Interlude Man

Today is the day I finally take the first step of my exploration into the house of Amouage. I've heard a lot about the house since I started my fragrance journey; some fragrances being called masterpieces and others being called downright sinful abominations to man. That's a pretty big spectrum, to say the least. I'm starting strong with one that is known to be infamously strong and challenging to some; Interlude Man. Let's get into it and see what we got; Scent: The opening is smoky, spicy, and warm. The primary notes I get are incense, opoponax, oregano, and pepper. The strongest of the notes are the incense and oregano. The incense kicks off the opening with a veritable curtain of smokiness. It's strong and has an unapologetically churchy, in-your-face type of smoke quality; not at all like a designer incense note. Right underneath the incense is the oregano note that confers a fresh, spicy, and very herbaceous quality to the opening. It's very realistic and smells exactly like the type of fresh oregano that's used for cooking. This is followed by the pepper and opoponax. The pepper adds more fresh spiciness to help the oregano note stand out even more. Lastly, the opoponax lays a foundation of resinous warmth along with some vanillic sweetness and just a touch of a woody, almost scotch-like accord in the background. The dry down is sweet, smoky, and warm. The primary notes I get are incense, opoponax, amber, and oud. The strongest of the notes are the opoponax and incense. The incense is still a spotlight note in the dry down with the same intensely smoky accord, but smoother and not quite as biting as it was in the opening. The opoponax, however, has grown in strength and become a very warm and sweet note; almost like a dark vanilla. This is followed by the amber and oud. The amber has emerged in the dry down to imbue the fragrance with a deep, sweet, resinous accord; similar to the opoponax but deeper and not as sweet. Lastly, the oud lingers in the background as a dark woodiness with just a touch of funkiness. Not enough to be challenging, but enough to let you know it's there and that it's not a designer oud. Performance: Projection within the first hour is very strong and can easily fill a room. Sillage matches that intensity with a dense and heavy scent trail. After about 4 hours the performance was unchanged, still very strong. At about the 8-9 hour mark the projection was still about 4-5 feet and the scent trail was lighter but still noticeable. The fragrance became a skin scent around the 12 hour mark. When to wear: Interlude Man is a fall/winter fragrance best suited for evening wear. This is well within the limits of what I would consider a special occasion fragrance; anniversaries, date nights, weddings, and the like. It exhudes an aura of sophistication and classiness, so anything you'd wear a suit to you can spray this on for. It is, however, way too much for office wear. Blind buy: This isn't an unpopular opinion, but Interlude Man is not a safe blind buy. The intense smokiness will catch people off-guard, as will the very spicy and herbaceous oregano note in the opening. If you like strong incense, I would say give it a sample. Final verdict: Interlude Man turned out to be a more pleasant experience than I expected. I was expected some acrid, challenging fragrance based on some of it's reviews. And while it is indeed very smoky, it's never so much that I find it choking or overwhelming. I can see how it would be for some, though. When it got to the dry down the sweetness from the opoponax started to shine through and turned the fragrance into a very enjoyable sweet and smoky experience. In terms of performance, the votes for this are accurate; it is beast mode. Room-filling projection and sillage for at least the first few hours, and continuing onto until around the 12 hour mark when it finally wore off. I will say this is a fragrance that's very easy to go anosmic to, so be careful. Versatility is not what this fragrance is made for. It's crafted to be worn for special occasions in the evenings of the cooler months, but that's about it. Mass-appeal, again, is not the name of the game for Interlude. It will not be for everyone, some people will hate it. But for those that love smoky fragrances, this will be a winner. In conclusion, I didn't think I'd end this review wanting to purchase Interlude, but I think I do now. I have smoky fragrances, but nothing quite like this; and I'd like to have this one to throw on for when I want something show-stopping. However, tomorrow I'm reviewing Interlude 53. Will that one prove to be even better and make me want to buy that instead? Tune in tomorrow to find out. Scent: 9/10 Longevity: 10/10 Sillage: 10/10

I’ll say upfront, that I love Interlude Man. It has the best Opoponax note I’ve ever smelled. Yes, Interlude Man is brash and shocking, and I nearly needed a defibrillator when I first tried it. Still, I am very surprised by so many negative comments on Fragrantica recently. Agreed, Interlude Man is not a good blind buy, nor will anyone thank you for over-spraying, but it is a phenomenal creation. Interlude Man’s notoriety must have given Amouage’s Marketing team ulcers. To calm the frightened horses, aka potential buyers, they proclaim that by purchasing, we will enjoy “A sublime display of the harmony that warms a heart free of its inner turmoil”. Um, yep, OK. In my not so humble opinion, it is the discordant notes which make Interlude Man a stellar fragrance. If you want sublime harmony, take up yoga. I applaud the bravery shown by Christopher Chong when he was the Creative Director at Amouage, back when the house was releasing so many innovative (and sure, polarising) fragrances. There was nothing bland and forgettable made in that era. Pierre Negrin, who created IM as well as Black Orchid for Tom Ford, has been a recipient of the International Prize for Fragrance Creation. He was obviously supported by the creative team and Amouage management when he presented this witch’s brew. The strange recipe for Interlude Man includes Amouage staples like the famous Omani Oud, Frankincense (Myrrh), resinous cistus, Patchouli and Sandalwood. Amouage says there is “amber”, which is what fragheads like to describe as a fantasy note. I’m not sure why we need to fantasise. Amouage hints that Vanilla, Somalian Opoponax and Olibanum are the real ingredients given the more romantic sounding Amber in Interlude Man. Then Negrin created beautiful chaos, by tossing into the cauldron fistfuls of oregano. No, not the stuff which may actually bring you sublime harmony when you smoke it. I mean the green stuff on pizzas. By now you may be understanding why Interlude Man is polarising. Negrin sweetens the brew by adding pimento berry oil, which is better known as Allspice. Pimento oil can be a bit like cloves or cinnamon, if you haven’t experienced it. Agar-wood Smoke wafts up from the potion, but I think the Bergamot refused to jump into the pot and fled in terror. I can’t smell it anyway. Yikes. Talk about hubble bubble toil and trouble. Yet, those seemingly incongruous notes are what I love most about Interlude Man. I see that many reviewers here loath the huge kick of oregano, but that, with pimento, gives Interlude Man its sweet but vegetal uplift from the start. Interlude Man settles after about an hour into a top resinous sweet incense scent. If you can hang in there that long. I admit that I wouldn’t wear Interlude Man in public until it started getting sweeter in the dry down, but I love it throughout the entire experience. I hope you will try Interlude Man, even if you then decide it’s not for you. Just try it for the sake of experiencing this chaotically brilliant fragrance. Are you man enough? PS I am a woman, so the gauntlet has been thrown!

This is my take on Amouage interlude man. I am actually laughing while smelling this perfume because I completely blind bought it. Insane, right? In the opening, I get this warm, aromatic balsamic sweetness coming from opoponax, supported by amber and labdanum, with a slight touch of bergamot. After a minute or two, a warm herbal aspect starts to appear. The oregano comes through clearly, mixed with black pepper, while the incense quietly exists in the background. I am not really getting any leather. What I do pick up slightly is oud, but just a small amount, nothing overwhelming. As time passes, the scent stays grounded in this warm, balsamic, slightly sweet composition, with the oregano remaining present throughout. The blend is very smooth, and I think sandalwood plays a big role here, adding a woody, creamy thickness that pairs nicely with the subtle patchouli in the background. Personally, I have been searching for the so called “blue beast” until now. I will be honest, there is nothing challenging about this perfume, at least to me. I was expecting something burned or ashy based on what people said, but that could not be further from the truth. There is nothing burned here. Instead, it feels warm, herbal, and slightly calming, mostly due to the incense. For context, I enjoy Terroni and Cuoium from Orto Parisi, and I also like Silver Oud from Amouage. So if you are familiar with those, you can understand where I am coming from. That is why I find this quite funny. I do not find this challenging at all. Does it smell good? Yes. It is actually one of the better releases from Amouage. But calling it a “blue beast” feels like a joke to me. If someone finds this challenging, they are probably used to very safe, mass appealing designer fragrances. Honestly, I find even the civet in Gold Man by Amouage more challenging than this. Overall, it is a great perfume. Not mind blowing for me, but still very pleasant. That said, it is not entirely my style. To my nose, it leans a bit generic, and I had much higher expectations in terms of intensity and challenge. Do not get me wrong, it smells really good. It is better than many of the newer Amouage releases and feels more artistic. But if anything, this perfume comes across as relaxing rather than bold or intimidating. Funny really... Update on the dry down: Someone mentioned hookah tobacco, and I can see why. I understand where that impression comes from. Another thing the dry down reminds me of is Jubilation XXV by Amouage. Also the perfume is growing on me. Update: Yep I love it now

Was this reformulated? Interlude Man was a tremendous surprise, as it's yet another fragrance from Amouage I suspected I wouldn't like at all based on the notes. I remember seeing oregano, opoponax, oud, incense and leather and my first thought was "I'm gonna choke when I smell this". Recently I pulled the trigger on a discovery set from Amouage's website so I could get a sample of the new Opus XVI Timber and got this as my sample of choice on top of Timber. I was really perplexed when I took the cap off the sample and smelled the atomizer because what I got was a sweet, almost vanillic scent, a polar opposite to what the notes would make me think this would smell like. Up close on paper this was a green and resinous scent with a smooth oud/patchouli supporting the fragrance, much more coherent with the listed notes, but in the air I kept getting this sweetness. I decided to wear this today and what an amazing fragrance Interlude Man is. For the most part I still get this sweet scent, but edged out with a smokey and woody oregano that's blended unbelievably well, and that's also what you smell up close on skin. Not that long ago I tried Labdanum 18 from Le Labo, and the sweetness I smell here is very similar to the main component/accord of that fragrance, so I'm pretty sure the most dominant note in Interlude Man is the labdanum, backed by an ambery quality. What makes me suspect this had to be reformulated is seeing the votes for all the individual notes and seeing labdanum so low on the ranking, whereas notes that were less prominent (like the oregano and incense) or even some I couldn't smell at all (like leather) have more votes. Whether this was reformulated or not, I really enjoyed wearing Interlude Man today and it could potentially become part of my collection down the line as a signature fragrance for the colder months. Another reason that makes me suspect reformulation is the performance. While this is a strong fragrance and a long lasting one, it's far from being a room filling strong fragrance. Projection was a few feet with very dense sillage for several hours, but it didn't become stuffy and it was also not overwhelming at all. Longevity is good, lasting 8 hours with ease but it's not that strong on skin at this point. It will probably be able to hang on for another hour or two more but it won't be like Guidance 46 which managed to last 24 hours on skin.

Okay I haven’t left a review for any fragrance on here...but I just feel compelled to for this one. I blind bought this and was apprehensive to because of its reputation and the given “challenge” I would be in for, due to the intense smokiness and love it or hate it oregano note, but i was beyond intrigued so I pulled the trigger. When first sprayed it on my arm and the scent came to me, It was not at all what I expected.. but in the best way possible. In my opinion this is much more palatable and less challenging than it is made out to be. The oregano note is unique and gives it this dark savory element if you will. But it doesn’t come off as jarring or abrasive. The way it combines with the smoky incense gives it this therapeutic and almost ritualistic element. The incense is very present with a smooth ambery sweetness underneath it. But it’s all so well blended. It’s honestly such a unique and relaxing fragrance to wear. It smells like you were walking through the woods for hours looking for a cure for an illness and you came across a spiritual medium just after the sun sets. She welcomes you into her rustic hideaway that’s only lit by a small fire of blue ambery flames. Incense is burning, and she is concocting a remedy of herbs, spices, and sweet resins she has foraged. You drink it slowly amongst the blue glow of the dimly lit fire as you’re smelling the soft plumes of incense smoke. You feel and overwhelming sense relief, peace and tranquility. As far as the performance, again I don’t think it is as ridiculous or unwearable as people make it out to be. It is definitely unique and smoky, and maybe unusual to some, but I feel it doesn’t project and smack people in the face. I don’t think it’s very offensive, and comes across very calming warm and pleasant. Additionally I feel it doesn’t last 24 hours or days on skin like people say. But then again, most fragrances don’t on my skin no matter what it is. So it could be my skin chemistry or perhaps reformulation? I’m not sure. My bottle is from 2021 so that could be. Overall this is a 10/10 for me. It’s absolutely an addictive masterpiece of a fragrance. It’s so unique and there truly isn’t anything else like it. And the wearing experience is something that I’ve never come across with any other fragrance. Dark, smoky, calming, therapeutic, warm, sweet. Sensational.