Reviews of Tommy by Tommy Hilfiger

I missed the Tommy bandwagon of the 1990s (I was wearing Xeryus de Givenchy) - and only just tried it out and bought a bottle. It's great! Warm, punchy, versatile, uplifting, energetic, and short-lived. Pleasantly green in this age where everything seems blue.

In the $20 range it's a great deal and for many people, this fragrance is an old friend.
21st March 2023
A very light summer scent that you can't smell after an hour. It is the "cotton candy" of colognes - insubstantial, sweet, fun and gone very quickly. Just too much work.
5th October 2022

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A masterful fragrance made up of notes that are Americana. This was my signature fragrance in my 20's in the 1990's. It's still among my favorites.
30th September 2022
A subtle frag that should be treated more like an aftershave. Overall, a Neutral rating for me because it was absolutely everywhere and unapologetically over-sprayed by everyone in the mid-late 90's. In this case, less is way more.

Released the same year (1994), and ironically by the same house (Aramis), I personally prefer to reach for this timeless gem of men's perfumery - "Havana".

2 stars.
17th September 2020
I wore this fragrance all thru middle and most of high school and boy when i get a whif the memories that come back. its fresh and clean and just a feel good frag. My buddy still rocks this at 40 and it smells just as good as always. perfect casual chill frag for lounging around hanging out.
4th July 2019
Close to a Neutral, but a great scent as a teen in the mid-late 90's. Lasted a little longer on me than Polo Sport, this was great for hanging out as a youth. Very mild & pleasant for casual events.

As for today, maybe a great gift for a teenager?

Haven't smelt any current formulations, but if I could find my vintage from High School it would be a great time travel smell.
22nd June 2019
Simple, youthful and fresh. This fragrance is ideal for teenagers and young adolescents. It doesn't develop much throughout the day. The scent stays pretty much the same. The dry-down is pretty weak. It doesn't last very long so you may have to reapply it once or twice during the day. I would say it's a pretty unproblematic fragrance. Overall, I think its smell would be best described as fresh and clean. If I had to rate it I would probably give it a 6 out of 10.

P.S.: This is a typical 'casual hanging out with friends' fragrance. It's ideal for casual circumstances.
3rd March 2019
Yeah, it smells a little cheap and thin but this is one of the best time machines in fragrance for me. I didn't even wear Tommy in the 90's but this does take me right back to that time. The bluegrass note in it is probably the main nostalgia driver for me since there was a similar note in Michael Jordan cologne, something I did wear in the 90's and was in abundance around me at that time, having worked at a store that sold it.

It's casual, youthful and cooling. Very decent stuff and still smells nice today.

Projection is not bad during the first couple hours and then it still hangs around a little better than skin scent for 4-5 hours.
11th February 2019
I remember wearing this back in the day. I was 17 or 18. Really pleasant fragrance that lasted a good few hours. Gained numerous compliments .
26th November 2018
Fresh and young.

The scent itself is edible. I'm not even going to bother trying to breakdown the different notes or whatever as it all blends beautifully into this linear wear that last all of about an hour. Wore this often in Junior high and for good reason, it's the cleanest and most seductive scent a fifteen-year-old boy can wear.

Shouldn't be applied once you obtain a high school diploma though. I wish someone would somehow someway create a more mature rendition of this.
6th March 2018
Let me start by saying I really like Tommy by Tommy Hilfiger (1994). It's sweet, crisp, clean, almost the perfect job interview or "be presentable with a hint of inviting" scent. It's good indoors 24/7 365, and it is almost usable in all weather save the dead of cold. But... It's also the Creed (band) of men's fragrance. It was everywhere, everyone used it, and it was the "must have" for the sleazy date prowlers of the late 90's and early 2000's, whilst other things like Curve (1996) or Lucky You (2000) were the workhorses, until Tommy Hilfiger failed to really follow it up properly and the scent joined them in the modern-day "Workhorse Force" that all 90's-chic fragrances have seem to gone into of late. The scent was originally created by minds at Aramis, and it shows. Anne Buzanthian, who helped transform Tea Rose (1972) into something The Perfumer's Workshop could mass produce by 1974, won the contract alongside Alberto Morillas, who would also deliver quite a few prolific 90's scents. Aramis had just released Havana in the same year as this, and the two could almost be siblings, except Havana was the far more complex and timeless of the two with it's boozy tobacco structure. Tommy comes across like a more ozonic tobacco-less version of Havana, with some of the woods and spices supplanted with gourmand-like fruit notes, and the official note pyramid had some bonkers stuff on it like "apple pie" and "rain" to make you question who they were trying to kid. I get how some think this is appropriate only for a teenager, because teens in the 90's beat this one to death, but I was a teen then too and I still say it holds up against the modern Sauvage (2015) and it's ilk.

The scent opens with grapefruit and lavender/bergamot mixed with some ozonic element that I guess is what the "rain" is supposed to be, with a touch of barely noticeable mint. Calone is here as well, because everything designer that was anything worth sniffing in the 90's had it, but we're not talking New West (1988) levels of the stuff. The heart of the fragrance is the oft-quoted "apple pie" accord, and indeed there is some semisweet "granny smith" type of green apple in here, not quite sour but tart enough to not disturb the shiny/fresh vibe of the top. From there, it goes down into fresh linens that I guess the "cottonwood" is meant to represent, maybe an early Iso E Super composite, who knows? Some resinous accords that are some form of synthetic woods with usual amber fixative are also spooled in here. It's not a fougère and not quite an aquatic, but neither is it fully a gourmand (a category which didn't quite exist yet at that time), so it's a fully abstract ozonic scent. Clean, sweet, sharp, a bit warm, and sparkling with a slight ozonic nose tinge, this has 90's written all over it in the biggest way a fragrance can. It's not quite candy sweet, but I feel the aforementioned Aramis Havana that this feels close to does this style better by being more balanced and a tad drier. I can see how this may have been seen as sexy back in the day because the "delicious" vibes of the fruit and how they subtly weave through the other ingredients and the stark ozone just come off the shirt collar like tendrils of "come hither", but far more sultry scents than this exist. Much like Eternity for Men (1989), Tommy shows a rare display of warmth without the heaviness or reliance on musk.

Ultimately, this scent like the aforementioned band Creed, has seen it's best years already, and has mellowed down to much less ubiquity, where it is used by new people discovering it's nice middle ground for work wear, and nostalgic guys "who were there" that are now a few decades older and like keeping this around for memories, or still think it can get them a date 20+ years on. Tommy does share the "clean yet slightly sensual" DNA that newer male fare also still abused, so maybe they're right. Some things are seductive enough to become "panty droppers" among the basic bro population in fragrance community, but not this, and I just can't shake the image of overcompensating guys marinaded in this walking into a bar with their shirts unbuttoned and flirting with the barmaid who had seen (and smelled) far better. Aramis still does work for Mr. Hillfiger, but judging by the gimmicky and flaccid compositions, they're just bottling rejected Estée Lauder formulas now and not composing it bespoke for Mr. Hillfiger anymore, with the stuff turning up in discounters like Walmart all the time instead of the fragrance counters where this one debuted. Once again like a popular 90's alt rock band, a few more minor successes came and went alongside Tommy, but this poor fella remained and slid into the realms of "remember when" or "oh guys still wear that?" which is that most dangerous middle ground a fragrance has to traverse before being old enough to finally attain a "classic" status. In a nutshell, this crisp ozonic fruit basket is perfect for the appliance salesman at Best Buy or the supervisor of concierge service, but that's about the limit of it's power outside casual use.
25th December 2017
Just a great classic scent from the 90's. If you wear it today around 90's high school generation women, they will lapse into memories and talk about 90210 and other 90's memories. This one is a fresh but dressy smell and projects nicely.
8th April 2017
I had a friend in the 90's in college who wore this ..I didn't love it at the time and I was never going to interfere with another guys signiture scent so I blanked it out for 18 years. Recently tried this again and had a few flash backs to my college years, I love how fragrances do that ..Fahrenheit and Calvin klein escape also transport me back to fun times with girls and night club's and doing very little college work. Anyway this scent is actually really good stuff, very lightly spiced apple and pineapple with a watery feel and pretty respectable performance ..fits in with no fuss in today's fresh type scents without any reason to say it's dated.
24th December 2016
Well nice. This was a 'go to' fragrance of mine back in 1996/97. Best way I can describe the scent is like spicy green apples. I kind of get the Apple Pies note; this stands out more than the other notes, although the Midwest Spearmint note supports, giving a balance of freshness. Definitely a spicy, fresh, fruity gourmand vibe. Hefty sillage and longevity - lasts all day long. I find Tommy comforting and evocative, takes me back to home in the '90s.
20th April 2016
This is the original Hilfiger scent. I agree with Turin, who states it smells like "the breath of someone who just drank an espresso and then chewed a cardamom seed." "It dries down to a grey hissy musk and woody citrus."

Now wouldn't you think this would get a two or one star review? Nope, a four star "recommended" review.

I found it to be a light, citrus herbal that rapidly disappears - not a bad thing with this inconsequential scent. I suppose one needs to apply it every ten minutes (forty squirts at least per application) in order to do it justice.

But then, one asks oneself, "Why bother?"
7th November 2015
This cologne to remember some love or joy moments from my life.it is something in between a little Light,a little deep. gourmand scent.i think this doesent just delicious,it smells downright edible.

A young and free spirited scent.the apple acoord nice.creamy and fresh without being too cloying,really rimindes me a scent of a real green apple!and now Boss Bottled and Rose Pincesse to remember middle notes this cologne for me.

If you are looking for a present for a modern or confident man,TH is great choice.not very extraordinary but truly pleasant.it is spring/summer scent for sure and great for the office.
8th June 2015
American Pong! Leaving aside the ridiculous americ-aroma nomenclature...

Tommy is a fantasy spice accord of cardamom-pepper-clove that been showered with lavender rain dissolved in a combo of aspartame and battery acid.

A powdery, sweet fruity effect comes in after a while, which adds a touch of subtlety to the hard and sharp feel, but besides that it goes on and on in a pretty linear fashion.

Constructed in a faux transparent style, Tommy's in your face character still comes across as attention grabbing. Just the kind of thing for some cool young dude. That's to say it smells juvenile, but I suppose there's a place for that...

Despite its evident drawbacks - one liner, harsh top, hard synthetic quality, Tommy is compex and it does smell good; so in the end it deserves a positive rating - even if it's a bit banal.

Pity the star material doesn't come from the US or that could have had a daft name too - how about Cape Cod Cardamom?
16th May 2015
I used to have Tommy in the early 2000s when I was a teenager. It was a present from my godmother and I tended to overuse it excessively. During that time I didn't really have any real opinion about it, it was just a scent and that was it. However, when the bottle started to be nearly empty, I already had grown to hate the fragrance.

Today I went to a department store to test some new fragrances and I suddenly spotted Tommy. I just had to spray some of it on my wrist so I could relive my sensations and maybe even write a review here.

Well, there is something absolutely annoying and even repulsive in this scent, I just can't put it any other way. A big problem with Tommy is the fact that I don't understand it: I really can't comprehend which parts of the formula manage to create such a cloying and suffocating aura. Tommy is the epitome of fragrances I dislike. At least I know where I stand.

All in all this "review" isn't really that helpful, so here's some real information: Tommy's sillage is all right and its longevity even better. So, if you like the scent you'll got those things goin' for you, which is nice.
17th November 2014
I wore this when it originally came out. I had a roommate in college who wore it and I loved the smell. Eventually, I thought it was too overpowering and woody, so I got rid of it. Recently, I started to miss it and picked up a bottle.

This stuff projects like a beast the first few hours and then settles down towards the end, lasting a total of over 7 hours for me. To me, the mix of woods ends up smelling of cedar -- perhaps because of the grapefruit citrus over the top of the rest of the fragrance notes (the grapefruit actually lasts throughout the life of this scent).

It is still around for a reason. I'm glad I bought another bottle.
28th April 2014
Bergamot, lavender, citrus and mint: the base notes declare this as a fresh and aquatic scent. In the drydown I get apples and berries, with a woody light amber note attempting some depth. Nonetheless, this remains a pleasantly fresh albeit unexciting composition. Limited silage and projection, but the longevitynjs not too bad at over four hours. For the summery times.
16th November 2013
A not very ordinary aquaticThe top notes of bergamot and grapefruit are nice and have a green mint/grass twist. The drydown adds some light wood notes, but the later stage is quite nondescript on my skin. Limited silage and projection with a longevity of nearly three hours. A pleasant albeit unexciting one for warmer days.
17th September 2013
Old before its time Fresh, sweet and soapy in the beginning, then synthetic amber, citrus and booze. Aramis's hip grandson.
10th August 2013
Definitely a thumbs up. No way I can do powder or musk. For me the violets definitely come forward. It is a light perfume with my chemistry. Lots of high notes, counter-tenor, tenor but no contralto, barritone, or basso. Solid early afternoon perfume. But I quite like the violets for evening. They to me are surprising. I always think of "Violets for Your Furs" Shirley Horn. Her latter work, sensual, whisky, smoky voice and intentional languorousness.
16th March 2013
Used to bathe in this scent.
Instantly recognizable and one of the few "Fresh" frags I can say I like.
Opens with a synthetic blast of Lavender, Grapefruit, Bergamot and a cacophony of other notes. I can get the "Rain" notes and I think they are done well.
The heart and base amp up the spice and an Apple note pokes it's head into the mix.
Tommy is advertised as an Americana fragrance and I really do get that vibe from it.
On my skin this projects well for the first 4 hours and lasts 6-8 hours total, but due to it's recognizable nature people will know it.
10th August 2012
wwww