Today, the cold and metallic aldehydes and dry soapiness of Rive Gauche come across old-fashioned and grandma-ish to the noses of women used to sweet 'fruitchouli' and watercolor fruity floral perfumes, but back in 1971 when this was released to the public (a year after being exclusive to the Paris boutique), this was a daringly youthful perfume in strict contrast to the powdery florals, green leathers, or thick oriental patchouli fragrances worn by gals in the 40's, 50's, and early 60's.

19 (1971), Polge & Hy were creating this 'griffe' masterpiece for YSL, meant to be an eye-catching accessory to the 'prГЄt-Г -porter' collection of the same name aimed at young women. Indeed, while Robert was making the final signature perfume for Gabrielle Coco Chanel in the form of Chanel No. Laurent? Well for starters, this was made to christen the opening of the Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche boutique, opened on the left bank in Paris, originally being composed by both Michael Hy and a young Jacques Polge back when Parfums Chanel was still under stewardship of Henri Robert.

To place such value on a fragrance says a lot about it before ever sniffing the sprayer, so what's really happening on the original 'left bank' of the late Mr. Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche (1971) is claimed to be the greatest floral aldehyde perfume of all time by esteemed critic Luca Turin, and was deemed so important by Tom Ford in 2003 that he went through great pains having it reformulated by 2 perfumers (including the son of an original perfumer), in order to maintain its integrity without precious natural ingredients that could no longer be feasibly used.

Saint laurent rive gauche