Bang Bang Marc Jacobs 2011

A few weeks ago, I strolled through a flea market in the northern part of Düsseldorf with two colleagues. In my opinion, the one in the exhibition center parking lot is the best in the city. Alongside all sorts of useful and useless stuff, there were also some stands with fragrances, which always pique my interest, as long as there aren’t any counterfeits or fakes on offer.

When I held the bottle of Bang Bang in my hand, which had previously been lying on its back, one of my colleagues jokingly asked if it was an ashtray...

After chuckling, I remembered that I had wanted to comment on the fragrance some time ago. This would now also be an interesting hook.

Even though Bang Bang doesn’t fare too well on Parfumo, it fortunately only bears superficial similarities to an ashtray, while I had always pictured a traffic accident with proper cold deformation in my mind.

However, it does justice to its blue metallic color. At least it bursts forth with cool citrus and spicy notes. Although fennel is officially listed, I perceive an intense welcome punch of mint and pepper, which unfortunately fades quickly. The cardamom seems to have been so startled by this that it doesn’t even show up.

Even the promised sandalwood has become quite pale and seems rather diluted, almost aquatic, and not necessarily natural, yet it gives the entire fragrance a robust sweet-bitter framework.

The musk has also been subdued, though it’s not something you necessarily miss, as it is represented by diluted vanilla.

In the end, Bang Bang is quite okay, even if it doesn’t live up to what it actually promises. The top notes are pleasantly fresh without treading familiar paths, but afterwards, the fragrance becomes somewhat uninspired. As is well known, there are worse things...