Interlude Woman

(Review of a new formulation, which, as noted by others, does have differences compared to the original release) I’m usually able to see the thematic overlap with Amouage’s masculine and feminine counterpart perfumes, but with the Interludes it isn’t as obvious. Interlude Man is a cold weather staple of mine and has been since it was released, its rough bordering on cruel delivery of hot and intense smoke and woods never fails to make my eyes go wide in captivation. It delivers a story of an apocalyptic resinous-tree-forest fire in progression. In searching for a thematic connection to Interlude Woman, I suppose we have a yin and yang connection as Interlude Woman is the opposite of apocalyptic, fiery, smokey, or woody. However, this loss of the drama that Interlude Man had - or vice versa, perhaps Interlude Man gained the drama - is not a disservice to Interlude Woman. It doesn’t matter which perfume you experience first, you get an immediate sense of this dichotomy in the opening. There are some bitter and piquant sour qualities from the hesperidics and the ginger components, some powdery aldehydes that will make themselves more apparent as the perfume progresses, but what stands out the most is the marigold... or so one is to suspect. It is brief, and overlaps a lot with the greens and the bitter, earthy, citrusy notes of the other materials, but the nose suspects the floral aspect of marigold is what should be at play here and it is very likely the orange blossom and helichrysum playing upwards out of sequence. What one smells most readily from marigolds is not the flower but the plant itself, which has a very strong musky, green, “repellent” type odor, but there isn’t much of that in the opening of Interlude Woman, or at least not much that lasts long enough to be detectable as such separate from the bergamot, sulfuric grapefruit, and ginger. Instead it’s yellow floral, which marigold flowers can have a bit of, but they are quite demur about it. It becomes a bit more obvious that something is “off” as the hesperidics and ginger dry down and a honeyed melon note blooms, an effect of the honey of helichrysum and the gentle fruitiness of orange blossom. The powderiness becomes more overt here as well, significantly adding to this smooth-fruit effect. A jammy pink rose brings it home. The heart then, summarily, is a floral amalgam of pinks and whites given a good dose of melon-y fruit. Kiwi? No, not really. Kiwi doesn’t have much of a smell, except for watery melon type notes, but its flavor can be briefly green and citrusy when it hits the tongue, so while the smell of kiwi might be there the flavor is not, and to my palate the smell and flavor of an underripe yellow melon is more apt. It’s odd. Very odd. Other devotees of Interlude Woman note that this floral fruity heart wasn’t nearly as powerful in the original formulation but here is where a careful choice of words becomes very important. To my nose, this fruity floral was always present in Interlude Woman, but in the original the dank-green marigold-type facet was stronger and the floral and incense aspects stronger. These others notes have been dialed back as, perhaps, they were a bit pushy to what prospective buyers at perfume counters were looking for, and by dialing them back this melon floral heart became stronger. It might be a small or semantic difference, but it’s important and it has large implications. Regardless of how your nose perceives what is transpiring in this heart layer, there is enough of the floral components, musky greens, and earthy and resinous incense to get the job done. There is just enough tension between the pushy greens, the watery and honeyed fruits, earthy incense, and gentle florals to create the tension fitting of the Interlude brief. Maybe think of it this way: when a man wants to create tension, as in Interlude Man, he is likely to be quite direct and brash; the way a woman would create tension, as in Interlude Woman, is going to be much quieter and nuanced. Maybe that's sexist, and, if so, DM me (so I can ignore it). It’s a fascinating section of the perfume, but it does take more than a couple wears to wrap one’s mind around it. The dry down resolves the tension by going convincingly yet well-done woody amber. The opoponax carries a sort of caramel boozy aroma, the resinous benzoin leans only slightly towards an earthy vanilla/tonka aroma, and there is plenty of lightly creamy sandalwood, all playing the starring roles. The powderiness continues in the form of gentle musks. It’s nestling, caressing, easy to handle and to love, yet very nicely balanced so as to not go too far in either direction of woody, vanillic, or earthy. Now, time for a purely subjective and opinionated portion: I am a bigger fan of Interlude Man than I am Interlude Woman. I like drama. I like wearing art. I can be perfectly loving towards something rough and brutish like Interlude Man when it is compelling. Interlude Woman, at least in this new formulation (I might later add thoughts about the original, though it won’t be much different), is none of those things - dramatic, artful, rough, or brutish. But it is impeccably beautiful. Whereas Interlude Man might have just enough overlap with Amouage’s Arabian roots in its willful pushiness and bold nature, Interlude Woman reads far more like a classic French oriental/amber with its calculated, quiet, and nuanced tension. I have a place in my heart for those perfumes as well, and Interlude Woman slots right in.

Here is one that I don't see mentioned often, and yet I feel it is the best Amouage creation to date. I also find it curious that they decided to discontinue so many more "palatable" perfumes, yet this one is still around. Because I feel it is one of the most difficult to grasp from the house of Amouage, complex, unique, and odd. Now, as a caveat, the perfume smells like it underwent a significant reformulation around 2013-2014 because I have samples of the 2015, 2016, and 2021 versions, and to me, these all smell the same. A strong Kiwi accord that I don't like (to say the least) and just an amped-up overall fruitiness that clings to the composition (so annoyingly) throughout, with more powderiness and sweetness. My review is based on the original 2012 release, and I did compare and wore them multiple times to make sure my nose doesn't play tricks on me. The earliest issue of Interlude Woman has none of the Kiwi accord, and there is no fruitiness I perceive. It is more woody and mossy, less sweet, darker, and the castoruem note comes through in the base. It is everything I wanted Interlude Woman to be. The opening smells strongly of marigolds alongside a quick burst of ginger and faint citrus. It goes away in about two minutes and you're left with the marigolds that start to pair with a crescent note of immortelle. It is a peculiar-smelling combination, to say the least, and people familiar with these two "difficult" notes in perfumery will understand where I'm coming from. Imagine the bitter and green scent of marigolds paired with the dusty-sweet and liquorish aroma of the immortelle. Herbaceous, dusty, and dry, a peculiar combination of this caramel-like aroma from the everlasting flower and the sharp, piercing, and bitter green from the marigolds. Eventually, the immortelle takes over until it overshadows the marigold accord entirely. At this point, it combines with my favorite part of this perfume in what I would describe as the "heart of the fragrance." The "walnut" accord. I don't know if Karine intended it to be or if the combination of woody notes and other elements gave it birth, but the walnut accord is incredibly realistic (and good). It pairs brilliantly with the immortelle and complements the latter's olfactory facets. You get this dry nuttiness alongside a slightly sweet-boozy honeyed liqueur accord that bears this beautiful pollenesque dustiness. To this duo, there are woods, honey, incense, and faint resins that add their charm. Till this point, Interlude behaves like a pure Oriental perfume experience. Bizzare and enticing yet unmistakably Oriental. Here, and going into the base, is where the major shift happens. From an Oriental, it changes to a Leathery-Chypre composition that strongly reminds me of Puredistance M in the final stages. That glorious bitter mossiness combined with a castoreum-driven leather accord that pushes on the edgy and sexual side, barely warmed up by glowing resins. This shift is abrupt and takes me by surprise with each wear as I almost feel I am caught off guard. The floral and herbaceous elements disappear. The sweetness is replaced by this inky-bitter and earthy moss accord, while the leather facet is amplified by the castoreum element. From here, it wears like a proper leather-chypre with smoky and ambery touches. I am confused about why they decided the addition of fruits (mostly Kiwi) would make the composition work better. In my opinion, it makes it feel discordant and chaotic, but I can see how it might also make it more palatable for the feminine sex (toward which it was targeted in the first place). I like the reformulated Interlude just fine, yet if I was presented with the opportunity to own another vintage flacon, I might spring for it. It gathers so many accords that I love in perfumery, like the heavy use of immortelle, the brilliant walnut accord, provoking and oily leather, plenty of moss, and smoky resins. There is nothing feminine here. It is dark and brooding and makes me picture an ancient apothecary where one would find old ointments, bitter-dry herbs, medicine, resins, musty old wood, dusty and rugged leather garments, and moss creeping up the walls. IG:@memory.of.scents

I'm so annoyed with myself for not trying this 2 or 3 weeks ago. "Interlude" is a fitting title for this composition as it is overwhelmingly evocative of the dry, melancholic yet warm end of summer, but not quite autumn - specifically the first or second week of September. I would have loved to wear this out on a walk, and narrowly missed a (literal) golden opportunity 😆 This smells like yellowed grasses, warm yellow florals (I use helichrysum essential oil on wounds and am lovingly familiar with the scent) and tawny resins. The opening is a bit much, I won't sugarcoat it. It blasts me with something like aciduous needles of pine or fir, and initially I was worried that I actually purchased the men's version by mistake. The kiwi (it just smells like general fruit) and citrus don't emerge until 10 minutes in, which is odd, because typically fruits are the first thing I smell in fragrances. For whatever reason it's too fiercely aromatic for me to properly smell them until it settles a bit, and it's a very masculine opening indeed. Thankfully it does settle, and absolutely glows on the skin. The fruit really is funky, and I had hoped it would be! This is definitely not something everyone would enjoy, and that's ok. I've never smelled another fragrance even similar to this, which excites me! A combo of honeyed yellow flowers, resins, fruit salad (but in a good way), soft leather and woods...it's lovely and fun. I'm a coffee drinker, and lover, but I don't smell any in here. Strangely, I'm not even disappointed, it doesn't need it, it has enough going on. It can get overwhelming. For all of the exquisite constituents, this is casual and playful. It projects decently, but I don't feel underdressed in it. It somehow manages to feel high quality, but youthful and not to be taken too seriously. It's creatively beautiful, very bohemian. I don't understand why the bottle is blue, because this is so very warm. It feels like the colors of gourds and fading leaves. Not quite full-on autumn, but fading summer. I love this. I mean, I *really* love this. I have plumber's tape around my decant and I'll try to save it until next year, but I might end up using it up before then. This truly does deserve to be worn in early September 🏵🥝

Some words which came i to my mind: Surprising Interesting Balsamic Fruity Ambery Evocative Distinct Warmth Unusual charm PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA OF SCENTS* Impossible to imagine without experiencing it! 🥝 The chaos of notes in Interlude made me so curious about it and the scent was even more than all my expectations. That chaos works perfectly. I didn’t have a patience to wait and find an older batch but I will definitely buy that one too once I will get a chance. 🥝 I LOVE this complex mix, where everything performs in a very different way that we are used to. It’s easy to detect accords but the result is somewhat abstract. Balsams and resins doesn’t feel spiritual and calming, fruity doesn’t mean playful and joyous, base with Oakmoss, Leather, Musk and Oud is not heavy and edgy. This is unique sweet and exotic addictive blend with solid rich base which I find very difficult to describe in the right way and what it deserves. I need to get the original formula in my hands even if this is already so captivating. I think that the base has a bigger role in original formula - I mean those notes are more potent. ➡️ NOTES from Amouage’s website TOP: Bergamot, Grapefruit, Ginger, Tagete HEART: Frankincense, Rose Absolute, Orange Blosson, Helichrysum (called Immortelle as well, brings note of honey), Jasmine, Opoponax 🥝 I don’t know if Kiwi has been mentioned in the official notes back in times but it’s there and imo it has an important role here. EDIT: Walnut and Coffee has been in the original notes as well. BASE: Vanilla, Benzoin, Amber, Sandalwood, Agarwood, Oakmoss, Leather, Tonka Bean, Musk, Animalic notes (I don’t find any) Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

Note: The review for extrait old batch ——— Mastery of chaos... or chaotic mastery? Classification: Chypre - Spicy Concentration: Extrait de Parfum Perfumer: Karine Vinchon-Spehner ⸻ A harmonious orchestra of scents. My first impression when experiencing the fragrance felt like the striking of the organ in Bach’s Toccata. An explosion of harmonious contradictions — a captivating chaos walking on a tightrope of order, like a symphony that both improvises and adheres to its musical score at once. ⸻ Top – A Fruity-Spicy Burst: The fragrance opens with a burst reminiscent of fruity bubblegum, quickly wrapped in a sharp, acidic sweetness. Bergamot and grapefruit lend a bitter freshness, surrounded by the heat of ginger and the earthy-fruity aroma of tagete, evoking dried fruit peels and creating a striking aromatic tension that ignites the senses from the first moment. ⸻ Heart – Honeyed, Nutty, Mysteriously Floral: At its heart, frankincense blends with facets of honey and nuts to form a complex core of smoke and sweetness, resin and ghostly florals. Immortelle adds an earthy, spicy, slightly burnt-sugar tone, mingling with nuances of dry hay. The floral notes—rose, jasmine, orange blossom—are not overt; they reside in the shadows like drifting silhouettes, all cloaked in golden frankincense resin. ⸻ Base – Leather, Smoke, and Amber Chaos: A dark, powerful base colored by touches of oud and leather, where labdanum, amber, sandalwood, and gaïac wood intertwine to create a smoky, burning incense backdrop. Opoponax brings a bitter, slightly sweet balsamic depth. Finally, musk, tonka bean, and vanilla soften the composition with a warm, velvety glow.