Feeling like a slut.

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.

Blockade / Mindgames — still one of my new favorite summer fragrances, the mango/tomato in this just hits me right in the feels

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 had a good day today, ladies and gentlemen. Today I picked up: - A decant of The Spirit of Dubai Oud, - Opus VII from Amouage (Reckless Leather), - From my good friend @Thomas Chavez ; - - Midnight Oud by Ard Al Zaafaran, - - Adam & Eve's Dress by Lorenzo Pazzaglia, - - Rien Intense Incense by Etat Libre d'Orange. First off, thanks again, Mr. Chavez. As the Beatles would say, I get by with a little help from my friends!! Second, Mr. Chavez charged me with the responsibility of comparing the Midnight Oud to Amouage Interlude (and maybe even 53.) So you can look for my comments about that soon... Finally, The Spirit of Dubai Oud decant was purchased so I could see if it's FBW, but the initial spray reminded of Amouage Opus XIII Silver Oud. I'll report on that comparison soon too. They technically do not occupy the same space but I find the oud in both to be close enough to catch my attention. Let's see if The Spirit of Dubai is FBW.