Gush›Yves Saint Laurent›Rive Gauche
Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche
Yves Saint Laurent

Rive Gauche

Citrus
Fresh
Floral
White Floral
Green
Aldehydic
Woody
EDT · 1971 · womens

Yves Saint Laurent's Rive Gauche launched in 1971 during the height of the designer's influence, capturing the spirit of the Left Bank's intellectual and artistic scene. The fragrance became a defining scent of its era, embodying the liberated aesthetic YSL championed.

Opening with aldehydes and citrus notes of bergamot and lemon, Rive Gauche quickly reveals honeysuckle and peach for a fresh, slightly sweet introduction. The heart is a lush floral arrangement anchored by gardenia, jasmine, and magnolia, with geranium and iris adding structure and a subtle green quality. As it develops, powdery aldehydes remain present throughout the mid-stage. The base settles into a warm, earthy chypre foundation with oakmoss, sandalwood, and tonka bean creating a creamy amber undertone that balances the florals' brightness.

This is a sophisticated fragrance for someone who appreciates classic florals with an intellectual edge. The powdery-green character makes it versatile across seasons, though it shines in cooler weather when the base's warmth becomes more prominent. Rive Gauche suits both daytime and evening wear, working equally well in professional and social settings. If you respond to complex florals with restrained sweetness, explore The Tactician, The Homesteader, and The Romantic.

Adds to your fragrance profile · visible to the community

Not yet ratedYour Gush Score
$70Best · 100ml
$7830d Avg
Rate this fragrance
0255075100
—/100
Price Comparison4 retailers · updated daily
SizeBottleDecantUpdated 284m ago
$70.35Save $40 (36% off retail)
at The Perfume Spot
🔥 Lowest price in 5 days of tracking
$70 low$110 retail
near the low, great time to buy
Buy Now →
RetailerStockPrice
The Perfume SpotBestIn Stock$70.35−$40Buy
FragranceShop✓ PartnerIn Stock$78.95−$31Buy
Jomashop✓ PartnerIn Stock$79.99−$30Buy
FragFlexIn Stock$109.95Buy

✓ authorized retailer · ⚠ verify seller · delta vs. MSRP · we earn a small commission

Price History · 100ml
Low
$70
Avg
$78
High
$80
5 days tracked · 2026-04-29 – 2026-05-13
Alert me when the price drops
We'll notify you once. No spam.
Main Accordsreported by community
Citrus
18%
Fresh
27%
Floral
100%
White Floral
46%
Green
80%
Aldehydic
100%
Woody
64%
Vetiver
21%
Earthy
42%
Musky
50%
Powdery
70%
Amber
21%
Warm Spicy
21%
Vanilla
21%
Sweet
51%
Gourmand
21%
Creamy
21%
Fragrance Notesbrand verified
Top · 0–30 min
Aldehydes
Aldehydes
The chemical family that created modern perfumery, aldehydes were first used prominently in Chanel N°5 (1921), adding a soapy, abstract, almost metallic sparkle that lifted the fragrance above anything previously possible. They don't smell like anything in nature; their effect is more textural than aromatic. Aldehydic fragrances feel luminous, sophisticated, and distinctly 20th century.
Bergamot
Bergamot
A sun-ripened Italian citrus with a brightness that goes beyond lemon, simultaneously tart, floral, and slightly spicy. It's the defining note of Earl Grey tea and the backbone of countless fresh colognes. Perfumers love it as an opener because it lifts the entire composition without overpowering what follows.
Green Notes
Green Notes
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle
Sweet, honeyed, and intensely floral, honeysuckle is the scent of warm summer evenings, a generous sweetness with a slightly green, living quality. It's more complex than simple sweetness: there's a faint nectarous depth that makes it feel natural rather than candy-like. A note of abundance and warmth.
Lemon
Lemon
Sharp, clean, and instantly familiar, the pure zest of fresh-cut lemon peel, not the sugary juice. In perfumery it reads as crisp and energising rather than sweet, and is often used to amplify other light notes. It fades quickly, so it's almost always a top note that makes a striking first impression.
Peach
Peach
Ripe, juicy, and velvety, peach has a warm, slightly creamy sweetness that feels lush rather than childish in the right context. It adds a fruity sensuality to floral and oriental fragrances, and its slightly fuzzy quality can even play into tactile, skin-like accords. A note that feels like high summer.
Heart · 30 min – 3 hrs
Gardenia
Gardenia
Intoxicatingly creamy and white-floral with a waxy, almost narcotic sweetness. Gardenia shares the heady indolic quality of jasmine and tuberose but with a fresher, greener edge from its glossy leaves. A challenging note to use well, too much overwhelms, but a well-handled gardenia accord is memorably beautiful.
Geranium
Geranium
Green, rosy, and slightly minty, geranium is one of perfumery's most useful ingredients, sitting at the intersection of floral, herbal, and green families. Rose geranium adds a natural, slightly ragged freshness to rose accords that synthetic rose can't match. It grounds floral compositions in something earthy and real.
Iris
Iris
One of perfumery's most prized and expensive ingredients, iris has a powdery, cool, almost carrot-like richness that is hard to describe and impossible to mistake. It's simultaneously earthy and refined, like the inside of an old Parisian couture house. Iris root (orris) adds quiet luxury to anything it touches.
Jasmine
Jasmine
Intoxicating, heady, and slightly animalic, jasmine is one of the few flowers that smells as rich in a bottle as it does climbing a garden wall at dusk. It has an almost fleshy, indolic quality that stops it reading as purely 'clean.' Jasmine is a workhorse in both feminine and masculine perfumery, adding depth and soul.
Lily Of The Valley
Lily Of The Valley
Crisp, green, and dewy, this spring flower smells like rain on cool grass with a clean, soap-like clarity. It's one of perfumery's most requested scents despite being nearly impossible to extract naturally, so it's almost always recreated synthetically. The result is fresh, tender, and timelessly elegant.
Magnolia
Magnolia
Creamy, lush, and faintly lemony, magnolia is a floral note with real presence, richer than peony but more accessible than jasmine. It has a velvety quality and a slight spice that stops it from being simply pretty. Used to add warmth and dimensionality to floral compositions.
Rose
Rose
The queen of floral notes and the most-used ingredient in fine perfumery. Real rose is simultaneously velvety, honeyed, and slightly spicy, nothing like the synthetic candy version. Depending on the variety used, it can anchor a composition or drift through it like a ghost, adding warmth without dominating.
Ylang-Ylang
Ylang-Ylang
Base · 3–12 hrs
Amber
Amber
A warm, resinous accord rather than a single ingredient, amber is typically built from labdanum, benzoin, and vanilla to create a rich, honeyed, almost solar warmth. It's the quintessential base-note family, adding a comforting richness that makes fragrances feel complete. The difference between a fragrance feeling cold and feeling alive.
Musk
Musk
The base layer of almost every modern fragrance, a soft, warm, skin-like scent that extends longevity and bridges other notes together. Natural musk was once derived from deer (now banned); today's musks are synthetic and range from clean and soapy to dark and animalic. The right musk makes a fragrance smell like 'you.'
Oakmoss
Oakmoss
The defining ingredient of classic chypre perfumery, damp, forest-floor earthy with a faint bitterness and incredible complexity. Real oakmoss is now heavily restricted by IFRA regulations, which is why vintage chypres smell so different from modern ones. When present, it creates a raw, outdoorsy anchor that no synthetic fully replicates.
Sandalwood
Sandalwood
Creamy, smooth, and milky with a soft, skin-like warmth that clings beautifully. True Mysore sandalwood is one of perfumery's most precious ingredients, simultaneously wood and skin, never cold or sharp. It rounds off sharp edges in any composition and makes the wearer smell subtly, irresistibly warmer.
Tahitian Vetiver
Tahitian Vetiver
Tonka Bean
Tonka Bean
Sweet, powdery, and almond-like with hay-like, slightly tobacco undertones, tonka bean is one of perfumery's most useful base notes. It shares coumarin with fresh hay and freshly cut grass, adding a warmth that feels nostalgic and comforting. Essential in gourmand and soft oriental fragrances.
Who Wears ThisScent DNA matches
🌿
The TacticianBest match87% match
Precision over excess. Always.

Crisp, dry, clean, worn close. Citrus, aromatic herbs, light woods, soft musks.

🏡
The Homesteader86% match
Rooted, warm, and entirely self-sufficient.

Warm skin musks, sandalwood, soft cedar, clean vetiver. Grounding, intimate, unhurried.

❤️
The Romantic83% match
Your fragrance is a love letter you never stop writing.

Warm roses, vanilla, amber, creamy musks. Soft, evolving, intimate.

Based on this fragrance's accord profile · Find your Scent DNA →
Community
Rate this fragrance
Rate this fragrance
0255075100
—/100
Most Popular with this Scent DNA Type?
🌿
The Tactician
Precision over excess. Always.
Crisp, dry, clean, worn close. Citrus, aromatic herbs, light woods, soft musks.
Discover your type →
Scent Profile
Citrus18%
Fresh27%
Floral100%
White Floral46%
Green80%
Fragrance Family
Chypre
EDT
Decants Available
1
listings in stock
7.5ml$3.33/ml

Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche— Prices, Coupons & Buying Guide

Best price today: Rive Gauche is $70.35. Without a coupon the lowest price is $70.35. Gush tracks 47+ retailers updated every 2 hours.

Are grey market retailers authentic?

Yes. Jomashop, FragranceNet, and MaxAroma sell 100% authentic Yves Saint Laurent fragrances through unofficial distribution channels. The fragrance is identical to department store stock. Grey market refers to the supply chain, not product quality. The price difference comes entirely from the distribution channel.

Frequently asked questions

Cheapest price for Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche? +
$70.35 at The Perfume Spot. Gush compares 47+ retailers updated every 2 hours.
Is $70.35 a good price for Rive Gauche? +
Yes. The current best price is $70.35 and MSRP is $109.95. At $70.35 you save 36% vs retail.
What does Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche smell like? +
Yves Saint Laurent's Rive Gauche launched in 1971 during the height of the designer's influence, capturing the spirit of the Left Bank's intellectual and artistic scene. The fragrance became a defining scent of its era, embodying the liberated aesthetic YSL championed. Opening with aldehydes and citrus notes of bergamot and lemon, Rive Gauche quickly reveals honeysuckle and peach for a fresh, slightly sweet introduction. The heart is a lush floral arrangement anchored by gardenia, jasmine, and magnolia, with geranium and iris adding structure and a subtle green quality. As it develops, powdery aldehydes remain present throughout the mid-stage. The base settles into a warm, earthy chypre foundation with oakmoss, sandalwood, and tonka bean creating a creamy amber undertone that balances the florals' brightness. This is a sophisticated fragrance for someone who appreciates classic florals with an intellectual edge. The powdery-green character makes it versatile across seasons, though it shines in cooler weather when the base's warmth becomes more prominent. Rive Gauche suits both daytime and evening wear, working equally well in professional and social settings. If you respond to complex florals with restrained sweetness, explore The Tactician, The Homesteader, and The Romantic.
What are the notes in Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche? +
Top: Aldehydes, Bergamot, Green Notes, Honeysuckle, Lemon, Peach. Heart: Gardenia, Geranium, Iris, Jasmine, Lily Of The Valley, Magnolia, Rose, Ylang-Ylang. Base: Amber, Musk, Oakmoss, Sandalwood, Tahitian Vetiver, Tonka Bean.
What fragrance family is Rive Gauche? +
Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche belongs to the Chypre fragrance family. It is an EDT.
What is a grey market fragrance retailer? +
Grey market retailers sell authentic fragrances sourced through unofficial distribution -- typically excess inventory from authorized distributors. The product is real and identical to retail. FragranceNet (est. 1997), Jomashop, and MaxAroma are well-established with millions of verified reviews.

Gush earns a commission on purchases at no cost to you · Prices update every 2 hours · Coupon success rates based on affiliate feed data · Grey market = authentic, unofficial supply chain