Parfumerie Générale - Indochine

Bild: Indochine, map from 1886,

Wikimedia commons

Parfumerie Générales latest realease in the numbered basic collection of the house is number 25 Indochine. The woody spicy Indochine is, as all the perfumes of the house, created by it's founder Pierre Guillaume. The perfume is inspired of the "good" old days of France with the Asian colonies in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam - Indochine.

Indochine starts exciting with peppery and woody notes, the woody notes feels muted, as grunded to a paste. Maybe there is the thanka wood, don't know how it smells like. As Indochine dries down there is also a dry and dusty feeling and I can also smell a honey note combined with the smell of nectar from a flower. In the middle suddenly the peppar pops up again, this time very true to the smell of fresh grounded peppercorns. In the middle/basenotes section there are woody notes similar to the ones in Pierre Guillaumes Noir Marine and Dzhari for Phaedon. When Indochine first reaches the basenotes I almost think I wear Noir Marine. Maybe this woody-minty-herbal note is the new signum of Pierre Guillaumes creations. But after a while the basenotes of Indochine suddenly are boosted up and I can smell another familiar note: That special sweet, woody almost Chanel Allure like note from PG:s Tonkamande.

Indochine is a very wearable perfume for autumn and winter but also for chilly, rainy summerdays as it's not att all heavy or dense. Suits both in the office and for casual occasions.

I had high expectations of Indochine but even if it is a fine and wellcrafted fragrance, it doesn't exhilarate me.
The topnotes is the most exiting part of Indochine, the fresh peppery notes in the middle is the most spectacular stage. The basenotes, that are similar to Noir Marine and Tonkamande, is weaker in Indochine and closer to the skin. All considerations together i perfer Noir Marine, Dzhari (even if Dzhari only have the woody notes in common with Indochine) and Tonkamande over Indochine. Maybe I had thought the opposite if I had tried Indochine before Noir Marine, Dzhari and Tonkamande, who knows. Indochine smells like a compromise to me. I have reveived a sample of Indochine from Fragance & Art .

Rating: 3

Notes: Benzoin, pepper, thanaka wood, honey