ROJA PARFUMS
ISOLA SOL
2024
PERFUMER
Roja Dove
Lemon
Bergamot
Mandarin
Petitgrain
Apricot
Peach
Neroli
Jasmine Sambac
Ylang Ylang
Coconut
Pink Pepper
Cedarwood
Sandalwood
Amyris Wood
Salty Accord
Musk
Ambroxan
‘An olfactive postcard from an island vacation, Isola Sol is a sublime new art-piece from the vision of Roja Dove. Capturing a snapshot of a blissful day spent on a golden beach, Isola Sol embraces that magical moment the sun is at its highest in the sky, turning the scenery into a watercolour of orange and blues. Tempting you to a land where the sun always shines, surrounding yourself with the scent of Isola Sol means you don’t have to long for a summer holiday’ – Roja Parfum
Roja follows a 2023/2024 trend of sorts in creating a sun-tan-esque fragrance with Isola Sol. I already reviewed it prior to receiving the PR bottle and I found this to be better than most of its contemporaries. Here’s why calling it a sun-tan lotion is perhaps not correct and why I like it more…
Isola Sol opens with refreshing florals. A hint of citrus, but not really all that fruity. There is a bit of tart and green, which sticks around for the entire wear. It’s a high-frequency jasmine first and foremost to my nose with a light sea breeze and a sweet sun-tan lotion underneath. Ylang-Ylang and coconut are listed, but it stays much more on the floral sea breeze side than the coconut and sweetness. The drydown is a pretty common floral skin scent, pleasant, but not the greatest performer.
I feel like we’ve seen this style a lot lately; Guerlain’s Florabloom goes in this direction, but I found the quality to be lacking there. Isola Sol is less youthful overall; while the scent profile is safe and mass appealing, the jasmine here doesn’t smell like Sephora and the sweetness is tamed better. With the jasmine being as prominent as it is (and I find this even more now, than in my initial testing), a better comparison would probably be Moresque Regina, but that one ultimately goes quite vanillic on my skin in the drydown; so far Isola Sol seems to retain the floral and fresher side better.
Isola Sol is one of those Roja’s that I think is high quality and well-made, but is a lot of money for the style of scent; as for example Oceania was for a more masculine-leaning release. At first I looked at this as a sun-tan scent, but the more I smell it, the more I feel it’s a full-on jasmine fragrance and that change of perception somehow made me appreciate it more. Perhaps one of the more forgettable Roja fragrances, but a solid addition to the range.
