Lancome Paris Turns 75! As it states on the Lancôme website “Armand Petitjean, perfumer and cosmetician, devoted his life to his dream of giving women the most beautiful things possible. For them, he created Lancôme. He selected the rose, surrounded himself with the best researchers and began an exemplary adventure onto the realm of passion.” What a positively romantic start to what was to become an internationally successful cosmetics company! This company was purchased and is owned by L’Oreal since 1964.
The name “Lancôme” was inspired by the ruins of a castle called Le Château de Lancosme. The use of the rose was inspired by the wild roses in the area of the castle, symbolized by the company’s single golden rose.
FRAGRANCE
The start of the brand began with five fragrances launched in 1935. Armand Petitjean had a great teacher, he was a student of François Coty, the “father of luxury perfumes.” The bottles were nearly all created by a great artist, Georges Delhomme, now collectors’ items.
SKINCARE
Immediately successful, the Lancôme skincare line NUTRIX was made in 1936 with its nourishin
g and regenerative formula nearly the same today. in 1955, the line Océane launched, a line, an ultra-pure enriched with algae seaweed and trace elements. The success of these innovations owes much to the word of mouth from the “techniciennes”, women who graduated from the Lancôme school and took the brand’s message globally.MAKEUP
Lancome makeup is created with a sensual love for women. They produce delicious lipsticks, like the ‘Rose de France’, the first pink-red lipstick, made scented with the Bulgarian rose. The powders are scented, the lipstick cases are jeweled and the makeup cases, ornate works of art.
THE LANCÔME ROSE EXISTS!
Armand Petitjean, the Lancôme founder, himself had a passion for roses. He grew them in his rose garden just outside of Paris, in Ville d’Avray. So, it’s no surprise that he used the rose as the symbol for his cosmetics company. it states on the Lancôme website, “A real Lancôme rose actually exists! Created by Delbard in 1973, it is a gorgeous, pale fuchsia rose with a very long, cylinder-shaped bud. Its petals – between 35 and 40 – are thick and shiny. The Lancôme rose is a very robust rose that, according to Delbard, takes after its parents. Its father – a rosebush nicknamed “the Oak Tree” for its extreme sturdiness – produced magenta red roses. Its mother produced roses that were nearly mauve in colour. This is how the rare and vibrant rose known as the Lancôme rose, came to be. To get your own Lancôme rose, write to: Delbard – 16, Quai de la Mégisserie – 75038 PARIS CEDEX 01 Telephone : +33 (0)1.44.88.80.20.”
Reprinted with permission: Angela Tunner
PHILANTHROPY
The Lauder Family is very philanthropic. Among their philanthropic foundations are:
The Lauder Foundation
The Leonard and Evelyn Lauder Foundation
The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation
Breast Cancer Research Fund
