By Cathy Martin
‘Barrister’ seems like such an important job and a pretty grand title. You’re a Queen’s counsel after all, aren’t you? So to give that all up and, quite literally follow your nose and the scents of the tropics to do something entirely different seems quite radical doesn’t it? This is exactly what Claire Price did just over a year ago, in founding Guava and Gold – and we couldn’t love her more for it.
Her goal was to create an elegant, capsule collection of products with ethical credentials, inspired by heady reflections of the tropics and a desire to capture unforgettable, exotic holiday memories in a bottle – and then ultimately on skin and hair.
There’s really nothing like a smell to truly capture the essence of a memory and transport you off to a moment of sheer bliss; so drawing on the expertise, flair and imagination of an international fine fragrance house, Claire’s team used the distinctive scents of a delicious array of tropical fruits and flowers to create her products – including delicious guava and cherimoya, fragrant pink magnolia, white floral facets of tuberose (‘the carnal flower’), sweet vanilla orchid and enchanting orange and plum blossom.
To complement the fragrances, natural oils have been blended with botanical ingredients, specially selected for the health of the user’s skin and hair – these are all to enhance personal wellbeing and no fragrance used is to mask a chemical ingredient, because there are none!
Manuka oil, found in guava and gold is known for its anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, while sweet almond oil boosts collagen production and keeps skin hydrated. Grapeseed oil, found in Paradise found is a natural moisturiser which helps to maintain soft, radiant skin and hair, while rich shea butter and vitamins feature across many products in her ranges.
But while what’s *in* the product is natural, we have to applaud Claire and her team for their sustainability efforts in packaging also. All products are currently packaged in fully recyclable bottles and packaging; but the work doesn’t stop there, as there are plans to move to bio-polymer bottles made from sugar cane extract, and to incorporate water-free products into the collection so as to further limit Guava & Gold’s impact on the environment, so you can feel good about the products you use while enjoying a momentary memory – or a daydream trip – to the far-flung shores of the tropics.
