Interlude Woman Amouage 2012 Eau de Parfum

From a perfume house like Amouage, I expect a lot: good quality, no run-of-the-mill fragrance, and above all, no liquid that smells as if the perfumer had dissolved his confused inner life in it. Unfortunately, this is the case here.

Interlude smells chaotic, without a concept. The opening struck me as promisingly floral (I hoped for the promised "floral chypre"), but just a few minutes later, I was literally shaken and dizzy from the many twists and turns that the scent performed on my skin.
Sometimes woody and light incense notes emerged, then again herbal hints, occasionally something floral, all wildly mixed together and nothing lasted long enough to hold onto. I felt like I was on a carousel: with blinking, colorful lights, blurred images, and a queasy stomach. I've always felt sick on carousels.

What did Amouage's Creative Director Christopher Chong really want to recreate here?
On Amouage's homepage, it is stated that Interlude refers to that interim moment when one reflects on past confusions and takes a pause while the "chaotic rhythm" of the world continues.

Well, the idea is actually not bad, and I appreciate such creativity. But while the chaos and contradictions of the world are very well captured, I miss the aspect of the pause. The scent hardly settles, and the fragrance notes feel neither harmonious nor balanced.

It almost seems as if Christopher Chong, in a contemplative phase, actually looked at his personal Tabula Rasa* with all the records of past fragrances before he focused on Interlude. But instead of a "clean slate" necessary for the fragrance composition, there were numerous scratches and pressed, disorderly overlapping sketches of the other Amouage fragrances on the scent plate. Interlude is based on chaos.

Conclusion: The fragrance has a good underlying idea that unfortunately has been inadequately implemented. As a scent, it is poorly suited and would personally stir me up too much for me to enjoy it.
I give it 40% because at least it is not a light, ordinary, and sickly-sweet fragrance that can be found elsewhere in abundance. The scent polarizes and does not leave the wearer bored. But for a good perfume, more is needed.

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* Tabula Rasa: It is actually a wax writing board that can be scraped and smoothed for new writing after use, which is also the basis for the expression "to make a clean slate."