Note Pyramid
Isola Sol
Roja Parfums Isola Sol Parfum 50ml is the house's attempt at a holiday in a bottle, and unusually for the genre it has been built with the same density as its serious evening fragrances. The opening is a pile of citrus and stone fruit at once: lemon, bergamot and mandarin orange for brightness, petitgrain for a green, twiggy bitterness that stops the sweetness running away, and apricot and peach giving a soft, slightly furry juiciness underneath. It smells generous rather than clever, which is the right instinct for this kind of scent.
Coconut is the material that sets the scene in the middle, and it is handled dry, closer to the husk and to sun warmed skin than to anything poured over ice. Neroli keeps a clean bitter edge, sambac jasmine is heady and a little sweet, and ylang ylang adds its creamy richness, which is what makes the whole thing read as warm air rather than as fruit.
The base is where the cleverness is. A salty accord runs through it, faintly mineral and faintly sweaty in the way sea air is, with ambroxan amplifying that into something smooth and modern. Amyris, cedarwood and sandalwood keep it dry underneath, pink pepper adds a last crackle, and musk softens everything so the drydown sits on the skin rather than above it.
It wears for a long time for something that smells this light, and it is one of the few summer fragrances at this level that survives an afternoon in real heat. It reads unisex, suits warm weather, travel and evenings outdoors, and 50ml is a sensible amount of it. Isola is the collection within the Roja Parfums range given over to this warmer register, and the house itself was founded in Mayfair by Roja Dove, who sells at the top of the market without apology.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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