River Fougère

I have two full cans of original YSL Rive Gauche/RG Before having these cans, or ever smelling Rive Gauche - I bought clones like this cologne. Such is the nature of hype.. Based on face value, without comparing to Rive Gauche this is a strong barbershop fougere. It's 'screechy' at times and can be cloying if over-sprayed (two sprays max recommended). Better in winter and fall and early spring..basically fit for colder weather because it sits warm to your skin/clothes and projects. How does it compare to Rive Gauche? It's a very good and close clone. It is stronger. Gauche is more smoother, this one is more 'screechy' and warm. If you are into wetshaving and into strong aftershaves like Floid and Brut - you will absolutely love it. Shave with Phoenix Artisan CaD soap, splash some Fine American Blend aftershave or CaD aftershave, and then put some of this on. Absolutely beastly... If Rive Gauche was well dressed, slick man in suits, this would be the same man putting on lumberjack clothes and heading to the woods to chop down some trees. I guess it's Rive Gauche with some hard edges.. Definitely worth the buy in my opinion.

I have tested probably 20 maybe 30 fougeres and bought some. Tsar, Safari, Jazz, Beau de Jour, Fougere Royale, Azzaro pH, Paco Rabanne pour Homme, Sartorial, Strawanza, Masculin Pluriel, Duc de Vervins l'extreme, Bon Monsieur by Rogue etc. But then I got a sample of Rive Gauche. I understood immediately why so many have mourned it. This is where the search ends. The 10/10. Definitely one of the worst decisions YSL could ever do, to take this masterpiece off the shelves. Why would you remove something so perfect? Who ever did it, deserves to be fired. I had the DUA River Fougere some years ago already, before I tried Rive Gauche. The old version wasn't really good, notes were off, quality low, not pleasant, I didn't like it. Yet luckily I tried it now in 2026 again. Wow. It is better than the original, so fresh, amazing performance, immediate compliment. DUA has definitely completely changed the composition of River Fougere. Immediately bought 2 bottles. 10/10

If you’re curious about what all the hype is over with Rive Gauche and have never smelled it, then you need to get this. It’s strikingly close to RG. To echo and confirm what others are saying; yes it needs a few weeks to macerate. It definitely comes into its own with age like a wine. But even at a cap sniff, the 2 are indistinguishable. Dua nailed it with this one. As far as actual wearing, Dua’s is 95% there. RG is lighter and more citrus forward in the opening, which is almost absent in Dua’s rendition but it really took me concentrating on the note breakdown to really notice that. Dua recreated the dry down perfectly and the scent is linear because of that, but that’s not a bad thing in my opinion. I Love RG, it’s one of my very top 3 favorites so for this to exist really is a fragrance blessing. Packaging and branding is rather lame imo but there’s worse looking fragrance bottles (armaf lol) 10/10 will always recommend.

This one gets a rare "love" vote from me. The reviews below pretty much sum this up well. It's a very good clone or interpretation of YSL Rive Gauche. I've tried some other DUAs that didn't hit the mark, but this one kills. It's fantastic. I wear this everywhere, anytime. I feel fresh and clean, like a shave and a haircut. I pick up the star anise and barbershop vibes, and it's in the Azzaro Pour Homme ballpark (sweeter and more refined). I'd say 90% similar to Rive Gauche, at least. Performance is solid, good to great longevity and projection. It was great from the first spray, and got even better after a month or so. The juice changed from light to dark yellow. I've already ordered a second bottle. I advise you to order when there's a 33% discount, I got mine at 36% off. If you get this for around $30 in total, it's definitely worth it since original Rive Gauche is over $250 a bottle now.

They did a hell of a job with this one. Very happy with it. Soapy clean fougere in the ballpark of Azzaro pour homme; but spicier. It was exactly what I was looking for. I have never had the opportunity to smell what this is inspired by because YSL only cares about Y. but I am plenty happy with this. Also, this projects off me for over 12 hours.