Leather Man: Tom of Finland by Etat Libre d'Orange

Tom of Finland fragrance display at the Etat Libre d’Orange store in Paris by Adam Sofen on Flickr.

It shouldn’t surprise us that the perfume tribute to Tom of Finland comes from Etat Libre d’Orange. This French perfume house is known for raunchiness, sense of humor, and gender bending– perfect for Touko Laaksonen, more famous as Tom of Finland, whose artwork defined a certain aesthetics of Gay icons; Tom of Finland’s influence can be found anywhere from music videos (Freddie Mercury, George Michael) to mainstream advertisement.

Tom Finland actually smells quite clean. The pine and cypress notes are chilly, contributing to the freshly scrubbed idea and contrasted with warm leather and birch.

The Non-Blonde

Tom of Finland was an artist who liked to draw shall we say pictures of genetically exemplary gentlemen enjoying one another’s company in various ways.

On the one hand, you would expect that a scent named after Tom of Finland would consist entirely of an excess of masculinity: tobacco and leather, say, maybe rum or bourbon and perhaps some sweaty cumin, a hint of black rubber or vinyl. On the other hand, this is Etat Libre d’Orange we’re talking about, and they generally have no intention of doing anything anyone would expect of them. Consequently, their Tom of Finland starts out with fresh citrusy aldehydes which disperse to reveal a fresh, soft-green outdoorsy scent with a hint of warm sweetness underneath.

And then it turns into leather! It lasts forever, hours and hours and hours without flagging.

One Thousand Scents

Tom of Finland EAU DE PARFUM

Published: 7th February 2013

Categorised in: For the Record