Unless you have been living in a box, you know the brand Coach. They’ve been known for their quality leather goods since 1941, when they opened in the heart of Manhattan. The inspiration for the style of Coach leather goods came from the soft feel of a well-worn baseball glove, that develops a rich patina over time. It bears the history of the owner and becomes more beautiful with age. I had gorgeous, soft leather coach saddle style bag in the eighties. I wish I knew where it went….

In my opinion, Coach went a bit sideways, style-wise, during the 200os, with a logo madness that seemed to infect all the luxury brands at the time. This then led to many fakes and after awhile it became hard to tell them apart. In 2013, Coach put Executive Creative Director Stuart Vevers, and is returning to it’s roots, but with a modern luxe vibe. Vevers also wanted to be involved in every step of the development of the new Coach Eau de Parfum to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Coach with it’s launch. I was happy to hear this, as the Coach perfumes to date have not been overly interesting or memorable.

That said, the new Coach Eau de Parfum is not a strong perfume full of oomph. It is very soft, built around a soft musky suede accord, and I get raspberries and roses wrapped up in Cashmeran and soft musks. Cashmeran is a synthetic blend of musk molecules and is often referred to as “blonde woods” in perfumes. It’s a soft powdery blend of ambers, woods and musks and is a perfect match for the roses and fruits in Coach Eau de Parfum. Along with the raspberry, there is pear and the ubiquitous pink pepper. Pink pepper is a pepper berry, but does not smell peppery, but instead imparts a soft fruity rose note in perfume. The opening is fresh and sparkling raspberries, then the smooth creamy rose warms up on the skin, and the dry down is the sensual suede-musk notes.

The dry down is clean, soft and a little bit soapy, which is likely why I love it. This is well blended and pretty scent and I was pleasantly surprised. In the sea of perfumes released every month, Coach Eau de Parfum stands out as one that is worth trying, especially if you like the way I’ve described it. The bottle is gorgeous, with a heavy glass base that makes the bottle just feel expensive. The cap is twisty and turns on and off like the signature Coach gold turnlock. It has distinctive ebony leather and polished metal hangtags, and the Coach horse and carriage logo engraved into the glass. It’s lovely.

They are clearly aiming at a younger demographic with this perfume, and have the lovely Choë Grace Moritz as the face of the new campaign. That said, I don’t believe any perfume has an age or a sex. I wear baby perfume, for God’s sake. Coach Eau de Parfum is a perfect scent for all seasons, and I’ve already managed to get some on a pashmina I was wearing. That’s my test of a cuddly scent, and it passed with flying colours. I was burying my nose into the scarf trying to recall which scent I’d worn. Ding ding! It was the Coach Eau de Parfum, and it has a lovely lingering quality on fabric.

Coach Eau de Parfum is sold at Hudson’s Bay, Shoppers Drug Mart, Jean Coutu and Murale, $90 CAD for 50ml, $115 CAD for a 90ml