Alejandro Acosta La Candelaria: The Perfume That Smells Like Guava and Coffee

A juice stall at noon, guava and mango pulp going into a tall glass with a squeeze of lime over the top. An hour later someone sets a cup of coffee with hot milk down beside it. That is Alejandro Acosta La Candelaria.

The La Candelaria perfume is a soft, close-wearing extrait for warm days, made by a Barcelona artist about his family's Colombia. It is the only Alejandro Acosta perfume we carry.

What La Candelaria smells like

It opens on guava and mango cut hard with lime, tropical without turning syrupy. Then the coffee with hot milk walks in, palo santo and cinnamon putting smoke and spice behind the cup. The drydown is white flowers lifting it, Virginia cedar holding the floor, ginkgo keeping a cool green edge.

Tropical fruit dominates. Underneath sits a genuine coffee-and-milk accord, the signature of the thing, then wood and a soft sweetness.

A rainy afternoon in Bogotá

La Candelaria began during a torrential downpour in the historic centre of Bogotá. Sheltering in an old café with wood-panelled walls, the artist started writing, imagining a piece that could capture the spirit of Colombia, his family's country and a part of his own memory.

At its centre is the guava tree in his grandmother's patio. He describes the fruit as intensely fruity, slightly musky and a little fermented, the way guava smells only at its exact point of ripeness. In the rainy season the ripe fruit fell to the ground, and that smell became the starting point of the whole work.

The warm notes recall the cafés of the old quarter, and ginkgo keeps it green. The name is the quarter itself, the historic heart of Bogotá.

An artist's bottle

Alejandro Acosta is an artist. He calls each of these pieces an olfactory sculpture. Born in Castellón de la Plana in 1991, he lives in Barcelona and has family in Colombia. His paintings sit in collections around the world and his drawings have turned up in films and television ads. Malasombra is his name for the collection and the audiovisual notebook around it, and La Candelaria is its most recognised piece and the door into that universe.

The bottle earns the word. Every 30 ml flask is crowned by a macaw, one of the great symbols of Colombian biodiversity, modelled, sculpted and painted by hand in the studio, one at a time, so no two are exactly alike. The catalogue behind it is tiny.

Who it is for, and how long it lasts

Made for warm weather and daylight, worn close to the skin. Our listing says it projects modestly by design, a scent for close company rather than one that fills a room. Casual, romantic, daytime, and for anyone.

It is for people who like fruity gourmands but want the sugar burned off, and for anyone who thinks the coffee is the best part of the morning. Not for anyone chasing projection, and not a winter beast. If that is what you want, Adi Ale Van Decembrie 89 Freedom Elixir is triple vanilla, dark rum and roasted nuts at 8 to 10 hours with Enormous sillage, made for winter nights.

It lasts 6 to 8 hours on skin with Moderate sillage, as an extrait de parfum. The Decant Index 2026 shows where that sits against everything else we pour.

Where to buy La Candelaria, and how to start

At the house, the 30 ml piece is a hand-painted sculpture and carries a sculpture's price, a lot to commit to a scent you have never smelled. A decant is how you find out first.

The 2 ml is the place to begin: 20 to 28 sprays, or 7 to 9 wearings at three sprays each (see our guide to how many sprays a decant holds). Then the 5 ml and the 10 ml. Every size is a hand-decanted sample from a sealed bottle, shipped worldwide by DHL.

It has a shelf of its own in Alejandro Acosta decants, and our guide to independent perfume houses files it under the curveball. If you like this, three neighbours sit next door on the shelf.

Toskovat Last Birthday Cake. Bitter almond, then brandy soaking into vanilla cake. It ends in incense and gunpowder, an extrait at 8 to 10 hours with Strong sillage.

Toskovat Pornstar (Noyau Doux). Pitahaya and finger lime, then suntan lotion and meringue. The closest thing on the shelf to La Candelaria: tropical fruit worn casually, 6 to 8 hours with Moderate sillage.

Byredo Bal D'Afrique Absolu. Bergamot and blackcurrant open it tart, violet and praline soften the middle. Black amber and cedar hold it for 6 to 8 hours with Strong sillage, an eau de parfum for the same kind of daytime.

Start with the 2 ml of La Candelaria: the whole story, from the guava tree to the café, on your own skin.

Frequently asked questions

What does Alejandro Acosta La Candelaria smell like?

Guava and mango cut with lime at the start. Then coffee with hot milk, palo santo and cinnamon in the heart. It dries down to white flowers, Virginia cedar and a cool green ginkgo edge. Tropical fruit leads, and the café con leche accord underneath is the signature.

How long does La Candelaria last?

6 to 8 hours on skin in our Longevity and Sillage Index, with Moderate sillage. It is an extrait that stays close to the skin rather than filling a room; our listing marks it for warm weather, daylight and close company.

Where can I buy Alejandro Acosta La Candelaria?

At Gouttes Rares, hand-decanted from a sealed bottle in 2 ml, 5 ml and 10 ml, shipped worldwide by DHL. The full 30 ml sculpture is listed on the same product page, made to order.

Is La Candelaria unisex?

Yes. We list it without a gender. Guava, coffee and cedar read as casual, romantic daytime wear on anyone.

Is Alejandro Acosta a Colombian perfume brand?

No. Alejandro Acosta is an artist born in Castellón de la Plana in 1991 and based in Barcelona. La Candelaria is his portrait of Colombia, his family's country, and takes its name from the historic quarter of Bogotá where he began it during a rainstorm.