Lancôme
Founded in Paris in 1935 by perfumer Armand Petitjean, Lancôme pairs French elegance with a long fragrance heritage alongside skincare and makeup.
France
About Lancôme
Lancôme was founded in Paris in 1935 by the perfumer Armand Petitjean. Beginning with fragrance and expanding into skincare and makeup, the house has built its identity around French elegance and the idea that beauty is a source of happiness.
History
Petitjean had already spent a long career abroad and had been introduced to perfumery by François Coty before he created his own house in his fifties. At the 1935 Universal Exposition in Brussels he presented his first five perfumes, Tropiques, Conquête, Kypre, Tendres Nuits, and Bocages, all of which received awards. He chose a soft-sounding name that echoed the Place Vendôme in Paris, and Lancôme joined L'Oréal in 1964.
Philosophy & Signature Style
Rather than relying on advertising, Petitjean trusted trained beauty advisers to share the brand with customers, and he founded a school to prepare them. His early perfumes were noted for their blends of flowers and spices. In 2020 Lancôme acquired the Domaine de la Rose in Grasse, renovating the estate as a place to cultivate perfume plants and pass on the craft of fragrance making.
Iconic Fragrances
Magie and Trésor, introduced in the early 1950s, established Lancôme among the great French perfume houses. Today La vie est belle, which pairs iris with gourmand sweetness, and the rose-centred Idôle are among the best-known fragrances in its collection.
