Thibaud Crivelli's idea: the unexpected contrast
Thibaud Crivelli grew up in France, studied in Paris and moved to China in 2006, then spent about ten years living in several Asian countries, where he visited plantations of raw materials. That experience shaped the house's rule: work with the unexpected and with contrasts, starting from real episodes rather than a vague "travel-inspired" idea. Crivelli is not a perfumer and says so openly: he writes his briefs with images, colors and music and hands them to noses such as Bertrand Duchaufour, Nathalie Feisthauer, Dorothée Piot, Marc Zini and Richard Ibanez. The product pages all follow the same pattern, with the adventure behind the perfume, the contrast it is built on and its olfactory family.
The lines in our catalog
The extraits de parfum: Hibiscus Mahajad and the ouds
The extraits include the creations Maison Crivelli itself calls emblematic. Among them is Hibiscus Mahajad, born from a hibiscus infusion sipped in a gemstone market, which pairs hibiscus and luminous rose with leather and vanilla pod. In Oud Maracuja oud meets passion fruit, with Turkish rose absolute, Somali frankincense and labdanum, while Oud Stallion pairs oud with a wild, animalic leather inspired by horse racing, with Orpur® raw materials and spicy notes.
Then there is Patchouli Magnetik, a dark patchouli with milky sandalwood and gardenia, and Ambre Chromatique, a resinous benzoin amber in a vegan formula. Tubéreuse Astrale is a honeyed tuberose with cinnamon, leather and vanilla, and Cuir Infrarouge sets leather against raspberry and bergamot. Safran Secret is built on saffron, in a warm woody accord. Tobacco Carnaval comes from the memory of a carnival party and combines tobacco leaf with infused rum, with fruity, liqueur-like facets. Finally, Musc Nurasana opens a collection devoted to musk and draws on the energy of stretching on a terrace at dawn.
The eaux de parfum
The eaux de parfum are built on a contrast too. Santal Volcanique starts from sandalwood burned on the slopes of a volcano and pairs it with a spiced coffee; Rose Saltifolia matches a sparkling, crystalline centifolia rose with a salty seaweed absolute. In Fleur Diamantine white flowers, orange blossom and jasmine, meet the creamy texture of bitter almond. Bois Datchaï brings together crisp, spicy berries and smoky woods, Papyrus Moléculaire a sweet, powdery woody note and a tobacco accord. Citrus Batikanga has an icy, juicy bergamot spiced with chili pepper, along with wood and amber. Iris Malikhân combines a green, powdery iris with a leathery vanilla.
How to choose a Maison Crivelli perfume
The first criterion is the olfactory family, which the house states for every creation. If you love citrus and marine scents, start with Citrus Batikanga, a woody, citrus, spicy eau de parfum, or Rose Saltifolia, a marine floral. Among the florals there is Fleur Diamantine, a green floral, while among the extraits Hibiscus Mahajad is built on hibiscus and rose and Tubéreuse Astrale on a milky tuberose. For woody and spicy scents there are Santal Volcanique, woody, spicy and musky, Papyrus Moléculaire, woody, powdery and spicy, Bois Datchaï, fruity and woody, and the extrait Ambre Chromatique, amber, spicy and woody. The house describes Iris Malikhân as a gourmand in leathery powder. If you are after leather and oud, the extraits offer Cuir Infrarouge, Oud Stallion and Oud Maracuja, and if you love tobacco with rum, Tobacco Carnaval is the one.
The second criterion is concentration. At Maison Crivelli, extrait and eau de parfum are not two versions of the same perfume but different creations, so you choose the perfume first and the concentration follows.
Sets to try before the full bottle
The gift sets let you compare the perfumes on your skin before choosing a bottle. The extrait sample set gathers six 5 ml extraits: Hibiscus Mahajad, Patchouli Magnetik, Ambre Chromatique, Oud Maracuja, Tubéreuse Astrale and Oud Stallion; Expériences Olfactives brings together the eaux de parfum in 1.5 ml sprays, including Absinthe Boreale, Lys Solaberg and Neroli Nasimba.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Maison Crivelli?
Maison Crivelli was founded in Paris in 2018 by Thibaud Crivelli, a Frenchman who had lived in Asia for about ten years. Crivelli is not a perfumer: he conceives each fragrance from a lived experience and then entrusts it to noses such as Bertrand Duchaufour, Nathalie Feisthauer and Marc Zini.
What does Maison Crivelli Hibiscus Mahajad smell like?
Hibiscus Mahajad is an extrait de parfum that pairs hibiscus flowers and luminous roses with leather and the sweetness of a vanilla pod. The starting idea is a hibiscus infusion sipped in the heart of a gemstone market. It is also one of the six extraits in the house's extrait sample set.
What is the difference between Oud Maracuja and Oud Stallion?
Both are extraits de parfum built on oud, but with different pairings. Oud Maracuja sets it beside passion fruit, with Turkish rose absolute, Somali frankincense and labdanum. In Oud Stallion, instead, oud is joined by a wild, animalic leather inspired by horse racing, with Orpur® raw materials and spicy notes.
What is the difference between Maison Crivelli extrait de parfum and eau de parfum?
At Maison Crivelli the two concentrations are different creations, not the same perfume in two versions. The extraits include Hibiscus Mahajad, Oud Maracuja, Patchouli Magnetik and Cuir Infrarouge, while Santal Volcanique, Rose Saltifolia, Iris Malikhân and Citrus Batikanga are eaux de parfum. Each concentration also has its own sample set.
What are the floral Maison Crivelli perfumes?
Among the eaux de parfum there are Rose Saltifolia, a marine floral with centifolia rose and seaweed absolute, and Fleur Diamantine, a green floral with white flowers and bitter almond. Among the extraits, Hibiscus Mahajad pairs hibiscus and rose with leather, and Tubéreuse Astrale matches a milky tuberose with vanilla.
Does Maison Crivelli make woody perfumes?
Yes, several. Santal Volcanique is a sandalwood with spiced coffee, Bois Datchaï a fruity woody with smoky woods and Papyrus Moléculaire a powdery woody with a tobacco accord. Among the extraits there are also Oud Maracuja and Oud Stallion, built on oud, and Patchouli Magnetik, with its dark patchouli.
Which Maison Crivelli perfumes have leather notes?
Leather appears in several creations as a point of contrast. In Cuir Infrarouge it takes center stage, alongside raspberry and bergamot, and in Hibiscus Mahajad and Tubéreuse Astrale it is set against hibiscus and tuberose. Oud Stallion has a leather with an animalic character, and Iris Malikhân a leathery vanilla.
What is in the Maison Crivelli extrait sample set?
The extrait sample set contains six extraits de parfum in 5 ml bottles: Hibiscus Mahajad, Patchouli Magnetik, Ambre Chromatique, Oud Maracuja, Tubéreuse Astrale and Oud Stallion. The house suggests carrying it in your bag for a trip or an evening out, or giving it as a gift to introduce someone to its creations.
Does Maison Crivelli have a tobacco perfume?
Yes, Tobacco Carnaval, the extrait de parfum devoted to tobacco, which combines tobacco leaf with infused rum, with fruity, liqueur-like facets. Thibaud Crivelli drew on the memory of a carnival party. A tobacco accord also appears in the eau de parfum Papyrus Moléculaire.
Are Maison Crivelli perfumes for men or women?
Maison Crivelli does not present its perfumes by gender: the product pages describe them by adventure, contrast and olfactory family, not by who should wear them. Cuir Infrarouge, for example, is explicitly presented as a unisex fragrance, built on the meeting of soft leather and bright raspberry.
