Clean Suede / Tom of Finland by Etat Libre d'Orange

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Clean Suede
Tom of Finland
Etat Libre d'Orange 2008

7.3 / 10 376 Ratings

A perfume by Etat Libre d'Orange for men, released in 2008. The scent is leathery-spicy. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Leathery

Spicy

Woody

Sweet

Synthetic

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Aldehydes

Lemon

Heart Notes

Birch leaf Pine

Pine

Pepper

Base Notes

Suede

Ambergris

Vanilla

Perfumer

Antoine Lie

Ratings

Scent

7.3376 Ratings

Longevity

7.6284 Ratings

Sillage

6.6272 Ratings

Bottle

6.8253 Ratings

Value for money

7.0116 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 09/22/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Daimiris

Eau d'Ombré Leather

Club Design

Cozumel

3AM Eau de Toilette

Anubis

Reviews

20 in-depth fragrance descriptions

06/26/2014

5
Scent

Tinctureall
94 Reviews

Tinctureall

Helpful Review 10

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.

08/11/2015

ColinM
516 Reviews

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

01/21/2020

6
Bottle 7
Sillage 7
Longevity 7.5
Scent

Pepdal
238 Reviews

Pepdal

Helpful Review 2

Fin Tom

My first review for the house of Etat Libre d'Orange. Tom Of Finland is a good way to introduce to the house in general, but don't expect anything to ground-breaking or avant garde. Hope you enjoy and thanks for watching

02/16/2025

6
Pricing 6
Bottle 8
Sillage 7
Longevity 7.5
Scent

AdrianPapaki
85 Reviews

AdrianPapaki

Helpful Review 1

Safe & clean leather

If you've found yourself searching for a clean & smooth (suede) leather with a touch of slightly powdery sweetness that would be a much safer office & everyday wear without it being an overpowering blast of a new car scent (like Ombré Leather (2018) Eau de Parfum )
This is for you.
Clean Suede or previously Tom of Finland is an easily wearable leather scent with aldehydic cleanliness and powdery sweetness. Ive seen people saying this has a slight pissy note, but I dont get that. It's a gorgeous clean suede scent ( see what I did there :D ). Must try, not blindly safe though.

04/09/2014

5
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 10
Longevity 6
Scent

Tnahowru
33 Reviews

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).

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