I've been breaking out my Floris scents lately. Partly because of my recent trip to London and visiting them. They've been in the same building since 1730 and are still family owned which is something I gravitate towards. There is something special about a business that has been around for close to 300 yrs, but it is even more special when the same family still owns and operates the business! My goal is to bring my wife there one day and have a Bespoke Fragrance made for each of us. (They still offer this service). The our names and formulations will be entered into their handwritten ledgers along side Royalty and other people who have done the same. Sirena - Is a scent I've had for a while. It is a nice fresh floral scent. Perfect for a warm sunny day!!

I want to preface this post by mentioning that I understand Interlude is NOT for everyone - by a long-shot! If you're not into that Middle Eastern vibe (in this case very intense smoky, incense, etc) this is not going to be your thing. In fact, you may (probably will) hate it. Unfortunately, this is not the case for me. At first sniff (damn you guys at the House of Dubai in Rosemont, IL - Basheer, Aftab, Rahil) was hooked like an addict. Since my first smell of Interlude, I drained my bank account, sold all my worldly possessions and started living on the street just so I could get my next fix of Interlude and the flankers. I lost all my friends and my family doesn't speak to me anymore. It's been rough... That being said, my good friend @Thomas Chavez exposed me to a clone of Interlude, Midnight Oud by Ard Al Zaafaran, in an effort to placate my jones for Interlude with a much more affordable option. Given I am currently holding on to two other Interlude clones (plus the OG and a couple of flankers), I thought I would revisit my two clones along with Midnight Oud. Let's start with the OG, Amouage Interlude (aka The Blue Beast) (currently going for about $300 online): This starts off with a (serious, but controlled) blast of spicy, smoky, incency, ambery oregano. It becomes immediately apparent that this fragrance is not here to make friends. Then it transitions to a dry down of a very rich "smoky" scent that perfectly exemplifies that Amouage frankincense, agarwood(oudy) scent. If you're not hooked by this time, count your lucky stars and move on. It's deep, powerful, yet always in control. If you foolishly spray it on your clothes, it will own that article of clothing for a few days whether you like it or not. To summarize: smoky, incensy, deep and intense. Midnight Oud by Ard Al Zaafaran (about $25 online): This is a very good interpretation of the OG. It captures the smokiness and the resin for the most part. It's a drop "sweeter" to my nose and a bit more synthetic (no surprise there) but an outstanding value. After several hours, it stays true to itself and maintains that Interlude DNA to the best of its ability. You can expect it to last every bit of 7-9 hours.

As I am going down deeper in the niche perfume rabbit hole, I decided might as well go for the best options. Here’s what i got.Amouage outlands, beach hut man, reflection 45, decision, Dior Fahrenheit edt, LV pacific chill, Nasamotto pardon, duro, absinth, sadonaso, Orto parisi megamare, Thameen carved oud. Got a complimentary one, but not sure what it is.

I’ve really been leaning into the clean boy, Mediterranean, linen oceanic look. I got pacific chill a while back and adore it, but I’m looking for a new summer freshie. So far I’m stuck between French Riviera by Mancera or Torino 21 by Xerjoff. I’d love to finally own a Xerjoff, and really enjoy the dna of this one, but it might be redundant as I already have a fragrance occupying the minty herbal fruity slot (pacific chill), so I’m leaning French Riviera now. I need more high quality marine fragrances as well. What do you brothers think?

DeskLab Parfums is exactly the type of small artisan house that interests me more than another company releasing its version of the same popular DNA. This is a young Puerto Rican fragrance house founded by perfumer Ángel Ríos, built around personal memories, Puerto Rican culture, and creating fragrances that transport you somewhere rather than simply making you smell good. What immediately stands out about DeskLab is the creativity. These are not safe department-store compositions, and they do not appear to be chasing whatever is currently popular on social media. The fragrances use familiar materials, but the combinations are unusual enough to give the house its own identity. El Yunque combines green notes, vetiver, geosmin, moss, fir balsam, river water and tropical white florals to recreate the atmosphere of the Puerto Rican rainforest. El Camino mixes blood orange, aldehydes, lavender, gasoline, vetiver, and fir. These are not note breakdowns created by someone afraid to take chances. The house’s bestseller, Dirty Guava, is probably the fragrance that best represents what DeskLab is trying to accomplish. Guava could have easily been turned into another sweet tropical vacation scent, but here it is placed against leather, pepper, incense, oud, and ambergris. You still get that juicy tropical personality, but it has something darker, dirtier, and more grown-up underneath it. It is playful without becoming childish and unusual without feeling like it is trying too hard to be strange. I can understand why this has become the fragrance that introduces most people to the house. Dirty Melon follows a similar idea but takes it in a fresher and more aquatic direction. Melon is a note that can quickly smell cheap, overly sweet, or like a body spray, but DeskLab surrounds it with marine notes, blue cypress, violet leaf, moss, patchouli, and woods. It still has that juicy melon character, but the green, salty, and woody elements give it more structure. Dirty Guava is the louder and more immediately memorable fragrance, while Dirty Melon feels like the easier warm-weather option of the two.