Amouage Interlude Man Perfume Eau de Parfum sets up with a spicy, more aromatic opening with minty oregano that is cooler, dusty, and almost dry, before leather and smoky incense emerge. The fragrance became increasingly resinous and balsamic over time with spiced, aromatic woods, deep, golden amber, and lots of incense. It is described simply as a “spicy and woody fragrance” with the following notes:
- top notes: bergamot, oregano, pimento berry oil
- heart notes: amber, frankincense, cistus, opoponax
- base notes: leather, agarwood smoke, patchouli, sandalwood
It opened with bright, zesty bergamot and earthy, minty oregano with soft wafts of amber and incense that created an opulent, spicy and aromatic beginning. Rich, golden amber, frankincense, and resinous opoponax joined swiftly while the bergamot receded and the oregano gave a sense of coolness to the scent. There was an impression of dustiness, dry and a little stale, that later morphed into dry leather and smoke. It was aromatic, spiced, and woody with leathery undertones.
The balsamic tones amplified and added more resinous sweetness along with sweet, smoky incense that started to hide the leather after 15 minutes of development. Amongst the leather, there was still a sense of drier woods. An hour in, Interlude Man was deeply resinous, full of aromatic woods, and smoky incense.
From their, the development was more linear than transformative, which led to a drydown that was softly spiced, creamy woods with smoky incense, heavy resins, and patchouli.
Application
For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.
I purchased my sample in January 2022; fragrances are known to be reformulated over their lifetime , so be mindful of when a review was made, e.g. a review from 2010 may not reflect what the same-named perfume smells like in 2022.
Longevity
It lasted for eight hours until it was a skin-scent and about 12 hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage was moderate for the first hour, while the projection was moderate for two hours before both were closer to the body/skin.
Personal Thoughts
I really enjoyed this, and it’s something I’ll definitely save to re-sample later on. I think it is close enough to some other fragrances that I love and already own, and while I loved it on (kept smelling myself more often than strictly necessary for review!), the price point is having me bide my time and think through it more carefully.
Available Sizes
- 50ml for $265
- 100ml for $360
- 0.7ml sample for $4