Rive Gauche pour Homme (2003)
by Yves Saint Laurent

Rive Gauche launches with intense, sweet, spicy top notes that distinguish it immediately from the run of contemporary men’s designer fragrances. (The listed star anise note is particularly prominent.) It then moves quickly to a woods and floral accord that’s dominated by a yeasty or winey patchouli note. The spices continue to hover around the patchouli, and the scent gradually sweetens as it develops. The floral accord eventually takes on the garb of carnation, while a deep vetiver note contributes much-needed balance by taking some of the sweet edge off of the spices and patchouli. So far, so good.

Sadly, by its third or fourth hour Rive Gauche pour Homme has collapsed into a base of thin, scratchy woods that are no fun at all to wear. It’s an unfortunate end for what began as a pleasant scent, and I’m left wondering whether YSL cut corners on the base note ingredients.

once thru the anise laden openin accords, this scent turns lathery..as in fresh shaving foam lather...soapy to the core. this phase is truly something! and somethin it's famous for. The mood is dark and soapy with touch of M7 like use of oudh and woodiness.
a must have in any wardrobe!

The best way I can describe Rive Gauche is that it's a sweet and soapy lavender with a hint of patchouli. I’m pretty confident that if you took all the ingredients of Brut (that stuff in the green bottle at the pharmarcy) and re-synthesize them into better quality ingredients, you might have something like Rive Gauche. Although Brut is dated, Rive Gauche doesn’t quite feel dated… although it does smell “old school” as others have said. Kind of like how old school loafers, skinny jeans and fedoras came back in style in the mid-to-late 2000s, Rive Gauche is that old barbershop cologne your grandpa wore, but it’s redone in a modern way that works. That said, I think any age can pull this off – it just makes you smell like a clean intellectual.

On the negative side, RG is a little too strong for my liking – one spray lasts more than 24 hours and is a little overpowering. I haven’t tried RG Light but I imagine I would like it better.

7/10

Edit: I can't wear this anymore, it's just way too strong, synthetic and tenacious for my poor sinuses. To make matters worse, I can't help noticing an uncomfortable plastic note somewhere in the middle notes of the fragrance. If you don't like strong, synthetic fragrances, steer clear of this one...

Too conservative for me. Definitely smells like a barbershop. Better suited for an older, straitlaced man I think.

I'm quite a late comer to the Rive Gauche party. The notes never sounded very appealing to me. But I have been on a “barbershop” kick lately and time and time again my search led me to Rive Gauche. Finding it heavily discounted, I could resist it no longer.
What do you know? It is exactly what I have been searching for.
It is an amazing scent that really does carry that barbershop vibe like no other modern scent that I have experienced.
There is not much I can add to the many, many reviews that have come before but I just wanted to throw my support behind this wonder of modern men’s perfumery.
I also have to reference Indieguy’s review because like him, I too have been bit because of Rive Gauche. It was the first day I wore it. It was at the end of a long work day so the frag had been on for about 11 hours and was still doing its thing. My SO came over to me and said that he didn’t know what I was wearing but it smelled incredible and he pretty much attacked me. No other fragrance I have ever worn has elicited that response from anyone.
I immediately went online and ordered 2 more bottles. LOL. I also started boxing up some of the bottles cluttering my dressing area. I have a feeling Rive Gauche will be my signature for quite a while to come.

This is the most versatile fragrance I own. Perfect for daytime/office and suitable for evening/formal wear. This evokes childhood memories of the smell of my dad's shaving brush! clean fresh and masculine. I will never be without it as long as it's made.