Rive Gauche pour Homme Yves Saint Laurent 2011

Fougeres rarely get my love – blame the countless synthetic clones occupying the 'men's' shelves in perfume shops. The genre seems to have been Xeroxed to an indistinguishable sludge. However, quality and craft will out.
This doesn't start too promisingly: with a blast of aromatics ranging from mint toothpaste to pine room freshener. But soon we're into the heart notes (the best stage of this perfume) where everything turns more natural, the woods amplify, there's warmth but characteristic freshness too – one of those fairytale transformations where the figure in a painting or in a mirror slowly comes to life. Chest hairs sprout, one by one. One gets the impression of incredible detail without overbearing richness, so pleasing and stimulating.
The drydown is a bit talced over, but the gaiac base keeps things beautifully rounded, sweet but still woodsy, the depth is not lost.
This is handsome in a square-jawed kind of way but wears a check shirt and is basically unadventurous. Worth a fling just for the bone structure but don't expect the earth to move.

I had been on the lookout for this one for some months when I finally managed to salvage a bottle. Yes, RG being discontinued did give me a FOMO reaction. This time around I’m happy I stayed persistent in my search. The evening I got the bottle I spent sniffing my wrist, time and again, not being quite able to believe a fragrance can smell so good. Creamy, aromatic, smooth yet clean.

The initial blast is one of airy and slightly piercing rosemary that quickly subsides. At this point, the scent is somewhat green and bright. Interestingly, I catch the oakmoss at this stage rather than in the dry down. It’s present on the fringe rather than as a stand-out element. The aniseed kicks in, followed by lavender and a cool/slightly metallic geranium. I believe it is the patchouli and guaiac wood combo that’s responsible for the backdrop against which the above notes play out against. This gives RG a multidimensional feel. A very 3-D scent.

While there are fragrances similar to this, none of them do the smooth and clean shaving cream thing just quite like RG. Azzaro is more ’grandpa’ whilst TF BdJ is overkill on the lavender and patchouli, making it over the top aromatic. I like the mint note in the latter mentioned, though. Point being, I find RG unique enough that I can fully vouch for all the praise. Yes, it is that damn good!

It opens with some geranium, cloves, and mostly a very creamy anisic lavender. There's a substantial fresh shaving foam vibe that is sustained throughout, and a tiny bit of powderiness. That description might make this version of Rive Gauche sound run of the mill for American barbershop style fragrances, but what sets it apart is the sheer quality of the ingredients used and how well they are blended. When it comes to refined shaving foam, this one is hard to beat. If you're seeking to replace a vintage tin can bottle you should know that it’s substantially stronger and the gaiac wood note is almost completely absent in the reform.

Projection is low; this reformulation is very subtle - nothing about it is in your face. For my tastes, overspraying this one is a necessity. On the other hand, longevity is outstanding.

Masculinity Level: Paul Newman playing an aging lawyer in The Verdict.

Pretty much the same as the tin can, maybe the tin can is a little stronger and longer lasting, but if you are not a perfumer you really can't smell the difference. Price is very similar as the tin can so if you need to choose the tin can is a better choice, mainly because it's the original version and very rare. The same goes for this version, the greatest fougere/barbershop fragrance of all time.

Masterpiece 10/10!

Eight years after the launch of 'Rive Gauche pour Homme', one of the most successful aromatic Fougères came to an end, a belated successor to the legendary 'Azzaro pour Homme'.
Perhaps they should have waited a few more years, as aromatic Fougères seem to be coming back into fashion today. However, at the beginning of the new millennium, a new representative of this dusty genre was not going to win any accolades. Sure, 'Azzaro p.H.' was still around. Its success was so immense at the time that there were apparently still enough wearers contributing to its existence. But the reevaluation of this fragrance as one of the most important and influential creations, one of the best men's fragrances ever, was still pending back then, although it happened a few years later.

RGpH was thus quite alone in the field and was completely overwhelmed by the role of being the flagship for a revival of the aging genre of aromatic Fougères.
To make matters worse, IFRA also targeted an integral component of almost every Fougère (and especially every Chypre), oakmoss. RGpH was full of it, although not as much as Azzaro's scent - the use of oakmoss was already limited at that time - but the green-bitter tone, alongside the lavender-coumarin accord and the aromatic nuances, defined the character of the fragrance.

Fortunately, the responsible parties at YSL did not give up without a fight and gave the fragrance a second chance. Quite revised, it became part of the Hèritage collection alongside other slow-sellers like 'M7', 'Jazz', and the classic 'Pour Homme'. The fact that RGpH was not hastily reformulated, that they made an effort to create a changed but still good fragrance - this honors YSL.
And the new version is indeed good: woody, creamy, with the so typical soapy hints of aromatic Fougères, with plenty of civilized patchouli and well-balanced aromatic accents, foremost star anise and rosemary - all infused with a hint of fresh-floral geranium. Very nice, very finely balanced and blended.
Compared to its predecessor, the entire fragrance experience feels much more civilized, more restrained. Not that the original was chaotic, no, but it was more contrasting and therefore more exciting. Similar to how the first 'Bel Ami' was more dissonant and thus more thrilling than all its later, smoothed-out successors.

But be that as it may. The new RGpH is primarily woodier than its predecessor - the guaiac wood is now noticeably more central.
The fragrance is still long-lasting and has a certain presence. Fears that the new owner L’Oréal might not handle YSL's legacy with care have fortunately not materialized, at least concerning the Hèritage collection.
But somehow it is a shame that such a beautiful and characterful fragrance can no longer stand on its own and has to share the bottle with three others - the old cylindrical metal bottle was simply fantastic!

Still: a wonderful Fougère fragrance!