Interlude Man
Amouage (2012)

An obscenity. Toxic shisha-adjacent incense smoke, the kind you buy at Walgreens when you are 22 in an inconspicuous package that has a "scent flavor"—this one is "Forest Berry." Yes, oregano is burning in the pipe as well. The inferno is all-consuming.

Potency: Hookah smoked in a windowless solitary confinement cell while the herbs in pinch bowls of the mise en place for your Italian dinner sauce are lit ablaze atop dry woods. Projection and sillage: Popocatépetl.

You will act as a human incense stick for four hours. You won't smell like pizza but you will smell like cooking herbs. And very sweet. Instantaneously after this four-hour interval, it will turn into a smooth, still fruity, smoldering oud-sandalwood amber on skin that those next to you will be able to notice for a couple hours. For a few hours after that, it sits as a round, high-quality sweet oud-cedarwood/sandalwood skin scent with noticeable traces of myrrh and other high-grade amber resins that fueled the earlier conflagration. The quality of inputs and composition is nonpareil.

This perfume is interesting, transfixing even, and limitlessly appealing. But anyone with only modest experience in this world will just think, "That person smells like incense, the fruit kind..." I adore this too much to rate it negatively (I love smelling Interlude Man: simply incredible), but if you want the burn, just pick up Avignon by Comme des Garçons (2002), which smells half as interesting, but is a perfume.

There are three variants of Interlude Man: this the original, then 53, then Black Iris. Credit being given to Pierre Negrin's and Amouage's visionary and technical prowess, we have the rare ability to actually think of these three as a true trio - a three-part novel or film, if you will. More often than not, perfume houses and the composers look at flanker creation as marketing and cash-grab ploys rather than epic story creation, but not here. Interlude Man came first, so what is this original story that inspired an epic?

The first installment looks remarkably like the 2nd and 3rd installments - and they are quite similar, but with some very subtle and critical differences. Interlude Man smells like a smoky fire taking hold of a resinous-tree forest. Like all fires when they first start, the heat feels "cold" because there aren't embers radiating heat yet. You get that impression here; there's a fire, there is heat, but it's just getting started. The smoke is dry and clean, a lot of the wood is dry and aromatic and still unburnt, the resins are warm and starting to melt but yet are largely intact, the green and herbaceous foliage is still blowing in the wind. In context of the trio this perfume is setting the stage for the inferno of 53 that is to come, but it is a genuinely amazing story all on its own. It is absolutely riveting, captivating, and masterfully composed. The only issue with looking at these three perfumes as a broad story is that Interlude shares the same skin scent as Black Iris, but Interlude still feels totally complete on its own. I love this perfume, and the fact that Amouage and Negrin have somehow been able to turn this masterpiece into part one of a legendary three-part epic just makes it all the more special. Great stories stand on their own, legendary stories do too and leave room for more.

Pierre Negrin masterpiece!

A monolith of perfume made by an exquisite and talentated parfumer: Pierre Negrin. Firmenich parfumeurs has been already proved that they are top notch class! Interlude, oh, boy!

A true olfactory experience, oriental to the core, opulent and ruthless. An amber and the most burnt-sweet-caramelized resins you can experience. Seasoned as it should be, with an Omani incense, as per the book. This is Interlude Man.
Congratulations to the great perfumer, Pierre Negrin, a truly talented and world-class nose! We have to give the Caesars whats to Caesars!

There's nothing subtle about this parade float of a spicy/smoky/amber/sweet concoction. That may not be a bad thing for some -- underspraying is not probable -- but it also reduces its overall utility. I got bored with it after an hour, washed it off, and applied Journey Man instead.

A very soft positive.

one of the best oriental scent available. Spice, incense, leather and wood (syntetic oud), really a masterpiece and the best amouage offer. is't unique and doesn't seem other fragrance, It's enough strong in sillage (not a monster) adn has a gooh persistence, For sure a man's fragnrance, i cant see these on a woman.

Simply put, the foulest most disgusting thing I've ever tried out of hundreds. Wipe yourself down in oregano oil from Amazon and call it a day. I give everything a chance but this was a furious scrubber in minutes. Can also be used as human repellant