Coach Poppy Perfume Review: Will You Love The Fruity-Floral Fragrance?

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Juliet Rowe

Master Perfumer at Scent Chasers

One of the first Christmas presents Juliet received was a perfume collection. Ever since, she's been obsessed with making her own DIY fragrances and teaching others how to do so. She's here to help you find your perfect match!

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This youthful, playful sweet fragrance is perfect to spritz on once the weather starts getting warmer. Coach Poppy is an older fragrance (launched in 2010) and while it is over a decade old, it paved the way to future Coach perfumes that have quickly become best sellers. 

Coach Poppy quickly became a fan favorite and even won Allure’s 2013 Reader Choice Award. So what made it a fan favorite? 

Coach Poppy Perfume Review

Longevity: 3 – 4 hours

Best season to wear: Spring or Summer

Scent type: Floral, fruity fragrance

Age recommendation: All ages but has a sweet, youthful scent 

Best worn: Cocktails with the girls or picnic out with friends 

Price: £51.13 (Fragrance X – 100ml) 

Top notes: Cucumber, Mandarin Orange and Freesia

Middle notes: Sweet Notes, Water Lily, Rose, Jasmine and Gardenia

Base notes: Marshmallow, Vanilla, Sandalwood and Virginia Cedar.

Pros

• Smells sweet and youthful 
• Beautiful bottle with red ribbon 
• The price is good considering it is a Coach product

Cons

• The outer box is slightly childish
• Longevity is average (wish it lasted longer!) 
• The perfume is discontinued, meaning it is hard to buy on major sites

A Short History of Coach Poppy

Founded in 1941, Coach is now widely recognized as a luxury brand specializing in handbags and accessories. With popular celebrity endorsements, Coach has remained a luxury brand that oozes sophistication and glamour. Coach’s perfume collections have always been a hit with fans, due to the perfumes being more affordable, compared to their expensive handbags. 

Coach Poppy was released in 2010 and the nose behind it is Celine Barel. Barel has created iconic perfumes over the decade, working with brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Coach, and celebrities such as Jessica Simpson and Shawn Mendes. 

The Coach Poppy perfume coincided with Coach’s 2009 Poppy collection. Their fall ‘budget-friendly collection had bold colors and a youthful vibe. 

“When designing Poppy I really wanted to explore who the Coach woman could be. With its bright colors, prints, sequins, and new fabrics, Poppy is a natural extension of the brand while simultaneously proving to be an exciting draw for new customers and age groups.”

Reed Krakoff (President and Executive Creative Director of Coach at the time) discussing Coach Poppy fall collection 2009. 

It’s no wonder Coach Poppy perfume was quickly introduced to Coach’s younger demographic. 

Coach Poppy Branding

Coach Poppy’s box and perfume bottle are vibrant, preppy, and fun. Its box has ‘Coach Poppy’ etched all over in a cartoon design with a red background. It has yellow hearts on the box and gives off a youthful vibe due to its childlike drawings. Coach clearly wanted their younger audience to be buying this ‘budget friendly’ perfume. 

While its box is more childlike, the actual bottle is more glamorous. Its circular bottle is tied with a red ribbon and gold lid. This bottle ties in well with Coach’s luxurious feel. Its bottle is clear and simple but matches Coach’s branding of the time of a well-priced 2000s perfume. 

Scent & Tones

Coach Poppy tones have a huge hit of floral scents and sweet fragrances. It notes are:

Top notes: Cucumber, Mandarin Orange and Freesia

Middle notes: Sweet Notes, Water Lily, Rose, Jasmine and Gardenia

Base notes: Marshmallow, Vanilla, Sandalwood and Virginia Cedar.

It hits you first with a spring fragrance and settles into a sweet, floral perfume with tones of marshmallow and rose being overwhelmingly sweet. 

When & Where Should It Be Worn?

This perfume is best for when the weather starts getting warmer and the skies are clear and blue. Think picnics with your family or brunch with the girls. It’s a sophisticated scent with tones of water lily and sandalwood but is youthful with the tones of marshmallow and jasmine. 

Daytime: picnics, brunch out, or lunch out

Evening: Dinner out, special occasion, cocktails or date night

Fragrance Performance

Due to its affordable price, Coach Poppy doesn’t last all day long but between 3 – 4 hours, which is useful if you are just out for the afternoon. Coach’s current perfumes last longer but have a bigger price tag. Make sure to take Coach Poppy out with you if you are out all day. Its small, round bottle is easy to travel with and the bottle is sophisticated enough to show off to friends. 

My Impression of Coach Poppy

While Coach Poppy’s box was preppy and cute, I was pleasantly surprised by its small, sophisticated bottle. I immediately sprayed the perfume on me and was hit by tones of rose and jasmine. It smelled so fresh and reminded me of spring. I was quick to use it on my next day out. 

I tend to use Coach Poppy for when I have an evening out or dressed-up event to go to. It’s a youthful fragrance yes but it’s more sophisticated than other perfumes I own (ie. Ariana Grande’s perfume collection). I don’t tend to use Coach Poppy for everyday use, it’s used more for a special occasion. 

Limited Editions?

Coach Poppy was such a hit with buyers that a limited edition came out shortly after called “Coach Poppy Blossom” which has a similar bottle design to Coach Poppy but its bottle is golden and has a large poppy attached to the bottle. This has a slightly sharper scent to the original Coach Poppy.

Coach then went to release many more ‘poppy’ inspired perfumes:

• Coach Poppy Freesia 
• Coach Poppy Citrine
• Coach Poppy Wildflower 

All again comes with a bright poppy flower accessory attached to the bottle. 

How Does Coach Poppy Compare to Other Coach Perfumes?

Coach has come a long way since Coach Poppy, they have a limited set of exclusive perfumes on offer on major sites. 

Coach Dreams

This fragrance has a more sophisticated scent compared to Coach Poppy. It has tones of cactus flower, bitter orange, and pear. In a simplistic baby pink bottle, Coach Dreams has Coach’s iconic branding on the label, making the bottle look expensive and luxurious. 

Coach

Simply called “Coach” this perfume again looks expensive and something to show off in your bedroom. With tones of sandalwood, jasmine and waterlily, this perfume is slightly sweet but still acts as a sophisticated fragrance. Coach describes this perfume as representing the “chic downtown style of New York City” and the bottle is painted gold and peach, with a Coach accessory attached to the side of the bottle. 

Coach Floral

In the same design as the above ‘Coach’ perfume, Coach Floral bottle is instead baby pink and closely replicates Coach Poppy’s youthful fragrance. Coach Floral has a pink flower accessory attached to the compact bottle and has tones of pink peppercorn, pineapple sorbet and rose tea. 50ml of the perfume costs £49.00 on the Perfume Shop’s website – a similar price to ‘Coach’, which makes sense as the bottle design is incredibly similar. 

Coach Poppy clearly had a big influence on Coach’s now very sophisticated perfume collection. Coach Poppy links the best to Coach Floral, which is Coach’s sweetest perfume. 

Alternatives to Coach Poppy

If you want to try something similar to Coach Poppy sweet fragrance then try these perfumes:

Nina by Nina Ricci

Nina was launched in 2006 and was a famous early 2000s perfume that appealed to the younger demographic. Its bright pink bottle had an apple-shaped lid and it had tones of apple, musk and praline – delicious! 

Twirl by Kate Spade

Twirl is a floral, fruity fragrance that launched in September 2010. This sweet perfume has tones of watermelon, jasmine and musk. Similar to Coach Poppy, Twirl has been discontinued but you can still buy it from Ebay.

Sui Love by Anna Sui

Now, this is really a noughties perfume! Launched in 2002, this perfume is almost 20 years old. With tones of passionfruit, vanilla, and nutmeg, this fruity fragrance comes in the shape of a butterfly. This perfume can be found on eBay from £50.00 – £60.00 secondhand due to it being discontinued. 

FAQs

Coach Poppy Review: Final Thoughts

Coach Poppy was an exciting launch for Coach in 2010 and coincided perfectly with their previous 2009 fall collection. It remained a fan favourite, winning Allure’s fan favourite prize in 2013 (5 years after its launch!). Its affordable price tag was a hit with buyers who were happy to be able to buy into Coach’s luxurious brand. 

Yes, the perfume is discontinued but plenty of outlets are still offering this noughties perfume. However, buyers can update their perfume collection by buying Coach’s current perfumes, which are all sophisticated but have a sweet fragrance. Coach Poppy might be over a decade old but still has a floral scent that impresses perfume fans.