Riviera
English Laundry (2010)
Average Rating:
6 User Reviews
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About Riviera by English Laundry
Riviera is a men's fragrance launched in 2010 by English Laundry
Fragrance notes.
Top Notes
Heart Notes
Base Notes
Where to buy Riviera
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Riviera on eBay (Riviera by English Laundry)
Reviews of Riviera by English Laundry
There are 6 reviews of Riviera by English Laundry.
Riviera by English Laundry (2010) rides dangerously close to Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme (2006) right off the bat, but that very well may be by design from the perfume upstart formed by the industry veteran. Available at Dillard's officially but often appearing at independent perfume boutiques and even turning up in discounters like Ross, English Laundry is one of those brands which nobody has heard of yet runs analogous to designer styles, with the intent to deliver a niche-like experience for designer prices. This sort of "Parfums de Marly meets Polo" has had limited success, but enough to keep the house a going concern, and most people who come across the brand are unsure if it's a high-end clone house or just an underdog brand like Jacques Bogart. Riviera doesn't do any favors to English Laundry in regards to the former, but it's nice for what it is.
The opening is lemon, bergamot, lime, and a blast of Iso E Super, but it's merely a punch to the face that softens you up for a lavender and geranium core surfing on an ocean of hedione. Bits of metallic aldehyde and powder come through like Chanel Platinum Égoïste (1993) and Versace Blue Jeans (1994) in a blender, which imparts a more fougère-like quality than Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme, but the fruity patchouli notes sneak into the heart and bring Riviera away from fougère territory by the time the base emerges. Ambroxan, oakmoss, and host of synthetic wood notes bring Riviera closest to L'Homme in the finish, but it still remains fresher, brighter, and a bit more versatile. I could see this being someone's signature as it could work year-round thanks to the citrus top and powdery heart, but for people not looking to own just one Jack-of-all-trades, it's thoroughly passable. Wear time is 8+ hours with good sillage and medium projection.
Riviera is a perfectly adequate male semi-fougère fragrance that mixes elements of 90's generalists and 2000's generalists into a very methodically pleasant whole, and does so with good performance, nice packaging, and sells for not a lot of dough. For someone looking into a basic "use everywhere" masculine, Riviera by English Laundry certainly won't disappoint, but neither is it really interesting for someone on a "fragrance journey" and looking to create a diverse collection. In this latter instance, I'd rather recommend separate purchases for the various scents it borrows from, and just keep walking on otherwise. English Laundry has some really good stuff waiting in wing, this just isn't one of the more distinct entries in their line, but seeing how it's one of the first, I can understand the need to cover all bases. On the plus side, this is cheap enough to blind buy if testing proves difficult. Solid neutral.
The opening is lemon, bergamot, lime, and a blast of Iso E Super, but it's merely a punch to the face that softens you up for a lavender and geranium core surfing on an ocean of hedione. Bits of metallic aldehyde and powder come through like Chanel Platinum Égoïste (1993) and Versace Blue Jeans (1994) in a blender, which imparts a more fougère-like quality than Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme, but the fruity patchouli notes sneak into the heart and bring Riviera away from fougère territory by the time the base emerges. Ambroxan, oakmoss, and host of synthetic wood notes bring Riviera closest to L'Homme in the finish, but it still remains fresher, brighter, and a bit more versatile. I could see this being someone's signature as it could work year-round thanks to the citrus top and powdery heart, but for people not looking to own just one Jack-of-all-trades, it's thoroughly passable. Wear time is 8+ hours with good sillage and medium projection.
Riviera is a perfectly adequate male semi-fougère fragrance that mixes elements of 90's generalists and 2000's generalists into a very methodically pleasant whole, and does so with good performance, nice packaging, and sells for not a lot of dough. For someone looking into a basic "use everywhere" masculine, Riviera by English Laundry certainly won't disappoint, but neither is it really interesting for someone on a "fragrance journey" and looking to create a diverse collection. In this latter instance, I'd rather recommend separate purchases for the various scents it borrows from, and just keep walking on otherwise. English Laundry has some really good stuff waiting in wing, this just isn't one of the more distinct entries in their line, but seeing how it's one of the first, I can understand the need to cover all bases. On the plus side, this is cheap enough to blind buy if testing proves difficult. Solid neutral.
I saw a comment in a forum post that called this L'Homme meets Chrome. I'd say that's about spot-on.
A decent cheapie if you're looking for that sort of ginger-metallic feeling, but you're otherwise better off saving your money.
5/10
A decent cheapie if you're looking for that sort of ginger-metallic feeling, but you're otherwise better off saving your money.
5/10
Spicy, fresh and sweet but there's something bitter in this that turns me off to this as a wearable scent. The opening doesn't have the bitterness, so that's pretty good but after it dries the plasticky-bitterness comes out and actually projects pretty well.
Boring generic juice that I was really hoping would be a winner. It is a rather weak synthetic scent that doesn't last more than 4 hours on my skin. Starts with a blast of synthetic citrus and gets worse as it drys... it is a "mall scent for sure" and for the price ($60 US plus online) you can do A LOT better... Avoiding the rest from this house as well.
Spiced butter on wood.
Has been done before but this is very well done, just like most of the rest of the English Laundry line.
This could easily be someone's only fragrance as it covers a good varieties of genres and can work in all weather.
Very nice.
Has been done before but this is very well done, just like most of the rest of the English Laundry line.
This could easily be someone's only fragrance as it covers a good varieties of genres and can work in all weather.
Very nice.
I guess I'm the first to review this.
I have 30 or so frags in my collection and while I will always have my favorites, there are some that I consider every day and some that are special occasion. It is usually the type of smell that makes me put one into the every day category. It has to have a lighter scent that will not annoy after wearing it a long time and that isn't too over powering or distracting.
This frag is an every day cologne in my book which isn't a bad thing. It's a fresh and clean scent that goes on as strong or weak as you want it and makes you feel clean and light on your feet. It's subtle and slightly sweet but without the synthetic and metallic aqua notes that other 'fresh and clean' colognes build on. The only other scents I have that smell at all like it are YSL L'Homme, and Diesel fuel for life but only in the opening, diesels drydown is vastly different.
Other daily colognes this joins in my collection that also fit my fresh and clean criteria are JPG Le Male, Acqua di Gio, Guerlain Vetiver, and Joe Malone Vetiver.
It's a very nice and clean scent that will have you feeling good all morning. It becomes a body scent after about 4 hours with moderate sillage using 4 sprays, and a contact scent by the end of the day. The drydown is predictable and some what 2 dimensional but it's pleasing none the less.
The only downside is that it's only sold by Dillards, and the bottle cap can easily depress the spray head when putting it back on, causing it to spray inside the cap and wasting your scent as well as over powering your bathroom.
The purchase price was a reasonable $80 as a large sized bottle gift pack with shower gel and 3 travel sprayers already filled.
I have 30 or so frags in my collection and while I will always have my favorites, there are some that I consider every day and some that are special occasion. It is usually the type of smell that makes me put one into the every day category. It has to have a lighter scent that will not annoy after wearing it a long time and that isn't too over powering or distracting.
This frag is an every day cologne in my book which isn't a bad thing. It's a fresh and clean scent that goes on as strong or weak as you want it and makes you feel clean and light on your feet. It's subtle and slightly sweet but without the synthetic and metallic aqua notes that other 'fresh and clean' colognes build on. The only other scents I have that smell at all like it are YSL L'Homme, and Diesel fuel for life but only in the opening, diesels drydown is vastly different.
Other daily colognes this joins in my collection that also fit my fresh and clean criteria are JPG Le Male, Acqua di Gio, Guerlain Vetiver, and Joe Malone Vetiver.
It's a very nice and clean scent that will have you feeling good all morning. It becomes a body scent after about 4 hours with moderate sillage using 4 sprays, and a contact scent by the end of the day. The drydown is predictable and some what 2 dimensional but it's pleasing none the less.
The only downside is that it's only sold by Dillards, and the bottle cap can easily depress the spray head when putting it back on, causing it to spray inside the cap and wasting your scent as well as over powering your bathroom.
The purchase price was a reasonable $80 as a large sized bottle gift pack with shower gel and 3 travel sprayers already filled.
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