There’s a point where collecting stops being primarily about fragrance appreciation and becomes completion-driven collecting. It’s the mindset of: “I already have the one I love, but now I need the Intense, Parfum, Elixir, Limited Edition, Night Edition, Summer Edition…” The actual scent can become secondary. The urge to own the complete line becomes the motivation. A few signs of this collector mindset: Completion over preference: “I don’t love it, but I need the set.” Flanker propensity every new release creates an urge to acquire it. Fear of an incomplete line: owning 6/7 somehow feels incomplete. Bottle-family appeal: the visual continuity of a collection becomes part of the attraction. Acquisition becomes the reward: sometimes the excitement of obtaining the bottle exceeds the excitement of wearing it. Redundancy gets rationalized: “They’re different enough” even when the actual wearing experience is very similar. The house becomes the object: you’re no longer collecting fragrances; you’re collecting the brand’s universe. And honestly, this isn’t necessarily bad. It’s just a different type of collector. Someone may buy a flanker because they genuinely enjoy it; another buys it because the OG without the flanker feels incomplete. With a very large collection, that distinction becomes particularly interesting: Are you collecting scents, or are you collecting completeness?

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.

I’d acquired a sample set for this house a while back, and decided to give this one a try. It definitely isn’t something I expected it to be, aaaaaand I probably should have checked the notes better or like, tried it on paper before testing this one on my skin. This fragrance is definitely unique, but also probably isn’t something I’d personally wear again. Now that being said, taste and smell does vary from person to person, so if this one intrigued you, it’s still absolutely worth a try, and the superior blend quality is there. To sum it up, I personally don’t enjoy the profile, but I absolutely appreciate the artistic work and craftsmanship behind it. The opening spray is strong, intense, and spicy, and to me, it’s almost a bit fizzy. You’re blasted with a combination of citruses, florals, and petitgrain, which, combined with the heart of cherry, orris, and other florals and the touches of vanilla, gives it almost a root beer like quality to me. Particularly the opening sparkle combined with the cherry and orris. The initial fizz eventually tones down, and you’re left with a powdery, slightly lipstick-like combination of that orris and cherry heart. There’s that slightly medicinal sweetness from the cherry, which give a spicy, syrupy edge to the orris, which stay throughout, until a drydown of amber and sandalwood. Overall, I’d personally say I’m not going to wear this one again. Or maybe I’ll like it more in the future. But personally, I don’t really love this one. The heart in particular kind of rubs me the wrong way, and I’m not really a big fan of cherry fragrances in general, mainly because they’re a bit medicinal in my opinion, and combined with the orris, kind of makes it a bit too lipsticky for my taste. I do like powdery fragrances usually, but this combination just kind of has this cherry play-doh like scent. A very expensive play doh to say the least, but still… lol. Now that’s just my opinion here, and I think this scent profile, combined with the insane price tag, gives it a lower rating for me. I do appreciate the storytelling and artisinal accountability behind this, but I personally wouldn’t really wear this one again.

I'm in the CA desert in the dead of summer. It's hot. HOT!! That being said, if I sprayed one more citrusy or freshie frag, I'm going to turn into a bergamot! I needed a serious change of pace. After much thought, it seemed that Roja Aoud was the logical choice. That's right! ROJA AOUD! I mean what the heck... And besides, I really have a thing for "rose/oud" these days. It's one of the great combinations in fragrance history. Not to mention, it's nice and cool in my house and my car is air conditioned. If you've never got you nose of Roja Aoud and you're into rose/oud, this stuff is a must try. That's presuming you're good with a very refined oud note. The opening is magnificent. It's polished with a nice little citrus sparkle that quickly gives way to one of the great rose notes in the business. The rose is not sweet, instead, it remains elegant and a bit dry, perfectly complimenting the oud. The oud itself is smooth, clean and woody, which is contrary to what I usually prefer, it's not animalic, or smoky. As it dries down, the fragrance somehow becomes richer and more enveloping. The sandalwood, patchouli, and ambergris are exceptionally smooth. The transition is gradual and everything is integrated into a composition that feels effortless despite its complexity. The performance is excellent. What a great fragrance. It's absolutely in the top 95th percentile of my collection. For what it is (rose/oud), it's a: 9.75/10.0 and that's plus or minus .25%

An alternative/twist to YSL - Y Elixir (on my wishlist.) I’m really enjoying this one. It opens fresh, aromatic, spicy, sweet, thick and strong. As it dries down the sweetness tones down and comes across more smooth and clean, a bit smoky and powdery. This would work for any season and occasion, with great projection and longevity (specially on clothing.)