Tom of Finland (2008)
by Etat Libre d'Orange

Etat Libre D'Orange Tom of Finland

I have come to appreciate and look forward to wearing all of the scents I have tried from Etat Libre D'Orange. One of the things I like most is their ability to push at traditional perfume composition in interesting ways. Not all of them are resounding successes but I find all of them awaken possibilities to me. Tom of Finland was released in 2008 and was composed by Antoine Lie. In the little booklet that accompanies the bottle it says that M. Lie was attempting to make a scent that "does not disturb the odor of men". Which is an interesting concept but I think I wear cologne so that it does disturb my odor. The top of Tom of Finland is a fresh combination of a slight buzz of aldehydes along with lemon and cypress. I really like the light use of the aldehydes here as it gives the top a little bit of pizazz. The heart of this is all suede leather and it is a nice light wearing leather and Tom of Finland stays fixed as a suede-like leather on me for a long while. That fixation is nice but after too long it gets a tad repetitious and I want the scent to move along a bit, which it eventually does. The base is the weakest part of Tom of Finland as it is a weak mix of vanilla and iris. Tom of Finland has average longevity and below average sillage. It's odd that for the first time I am wearing an Etat Libre D'Orange fragrance and the overwhelming urge I have is to ask for more to be added to it. Unfortunately I think they got it right in their description Tom of Finland does not sufficiently "disturb" for my tastes.

The other reviews have been a great and interesting read, ranging from condoms to coconuts to homoerotism, so here's my ultra-dull concise input for a change:

Take safraleine, the leathery-saffron aromachemical, blend it with some iris, add a tiny bit of lemon plus the "ghost of a traditional cologne," dump in some fatty aldehydes -- and you get Tom of Finland. Soft, but excellent longevity. A genius vibrant second-skin scent.

The top notes are strange and attention grabbing - metallic, rubbery, aldehydic, powdery, and tart, in a way that reminds me of NOTHING natural, animal, botanical, or human. This is truly artificial-smelling, albeit more wearable than some of the CdG Synthetic series.

In the drydown it mellows out considerably, losing it's sharp, metallic top-notes and stabilizing to a powdery rubber fragrance with a bitter edge.

Thumbs just barely up, as it may be freakish, but at least it is in a distinctive way.

A comment of a friend is worth noting in the light of difference of opinion: "It smells like SUPER coconut". I have no clue as to what she's smelling, but it just goes to show this is a try-it-yourself-first fragrance!

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 dose of pepper and galbanum, giving the impression of smoke. An aldehylic top note, with a dose of citrus keep Tom of Finland from bogging down. I can’t smell the tonka and vanilla as identifiable notes, but I have a friend who smells vanilla immediately and all the way through, 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.

It's taken me quite a while to wrap my head around Tom of Finland, and I have a feeling that this review is probably premature as I will continue to progress in my understanding of its various subtleties, especially now that I have my own full bottle. What we have with TOF is a rare successful convergence of marketing, message, and a very good product. There is tremendous subtlety in this fragrance, and if you're not paying attention you may think it is a simple or boring fragrance. Close and careful analysis reveals it is anything of the sort.

The opening notes reveal an odd accord of aldehydes and a rubber/leather note that will persist throughout the composition (via birch and styrax). Normally a rubber/leather accord would be heavy, but in TOF it is mild and not overpowering. Upon first wearings one would think that this is a result of perhaps a light dosing of the leather ingredients in the mix. This is not the case, rather the rubber/leather is balanced by the aldehydes, light citrus, and the very prominent iris note that provides a powdery, rooty counterpoint to the rubber/leather accord. The effect is to trick your nostrils into thinking you're smelling a mild, powdered leather - but what goes into creating this effect is complex, nuanced, and quite remarkable. Heavier application reveals the mild citrus in the topnotes more clearly, but then one also loses the subtlety of the rubber/leather. With the overarching rubber/leather always noticeable, the citrus background melds into a floral background with what seems like geranium and galbanum. This is not a light leather fragrance, but rather a strong leather fragrance tempered by other accords.

As the florals develop and fade, the notes underlying the rubber/leather become more prominently woody and even peppery for a time. As the heart progresses to the base, the separation between the rubber/leather accord and the underlying notes collapses into a unified base. This unified woody/leatherbase sweetens a little, showing a little vanilla and tonka (and always iris), and becoming slightly musky. Longevity is good, 5-6 hours. Sillage is average unless you really over-apply, but this was not intended to be a loud fragrance thus you can't blame it for having sillage appropriate to its theme.

Now that the fragrance has been described it can be tied into its marketing themes. The intent was obviously not to create a wild, sexy fragrance. Tom of Finland refers to the homoerotic artist who produced works under that name (and the Tom of Finland Foundation with whom this was a joint project with ELDO). TOF art appears on the boxes and different editions are available with different art on the different boxes. The tie in to gay lifestyle, art, and associated issues cannot be ignored.

The simplistic explanation that TOF is supposed to smell like the rubber/leather worn as BDSM outfits - or the absurdly unimaginative idea that this is supposed to smell like a condom - enitrely misses the fragrance's most subtle points. TOF is masculine, but not overly masculine via its use of aldehydes that are typically used in feminine fragrances(fn1). There are sweet and floral aspects balanced with more wild and sensual notes (leather, rubber, tar). Homosexuality is not one-dimensional, nor is this fragrance. The fragrance is neither masculine, feminine, or unisex, but rather it is all three and none of them at the same time. I will leave it to the reader to decide how this ties in with homosexuality for themselves. Overall, I believe the fragrance is tied into the sometime ignored reality that homosexuality is not easily pigeonholed or sterotyped, and nor is it necessarily brash and loud (just as the fragrance is subtle and nuanced). It would be too easy to just make a loud leather fragrance and associate it with homosexuality, ELDO did not take this easy route and instead made a more measured artistic statement with this fragrance. Of the various artistic statement ELDO fragrances purport to make, this is perhaps their most successful and accessible.

If you appreciate subtle fragrances, and especially if you like leather fragrances, this one is far outside the norm and worth exploration. Give it a few tries and don't expect to be blown away on first application because this fragrance impresses the more you get to know it, and it is anything but boring or flat.

footnote 1: See review of TOF on The Scented Salamander (use of aldehydes as typically used in feminine fragrances) at minifroufrou.com.

Soft seasoned suede and whispers of horse, leather and hay. Elegant & restrained. Odd, considering the tacky pr. Styrax billowing through it as usual with Etat scents, but lovely. Wear on clothes, scarves, inside jackets. Lovely & melancholy. Wear it, walk home in the dark. memories rise and fall.