Oud Maracujá by Maison Crivelli

Oud Maracujá, as reviewed by Jordi Fernández, doesn’t contain genuine oud but rather notes that mimic it. The passion fruit blends with peach to create that signature fruity touch. The floral elements aren’t the strongest, but the amber and resinous notes extend the longevity significantly. It lasts over eight hours on the skin with a projection of 2-3 hours. It’s ideal from autumn through spring for informal occasions. The perfumer is a master of illusion and an alchemist with synthetics. I’ve tried other scents from the house with samples in-store, but none have captivated me as much as this. They aren’t bad, but for me, they feel like ‘more of the same’. If they were branded Fugazzi, I’d buy a bottle without hesitation. As I always say, don’t let hype or note lists fool you; test on skin before investing in niche fragrances.

After wearing it for several days, it is very pleasant to my nose, more so than I expected. Passion fruit is very common in my region of Latin America; I have it almost every week. It has extreme quality and lasts a long time. It doesn’t generate rejection because, at first, it smells like that fruit, but as it dries down, it leaves a very ‘Arabian’ scent that remains pleasant, nothing nauseating as I’ve read. It lasts 12 hours and projects well for 4 hours. Perfect for elegant nights all year round, especially in summer due to the fruit. This review is valid only for Latin America.

Handsome, but with character; if you are not accustomed to potent and exotic aromas, it might catch you off guard. If you are looking for something more affordable, less animalic, with less leather but similar longevity, try the Passiflora Aoud from Elegance Emiratie.

I am not a fan of tropical scents, but this blend of wood, leather, and oud is incredible. It opens with a juicy, acidic passion fruit wrapped in saffron, then the fruit recedes and a dirty, woody leather emerges. The leather dominates the oud. In the dry-down, it mixes very well, although the combination sounds odd. The price is very inflated (€4.30/ml) considering it is all synthetic. My initial longevity disappointed me (8 hours), but after wearing it more, I confirm it is a real bomb that floods the room. Only for cold weather and night.

It smells like an oil tycoon in a leather jacket drinking passion fruit mezcal at a family gathering in Valle de Bravo. It is for someone with power and money, but in a quiet, warm, and intimate moment.

I love oud and woods, and I’m not a fan of fruity scents, but here the blend of tropical passion fruit with the darkness of oud is perfect. The oud dominates, like the Force in Star Wars, and that fruity touch suits it down to the ground. It’s a 10/10 for me, very well balanced. It reminds me hugely of Ombre Nomade, my favourite from LV, but much more so. The only thing that takes points off is the development: it’s not a beast mode by any means. Its longevity is shorter than I expected after reading so many reviews; it doesn’t reach 8 hours (which is fine, I’m not complaining, I just expected more), and the projection is less than I thought given the type of scent. On my skin, Ombre Nomade works better. In summary: for me this isn’t unisex, it’s masculine by definition. If you’re a girl and you like it, I’m glad, but in my understanding of perfumery it’s a masculine fragrance. Low versatility, it’s for cold climates and formal occasions. Scent: 10, Longevity: 8, Projection: 7, Price: 210 Euros/50 ml

Right from the start and up to ten minutes it smells of passion fruit, and afterwards the scent is practically identical to Ombre Nomade.

This Oud Maracuja has really caught me off guard. At first it smells like a pure passion fruit cocktail—brutal and direct. Then after about two hours the fruit gives way to the oud for another two or three hours. Finally after five or six hours the oud fades and the leather note emerges. I absolutely love it because it smells fantastic and is incredibly unique; I haven’t heard anyone else wear it so it’s one-of-a-kind and unimitated.

I can’t give it a rating; olfactorily it’s at least an 8 but it’s not for daily wear because its versatility is almost non-existent. It’s not made to please everyone but to achieve an unrecognisable scent (and that’s where it stops because there’s already a clone smelling the same in the air). No one would think to mix something rich and juicy like passion fruit with something as ugly as oud until this perfumery Frankenstein appeared. Worth having a decant but never the full bottle. It’s similar to Secretions Magnifique: unusable in real life but worth trying because you won’t smell it anywhere else.

Where ignorance is bliss it’s madness to be wise. Apparently that saying originated from a verse by Thomas Gray. I don’t know what drove him to write it but as I age and become more ‘wise’ I agree with him more. I read reviews on Oud Maracuja and although generally positive I find terms like disappointment scam linear overrated shallow synthetic… but what strikes me most is that these reviews exude a great knowledge of the perfumery world. The concepts the vocabulary the ability to decipher accords the sensitivity to perceive nuances… it all demonstrates an enviable olfactory culture. And yet I see that all that wisdom leads to a certain disdain for this perfume. I on the other hand didn’t know of its existence until two weeks ago. I didn’t know who Jordi Fernández was nor that Maison Crivelli existed nor that oud and rose were such a cliché combination. My only experience with oud had been Intense Oud by Gucci (which I’m obsessed with) and Opulent Oud by Lattafa which my girlfriend bought blindly and I had to beg her to throw out the window or I would have ended up throwing it myself. I also didn’t know about the hype this fragrance created. In short I knew nothing. Curiously someone who knows less about perfumes than I do recommended Oud Maracuja to me: internet cookies. It seems the algorithm had been tracking me while I browsed perfumery websites and one day while watching Marca a blue bottle appeared in a banner whose colour caught my attention. Almost as much as the two words on its label: Oud Maracuja. The first thing I thought was ‘This must smell really good’. The olfactory image created in my head invited me to try it. Fruity perfumes usually disgust me like those cocktails you drank when you were a teenager and started drinking… but somehow the presence of the oud made the combination seem appetising. So I clicked the link… and bam! 215 pence for 50ml. Reality check. The cookies should access my bank account before recommending certain products. As I’m well-stocked (I usually use two per perfume per season one for work and one for non-work don’t judge that’s how we are with OCD) let’s say the price scared me a bit. So I left it be. Note that at the time I didn’t know the difference between eau de parfum and extrait de parfum. Last weekend I had a relative visiting and we did the typical round of the centre of Milan. During our walk we made a mandatory stop at Rinascente the luxury department stores located right in the centre. While strolling through the busy ground floor I bumped into the blue bottle which looked down from the top of the display as if to say ‘Let’s see how you get out of this hehe’. I like going to Rinascente because the sales assistants don’t give you too much heat. Not because they don’t want to but basically because they can’t. It’s so packed they can’t cover so many customers so you can smell most niche perfumes with quite a bit of freedom. The case is that I grabbed a tester and sprayed it once with Oud Maracuja. I swear I’m not exaggerating when I say that today five days later it still smells. Oud Maracuja smelled exactly as I imagined. Even better. It seems like a madness of a perfume with an impressive balance between the subtle and the brutal. It’s truly addictive. It’s obsessive. I left the tester on my bedside table and these past few days I’ve smelled it before going to bed. And although I’ve never had problems sleeping I wouldn’t be surprised if it helped me fall asleep. Surely it’s a linear overrated shallow synthetic perfume lacking in oud… surely it is. Fortunately I’m not capable of perceiving it. All I perceive is the desire for the weekend to arrive so I can go back to Rinascente to spray it on my skin this time. And it will be very rare that it doesn’t cheer up the sales assistant of the day. I had gathered some euros for the new Orto Parisi perfume (of whom I’m quite a groupie) launching on March 21st. But I have a feeling the good Gualtieri will have to wait…

“The Dirty Jewel of Crivelli” Oud Maracujà is a unique experience that challenges the senses. From the start, the exotic acidity of the passion fruit envelops the oud, creating a vibrant contrast between the fruity and the woody. It is as if the tropical freshness tries to tame the robust earthiness of the oud, achieving a perfectly unbalanced dance. Saffron adds a spicy, almost burning touch, while Turkish rose softens the edges without losing intensity. As it dries down, leather and labdanum embrace the soul of the perfume, deepening its dark and mysterious character. It is intense, raw, and luxurious, but never easy; it does not seek to please, but to provoke. If you are looking for something with personality, it is a “dirty” jewel in the best sense. Maison Crivelli created something bold, memorable, and addictive. Projection? High. Longevity? Extremely high.

Delightful combination of passion fruit, leather, and oud (although the latter is not real, which makes it synthetic); I found it sophisticated but pleasant. Saffron is also noticeable; I liked the performance and projection, especially the longevity. An expensive and hard-to-find perfume, but in my opinion it is worth it if you can get it at a good price.

Nothing out of this world. Similar to God of Fire regarding the mango and fruits but with leather and Oud. Overrated in my opinion.

I find the name to be a scam: it should be Leather Maracuja instead of Oud Maracuja. It is a bomb of a perfume, it is. It projects bestially, it does. It has exquisite passion fruit, it has it. But where does it hide the Oud? If I had known it was more leather than Oud, I would never have bought it.

The same Oud/Leather smell found in Ombre by Maison Alhambra, the same as in Ombre Nomade but 10, 12 times more expensive. And on top, instead of raspberry, a passion fruit that for me does not fit even with a Turkish nose. Another letdown from the niche perfumery…