Guavas themselves, we find, don’t travel well: best enjoyed in a tropical setting at the peak of their ripeness. But guava as a fragrance ingredient certainly does travel – and has been turning up in many fruity-floral and gourmand creations, of late. When you eat it in situ, the flesh can be lush, sweet and juicy – or a touch on the bitter side. So it is with the fragrance ingredient: perfumers like the bitter-sweet, touch-of-lemon quality of guava, which ensure a fruity-floral scent doesn’t tip over into too-sweetness.
The plant itself is found in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, areas of the US like Florida, and Australia. The fruit can be round, or oval, depending on which species you’re looking at – and the skins can range from yellow or green to maroon. When they’re perfectly ripe, you’ll know it: the scent is sweet and musky – and the juice will almost certainly drip down your chin…
Smell guava in:
Calvin Klein Eternity Moment
Vera Wang Lovestruck
