The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Aquaflor Firenze launched Higos in 2022, composed by perfumer Nicola Bianchi as part of the house's ongoing series of olfactory portraits rooted in Mediterranean landscape and vegetation. The fig tree anchors the composition, and Bianchi treats it less as a fruit than as a place: bark, leaf, shadow, the cool air beneath a canopy in August. The opening carries a bright snap of citrus, bergamot at the front with lemon threading through clean and sharp, and the fig leaf pulling everything into a botanical register. As the hours pass, sandalwood arrives creamy but never cloying, while vetiver adds a dry, rooty edge that keeps the whole composition honest. The fig leaf never disappears, it simply migrates, pulling back into the structure where it adds bitterness and depth without dominating.
What makes Higos interesting is what it refuses to do. Most fig fragrances chase the fruit itself, that jammy, lactonic sweetness that reads as dessert. Bianchi skips it almost entirely. The fig leaf carries the composition, green, slightly bitter, vegetal in a way that recalls crushed stems and sap rather than ripe flesh. That decision reshapes the entire pyramid: the bergamot and lemon at the top read sharper, the sandalwood and vetiver in the middle stay dry and structural, and the oakmoss base does real work anchoring everything to earth. It's a fig for people who found the sweeter versions too easy.
The evolution
The first ten minutes belong to the citrus. Bergamot leads, bright and almost metallic, with lemon cutting clean alongside it, and the fig leaf threading through as a green undertow rather than a statement. By the thirty-minute mark the citrus has softened and the heart takes over: sandalwood arriving creamy but not sweet, vetiver adding that dry, rooty edge that keeps the composition from going soft. The fig leaf never disappears, it just migrates, pulling back into the structure where it adds bitterness and depth without dominating. The drydown is where the oakmoss earns its keep. It grounds everything in something damp and forest-floor, while tonka bean brings a quiet warmth and white musk keeps the whole thing close to skin. As the hours pass you're left with a soft mossy-woody whisper, the ghost of fig leaf still detectable if you know what you're smelling for.
Cultural impact
Higos holds its ground in the green, bitter register, the part of the plant that doesn't get bottled often. The composition resists sweetness, building instead around fig leaf, vetiver, sandalwood, and a damp oakmoss base that keeps the whole thing dry and structural. It sits comfortably alongside Aquaflor's other botanical portraits, a house that treats fragrance as landscape painting rather than confection. The opening cuts bright with bergamot and lemon, almost metallic, before the fig leaf threads through as a green undertow.
The House
Aquaflor FirenzeAquaflor Firenze is a niche perfume house rooted in the heart of Florence, Italy. The brand creates both personal fragrances and scented home collections from a laboratory housed in the historic Palazzo Corsini Antinori Serristori. Its line includes the 2024 release Zephyr and a range of olfactory portraits such as Berbere, Aenigma and Mediterranea. Aquaflor draws on the city’s centuries‑old perfume tradition while offering contemporary compositions that echo the Tuscan landscape and its iconic iris and rose blossoms.
The Creator
Nicola BianchiBianchi favors clean structures built around a single focal ingredient, often a rare botanical or a refined synthetic accord. He layers supporting notes with surgical precision, avoiding clutter.
