Sonny94

Fragrances are truly something special; they manage to evoke emotions like hardly anything else.

Each of us can still remember the scent we wore at 18,
the first time in the disco, the first car, the first girlfriend.
A fragrance was usually part of that age, and when you spray that scent again today, you are instantly transported back in time. The emotions that
the fragrance triggers!

I must say I haven't spent much time on perfumes in the last 2 years.
For a simple reason.
Whether in the niche or designer segment, much is "nice and good," but that’s about it. And I no longer have the urge to test everything,
to chase every trend.

Well, I thought to myself, it’s time to get a new perfume. But which one?
A niche fragrance? No, usually too complex for everyday use and also too expensive.
It should be a daily driver anyway. So a designer scent, but which one?
Should it be the 10th blue shower gel scent (I like blue shower gel scents, so what)? No! Something different. For the last 2 years, I’ve kept hearing about H24 from Hermes. Interesting. It’s supposed to smell like freshly washed clothes hanging on the line in summer. The first new men’s line from Hermes in 15 years.
Hermes has never disappointed me. I especially loved Terre d'Hermès
and Un Jardin sur le Nil. Oh well, I’ll just order it blind.

A few days later, it finally arrives. Hopefully, it’s good and I like it.
Enough thinking, I’ll just spray it on.

WOW! Is it good and something completely different.
Professional and cool.
Elegant yet dominant.
A fragrance that never takes up all the space for itself but
acts quietly yet distinctly in the background, wrapping you in its embrace,
only to strike like an axe in the woods at the right moment.
It feels mature and knows exactly what it wants.


The signature scent of Patrick Bateman!

After 6 years of Parfumo, I feel tired, drained; it seems like I have smelled everything before. Be it the countless new releases from designers or the highly praised niche fragrances.
Once a former teacher said, "There are many good football players, but only a handful possess the talent to be outstanding," and the same applies to perfume.
Sauvage, Bleu de Chanel, Aventus, Epic Man, or the highly praised Baccarat Rouge - all good fragrances, but they lack the talent to be exceptional or even unique.

So the search continues for which one comes closest to the holy grail. Tests upon tests. I finally stumbled upon the name Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Never heard of it! Can this guy do anything? Oh right, I see he is the one behind Le Male. Doubts, but whatever! Apom sounds good, high ratings, why not, order a sample and wait!

A few days later, the sample arrives. With no great expectations, I spray it on. Disillusionment! Hatred! Dismay! It smells boring, too much orange, too musty, too old-fashioned. The sample should be tested a few more times before it disappears back into the cupboard for a long time.

Months later. A cool gray Sunday. I take the decant in my hand and press it. Nothing special! I lie down on the couch and watch something on Netflix!
Suddenly, a yellow flash in the sky, a flaming meteor crashes to earth.
My heart races, my pupils dilate, my hands are drenched in sweat. I smell this unique organ, so beautiful, so warm. I close my eyes and begin to dream. I walk along a lonely beach at the North/East Sea; it’s October, far too cold to swim. The wind blows, it’s cloudy, around 12 degrees. A single ray of sunshine breaks through the cloudy sky, touching my skin. And Apom touches my soul!

Until the mid-70s, there was a small successful English film company called Hammer Films. Their focus was on horror films. Especially the Dracula series with Christopher Lee as Count Dracula and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing are my absolute favorites. The sets, the dialogues, the eerie music by James Bernard, and of course, not to forget the acting performances of Lee and Cushing. At some point in the mid-70s, the classic horror genre became exhausted. New villains came to the cinemas: Michael Myers lurking at babysitters at night, Leatherface with his favorite toy, the chainsaw, and of course, the hockey player Jason Voorhees. With these new films and the completely different circumstances, Hammer could not keep up and eventually went bankrupt in the early 80s!

What is this all about? Why am I describing the history of a film company? The answer will come shortly, but first, let's get to Interlude!


About 3 months ago, I ordered a small 2 ml sample of Interlude Man as well as Reflection Man (which I didn't find that impressive). Sprayed it on my arm, waited a few seconds, and suddenly pure horror. This is the Interlude that everyone raves about, an oriental masterpiece. Yuck! It smells like decay, like a cemetery, like grave water, somewhere in between burnt rubber. I felt so sick from it, yet I kept it on for another 3 to 4 hours, maybe it would change? No, definitely not! Showered and got rid of the stuff, which turned out to be quite difficult since it was very intense. After vigorous scrubbing, it finally came off. I put the sample in the cupboard and best forgotten forever.

Weeks went by; could it be that Interlude is the most disgusting perfume there is? I briefly sniffed the tester again, still disgustingly repulsive. I didn't even dare to go near the cupboard, and just looking at the sample worried me. Well, there are also advantages; you can annoy friends with it. Hey, look, I have a very nice perfume here, while in reality, I thought to myself. You’re about to experience something shocking; this hellish mixture will blow you away. Nothing, no reactions. They found it normal; for one, it was even an oriental revelation that was addictive.

How can that be? Why do I only smell burnt rubber and death? Disillusionment set in! Maybe it’s just that this scent simply doesn’t suit me. More weeks passed, I overcame my fear and applied it to my skin again. A spritz should be enough! Interesting, it smells bearable, not particularly good, but I can tolerate it. A few days later, I treated myself to another spritz. Delicious, I smell incense, leather, and a little bit of oud.

Could it be that a perfume I couldn’t stand, that I cursed, is now bearable, even somewhat good? Days went by again, and it slowly became a little addiction, treating myself to a spritz of Interlude every evening. Falling asleep with this dreamy scent from 1001 Nights and waking up to it again in the morning.

I read through the comments and statements on Parfumo once more. Interesting, one user describes a djinn, another sees it as the boundary between heaven and hell, yet another describes the scent as Dracula's signature. Dracula's signature. Sounds interesting. Is there a classic film about Dracula? Wait, I used to enjoy watching the Hammer films with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. I haven't seen them in a long time and looked forward to seeing the two in action again. Oh yes, there was something else. Quickly to the cupboard, a spritz from the atomizer on my arm, and pressed play.

The film as I remembered it. Exciting, thrilling, creepy, breathtaking. The beautiful sets, how simple everything was back then, no big special effects, just acting performance. The eternal battle between good and evil. And then he suddenly appeared. Black hair, a long dark cape, beneath it a stylish black suit, tall, strong, commanding. Dracula, and what was he wearing? Interlude Man. That evening, I couldn't get it off my wrist. And so I learned to love it!

I don't want to spend too many words on this; others have already described the scent in detail.

To me, it only smells of overpowering synthetic vanilla, which makes you feel a bit nauseous. Oud can be detected a little in the background, but it doesn't stand out since the vanilla has already knocked it out in the first round.

The longevity was to be expected, very good; it would have been wise to tone it down a bit.

Not only does the design of the bottle share similarities with 1 Million, but also its abominable dirty sweetness.

Once again, a phantom that the community mourns. Another discontinued fragrance a’la Relax by Davidoff, overrated to the max, or rather a milestone that was discontinued too early a’la Patou Pour Homme. I find it difficult to categorize this fragrance.

Let’s talk about the scent. The opening is dominated by incense, just like the heart and base notes! To be honest, the incense is so strong that I can hardly smell any other ingredient! Vanilla, basil, tarragon - not a chance. Vetiver and musk, definitely!
It doesn’t really matter as long as you like the scent. I like it, but compared to Pour Homme 2, it falls short.
A noble fragrance for the evening and for the colder seasons. Longevity is very good, lasting about 8 hours.

If I had to categorize it, I would place it in the category "It would be nice if it came back, but I wouldn’t mind if it stayed gone."

One thing I can tell you, I would not trade with a demon of crossroads and sell my soul for this fragrance, certainly not.