Tom of Finland Etat Libre d`Orange for men

After a series of trial-and-errors (including Knize Ten) I realized that traditional hardcore leathers were not for me. What I really wanted was the perfect suede – and this is it!

The opening of Tom of Finland can admittedly be slightly overwhelming. There really is a lot going on here: boozy notes, rubber, smoke, leather, aldehydes, and more. But after half an hour ToF settles into a delightful vanilla/suede note on a dark background of smoky vetiver with a slight hint of rubber. Very subtle and just enough to keep the scent from becoming too sweet. This phase goes on forever and it just gets even better as the drydown sets in.

Tom of Finland reminds of the fabulous Bulgari Black, but with less smoke and rubber. Or l’Essence de Cerruti with smoke instead of toothpaste-mint. Or a masculine version of the great Cuir de Lancome. But ToF is not a compromise – it stands firmly on its own feet. Suede heaven in a bottle!

Forget all the hype about gay/straight, naughty marketing, condom smell, Village People and all the other stuff that leads the attention away from the scent itself. Tom of Finland is utterly wonderful and it stands a good chance of becoming my new signature scent. For the cold season at least.

A bit expensive, but worth every penny. Strongly recommended!

Edit: Just discovered that both ToF and l'Essence de Cerruti were done by the same nose, Antoine Lie. This explains the obvious family resemblance - even the packaging looks similar (apart from the gay references). L'Essence could easily be considered as Tom's well-mannered and shy little brother.

Absolutely LOVE this collection of scents in a bottle. The powder makes it sparkle, but the leathery tones make it warm. I have to confess that I really like unusual fragrances (I don't want to smell like everyone else), and this is not like anything else I have worn. And the compliments are constant --even strangers come up and ask what it is. Great fragrance(s) for someone who wants to stand out.

The first time I tested this I thought it smelled like carpet with hints of new-car and a dash of shoes.

If you've ever walked into a shop where they sell rugs and carpets...well it was like they took that scent, bottled it and called it Tom of Finland.

I really disliked it and the small sample spent months sitting in a drawer, until I was sorting through my samples and gave that one to my boyfriend.

A few days later, he came over and he was smelling REALLY good...and to my immense shock and surprise, he was wearing Tom of Finland.

I guess that is a prime example of what body chemistry can do to a fragrance.

Gone was the musty carpet smell, and in it's place was a deeply masculine, and almost animalistic aroma.

I could inhale the deep, slightly sweet and musky leather scent, and really enjoy it. It was just incredible.

So this fragrance can smell wonderful on the right skin, but it is definitely one to try before you buy.

Amazing throwback leather fragrance. The leather in this is a plastic/vinyl sort of smell, and the aldehydes sock you right in the nose. I think part of that synthetic "plastic" smell is due to a synthetic musk - similar to the synthetic leather smell in Bulgari Black. However, Tom of Finland is a lot muskier and more like warm human flesh, with a nice saffron accent added. The longevity is superb. I'd love a bottle of this just to wear with my best leather jacket and leather pants, and hit the town like a punk rock sex fiend.

If you expect to find in this fragrance something related to Tom of Finland's universe you may get really disappointed.

"Tom of Finland" is a calm leathery vanilla fragrance that lasts a really long time on my skin but never calling too much attention to it.
Before buying it, I read many reviews talking about a metallic and plastic aspect of it that reminds of condom smell. Well, that's true! The strong leather and vanilla notes give this fragrance a warm and sexy aura. But, once again, kinda far from Tom of Finland's universe (unfortunately).

Sexy! This scent is passionate, very much there, very much alive and sizzling with energy. The smell is a bit like the soapy cool of Joop!, mixed with the warm sweetness of Egoiste and even a little bit of the tangy, glue-like, leatherish element in Shalimar. Wonderful! Manly, sophisticated, modern, and have I said sexy, already?

too hard for me
leather with a taste of balsamic smoky notes
i think are pine galbanum .
i can't understand base notes perhaps amber and still leather
very deep leather-indole notes
only for brave but very well blended

it' interesting but a little too much!

I always try to avoid ELDO's marketing campaigns and packagings as I think they add nothing to their perfumes. They're always kind of misleading and, sometimes, unnecessarily excessive. Ok, they're immoral in a funny way and I've to admit I really enjoyed some of their concepts and graphics (i.e. The tributes to Rossy De Palma /Tilda Swinton, Eloige Du Traite, Tom Of Finalnd, the brilliant Virges Y Toreros and a bunch of others), but I rate their perfumes with others criterions as it happened to me that I enjoyed the concept but not the substance.

Said That, I think "the juice contained in the Tom Of Finland packaging" has nothing to do with the gay community besides beeing beautiful. No "macho-like" harsh leather, no gallons of bitter citruses but a nice aldehyde an lemon opening immediately turning into a saffron based cologne joned by vanilla in the end. The result is quite original and unique and very delightful. Quite an easywear but with a great amount of personality. Nice.

Rating: 8/10

At a first splash fresh aldehydes, citrus and pine hit the nose. Then it settles down to plastic-leather-pepper accords, which seem to be a bit synthetic. The drydown is vanilla-leather. Very comfortable, sexy and with good staying power! Easily can be worn by women as well.

Fantastic scent that in my humble opinion is totally unique within the male frgrance genre. I regretted passing on this when it was reduced to £25 in Harvey Nichols. Imagine my delight when they reduced it further to £10 in the next sale. The development of this scent is a wonderous thing. It starts of very fizzy and luminous with the aldehydes/lemon/saffron combo. It feels very alive at this point and i feel the need to have as little human contact at this point
as it very potent. Give it 30 minutes and you have a different beast. The leather and vanilla join the party to soften the scent and give it balance for the remainder of its lifespan, which is a long time as refreshingly this is a true EDP for men. Woo hoo!!

ToF is good replacement of YSL Kouros as my signature scent. It is one of the loudest creamy saffron scents I've ever encountered. Somehow, at the first spray, it reminds me a bit of COstume National 21 without adding sweet note into it.

Silage and longevity are really nice. This woody leathery fragrance is very different and I would definitely recommend this to a man who works mostly outdoor.

Good scent for bad good guys:-)It is ideal under fragmentary jeans and a three-day bristle:-)

Tom starts out with an unpleasant blast of something that I’m sure is supposed to make it smell manly - aldehydes, citrus, pine, and galbanum, among other things. This messy bunch of notes quickly die down to reveal lots of leather and smoky birch tar. Nice! After the first 45 minutes or so, the scent becomes soft and comforting, like being wrapped in a fuzzy, warm blanket. At this point the leather is very much in evidence, but it’s a luxurious suede, tempered by vanilla/tonka (lots of tonka), musks, and something a little bit aromatic and floral. The sillage is fairly subtle, but clearly there. At this point I kept compulsively smelling my wrists to get even more of the beautiful scent. The warm blanket stage lasts for a few hours, after which there is a second act that can only be described as a synthetic “generic men’s cologne”. I find this development disappointing, given how much I liked the first act. I smelled the men’s cologne note all night, and it was still on my clothes the next morning, so something in this scent has super staying power. I just wish it was the fluffy, smoky leather.

I lusted after this scent thinking it would be ultra-masculine with heavy musk, lavender, castoreum and other pungent, macho nuances; but was surprised to discover a warm, sexy, cuddly fragrance that is almost contradictory to the artwork and controversy of the packaging.

It is certainly individually masculine and nothing like what's on the male fragrance market today. It is suitable for anyone of any age, because of it's universal sensuality.

I know that some women may find it suits their own personality as well, but it's definitely not a notably feminine fragrance!

I can smell the trees, and the sexy vanilla, the suede and the leather.

What can one say about this fragrance except that is something to have in the wardrobe for that comforting, mellow and very intimate, personal fragrance.

Th sillage is obvious and the lasting power is there until you shower it off the next day!

Strong, powerful and very masculine perfume. I love it on my husband and he loves it too.

Even tough it´s strong it´s also a very comforting, relaxed kind of perfume. On my husband it starts of with a burst of aldehydes, citrus and also vanilla... then it become woodier, smokier and a lots of leather... But it´s a leather note soften by vanilla and tonka. I feel like I want to be as close as possible when my husband wear it.

It is like a big, muscly and very handsome man (in tight jeans perhaps and bare cheast?) with a rough appearance but also with a heart of gold, caring, strong and reliable. Also I think of it as a perfume showing all kinds of masculinity... ageless, timeless but still modern, fun and very, very wearable.

A must try really! Longlasting and really heavy sillage.

Tom of Finland (né Touke Laaksonen) was an artist known for often controversial, homoerotic illustrations of quintessential manly men, in (and out) of the uniform of their trade: lumberjacks, sailors, bikers, etc. It is no surprise that Etat Libre d’Orange made this tribute scent big and muscular, featuring some of perfumery’s most beloved, archetypically masculine notes.

Like many ELO fragrances, this one wraps classic appeal in a provocative name. Fine ingredients meet playful packaging, their union reflecting what I think of as ELO's trademark appeal: equal doses of earnestness and humor.

The first spray is a blast of testosterone, all leather and trees with a pinch of pepper and galbanum, giving the impression of smoke. An aldehylic, somewhat citrus, top note, keeps Tom of Finland from bogging down. I don't detect the tonka and vanilla as identifiable notes, but I have a friend who smells vanilla immediately and all the way through the drydown. For me the portions are just enough to smooth potentially rough edges, so that the smoke and leather never get mean. Musk and ambergris add tenacity. I find the dry down to be seductive and everlasting as the blend morphs into one of the creamiest, most addictive vetivers i have ever sampled. In the end, a gesture of reverse rebellion, perhaps, Tom of Finland bucks the unisex trend by delivering a true, somewhat retro, masculine leather.

A scent with muscle, I just can’t wash it off and now I’ve got the sillage of all six Village People, ready to rock.