“Bangs” that are received after midnight or from foreign countries will rack up more points for the user, and each day selected users will win prizes like Marc Jacobs clothing and bottles of the new fragrance. Just a few fortunate ones will eventually win the grand prize – an invite to one of Marc Jacobâ€s upcoming fashion shows. {Hint}

The name of the game is quite suggestive, though not nearly as racy as the Bang ads that cropped up on the Internet this May. Jacobs, who recently split from Brazilian PR Guru Lorenzo Martone, said the name of the new product has many meanings.

“When the word ‘bang†came to me, I liked that it was a sound and also that it felt like something was finished, done, end of story and, you know, kind of complete,” he told Elle.

The “bang” Facebook game is quite the clever marketing idea. With the success of social game makers like Playdom and the premium audience spending time on Facebook, the incorporation of social media, game mechanics and incentives sounds like a winning combination, and one that we hope to see extended beyond fragrance and beauty for more brands. Go Marc!

Becks is the latest one to don rather considerable facial hair (a “fashion beard,” as The Independent writer Katy Guest quite humorously calls it), and not a moment too soon.  Autumn is upon us, after all, and wearing a beard takes much less effort than throwing on a scarf every day.

What makes this reappearance of the beard so interesting is that it comes on the heels of smooth-as-a-baby’s-bottom metrosexuality and presents a picture of masculinity that the fashion world has avoided for quite some time.  Is this merely the swing of the fashion pendulum, or is it rooted in the uncertainty of the world economy and the subsequent desire for the strong, macho types to step forward and take control?

Read the full story {The Independent}