Rive Gauche 2003

Version from 2003
Rive Gauche (2003) by Yves Saint Laurent
Shop now
Search on
Search
More
We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network.
Shop now
8.1 / 10 167 Ratings
Rive Gauche (2003) is a popular perfume by Yves Saint Laurent for women and was released in 2003. The scent is chypreartig-floral. The longevity is above-average. It is being marketed by L'Oréal. Pronunciation
Search on
Search
More
We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network.

Main accords

Chypre
Floral
Spicy
Green
Fresh

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
AldehydesAldehydes Green notesGreen notes BergamotBergamot HoneysuckleHoneysuckle LemonLemon PeachPeach
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Lily of the valleyLily of the valley GardeniaGardenia GeraniumGeranium IrisIris JasmineJasmine MagnoliaMagnolia RoseRose Ylang-ylangYlang-ylang
Base Notes Base Notes
OakmossOakmoss MuskMusk AmbergrisAmbergris SandalwoodSandalwood Tahitian vetiverTahitian vetiver Tonka beanTonka bean

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
8.1167 Ratings
Longevity
8.3138 Ratings
Sillage
7.9140 Ratings
Bottle
7.8141 Ratings
Value for money
7.943 Ratings
Submitted by Seren, last update on 04.06.2023.
  • RateRate
  • CollectionCollection
  • ClassifyClassify
  • NotesNotes

Reviews

11 in-depth fragrance descriptions
9
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
10
Scent
Doctorsdyery
Translated Show original Show translation
Doctorsdyery
Doctorsdyery
Top Review 45  
Unlike everyone else...
A hint of black lace flashes out under the blazer with shoulder pads. She wears a pantsuit, has her bob tamed with gel and put on red lipstick.

During the day she holds the strings in her hand. Women can be anything. Chief physician, head of a corporation, artist. Men are no longer above things and women.

It's the early eighties.

She determines what she wears, who she is, what she can do and who she sleeps with.
She dresses casually and at the same time elegantly and stylishly. In the evening she quickly swaps the cashmere turtleneck she wears at work for a blazer with shoulder pads. And some earclips. Gold, plain, noble.

She runs off, in pumps towards the taxi.
When she arrives at the café, she orders a glass of wine and lights a cigarette. It seems a bit unapproachable, beautiful and cool at the same time.
So completely different. yes completely different than many women today.
She doesn't think about breast enlargement or eyebrow tattoos.
She is who she is and that makes her irresistible.

Your date arrives and is perplexed again. This woman is driving him crazy. She smiles, a bit timid and challenging at the same time.

She wears the trouser suit, a touch of black lace and Rive Gauche and nothing else.
The evening can begin. Where it ends, it will also determine...

That's how I picture her. The one Rive Gauche was wearing at the time.

And secretly, I wish I could have lived through that time. If there was a time machine, I would dare a small excursion into this tempting time.

And what should women have worn back then, if not Rive Gauche?

A classic that I still find very wearable today. Metallic at the beginning and at the end so wonderfully powdery, without sticking at all, yet very soft and protective. Timeless. Wonderful.
The bottle? You couldn't have done better for this fragrance.

So very different from all the others.

I guess you'll have to move in with me. Maybe even a blazer with shoulder pads... D

Right now I would have a great desire to resurrect the woman of that time and to exchange her for a uniform mush, a beauty frenzy and an influencer. It would be time again...

My first comment, cut me some slack. ;)
16 Replies
10
Pricing
10
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
10
Scent
Toppine
Translated Show original Show translation
Toppine
Toppine
Top Review 38  
Back to the Future Part II
The old Rive Gauche used to be my first perfume and has managed to keep me away from all further fragrance attempts for years. To this day I still can't get along with older perfumes and classics. The first spraying experience overwhelmed me with sharp, pungent and vile poisonous aromas and the absence of any fragrance.
Nevertheless the bottle was bought - youthful exuberance. At the same time I talked my later ex-husband into 'Kouros', which he kindly regarded as a test of courage that he passed bravely. Of course the fragrances were not worn, not even when stoned or on a trip. My first perfume life was over...

Many years later - at the side of another man - I started to be interested in fragrances. The new Rive Gauche is now in my collection. Everything is different and my nose is more trained. Thanks to Mrs Andrier the aldehydes are still there, but detoxified.
A delicate green tone mixes with clear peach and bergamot. Powder covers the flowers gently without suffocating them (or me). And the base is a dream, softly caressing chypré with beautiful vetiver. The fragrance exudes class, style and elegance. It remains cool and transparent, which is what I always like best.

Now he's all French YSL, whose fashion and style I used to love so much. I put on a black sweater, smoke a cigarette and listen to 'Fly like an Eagle' by Tom Petty. Rive Gauche has come back to the future and I think of my ex-husband who died too soon after a long illness...

22 Replies
10
Bottle
7
Sillage
10
Longevity
8.5
Scent
DieNase

17 Reviews
Translated Show original Show translation
DieNase
DieNase
Top Review 18  
Slow motion
In slow motion this scent runs. For hours the phase of slowly decreasing soapiness of the aldehydes lasts, paired with an indefinite fruity floralness, the rose probably. The fruity rose becomes juicy in the further course, vetiver, or more precisely vetiver acetate pushes this rose forward and gives it radiance and conciseness. This phase in turn seems to last forever, the power hardly ever diminishes. The next morning I wake up with her.
For me a perfect business fragrance, distant but not unapproachable, brightly beautiful but not erotic, not playful
7 Replies
10
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
9
Scent
Schwälbchen
Translated Show original Show translation
Schwälbchen
Schwälbchen
Top Review 13  
Less is more
When the fullness and bustle of the day exhaust the measure of the bearable, it draws me to Rive Gauche. Not a loud fragrance screaming for attention, but a flatterer who knows how to please with understatement.

The strong aldehyde start shows parallels to Chanel No 5. Where, however, "la Cinque" rises with opulent floridity, Rive Gauche develops reservedly. The blossoms, withdrawn in sweetness, are accentuated wonderfully gently by a metallic-fresh accord. I like it infinite when this cool powderiness surrounds me like a silver veil.

Depending on temperature and activity, a wonderfully pleasing chypre base develops after a good hour. Although the oak moss is clearly perceptible, it is generally softer and rounder. Nothing scratches here, no bitter bitterness. And so reservedly he might also inspire perfumos, which deter the word Chypre Sonst. With the overall decency a wonderful "unagitated" companion, which I like to wear very much.

Rive Gauche lasts me 6-8 hours without any problems. On very warm days he retreats faster and gets very close. I value the Sillage in the upper average and the bottle is unparalleled.

Conclusion: I am glad to have discovered it here with you, because in the end your fragrance descriptions contributed to the test and purchase.
I am glad that I have him and enjoy ;)
1 Reply
10
Pricing
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
10
Longevity
8
Scent
Tradescantia
Translated Show original Show translation
Tradescantia
Tradescantia
Top Review 16  
Undercooled elegance - Unconventional olfactory aesthetics
This fragrance is really complex. Its durability is really good, just like the trace it leaves.
The opening includes green notes. The lemon is glistening for me.

For me, it would make a good laundry perfume, as it's even a little too intense on my skin at first. Of course, that doesn't detract from it. Unfortunately, it is only available in the 50 ml bottle.

I would probably never consume so much of it. Therefore, I have so far refrained from buying.

It's not beautiful in the strictest sense, it's more beautiful like the Gauss-Jordan method of solving systems of equations to save time. An alien-like metallic note makes it seem undercool. Rive Gauche is a classic fragrance with a futuristic charm. A paradox that unfortunately can not be solved, like many others.

The florality is of a tart, white and fresh nature. It is also abstract. I cannot name here which flowers are to be embodied by the fragrance. A scent for difficult negotiations, so strong that one can pause for a moment while thinking. Suitable literary works would be Zweig's Chess Novella or Lushin's Defence by Nabokov, who has become known not only as an author but also as a collector of butterflies.

The base notes are very pleasant for me. Vetiver and oak moss can be perceived wonderfully. In addition, the fragrance is soapy. I like that. A fragrance that is rare to smell, but should not be forgotten.

The bottle is functional and the color blue fits perfectly as a cool color.

5 Replies
More reviews

Statements

3 short views on the fragrance
ScentsboxScentsbox 3 months ago
I am amazed by this perfume , how close it is to Amouage Gold for women. The dry down is 99 percent of Gold in my opinion.
0 Replies
CatarinaCatarina 4 years ago
6
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
7.5
Scent
I was born in 2001. I hardly can chat about the 80's. Nevertheless it's a ladies perfume, not outdated, fresh, complex but easy to wear.
0 Replies
TruckladyTrucklady 4 years ago
8
Bottle
6
Sillage
6
Longevity
8
Scent
Still an aldehydic iris with coiffed hair and an Hermes clutch. Her aged Rolls Royce gives away her faded image.
0 Replies

Charts

This is how the community classifies the fragrance.
Pie Chart Radar Chart

Images

8 fragrance photos of the community
More images

Popular by Yves Saint Laurent

La Nuit de L'Homme (Eau de Toilette) by Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit de L'Homme Bleu Électrique by Yves Saint Laurent Le Vestiaire - Tuxedo by Yves Saint Laurent Opium (Secret de Parfum) by Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto L'Elixir by Yves Saint Laurent Opium pour Homme (Eau de Parfum) by Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto Le Parfum by Yves Saint Laurent Libre (Eau de Parfum Intense) by Yves Saint Laurent Le Vestiaire - Babycat by Yves Saint Laurent Opium pour Homme (Eau de Toilette) by Yves Saint Laurent Libre Le Parfum by Yves Saint Laurent Opium (1977) (Eau de Toilette) by Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Le Parfum by Yves Saint Laurent M7 (2002) (Eau de Toilette) by Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme (Eau de Toilette) by Yves Saint Laurent Le Vestiaire - Velours by Yves Saint Laurent Cinéma (Eau de Parfum) by Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche pour Homme (2011) by Yves Saint Laurent M7 (2011) / M7 Oud Absolu by Yves Saint Laurent Nu (2001) (Eau de Parfum) by Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche pour Homme (2003) (Eau de Toilette) by Yves Saint Laurent