MAISON CRIVELLI
OUD MARACUJA
2023
PERFUMER
Jordi Fernandez
ebelia
passionfruit
saffron
turkish rose
benzoin
patchouli
akigalawood
amber
labdanum
leather
vanilla
‘It offers a modern take on an oud scent with a fresh, passionfruit twist’ – Selfridges
Oud Maracuja seems to be a big hit for Crivelli and I finally had a chance to check it out. I must say, this one positively surprised me, although it loses me in a somewhat expected way in the later drydown. I’ll explain.
Passionfruit is the name of the game here and I think Oud Maracuja did it really well. I expected something that was rougher and darker, with more emphasis on the woods or other notes from the start (maybe like a Xerjoff Iommi or even Amouage King Blue). This is not the case. Oud Maracuja has something of a dry pungent underbelly, but I’d say the opening hours (several of them) lean much heavier into the fruitiness than I expected. It’s not a daring fragrance whatsoever in my experience, but it is mature and unisex.
Because, this is not too fruity, too youthful. It’s a little bit in the direction of maracuja contemporary, New Notes Cocktail Maracuja, but the Crivelli packs more of a serious punch, whereas the New Notes keeps it playful. This is sweet, and it does have a lemonade/candy like tinge at times, but it’s not cloying. Instead, it’s a concentrated, acidic, citrussy fruitiness that pushes back surprisingly well to that dry woody undercurrent.
It’s impressive how long the brightness lasts in this fragrance, but eventually, it runs out and the fragrance goes on for a couple more hours. At this stage, you get a linear, harsh, dry amber-woody drydown that seems to be one of the big (unfortunate) trends of 2023. It’s not bad or anything and it’s fitting for the concept, especially with a subdued fruity tinge lingering on well into the late drydown. However, it’s not exciting for me and I’d personally rather have several hours less of longevity than this and just enjoy what they managed to do with the fruity combination.
That being said, overall, I’m quite impressed by this one. Fruitiness is tricky for my taste, but Oud Maracuja strikes a balance with it’s passionfruit about as well as I’ve seen it be done so far. I would recommend people to get their nose on this if they are intrigued by the concept.