Fig With Sand In Its Hair: First Impressions of D:SOL MMXVI ISLETA

I have a confession. If I smell one more syrupy fig that cosplays as dessert, I might start carrying blotter scissors. Then D:SOL MMXVI ISLETA landed on my wrist and reminded me why I still chase figs. This one doesn’t pander. It whispers in a low voice, all mineral skin and green shadow, like finding cool shade on a bright, salt-scrubbed quay.

The setup is sleek. D:SOL founder and creative director Dennis Werner pairs with award-winning perfumer Michael Ælfric Nordstrand, and the brief reads in the air as soon as it hits skin. The opening is citrus-tipped and bracing, a quick flicker of brightness that slides into fig leaf, sap, and something that feels like sea spray drying on shoulders. No coconut, no custard, no nostalgia filter.

On me, the heart is where it gets interesting. The fig turns faceted, half-green and half-milky, threaded with driftwood and a saline hum that never screams “marine.” It’s coastal, not beachy. Think sun-warmed planks and wind-polished pebbles rather than umbrellas and sugar waffles. There’s a quiet musk that softens the edges and a hint of resin that keeps the whole thing from becoming too airy. I wore it to a morning market and it behaved like good sunglasses, present but not begging for compliments.

Projection sits in the intimate to moderate range, which is exactly where a fig like this should live. Longevity was a clean 7 hours for me, fading to a salty skin imprint I didn’t want to wash off. If your fig wardrobe leans loud or lactonic, consider this your minimalist counterpoint.

There’s also chatter about Nuanced Fig, a fig-forward companion that promises layers rather than volume. The name fits the mood here. Fig is having a moment again, and I’m fine with that as long as it smells like this, grown and unbothered.

Final word for the fig-curious and the fig-jaded: D:SOL MMXVI ISLETA is a marine fig with a backbone. If your perfume shelf needs salt over sugar and shade over shine, you’ll get it here. And yes, I’m keeping my scissors in my bag.