Clean Suede
Tom of Finland
2008

Clean Suede / Tom of Finland by Etat Libre d'Orange
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7.3 / 10 298 Ratings
A perfume by Etat Libre d'Orange for men, released in 2008. The scent is leathery-spicy. It is still in production.
Pronunciation
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Main accords

Leathery
Spicy
Woody
Sweet
Synthetic

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
AldehydesAldehydes LemonLemon
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Birch leafBirch leaf PinePine PepperPepper
Base Notes Base Notes
SuedeSuede AmbergrisAmbergris VanillaVanilla

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
7.3298 Ratings
Longevity
7.7221 Ratings
Sillage
6.7212 Ratings
Bottle
6.6196 Ratings
Value for money
6.860 Ratings
Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 23.04.2024.

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions
7
Bottle
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
7
Scent
Chizza

273 Reviews
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Chizza
Chizza
Top Review 13  
An actually normal high gloss leather
In my still anonymous perfume-time I met good Tom from Finland and was rather averse than interested after this fragrance was discussed very much in a certain direction. A leather scent and a guy on the packaging, okay, happens.
In this respect, my interest in a test was not huge either. Now that I had it in front of me, I can say one thing: if the title and design were more average, hardly anyone would talk about the fragrance in the same way. By the way, this is not a judgement on the fragrance, but it does say that it is harmless.
This impregnated synthetic leather contains many ingredients. What it does not have in it is a top note. At the beginning you have leather in the known note and what leads to this impact, I try to break down. At first the cypress resonates quite clearly. Its limy note is clearly perceptible. But now Tom is quite different from Leather from AdP, for example, despite the distinct citric note.
For one thing, Eldo doesn't proceed in a very subtle way, but lets Tom go from the beginning. I tap on his jaws, because something balmy and ethereal resonates subliminally. So the limey note turns into a creamier note, which sticks to the leather like shoe polish and has not been applied very tightly. The vetiver, which is perceptible, is rather fresh and grassy, it radiates life and not musty earth. In addition, the type of leather is in itself. This here is high gloss leather, modern leather. Freshly impregnated shoe leather of quite high quality. The leather here seems to be close to the iris, which also comes through and who knows what leather means here?
Further on: now the vanilla is gradually getting stronger, but it looks sweet and synthetic, I suspect a connection to the aldehydes.
At the end it smells of vanilla and amber, a pleasant finish and balm for the tortured soul. Here, however, there is a slight tendency to synthetic sweetness, which can be displeasing.
All this leads to a fragrance that radiates a lot but I don't know what it actually wants to radiate. At first, Tom seems like someone who is so extroverted that he shows himself everywhere and is a topic of conversation. This flattens, because behind all the glamour there is little depth. So it inevitably comes to the fact that this loud element becomes quieter, even more uncertain. The result is a fine and fragile fragrance at the end. This change takes place relatively quickly in the second part, because the first dominant scents retreat faster than one would like. If you want to compare it, I would like to call it the more glaring Floris - Mahon Leather.
11 Comments
5
Scent
Tinctureall

94 Reviews
Tinctureall
Tinctureall
Helpful Review 9  
Nice but kinky
Soft but strong opening. Powdery citric, slightly sharp, lavender/irissy, plastic tonka beans. It makes me think of action man wearing perfume after a hard day in the toy box. There is a cumin sweaty plastic man note like he has been hot. There is a dusty sharpish green powdery quality to this like a plastic bag that used to contain dried herbs such as tarragon, oregano and thyme. Long gone, but the dusty smell lingers rather nicely. The herbs recede to sharper woods but more laminate than forest. A sweetness here but only a hint of almond marzipan. Action man has some play dough on his plastic shoe leather having scrambled out and away from the plastic toys. He wipes it off quickly, regains his composure and sits on the wooden box looking smart in his plastic leather bomber jacket.

I quite like this but it isn't a classic perfume structure. More modern and slightly minimalist in progression yet there is a lot going on within it. It isn't thin or linear but doesn't shift much. Just fades to dry leathery musk. Nice but almost kinky with the sweat and plastic leather.

How I laughed at the reveal of this one. I hadn't any idea who Tom of Finland was before this. A fitting tribute.
(Blind testing of a series of ELdO samples, so these reviews are from nose notes.)

I've just read the other review below and funny how we both pick up on a playdough moment, because that is a very specific smell. It doesn't stay.
2 Comments
ColinM

516 Reviews
ColinM
ColinM
5  
Essence d'Eldo!
Tom of Finland is one of the perfect examples of how the worse (which sadly means, quite a significant part of) niche perfumery works, and how it relates to “mainstream” alleged competitors. On one hand, here we have the witty, creative, avantgarde Tom of Finland, $85 a 50 ml bottle from fancy underground and/or luxury shops; on the other hand, there we have the ultra-boring and generic Essence de Cerruti, $15 a 50 ml bottle, that kind of uninspired cheap stuff which pops out around Christmas in the “gift boxes” section of supermarkets and chainstore perfumeries, straight from there to your uncle Reginald’s shaving shelf. Or to the “bargains” section of Amazon and the likes. Ask any niche connoisseur, they’ll probably rave about Etat Libre’s Tom of Finland and will have barely heard about Essence de Cerruti (and anyway it’s just another Cerruti: boo-ring!). Now, who composed both scents? Antoine Lie, the Dr. Niche and Mr. Mainstream of contemporary perfumery, carbon-copying the same couple of recipes over and over for any paying customer from Zegna to nu_be. Are they similar, Cerruti and Tom? No, not really. They’re nearly identical – on the drydown, they’re hilariously identical. Just blind test them side by side. The same, exact, unoriginal cheap musky leather with some minty/balsamic stuff, saffron and violet and a bone-structure of any woody Oriental designer (Cerruti is slightly heavier on the latter, while Tom leans more on musky leather). Decent per se, perfectly acceptable for Cerruti or fellow unpretentious and inexpensive mainstreamers, plain pathetic for Etat Libre d’Orange. Chapeau to these little French rascals for being so successful in fooling hipsters with this stuff.

4,5/10
0 Comments
6
Bottle
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
7
Scent
Beginner

8 Reviews
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Beginner
Beginner
Less helpful Review 2  
Master Leather
I was very excited about my first Eldo and sprayed the Finns on my wrist full of excitement. First of all, a fat load of rubber and sugar syrup shoots into your nose, so I wanted to reach for the scrub brush in the first reflex. That's how the darkroom in the relevant bars must smell when the going gets tough - latex, leather and lubricant in rough quantities. And vanilla, which seems to get stronger over the hours.

I don't know what to think of Tom. He frightens me with his hard sex, but reconciles himself later when cuddling in the vanilla dream with me. But I think I know a solution - I will give the perfume to my better half, because the base is very feminine and fits better to her. In any case apply sparingly, because it is not humble.
0 Comments
5
Bottle
7.5
Sillage
10
Longevity
6
Scent
Tnahowru

33 Reviews
Tnahowru
Tnahowru
Helpful Review 3  
Should be a unisex...
Tom of Finland smells wonderful on me, and it's now on my wish list. This is the first man fragrance I've smelled that is lovely on a woman.

The top is all spicy, woody, and citrus, and it's ok.

The heart is the same but smells like some patchouli is hidden and a tiny bit of playdoh which doesn't last long.

The base is what I can't live without. It's all amber, musk, vanilla, and iris.

The dry down started about six hours into it, and lasted at least 24 hours on me. The silage is just above average, I kept thinking which lovely scent am I smelling (left or right wrist).
2 Comments
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Statements

8 short views on the fragrance
HugoMontezHugoMontez 11 months ago
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
8
Scent
Saffron based scent with a creamy vanilla nuance. It feels like a light suede with a lattex undertone. Daimiris plays on the same ballpark.
0 Comments
GeorgeReidGeorgeReid 12 months ago
7
Bottle
6
Sillage
8
Longevity
8.5
Scent
A suede/leather woody scent that is clean and easy to use while remaining interesting.
0 Comments
FragaddictedFragaddicted 2 years ago
Tom of Finland, is an ode to masculine beauty. It is that rare marvel, a clean leather scent.
0 Comments
ItchynoseItchynose 5 years ago
7
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
7
Scent
Suede is the protagonist, sweet from vanilla and tonka bean, airy from aldehydes and iris. Smooth, plasticky, narcotic and weird.
0 Comments
Topfpflanze3Topfpflanze3 10 months ago
6
Bottle
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
5.5
Scent
I have my problems with leather in combination with green notes. It conveys that lumberjack style - but my nose fights it
0 Comments
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