Nurāsana marks the first milestone of this new adventure and revolves around vitality. Taking inspiration from Thibaud Crivelli’s experience of stretching on a terrace at first light, Musc Nurāsana unfolds as a fresh, luminous musky scent threaded with Damask rose and incense. Its long-lasting, radiant trail is filled with vitality, balancing openness to the world with a return to the self. The name of the fragrance needed to be able to preserve the essence of that early morning, suspended in time. Musc Nurāsana was a natural choice. Nūr, meaning “light” in Arabic, evokes the nascent, awakening daylight. Āsana, or “posture” in Sanskrit, anchors the body in the present moment.’ – Maison Crivelli

Crivelli had massive successes with their extraits, and rightfully so. I think some of them are up there with the absolute best niche releases of this era, providing something relatively new, with great performance and a recognizable style. Oud Maracuja and Hibiscus Mahajad lead trends, my favorite being Safran Secret and I also really enjoy Tubereuse Astrale. However, Musc Nurasana puts a damper on that excitement

This is turning the tables from being a market leader into being a follower again. Musc Nurasana has some defining facets, but it ultimately wears like a blatant attempt to capitalize on the success of Amouage Guidance and following releases in that style.

The opening is most different, with a soapier, more tart feeling. Almost cleaning product-esque, although not necessarily in a bad way. It has that ginger as note to set it apart and that definitely comes through. It’s a slightly greener edge.

But the Guidance DNA with its sweet (incense-vanilla), mineralic and smooth rose is unmistakable and starts to dominate after a while. It’s not quite as close of a copy as BDK Impadia; I’d say the first hour of Musc Nurasana is just enough to make it its own thing and that added tartness keeps it a bit different in the drydown, but for several hours in between, it’s very,very similar to Guidance. Other people have said it’s more like Existence or even Purpose 50, which both have some overlap in the way the frankincense is used, but to my nose, it’s heavy on the rose and clearly Guidance-inspired. If this was a Middle Eastern house known for dupes, this would at best be called a ‘clone with a twist’; and that’s what it is.

As someone who’s not a fan of Guidance, I like Musc Nurasana slightly more. It’s a bit less in-your-face, albeit it a very strong performer in its own right. But from a creativity standpoint its a massive step back for what I thought of as one of the leading niche brands in recent years.