Isola Verde by Roja: A Modern Summer Scent With Classic Heart
Written by Kristina Kybartaite-Damule
British luxury fragrance house Roja recently added a new perfume to their summery Isola collection – Isola Verde, where a tropical holiday dream meets elegance.
I have been following Roja and consistently reviewing their perfumes for years now, so it’s no wonder I got asked a lot about this release by my readers and followers on social media. Of course, I was no less interested in this perfume myself, so I got a sample to learn what it's all about.
Beyond the obvious reason – being that new perfumes always intrigue me – Isola Verde sparked my curiosity because of the nose behind it: this is only the second perfume from Roja whose creation is officially attributed to their new in-house perfumer, Antoine Cotton.
“My mission is to embody the new era of the brand with my fresh vision: to create bold fragrances, daring contrasts and associations, playing with textures and colours through the exploration of new olfactory universes without constraints. It is the absolute dream for every perfumer,” he said in an interview with PlezuroMag earlier this year, speaking about his vision for Roja’s future.
Antoine Cotton / Freddie Pearson Photography
The first perfume under his name was released at the end of February – Apex Eau Intense, which I slightly preferred over the original – followed by Isola Verde, earlier this summer.
The Isola ("island" in Italian) collection is all about dream vacations, sunny days on tropical beaches, and beautiful coasts – that’s the image the brand conveys. And yes, the scents are very summery: from the refreshing woody citrus of Isola Blu (previously known as Oligarch), which I adore, to the cocktail of tropical fruits in Isola Sol, which unfortunately didn’t impress me much. The new Isola Verde offers a fruity, citrusy refreshment – it also invites you to a tropical island, but in a different way than the previous two. And this one, I enjoy a lot.
The perfume opens with a juicy citrus zest. Bergamot, lemon, lime, mandarin, grapefruit – they’re all here, offering a mouthwatering experience. After the fresh, sour shock, other fruity hints appear, like guava, but they’re not very strong and don’t veer into the sweet, coconutty direction like Isola Sol did. In fact, I find the scent more fresh and even bitter than sweet – and if we’re thinking cocktails, it’s more gin & tonic or mojito (probably the geranium gives that minty feeling) than piña colada. In the mad summer heat of Sicily, the scent’s tender bitterness felt very refreshing on the skin.
After the initial play of fruits, a luminous bouquet of flowers appears – with ylang-ylang carrying that tropical feeling, tender magnolia, and jasmine, all dripped in moss. This exact part feels familiar – generous floral accords, especially with geranium, Jasmine de Grasse, and Rose de Mai, are so often found in older Roja compositions. And while Isola Verde smells modern and contemporary, it’s nice to detect an echo of the brand’s beloved classics.
What’s left on the skin after some time is a musky woodiness, with a reminiscence of fruits. Vetiver echoes the citrus feeling, while dry cedarwood adds warmth. It’s all tied together with smoky tobacco and benzoin, with just a modest touch of sweet vanilla.
I think Isola Verde is a beautiful composition and a perfect scent to take on your summer vacation – especially if you’re tired of generic tropical scents and looking for something more refined. I can definitely see myself wearing it next time I visit Isola Bella, one of the most beautiful places in Sicily.