Bangkok Shock The Nose Behind 2022

Rarely has a fragrance confused me so much.
I am not a big fan of jasmine, which is very dominant and present here.
Synthetic notes often feel too much and too loud for me.
I can't stand Damask rose at all.
All of this is combined with a bright citrus note, softened by the sweetness of mandarin.
In the base, there is a good amount of incense, wood, and synthetic musk.

At first glance, this doesn't sound like my fragrance DNA at all!

The first spray from the sample surprises me. It feels like a cobra has bitten me in the nose. Floral-fresh-spicy, it stings in my nostrils! Terrible, but beautiful!

I take a step back to make sure I haven't just sniffed my "Asian Allrounder" spice. A second time, I bring my nose to my wrist, and then it grabs me...

“2016, Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi, Vietnam, 21.03971° N, 105.76724° O, I am standing in a small marketplace. Mopeds and people circle around me. The air is thick, barely allowing space to breathe.

A man holds a machete in the air, and moments later, the heavy knife thunders down onto a pig's head. Next to him, children play with sparrows as if they were action figures. I move on, the sun presses the smog over the city onto the dusty streets of the neighborhood on the outskirts of Hanoi. Countless bamboo baskets where they keep yelping puppies and exotic animals. Steam from rice rises beside me. The young man wants to sell me his delicacies, but I politely decline. The cobras and scorpions in the many jars at his stand increasingly irritate me.

Suddenly, a breath of fresh air. The wind has turned and blown the scent of white blossoms, vanilla, and roses to me. Unfortunately, just an illusion, like so much in this city. It hisses, and from the window of the small hostel, the mist of an air freshener escapes.

The longer I stay at the small market, the more spices, flowers, and fruits I discover, whose scents gradually become one."

That's what makes a fragrance! Sometimes everything contradicts what you read or hear, but one's own, completely subjective perception of fragrance art makes it all really exciting!

Is it a fragrance I would have bought blindly (without a name, fragrance pyramid, or information)?
YES! Because it caught me. It won't let me go.

Do I wear this fragrance privately?
YES! Because sometimes it’s enough to carry a memory in fragrance form to brighten up a dreary day!

I saw the fragrances by Herbert Stricker in a video presentation and found the descriptions and ideas behind them very interesting.
So I immediately ordered a tester set after the video.

After a lot of trying and testing, I eventually came to Bangkok Shock.

My dear swan, what an experience that was.
In this fragrance, there is so much to experience, like in hardly any other scent (that I have smelled so far).
That was probably the idea behind it, and in my opinion, it has been very successfully implemented.

Addendum - Fragrance Description:
At first, a mandarin/lemon note is faintly detectable, but it is quickly replaced by floral notes. Primarily, you smell Ylang-Ylang and jasmine.
The spices alternate with the floral notes.
Towards the end, vanilla dominates in combination with musk and sandalwood, and the fragrance becomes a bit "quieter".

A captivating scent that truly leaves an incredible number of impressions. So the "shock" that you are promised can really be experienced here.

Now, back to the story.
After wearing the tester for 2 days, I have now decided to purchase this fragrance as a bottle.
I just applied it a few minutes ago and am still wondering what is happening.

From the bottle, this scent is even more "shocking".
The depth of the fragrance, or rather the composition and the various notes that can be perceived, is significantly higher.
I would say that anyone considering the tester should definitely experience this with the bottle. The idea is the same, but it is much more intense and versatile.

I love the scent because it takes me on a journey, and I believe that such a composition is rarely smelled, making it stand out significantly.
The sillage is also absolutely room-filling, so it should stand out with its strong character.

All in all, this fragrance is an absolute statement, and I am already looking forward to being approached about it in the future.

The Nose Behind #7 is one that I unfortunately cannot warm up to, or simply does not deliver for the money. But let's go in order ...

The scent starts with a piercing floral synthetic mix with a creamy mandarin and a jasmine that is already present. The stated "aquatic notes" I cannot perceive at any (!) moment. Maybe on a test strip? Not on my skin, anyway.

After about 30-60 minutes, a strong, soapy-sweet rose joins in, flanked by spices. The scent has already reached its "peak" after 60-90 minutes - unfortunately negatively, because now it just smells like a creamy, sticky sweet floral chewing gum. Unfortunately, the fragrance does not develop significantly further in the next 3-4 hours.

One is actually happy that after ~4 hours, there is finally some sandalwood, but it cannot assert itself due to the mix of floral synthetics and sweet resin with a hint of musk. One can sense a bit of patchouli, which unfortunately is rather disturbing and makes the whole jumble even bigger.

Similar to "Miami South Beach," I cannot find anything appealing about the naming of the fragrance. No matter which Bangkok we both were in, one thing is definitely missing here: The spice. And that would have really benefited the fragrance overall.

Because of this, the scent is only at best mediocre for me. Unisex? Yes, BUT I definitely see it more for women. It is a casual or evening scent for autumn or early spring.
175€ for so much floral synthetic with a lot of sweetness? Not worth the money.

Once again, a "Pass" from me for TNB fragrance #7 (3 more to come).

I don't have as much experience as some others here, but I still want to share my thoughts on Bangkok Shock.
Never has a fragrance resonated with me through a desired association quite like this one. According to Herbert Stricker, the intention was to capture the scents of Bangkok and its markets. Personally, I have never been to Bangkok, but in the very first second after the first spray, the intended association became clear.
I associate the scent with one that you can also find in Germany in an Asian grocery and general store. A fermented orange note is very prominent and recedes a bit in the dry down. The fragrance becomes somewhat more pleasant towards the end and feels less experimental than right after application. I can understand the often-described plastic note. However, plastic is inherently quite odorless. It’s more like a type of cheap plastic toy from the Far East, which you also find in such local Asian general stores.
I must say that the scent is unique but pleasant and truly enjoyable for the wearer because it is so distinctive. It’s not for every day, but it occasionally finds its way onto my skin. I find the fragrance somehow more suitable for summer than for winter. The sillage is very pronounced, and people often comment on the scent.

The storage room of an old shop somewhere in Asia. The air is stuffy. Dust dances in the sunlight that shines through a small hatch. It smells of dried tangerine peels, herbs used for traditional medicine, and spices. On an old shelf, dusty plastic flowers lie.

The perfume takes me on a journey and the concept is coherent. However, I simply do not want to smell like this. The scent feels overwhelming and not fresh - like Bangkok on a humid hot afternoon.