After reading Patty and Musette going bonkers a while back about Amouage Interlude Woman, I hastened to get my mitts on a sample. Orange blossom? Grapefruit? Coffee? Benzoin? Ooh, ooh, yes, please — count me in!
The moment the vial arrived, I dabbed it on generously and immediately got such a wonderful aura coming from it that I could hardly tear my nose away from my wrist.
It was almost as if a beautiful, seductive veil of incense had come down over my skin and electric little puffs of other notes (kiwi? bergamot? marigold?) kept peeking out to playfully zap my nose and keep things interesting and a bit off-balance.
I do love a fragrance that zigs and zags, one that up-ends you right out of the gate, a chameleon that you never can quite pin down. And man, this is one! L’Artisan’s Nuit de Tubereuse was one of the last scents that I can remember whisking me away on such a fragrant thrill ride. Still, it bugged me a tiny bit that my Interlude Tilt-a-Whirl sure didn’t sound like anyone else’s.
Anyhoo, after several complete wearings, I found Amouage Interlude Woman to be an amazing, ever-changing melange of smoky, ashy goodness sprinkled with various spices and a hit of sweet and sour thrown in for good measure (a bit like that blackened flavor you get from food just off the grill that hits all the tastebuds at once). Sheesh, it sounds like we’re talking about barbecue sauce and red-hot ribs here or something, but I hope you know what I mean.
Speaking of heat, I’m not one much to apply heavy-hitters and let them bloom in the sultry summer temps, as some of you bravely do, but I’ve been working this quite well, even in the 90-degree heat. Thinking ahead, how gorgeous might this be in the cool days of fall and winter ahead? Ahhh …
But back to the point of all this. Despite Interlude’s loveliness and me being totally smitten, it smelled very little like any of the other reviews I’d read described it. The first couple of tries I was certain that I had accidentally gotten the men’s version, but Patty assured me that she didn’t even have the Interlude Man in-house when my vial was decanted.
So there you go, folks, that’s the beauty of individual skin chemistry. I’ll happily sit back, buckle up and enjoy the journey all the way to the poorhouse.
BTW, although this was Amouage Interlude Woman, I’m dying to smell it on a guy. Maybe I will sneak some onto DH when he isn’t paying attention (if I can bear to part with it, that is!).
And last, but not least, who could NOT love that beautiful blue bottle? As Musette would note, “I’m savin’ my simoleans for this,” and maybe, just maybe, I might be, too. That’s saying a lot, coming from me, a full-bottle commitment-phobe.
So now I’m curious: What scent have you heard other people rave about and review, but on you it was so completely different that you felt you couldn’t possibly be smelling the same fragrance? Or if anyone has tried Interlude, we’d love to know what you thought of it.
Bookmarking this one!
Thanks — hope you will enjoy it!
Oh, sure. Send me off on yet another lemming migration. You know, sweet-pea, it’s not like I actually NEED any additional urging to spend outrageously on perfume……
:Wink:
Interlude sounds absolutely lovely, and I’ve always been a sucker for a beautiful blue bottle.
Rave reviews for Habanita are a ride I can’t get on – smells remarkably like insect repellant on my skin. I’d rather be wearing DEET, in fact.
Howdy, Lisa! Aw, come on, you know you want to. And one itty-bitty little sample vial won’t hurt you, (she says with an evil chuckle). Sorry about the Habanita, but I know what you mean — I smelled something, can’t remember exactly what, a while back that smelled on me like it was straight out of a can of Raid. One man’s poison … and all that …
Hello lovely Ann! I have finally moved house and got things into a semblance of order so now I am playing blog catch-up. :Happy-Grin:
This sounds definitely intriguing though I am a bit scairt of the grapefruit. But coffee and benzoin? As Musette would say ‘ Ho Yus!’
As for a scent that I don’t get it’s Baiser Vole or Baiser Vile as I think of it. Heresy, I know! Everyone else seems to get unadulterated loveliness whilst I get unadulterated nursing home/funeral home. Neither is a good smell IMHO. Grody to the max as Valley Girl-speak once had it!
Heresy. What a great name for a perfume. I see it sa skanky and evil.
That IS a great name — I’m a little surprised someone hasn’t used it yet! They could load it up with all the “bad boys” (or girls) of perfumery: cumin, civet, that sharp, metallic-smelling note (can’t think of the name), etc.
Hi dear M, so glad you’re done with the moving — hooray!! I hope you had a wonderful birthday. What did you to do celebrate? Too funny on the Baiser Vile: I’m not crazy about it either but don’t have it quite as bad as you. Oh well, more for those who love it, right?
“I do love a fragrance that zigs and zags, one that up-ends you right out of the gate, a chameleon that you never can quite pin down.”
Exactly! Me too, Ann. Those are my favorite kinds, and some days they seem rare.
Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a perfume that, when I smelled it, came across as quite different from what everyone else got. But I’m sure that has happened to me, and the day is young yet, so I’ll probably think of some after my brain fully caffeinates itself. 🙂
Hi sweet S, thanks for stopping by. I’m sure you’ll think of at least a few scents where someone raved and you thought, “Nope, this bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to what they’re describing.” I’m like that with several of the Guerlain classics — so many people just adore them, and they go so yucky on my skin that I sometimes feel like I must be an alien from Mars or something, ha!
Interlude Man & Woman just arrived from splits in the mail today. I am currently wafting something else so I can’t tell you my experience but I’m TOTALLY Freaking excited now after reading you review.
Portia xx
Oooh, lucky you! You’re in for a treat (I hope!). Seriously, the Woman is a bit of a character, and as I mentioned above, even if you don’t care for it, it’s still very interesting and well-done. Have fun with it!
I’m not as wild for the Man, but that’s another post …
Well, Ann, you’ve tempted me …… this sounds very intriguing. I feel I lack true perfumista credential as I have yet to try any Amouage. Must put this right.
I have a strange one about a perfume that I smelt differently to everyone else – that’s because it WAS different, as the wrong juice was in the bottle. This was Illuminum’s White Gardenia Petals, made famous because Kate Middleton wore it for her wedding. I was lucky to get an early bottle, and was flummoxed because I just could not detect any hint of gardenia; I even posted about it and said how like Prescriptives’ Calyx it was. That was fine by me as I like Calyx. I just couldn’t understand how other people got the gardenia, and thought it was a strange form of mass hysteria/emperor’s new clothes. Long story short: mine was one of a rogue batch. I eventually got to sniff the actual WGP and didn’t like it! And nobody can tell me what the stuff that I liked is, so I can’t have any more. Drat.
Oh, Jillie, isn’t that frustrating? Especially when you liked the “wrong” batch. If you have any left, just enjoy it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You know you won’t smell yourself on anyone else, at least. And don’t worry about not trying Amouage sooner; it’ll be there when you decide to. There’s so much out there that we can never try sample it all, anyway.
I have a 2ml decant of Amouage Interlude (woman) sitting in my huge pile of perfume to be worn and reviewed.I’m thinking of wearing it tomorrow because I am on a huge chypre kick right now. For the past three days straight, I’ve been wearing Mitsouko, then two days of Diorling, and two of Deneuve. Thus far, I’m saving for either Amouage Lyric (women) or Amouage Gold (woman).
Hi, dear! Do try it tomorrow and come back and let us know what you think. It’s certainly different, and even if you don’t like it, I think you can at least appreciate that. Enjoy!