The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Is Flower arrived in 2017 from Italian fragrance house Aulentissima, with Giovanni Festa as its perfumer. The name asks a simple question, but the composition gives it a layered answer: a floral aquatic idea built around rose, jasmine, and Bulgarian rose absolute. Is Flower is notable for the way these listed materials meet. The aquatic notes establish a bright, moving impression, while rose gives the opening a floral center. Jasmine expands that flower through the heart, bringing a contrasting floral character before Bulgarian rose absolute deepens the composition in the base. The listed notes create a progression from water and rose to jasmine and rose again, giving the fragrance a sense of change over time. Nothing here needs a grand backstory.
The unusual part is the rose's double life. It appears in the opening as a floral impression, returns through jasmine at the heart, then reappears as Bulgarian rose absolute in the base. That repetition makes the composition feel less like a single bouquet and more like a flower seen through changing light. Aquatic notes bring air and movement; jasmine adds another floral dimension; the rose absolute supplies depth and a soft powdery impression. The listed materials interact through contrast: aquatic freshness meets rose, and jasmine links the opening floral character to the rose that follows.
The evolution
At first, the impression is a cool surface disturbed by rose: aquatic notes move across the skin like air over water, while rose gives the opening a floral center. The heart brings jasmine forward, adding another floral layer and changing the balance established at the start. Then the composition settles into Bulgarian rose absolute. The watery lift recedes, and the rose becomes the principal listed material associated with the finish. What lingers isn't necessarily a loud bouquet so much as a rose-like impression close to the skin, shaped by the Bulgarian rose absolute after the aquatic and jasmine notes have done their work. The listed progression gives Is Flower a quiet presence, moving from an aquatic floral opening through jasmine and ending with a deeper rose character.
Cultural impact
Is Flower offers a distinct cultural register through its floral aquatic composition. The listed notes move between water, rose, jasmine, and Bulgarian rose absolute, creating a recognizable rose-and-water surface with additional floral depth. That combination invites exploration from wearers who enjoy fragrances built around the relationship between freshness and flowers. The rose appears at more than one point in the composition, while jasmine provides a contrasting floral presence.
The House
AulentissimaAulentissima is an independent fragrance house that emerged in the late 2010s, offering a catalogue that reads like a laboratory notebook of scent experiments. Its releases – Issimamenthae (2017), Rose and Beer (2020), O.H.V. Gutt B. (2022), Zacamutra (2020), Il Velo di Maia (2020), Spóros (2020), Jardin de Marrakesh (2017), Amande (2017), Black Woman (2017) and Men in Roses (2017) – span a range of aromatic concepts from botanical abstractions to urban narratives. The brand positions itself as a conduit for curious noses, inviting collectors to explore compositions that often juxtapose unexpected ingredients. While the label does not publish a traditional corporate history, its body of work suggests a commitment to pushing the boundaries of modern perfumery without relying on overt marketing slogans.
The Creator
Giovanni FestaIn the lab Festa favors a linear construction: a clear opening, a heart that expands, and a base that settles like stone. He often begins with a single botanical note—often a citrus or a rare rose—and builds layers of supporting accords that echo the primary scent without over…
