Marc Jacobs
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The pepper triad detonates immediately—a sharp, sneeze-inducing flurry that's more white than black, more tingly than warming. It's almost monochromatic in its intensity, a prickly haze that numbs the nose before any other notes dare show themselves.
Elemi resin emerges with its distinctive turpentine-citrus bite, cutting through the pepper fog alongside benzoin's sweet, vanilla-tinged balm. The woods reveal themselves as dry and slightly smoky, creating an odd juxtaposition between the resinous, church-like quality and something more utilitarian—like sandalwood sawdust mixed with pine sap.
Vetiver and patchouli settle into a quiet, earthy murmur, all damp soil and dried grasses with white moss lending a subtle, almost mineral cleanness. The pepper's heat has long disappeared, leaving behind something contemplative and close to the skin—still woody, still slightly green, but finally allowing you to breathe.
Bang announces itself with an uncompromising trinity of peppers—black, pink, and white—creating a crackle of heat that feels almost percussive against the skin. This isn't the polite spice of your average masculine; it's a proper olfactory assault, sharp and tingling, like freshly crushed peppercorns hitting a hot pan. Yann Vasnier has crafted something deliberately provocative here, a woody composition that strips away the usual citrus pleasantries and dives straight into raw, resinous territory.
The real intrigue emerges as elemi and benzoin wrestle with that peppery opening, creating a peculiar tension between medicinal, pine-like sharpness and balsamic sweetness. There's something almost painterly about this phase—turpentine and varnish mingling with warm vanilla-adjacent comfort. The woods here aren't identifiable specimens; they're abstract, dry, slightly dusty, as if you've walked into a carpenter's workshop where someone's also burning incense.
Add fragrances to your collection and unlock your personalised scent DNA, note map, and shareable identity card.
3.8/5 (140)