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If you are interested in niche fragrance like me, then let me introduce you to Coax, from Project Coax a new niche fragrance brand from New York. They really caught my attention from their scent inspirations to their packaging design.
Who is behind Coax?
Our vision is to create an elegant fragrance with a modern minimalist design at a reasonable price. We build our brand with an eco-conscious mind; from our package design, ingredients, and packaging materials; clean, non-toxic, and environmentally.
Timothy
The man behind Coax is Timothy, his passion for scent started at a young age when his family in Taiwan ran a tea business, immersing himself with various aromas from different kinds of teas. He moved to Los Angles in his teenage years to study design, then later to New York and learnt about niche perfume. With his background in design, he set out to create a company that marries his two passions together — Coax was born.
What does Coax offer?
The products selection is well-edited, you’ll find memories or locations inspired fragrances, candles and a small selection of apparels.
This is a vegan, cruelty-free brand. Their products are formulated without parabens, phthalates, sulfates and dyes.
What about sustainability?
This eco-friendly brand uses materials that are mostly recyclable such as nice quality glass bottles and jars with metal lids. For their shipping packaging, they also choose to use all recycled and reusable material with zero use of plastic.
When the candles are finished, the nice glass jars can be repurposed for other home use. That’ll be my plan.
Where to buy Coax products?
Coax is 100% online right now, do check out https://www.projectcoax.com/
What products have I tried and what do I think?
All products shown below were kindly sent over by Coax team based on my scent preferences. A huge thank you! But all opinions are still my own.
The fragrances all came in a glass bottle and a little blotter paper printed with the notes. Super cute yet functional! The minimalist design system is very chic and almost a little artisanal.
Hypnotized in Manhattan
“Reflections of blurry street lights flirtatiously dance on your skin.”
This one is my favourite from the collection. It’s a spicy woody perfume with notes of lime, ginger, iris, sandalwood and musk.
When I first got this, I kept trying to figure out where in Manhattan this scent would belong. My answer is somewhere around Noho or East Village! The opening of the perfume has quite an effervescent quality coming from the lime and ginger while being grounded with iris, sandalwood and musk, they give an earthy undertone that exudes confidence and warmth. So I picture someone who’s quite laid-back but still stimulating would wear it. He/she is edgy and unique in the sense that he/she doesn’t like to conform to rules but has a good nature. To my nose, this smells very unisex but I’m very accustomed to unisex perfumes, I don’t particularly find this lean neither masculine nor feminine, right in the middle. I think anyone can wear this perfume with the right attitude.
In terms of performance, this lasts about 6 – 8 hours on me. I did a one spray test on just my wrist/inner forearm, the first hour as I moved around my hand, I really could smell the lime and ginger a lot, it’s very bright, almost pungent. By hour 3 or 4 onwards, it’s getting warmer like a warm ginger tea that’s been there for a while, the scent gradually softened but I could still smell it around me. The last couple of hours, I held up my wrist and sniffed it, and it’s still there, obviously very close to the skin at this point. Given that it’s a 1 spray test, it’s pretty good. In reality, I wear 3 – 4 sprays for this perfume, so it’ll definitely has more layers and depth to go on longer.
Lost in Times Square
“Carefree, walking undirected with no direction.”
With this one, I’ve tried both perfume oil as well as the spray from the discovery kit. In general, I’m not really a perfume oil person unless I already have a spray version and want to have the option to top up on the go as it’s very travel-friendly. I find perfume sprays typically have stronger projection because the alcohol helps the fragrance molecules evaporate around you and make certain ingredients sharper, so you can pick up on different notes and in a more evolving manner. Whereas oil base tends to keep the fragrance close to the skin, the projection is quite subtle. The notes are more blend in together so it feels well-rounded as an experience from beginning to the end. This is exactly how I feel with the spray vs oil on this perfume. So, format aside, let’s talk about the scent.
In theory, this is a citrusy floral perfume with notes of grapefruit, tangerine, jasmine and sandalwood. However, Jasmine is quite a powerful white floral note so it dominates the experience quite a bit. It’s very sparkling and a little sweet, like a freshly brewed jasmine tea, the aroma is very prominent and fills the room right away. I know a lot of men like jasmine as a note but for me, this is a very feminine perfume. The name ‘Lost in Times Square’ is very appropriate, I imagine some girlfriends with their shopping bags going in and out of different shops, getting lost in their retail therapies or mindless giggles. As they walk swiftly past you, you get a trail of the jasmine aroma waft through the air.
Onto the performance, this has a more powerful opening than Hypnotized in Manhattan but it’s also a bit more shortlived. Overall, the longevity is about 2 hours less. There’s probably not enough base notes to help prolong the experience. Luckily, a perfume oil in this instance can help you out throughout the day. Some perceive Jasmine as quite a sensual scent, so a closer-to-skin experience from the oil is probably a nice idea.
Immersed in Central Park
“Turning a blind eye to the skyscrapers in the distance.”
This one belongs to the fragrance family ‘Fresh’ or ‘Fresh Green’ with notes of lemon, orange, dry grass, iris and palo santo wood.
When I first smell this perfume, in my mind I see someone either jogging before the sunrise in Central Park mentally preparing for the day or maybe having a gentle walk winding down from the day right after sunset. The scent of grass and palo santo is very sharp and crisp, the kind of nature smell you get in the park when it’s either very early or late, not a lot of people around. The air is quite dewy and fresh, the time you can actually say you are taking a ‘breath of fresh air’. There may be a little whisper of citrusy scent but it goes before you even notice it. The trendy Palo Santo has a pinewood and lime scent, it’s quite prominent and persistent.
Out of the 3 fragrances I’ve tried, this has the sharpest opening and it lingers the longest. In all fairness, Hypnotized in Manhattan is the only one I think it develops over time, whereas both Lost in Times Square and Immersed in Central Park seem to lead with one prominent note and carry on on the same note throughout. In terms of performance, this one is very similar to Hypnotized in Manhattan, it has about 6+ hours longevity. Do I think this is a unisex perfume? This is probably the hardest one for me to say, I personally am not a big fan of fresh green perfumes. For example, I don’t enjoy wearing figs perfume but I like it more as a home scent. I often associate this type of fresh scent to a man looking sharp and clean. But that’s just me! If this is your scent profile, man or woman, rock it!
Candles
Coax candles are hand-poured and handcrafted with 100% pure soy wax with braided cotton wicks which can reduce smoke and soot for a clean and environmentally friendly burn.
The use of soy wax is good as it burns slowly and evenly, you won’t get a dip in the wax and your candle lasts longer. And while all candles emit some black soot while burning, soy wax burns cleaner and results in less soot than paraffin, reducing the amount of indoor air pollution produced over time.
Cedar.Sandalwood.Amber
This has a very warm inviting woody slightly resinous scent but in a very quiet way. It’s like sipping whisky on the rocks in a cosy speakeasy bar, offering you company but nothing intrusive. It almost feels intimate.
Lily.Lavender.Sandalwood
This floral candle is very pleasant, smells a little soapy clean from the lavender. When I first opened the package, the aroma from this candle filled the whole box (even I opened the lid). This one has a lot more projection than the one mentioned above. I think it’ll make a great wedding (or any special occasions) reception scent, it’s uplifting and welcoming.
My final thoughts
As scents are so personal, my descriptions are just based on my own experiences and interpretations. I always recommend people to try before they buy when it comes to perfume, the discovery kit is really a good way to start. What I’d say is that, if you are only into designer fragrances that appeal to a broad audience, then this brand might not be for you. However, if you like to acquire some unique scents in your niche perfume wardrobe, then do check them out. It’s early days for Coax, so far I really like their edited approach with a capsule collection to start with, everything is well-thought-out including their well-designed packaging. They plan to introduce a 4th signature scent for their perfume and also add diffusers into their product line, so that’s very exciting and I can’t wait to see them grow!