River of Love

Wow! This one hit me like a ton of bricks, sheesh... I already had 2 La Rive perfumes (Vanilla Touch and Eternal Kiss, blegh and decently yummy respectively), but I really wanted to try a few more. They're being sold on the most fancy perfume site of my country, making me think that if théy connect their name to La Rive the others must be at least decent. So, a few weeks before Xmas 2021 I decided to make sure Santa's bag would be full of delicious smelling goodies. That turned into a LA RIVE haul to be precise. 😉 (Fleur de Femme, Taste of Kiss, My Delicate, Cash, Beauty Prestige, Wave of Love, Cuté, Moonlight Lady Prestige, InFlames, and River of Love) I had plenty of testing to do and decided River of Love would be the 1st try. I'm used to certain "cheapies" needing chill time after travel and if you let them sit their alcohol clouds will disappear and their true scents appear... stronger with each week. Angel...uhm, cough...I mean River of Love decided to show me that not every cheapie is a mess on arrival. As the 1st exception to my rule, in a very good way, it turned out to be surprisingly well crafted, and most likely had at least sóme maceration. I sprayed on my wrist and BAM... and wonderful, alcohol-free (in smell and coughs-inducing experience I mean) scent appeared and it was Strong with a capital S! That opening is pretty much a 100% dupe of what I remember from Thierry Mugler's Angel (I haven't had an Angel scented skin in a looooong time). While my memory could be a tad hazy, I don't think so. Muglers star perfume is rather particular in its opening and you don't forget that. The opening and the step to the heart do happen in extremely quick succession and as with most perfumes that have 101 notes I can only catch a few - none of the fruits unfortunately, at least not clearly noticeable, except a fresh bergamot that becomes a softer opening note as soon as the maceration starts. It remains, but as a vaguer citrusy whiff that disappates very quickly as a note that can be pointed out, but will become part of the blend. No screechiness, no rather loudly screaming notes...I am guesstimating it's a good blend as far as my nose is a "Nose". After the initial opening I've met with different incarnations of RoL, all pushing another note forward as the strongest. That was surprising too, as the first spray showed a full blend. Still, the maceration that happens automatically as soon as you've sprayed had quite an effect on some parts of the pyramid. At one point it was a horrifying Bergamot bomb and I prayed that would change asap. As you could read above, it certainly did. The La Rive I have now has been steady in its scent for over a year now, say since end winter '22 (bought November '21). The dry- down leaves you with a strong honey, that's mixed with a whiff of bergamot, luscious vanilla, some Nutmeg, a soft accent of sandalwood and amber, and a sweet jasmine. On some days, influenced by my hormones or diet probably I get a bit of caramel, plum and green patchouli and no jasmine or amber. But the first description is 99% of the time the fragrance on my skin. I remember Mugler's hit being a tad more spicy and chocolate forward on me, so River of Love isn't an identical twin, but certainly coming very close. In my humble opinion that's really okay. It's still close enough to be a great replacement for anyone who has either little budget or who doesn't like the reformulation. If you were just salivating over the pyramid and/ or looking for a perfume that isn't a dime a dozen with Oriental, Gourmand and Chypre accents River of Love is also a great buy. Besides its dupe quality and bizarrely low price, RoL is simply yummy and highly addictive to me. So, what about that SPL, eh? Probably sucks for a €7 perfume, right? Wrong! In the very beginning it seemed to lose the intense projection it has at the start. To be fair: I had just opened the bottle. And indeed, once RoL calmed down and became the scent I have had for over a year it also performed steadily. Steadily above average. I sometimes get anosmic to the smell (strangely enough not every single time), but have learnt that others can still smell me just fine. The scent projects at armlength (don't know about sillage, alas) and beyond that in the first two hours. Also, the longevity is really good. I have very dry, perfume eating skin and can count the fragrances that last beyond the 3-4hr mark on one hand (I have 180 perfumes atm and about to do a haul soon, as I'm planning to sell off about 1/3rd of my collection). La Rive's little star stays with me for about 6hrs before it turns a very soft skin scent. And I don't even need to overspray as is normal with most of my fragrances. Layering with, for example, a honey, jasmine or chocolate scent - oil or edp - helps to boost that to a full workday, including your travel time. I'm going to assume that River of Love will be an absolute gem in SPL terms on normal skin. Beastmode, I don't know. But certainly one to stay, stay, stay... and not to overspray! For the price I'm truly amazed what you're getting. I hope La Rive will keep the prices low and not suddenly kick them up while messing with formulas like some other dupe houses I know (Zara- cough - Zara). I know by now that this is going to be a keeper. And with my bottle closing on empty I'm already looking for a new one. Season wise this La Rive is definitely suited to the colder months for most people. Even though I'm a live and let live kinda person and think you should wear - clothes and perfume - whatever you want, whenever you want I have noticed River of Love is simply too much on a warm day when the temperature reaches 20, 25 and up degree Celcius. It's why I wear it the other three seasons (or on those typical Dutch cold, rainy, windy summer days), though I'm sure many won't use it in spring either. I do like it the most in Autumn and Winter. It's when I prefer to wear my gourmand-like fragrances. But you do you. I definitely recommend River of Love to anyone, whether you can afford niche or barely have a euro to scratch your behind. Of all the La Rive's I bought it's one of the few that has ended up in my regular collection (ones that remain there for years). I'm about to test a fancy-schmancy dupe for Angel soon (€52/100ml as opposed to €7/90ml) if I can get all the funds together, mostly because A. RoL only has 3 more days in him B. the packaging of this new perfume is divine, and C. I'm very curious how different it'll be on my skin. With those gazillion notes it wouldn't be that surprising if the Maison Des Rêves I'm talking about smells entirely dissimilar. Whether it does, or not, a second bottle of this just reviewed delicious blue liquid will absolutely find its way to me again!

River of Love opens with an innocent, cloud-like sweetness, the whimsical magic of cotton candy and creamy coconut. Fruity notes cut through the sugar, melting away the top notes as the sweetness deepens into rich, warm honey and dark plum through a sophisticated bouquet of orchid and rose. A dusting of deep spices intertwines with delicate florals, adding warmth and depth. The base is thick and seductive, blending earthy patchouli, dark chocolate, caramel, and amber with woody sandalwood and deep musk. Everything comes together beautifully, creating a captivating fragrance unlike so many others. It wraps around you with spellbinding depth as it melts into the skin, leaving behind a delightfully haunting trail. A beautiful ghost of sweetness and shadow that lingers long after you walk away. Whether others love it or hate it, your scent will be unforgettable. My daughter has been a longtime fan of Angel. Personally, I have never enjoyed it on my own skin, even though it smells wonderful on her. If needed, I like to prime my perfume bottles before their first use and let them sit for a while to allow the fragrance to mature. However, to my absolute surprise, the very first spray of River of Love completely took me back. It is undeniably beautiful. While it shares that unmistakable, iconic Angel DNA, La Rive has created something uniquely smooth and refined. I actually find this version far more pleasant, wearable, and balanced than the original. I am honestly shocked by how much I love this fragrance. I have to say I'm quite impressed with La Rive. Their fragrances never fail to garner me compliments every single time I wear them.

Smells like pre-reformulated Angel but a slightly lighter, more subdued version. Elated is an understatement. Now I can overspray till my heart's content and bask in all the glory that is OG Angel. This smells 100x better than what L'oreal is pumping out in the Mugler packaging. You can actually smell the top + middle notes while they transition into the base notes and everything is AMAZING. Patchouli is still there but it's not front stage and center nor is it pungent and aggressive. I can't even complain about the longevity or sillage because the cost + scent justifies this and overspraying solves it, lol. It's getting difficult to find Thierry Mugler labelled Angels and I'm honestly tired of looking and chancing the risk (especially online where integrity isn't always a priority). I'm curious as to whether New Brand's Blue Sky dupe compares and whether it smells similar to the OG Angel. I'm satisfied with this one and find it very wearable, addictive and inoffensive if you're a fan of Angel.

This smells closer to the original Angel from years ago, than the current authentic version. I’m not sure if the current Mugler Angel is a reformulated Clarins or the new L’Oréal one since L’Oréal acquired the Mugler brand. It’s diluted, missing many notes, dies after 2 hours. The official Angel is a weak shadow of its former power house self that filled a room with one spray and lasted 12+ hours. This River of Love blows it out the water. Sales associates at the store said it’s probably because the knockoff brands are slower to change their formulas since authorities pay less attention to it during ingredient regulation changes and contractual acquisitions with the official brands. So those of you missing the original Angel, THIS is much closer than the current “real” one.

I am so happy to have found River of Love. Backstory: I received a new bottle of Angel for Christmas, but discovered the reformulation of the once-iconic fragrance to be a disappointment. So I set out to find something that would give me the same early-2000 vibes I was seeking. Lo and behold, it came from a €10 bottle of drugstore perfume. River of Love is beautiful. It smells, to me, exactly like the OG Angel. It's really a well-blended, sensual masterpiece and I am so pleasantly surprised by the affordability. I will be dousing myself in this scent for the rest of the winter and buying multiple backup bottles.