This Under-the-Radar French Perfume Wins More Compliments Than Any Other

August 31, 2025 / Swedan Margen /

After over 12 years in the beauty industry—as a journalist, facialist, consultant and head of beauty buying at Liberty London—I’ve seen the beauty industry from every angle. I’ve tested thousands of products, negotiated with global brands, and spent years figuring out what’s worth the hype (and what’s not). Now, I’m thrilled to bring that perspective to Who What Wear UK in a new monthly column where I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the beauty products I genuinely rate—especially the ones that fly under the radar.

Let’s be honest: beauty is oversaturated. There’s always a new launch, a viral trend and a must-have ingredient competing for your attention. But what actually deserves your time, your money, and your top shelf? That’s what I’m here to answer.

If I had to pick a favourite beauty category, I imagine it would be akin to choosing a favourite child—impossible, reckless and probably different depending on my mood. How do you compare the thrill of a new cleanser that removes even waterproof mascara with ease or the joy of a new blusher that makes your face come alive? But if push came to shove, I’d always choose fragrance. With scent often called the most primal of our senses, perfume commands an emotional connection that lives beyond aesthetics. It’s not about how you look. It’s about how you feel—what you want to remember, how you want to be perceived, or how you want to shift the energy of the day. I genuinely believe fragrance is the ultimate accessory.

(Image credit: @its_rhea for Who What Wear UK)

In my previous life as head of beauty buying at Liberty, I created the Fragrance Lounge. An 18-month project and labour of love, I knew it had to be immersive, emotional and unapologetically different to any other fragrance hall. Fragrance isn’t something you shop for the same way you buy mascara or moisturiser. It requires mood, memory and sometimes a little madness. That’s what makes it special. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for brands that not only understand that but lean into a rebellious nature and do it differently. One of my current favourites? Maison Crivelli.

Maison Crivelli Oud Maracujá

Founded by Thibaud Crivelli, the brand creates perfumes not based on abstract themes, but personal memories—eating hibiscus sorbet at a gemstone market, walking through rose fields by the sea, sipping raspberry cocktails at an underground rave. His approach is refreshingly human and delightfully strange. No “muses”. No manufactured fantasy. Just real moments, captured in scent. Which is frankly, a breath of fresh air. And the perfume I haven’t stopped wearing in months? Oud Maracujá (£220).

Maison Crivelli

Oud Maracujá Extrait de Parfum

Oud is a love-it-or-hate-it material in perfumery. Done right, it’s warm, woody and opulent. Done wrong, its heaviness can leave you with a pounding headache, smelling like an old car tyre melting in the sun. Having tried enough oud perfumes over the years, I know it’s a note that requires precision. And here’s where Oud Maracujá wins: it blends this rich, resinous wood with an unexpected twist—passion fruit. Tropical fruit and oud sound like they should clash. But that kind of contrast is Maison Crivelli’s superpower.

Oud Maracujá opens with a burst of juicy, fluorescent maracujá—passion fruit, yes, but not the syrupy version from a cheap cocktail menu. It’s tart, vibrant, and weirdly elegant. For a moment, it smells familiar—the kind of scent that millennial noses might associate with a certain era of teen perfumes. If Britney Spears Fantasy grew up, moved to Paris via Berlin and started wearing custom leather jackets, this would be it. It’s nostalgic, but elevated.

The passion fruit lifts the weight of the oud, making it feel like humid air on warm skin. Imagine you’re being driven through Havana in a vintage leather-seated car, en route to a salsa bar where you’re handed a tropical mocktail under low red lights as music hums to life. There’s warmth from saffron and Turkish rose, softness from vanilla and tonka bean, and an underlying leathery depth that never overpowers.

The oud here doesn’t shout. It purrs. It’s plush, addictive and borderline edible—more “late-night skin” than “old library”. It’s bold without being brash. Sexy without trying too hard. I’ve worn it to meetings, to dinner, to bed. Every time, someone asks what it is.

The perfumer behind this, Jordi Fernandez, is something of a master at making daring notes wearable. Having collaborated with Maison Crivelli across multiple bestsellers, not only is he a brilliant nose, he’s also genuinely nice, which isn’t always the case in the world of fragrance. I met both him and Thibaud in Paris and was struck by how grounded they both are. So often, perfumery is filled with ego—but here, it’s just two wonderfully passionate, thoughtful humans making truly exceptional scents. And that energy shows up in the bottle.