Bang

FINALLY...a second fragrance from Marc Jacobs. I really don't know why someone would compare the ad for this to Tom Ford for Men, that ad had a flacon over a WOMAN'S genital area and it was a close up of only that area...this has Marc in all his newfound glory(he used to be quite dumpy with a curly helmet of hair and glasses and wore baggy sweat pants to his own fashion shows) on a metallic sheet(echoing the flacon) and he's covering his maleness with the bottle. The name and the image are meant to make an impact (and from the reviews here, it had the desired effect!). The bald man someone thought he was was most likely Michael Stipe in an ad taken in a bathroom wearing MJ jeans and shirt... I waited to try this when I was given the sample spray but was quite intrigued by the smell on others around me(I did not want to mix it with Givenchy's Gentleman)and tried it the next day. This is everything his first male scent wasn't. The blend of peppercorns in the top are reminiscient of 5 pepper blend freshly grated. The woody heart comes on strong and the base is absolutely stunning...the elemi and benzoin create a slightly vanillic resinous haze that is grounded by the earthy combination of vetiver's green dryness, patchouli's dirty sweetness and the oakmoss' loamy sharpness. As this dries on the skin all the levels of development seem to blend-the spicy woodiness and the incensy earthiness is what I can only describe as super sexy and ultramascline! This is not a powerhouse fragrance but it is powerful in the way that pheremones are powerful. You smell it and you may not know why but you are strangely drawn to it even though it may register at first as "too much"... Sillage: good Longevity: above average Overall: 4.25/5 When I first received the PR on this, despite the notes listed, I expected it to have a modern or metallic sheen to its scent but it did not and I'm glad. I am hoping this is the first in a series of woody/spicy/earthy mens scent trend, not copies of older scents but modern interpretations that aren't aquatic, transparent or citrusy...

Classic and cutting edge in the same breath, Bang is an original without deviating too far from the standards set for its time. The fragrance itself is a rugged and earthy woods mixed with a blast of spice over a base palette of resin and burning coal. It smells like an old 20th century lumber mill surrounded by woods in northern Quebec in mid-October. This is impressive as a work of ingenuity because the designers were able to find a balance between shock and classical elements in the overall blend they constructed. Gottlieb and Vasnier stick to a palette that compliments each other note and conveys an overall theme of damp woods, spice, resin and earthy minerals. The composers find a nice compromise of classic and modern, with 1970's and 1980's stalwarts present in the warm emissions of the benzoin, patchouli and oakmoss that mix beautifully with the pink pepper and black pepper to create a subtle work of integrity. This one won't garner a lot of compliments in clubs or on dates. It's a fragrance best suited for work, travel or casual weekends in the fall, late winter and early spring. Bang! has a fantastic therapeutic element to it. It's best suited for the pleasure of the wearer itself and for me, has been a very calming force on stressful days where I need to publicly speak for 4-5 hours in front of big crowds. When I inhale it, it immediately brings me back to the woods of my childhood and soothes my worries away. The subtlety of this fragrance is quite remarkable. It won't impose itself on your or others, but rest assured, it's there and it's leaving a significant scent trail. It gives off a rather East Indian table spice meets murky woods and wet rain forest just after a mid-day storm meets rocky & muddy river bottom vibe that sets it apart from a lot of other contemporaries. If you want something original for your collection, this is something to get your nose on.

Man!!!! I cannot tell you how much I love this fragrance. This has been a favorite of mine for many years. This is now the third bottle I’ve owned and I’m still blown away by how good it is (for my tastes that it) BANG! Is a bone dry, woody-spicy fragrance with lots of really nice character. The blend of pink and black pepper is great, it’s got the perfect backing of dry woods, and there is a faint clean smokiness that comes through. It’s everything I love in a fragrance! To me, this is a cross between: Creed Spice and Wood (although that is fresher and a little lighter due to the apple) and CDG Wonderwood (wonderwood is richer and more complex) there is also a similarity to Montale Intense Pepper but the Montale drydown is really different and also their pepper note is totally different. What I like best about this fragrance is how easy it is to wear but how great it smells (and different to what the majority of designer fragrances bring to the table) the times I’ve worn this I’ve been complimented every single time. It goes with casual clothes and also is great for work and even great for a date with someone special. It’s also a fragrance you can layer with other fragrances (for instance for a really complex concoction you can layer Wonderwood with Bang and it’s great!) This and Wonderwood are my signature scents and I will forever love this fragrance. I wish longevity was better but it does better on clothing than on skin with that. Silage is a medium too although sometimes I can smell this radiating from me (when it’s hot and humid) If you like dry woody-spice this is your fragrance!

I know this has been discontinued for years now but I feel it deserves a review anyway because of how much I adore this. Firstly I should say it’s my husband who wears this and it’s my all time favourite men’s fragrance. Its super masculine, spicy yet fresh, sexy and addictive. It smells sooooo expensive to me, the kind of scent a refined gentleman would wear. I think if it was released now it would do super well especially if it was packaged in a TF bottle. I feel it was a bit too ahead of it’s time when it came out. Men were wearing softer, ambery, more feminine leaning fragrances at the time. This as the name suggests was loud and masculine and powerful. I fear men found it too grown up smelling at the time. These are just my opinions and I can see in the comments not all young men were unaware of it’s tremendousness. It satisfies me to see so many other comments from folk screaming for Marc Jacobs to bring this back. I concur. Before I go, I just wanted to say I don’t agree this has poor longevity and I would admit if it did no matter how much I’m blinded by love for this scent. I can smell this on my husband for a good 6-8 hours and his clothes still smell of bang the next day. Go on Marc, please BRING IT BACK

I love the teak wood in this fragrance. It reminds me of a teak wood chess set that mad dad has had for the entirety of my life. When I smell it, I become reminiscent of the times when I was younger and my father would teach me how to play and how throughout my lift, he would break it out and we would play to see if I had gotten better. Because of my associated experiences with the scent, BANG makes me think of experience, intelligence, the careful refinment that can be found in art as well as humanity. It reminds me of my elders who are always happy to share their thoughts, feelings, memories, and experiences with me. These shared ideas are an inheritance that is more valuable than money and is something that cannot be taxed. This scent embodies WISDOM itself. It is a scent that a philosopher would wear.