Indochine 25
Parfumerie Generale (2011)

A balanced resinous amber, dry, mildly warm and spicy, with none of the cinnamon bubblegum tack that can plague benzoin-heavy creations. The honey accord is also restrained, giving the thing a mild sweetness and roundness rather than stickily slathering the wearer. There's something reminiscent of conifers in the mix. And yet, I have to admit, it just fails to lift. Maybe it's the general politeness of it, or maybe it's the lack of contrast, but after the opening minutes Indochine rapidly feels like the brown remnants of something much grander, a perfume of leftovers.

I agree that this is a darker, more masculine-leaning version of Cadjmere 18. The same peppery woods are here, but they have a much darker, more intense feel. Alongside the woods there's a dominant note of cardamom, as well as a kind of dark-green, boozy note. Another reviewer mentions absinthe, & that describes this very well. Three hours in, it settles much closer to the skin, but doesn't even begin to sweeten until around the five-hour mark. Even then, I do not get the honey note at all, just a whiff of benzoin in the base, & it's all pretty much gone after six hours.
For myself I much prefer Cadjmere, as it has more of the not-quite-gourmand sweetness & the lightly spiced sandalwood that I enjoy. But if you're looking for a less sweet, more masculine version, this is the one to try. There are longevity issues here though, so frequent reapplications may be necessary.

Oh, my mind feels tipsy from it.
This review is even more biased than any other review, because cardamom is one of my favorite spices (I eat it directly from the pod), but I had never smelled a cardamom frangrance before, so I can't compare it.
Last time I had a gin tonic (with cardamom of course), my friend insisted on adding a bit of honey to it. And it's the first thing I thought of with the opening of Indochine 25. Then, I could smell another alcohol... absinthe-based liquor, a bit green, with anise. It dries quite (too!) quickly into a woody and powdery pink pepper... the dry down has got some chocolate as well.
I'm thinking about buying a full bottle of this, but I'm worried it would project too masculine. I shouldn't care. It doesn't last long enough for me and sillage is not that good... I'm not sure. I still love it.

In spite of its name, Indochine isn't an exotic scent. It is an interesting scent-interpretation of a long-ago-far-away mysticism, and, except for my particular aberration, I think it succeeds. It opens with a bit of Asian exoticness: pepper and cardamom steeped in benzoin. This spicy accord is a little more than neutral, almost sweet, and has a resinous texture. It is not sharp and is somewhat rich with an almost-alien persona; on my skin it responds as near-gourmand but not gourmand… It projects somewhat as sillage but it doesn't come across strongly to my nose because I think I am not receiving the full force of the pepper… although I think the cardamom is a very good choice, but, as with the benzoin, they last only about an hour as adequate sillage makers; as they become skin scents the accord sweetens too much.

I'm not sure I get much honey in the drydown. What I get is a lightly resinous wood accord that feels very textured rather than interestingly projecting. It lasts for a longer time than I expected but only as a somewhat unusual skin scent. I think it's an interesting and well-made fragrance, but Indochine isn't one that works for me.

Masterfully crafted. I first found this via Lucky Scent in Feb 2014 from a sample ordered, based on reviews here. Within a month, I had tore through the sample and went full bottle on it. I find Indochine somewhat related to Cadjmere from the same house, and after several years of contemplating Cadjmere, Indochine won me over as the more masculine of the two and something I could wear more frequently, especially at full bottle price. I think of Indochine as a perfect complement to an evening of Thai food, wine, or a Mai Tai to start. It can influence you to season your home cooking in an adventurous and complementary way. It's warmly "exotic" spicy woods with a slightly sweet warmth in the base. It can be zen and contemplative anytime, or a targeted season wear in fall. My notes from 2014 included "jungle trees, dark green, and smokey powder". Now that I live amongst the coastal redwoods in northern California, Indochine paints a dash of spiced woods to my world here. It's magical and incredibly unlike any other fragrance to me - except it's distant relative Cadjmere.

This is a spicy-woody fragrance. The name is rather misleading though, since it doesn't really smell like 'Indochine'. Then I would have added perhaps lemongrass and star anise - which is one of the main ingredients in the Vietnamese Pho soup. Can't say that I sense Thanaka in the fragrance either. It has a sweet powdery woody smell, and it much used in Burmese cosmetics, so not a part of Indochina anyway.

Apart from the misleading name, I like the fragrance. It has good projection and is long lasting. PG seems to be especially apt with woody-spicy-patchouli based fragrances.