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.

This is the best clone I’ve ever tried. I used to have a tin can of rive gauche. I was interested in a cheaper alternative and purchased river Fougère. After testing side by side, I could discern no difference. Truly a 1:1 clone for me. River Fougère lasts longer, so I sold the rive gauch.

95% like the OG. Clean and cultured scent.

I have both YSLRG and River Fougere. RV is not a 1:1 clone but it's damn close and even if it's not a 1:1 no one will say you smell bad because RV alone is a nice barbershop fragrance. It's true though these fragrances need time to macerate/mature. I bought RV in 2022 30ml and the juice color was a light yellow, I could detect a plastic smell. Now that I have worn it three times in two years the juice color is now a light brown whiskey color at 27ml and I detect no plastic smell whatsoever. I don't own but two Dua fragrances the one I'm reviewing and Cosmopolitan Vintage(Eau Sauvage clone). If I can offer any advice it would be this. Order Dua fragrances a season in advance. Order your summer fragrances in the fall/winter,spray them 3-5 times and set them aside until summer. Do the same with your winter fragrances buy them in the summer spray them and set them aside. I personally think Dua fragrances need more than a week or a month to macerate/mature. Have patience,you can still wear the fragrance but allow it to macerate/mature. You might be surprised at the changes and stages it goes through overtime.

I bought this for obvious reasons, it came in the older 30ML crappy DUA stock bottles. Mine is pretty good, no issue, great performance and pretty close to the original inspiration. I have read some criticisms under other fragrance reviews, like FINE American Blend, and I don’t get the pickle aroma myself, not even remotely, which I do pick up slightly in other scents that have that complaint (Santal 33) but I think that is more an individual scent genetic, as not everyone picks that up. This is a soapy barbershop scent, similar to other classic fougere styles. This is well blended and creamy, my only issue is the common DUA slickness that comes from the heavy oil content. Price is on the high side, especially with shipping, but is comparable (cheaper) than buying the liquid gold that is Rive Gauche.

I've never smelled Rive Gauche, so can't say how close River Fougere is to it. Given all the hype about Rive Gauche, I bought River Fougere assuming it's in the same ballpark (reviews below confirm that). River Fougere is a pretty nice, masculine, typical fougere fragrance. Impressed me as a rather smooth and somewhat mild fougere - not overly spicy or biting. While I like it and will be wearing it, I wouldn't say it's my favorite fougere. Longevity was quite good but projection was more moderate for me.

Very good interpretation of Rive gauche from YSL. Not so potent and heavy like the original Rive gauche, but more like the Rive Gauche (La collection), less spicy, greener, but still the same DNA. My bottle needed some maceration, so the longevity is 5-6h. Worth sampling if you like the discontinued Rive Gauche.

I bought this a couple of years ago and was not impressed. I have worn it three times this week and like it. Maturation seems to be a deal with this fragrance house.

Like Rive Gauche but stronger and better performance. This is what I imagine RG Intense would be like.

Clone houses may catch hate from some of the more snobbier fragrance community members. But the fact remains that without Dua cloning the now long discontinued YSL Rive Gauche, we simply wouldn't have ANY truly accessible way to wear one of the absolute best barbershop fragrances ever created. For that, Dua should be commended and celebrated. There is absolutely nothing wrong with houses accurately cloning long-discontinued fragrances; in fact, they are doing the fragrance community a great service by doing so. As for Dua River Fougere, I actually owned this before I ever owned YSL Rive Gauche. However, I had grown up with someone around me who wore the original can of YSL Rive Gauche a lot, so the actual scent DNA was firmly imprinted in my consciousness. I am well acquainted with the Dua clone, having worn it for a couple of years, and now that I recently splashed out and purchased YSL Rive Gauche (can version), I feel as though I can make a fair comparison between the two. First of all, you can right away detect the exceptional quality of the blend in Rive Gauche; the way the fragrance develops from opening to drying down is a work of art, everything is perfectly balanced. River Fougere, on the other hand, is much more of a linear experience, what you get after 10 minutes of the fragrance settling on your skin is ultimately what you will get for the life of the fragrance (thankfully, what you get after 10 minutes is fantastic). I have noticed on other reviews of Dua's fragrances that this tends to be a criticism of their entire lineup, there is no proper development. In terms of quality, while the YSL is definitely a cut above the Dua, in NO way does the Dua smell cheap or inexpensive. Don't be worried about that at all. The Dua definitely smells much more expensive than its price point from a quality of ingredients view; in fact, you would be hard-pressed to believe it is a fragrance from a clone house. Sillage: About the same between the two. People will easily smell both on you, they both project very well. Both never really ever become a skin scent. DO NOT overspray either of these. Trust me. Longevity: Amazing with Rive Gauche, I get 10 heading into 12 hours plus of distinct scent wafting off my skin. If you spray Rive Gauche on clothes you will be able to smell it for days. About the same with River Fougere (maybe a touch less), applying to clothes has the same effect of extending longevity. Both of these stick to clothes really well, but be careful with spraying on white dress shirts. My biggest takeaway from a scent POV is that overall, YSL Rive Gauche is fresher and "airier" than River Fougere. River Fougere is definitely warmer and definitely spicier. I can actually see myself wearing Rive Gauche in summer, whereas before, I never wore River Fougere in summer as it is much too heavy in the high heat. I detect more of an emphasis on the wood, anise, and rosemary in River Fougere, whereas Rive Gauche is more lavender and geranium-forward. Rive Gauche also has more bergamot than River Fougere, again helping with the "fresher" feel between the two. I used to believe River Fougere was 90 to 95 percent close to Rive Gauche based on my own sensory memories of the fragrance. Now that I finally own Rive Gauche, I have to realistically adjust that to River Fougere being around 80 to 85 percent close to Rive Gauche. The actual scent DNA between the two is absolutely bang on. They both share the exact same notes: River Fougere really is a true clone. However, the notes between the two are shuffled in order, with emphasis on certain notes being different between the two. All in all, Dua River Fougere is very close and a very worthy clone of the original (and the best on the market by far). I highly recommend this if you want an inexpensive yet still fairly accurate way to experience one of the best male fragrances ever created. Note: Get some sprays out of the bottle when you first receive it, and then store it away to let it oxidize for at least one month. "Maceration" is a contentious word in the frag com, but when it comes to this brand, they manufacture the fragrances to order. So what you actually receive is a fragrance that hasn't had the same amount of time to properly settle and develop compared to fragrances that sit on shelves for months and years after production. When you spray this for the first couple of weeks, you will be 100% disappointed to the point where you will think you were scammed. All you will be able to smell is alcohol and carrier oil. Don't freak out. Trust me when I say you need to get some sprays out of the bottle and then let it sit for at least one, ideally two months. This develops into the real deal if you have patience.

Until a few years ago I had the last remnants YSLs Rive Gauche in the bottom of its black and silver 125ml can. After hearing about Dua's River Fougere and not being willing to spend upwards of three hundred dollars on eBay for a can of Rive Gauche, I bought a bottle. I sprayed YSL Rive Gauche on one wrist, and Dua River Fougère on the other for direct comparison. The two were 95- 97% alike. Rive Gauche's opening might be a touch brighter with citrus, and River Fougere's dry down might a touch woodier and spicier. After 60 minutes the two were virtually indistinguishable from one another. Dua claims their formulation is based on the original Rive Gauche, and it has been noted that later Rive Gauche formulations had a brighter opening and were less woody and spicy than the originals. My final can of YSL Rive Gauche was a later formulation (the fifth or sixth can I owned), so that might account for whatever small difference there was. Basically, if you were ever in love with YSL's River Gauche and want a direct replacement, then don't hesitate to buy this!

I bought my bottle in 2021, obviously very happy with it but I think quality control didn’t pick up that my batch has no anise whatsoever, so it really smells of a hybrid between Brut and Rive Gauche, another bottle is on its way :) Update: new bottle has arrived and anise note is present. Dua seemed to have dialled in the quality, the fragrance smells cleaner and the noted have more clarity. The new atomisers work great too.

basically a heavy licorice bomb with spice and some woods. you will kind of smell like an old lady. platinum egoiste is what a barbershop smells like definitely not this. wouldnt consider this a traditional masculine scent either. if anything this is what an older womans salon smells like not a male barbershop.