Fragrance Reviews by Karenin

All that needed to be said about Rive Gauche PH has already been said by my fellow basenoters. Let me just add that I´m truly enchanted with this truly outstanding fragrance. It´ll never be worshipped by the masses, which in itself is a clear sign of its originality and exceptionality.

Strong, rich, intense, original, recognisable. What else would you expect from YSL? This a fabulous signature fragrance with a personality, but certainly not for everybody. I highly recommend it, but strongly discourage potential enthusiasts from blind purchase. This is a wild beast! I love it.

I first bought A*MEN in 2000 as I had fallen in love with the fragrance. I thought it was original and different compared to other same-smelling mainstream fragrances. And it was my first designer fragrance. I remained faithful to this one for about 3.5 years, and then decided to kiss it goodbye and move on to something else. I still have a little bit left and the othe other day, just for the heck of it, I sprayed a few drops on my neck before going to bed. I shouldn´t have because I had problems falling asleep, thinking "I used to love this one?!?". I don´t know, it just seemed overpowering, too ruthlessly present. I can understand why people either love it or hate it- but to me, this controversial reception is an essential property any well-made fragrance should possess. I probably won´t return to it, but it does bring back a lot of fragrant (and other) memories...