Marc Jacobs Bang and Davidoff Champion

I was in Boots the Chemist today (a national pharmacy chain for those not familiar with the UK) and noticed two new fragrances for men on display. I have felt a little disillusioned with mainstream mens fragrance for some time, which is hardly a revelation, but there you have it. I tested both of these on paper only, not expecting much. Well, Davidoff Champion started off surprisingly good - peppery, slightly smoky woods, perhaps what smelled initially like a bit of incense. I left the strip in my pocket for a couple of hours and then smelled it again. Disappointment. What happened? All that remained was the ubiquitous smell of 'department store fragrance' which to my nose smells like metallic citrus, artificial slightly smoky cedar, and musk. To be honest, I've smelled worse, and this is actually not that bad. It is similar on paper to YSL L'Homme, I think, and perhaps I'm being a bit unfair, but after that promising opening I was expecting a bit more. 

Marc Jacobs Bang (pictured top left) is housed in quite a striking bottle (some might say tacky, speaking of which, look at the ad pics for this, with Marc Jacobs reclining naked, which is reminiscent of the original YSL M7 ad). The opening was actually quite similar to Champion, peppery and almost incense-y. Likewise, I left it in my pocket for a couple of hours and then sniffed later on. I'm glad to report that Bang has a great development. I hesitate to say this, but I may have found a mens fragrance that doesn't smell like everything else out there at present. The dry down is slightly leathery, with a touch of vetiver and still that hint of incense. The perfumer is Yann Vasnier, who incidentally, is the nose behind Byredo's Baudelaire. Funnily enough, I'm actually testing Baudelaire for the first time today and there is a slight similarity between the two, which may not be that surprising. I'm now eager to test Bang on skin and see if it still stands up to scrutiny. Perhaps it is a sad indictment of the state of mens' perfumery, but I'm really excited that this smells sort of unique, at least by mainstream standards. Now if only Chanel had released something a little bit original...

Image credit - www.apetogentleman.com