Lancôme: A French Story of Beauty and Happiness, Told Through Perfume

“Women who come to Lancôme leave more beautiful. And they leave happier.”
Armand Petitjean, founder of Lancôme

Essential Information
The Founder and the Origins of the Brand
What Matters to the Brand
The Fragrance Lineup
By the Way…

Essential Information

Founded: 1935
Founder: Armand Petitjean, who established the company with Guillaume d’Ornano and others
Place of founding: Paris, France
Group: Part of the L’Oréal group since 1964
Official website: Lancôme Japan official website
Japanese name: This article uses “ランコム,” the brand’s official spelling in Japan.

The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

An Appreciation of French Beauty, Nurtured Under Coty

Armand Petitjean was born in 1884. When he launched Lancôme in 1935, he was already over fifty. After working in trade in South America and gaining international business experience, he worked for François Coty, a key figure in the development of modern perfumery, and became deeply involved in the world of fragrance.

Not only scent, but bottles, selling, and communicating value across borders: working with Coty provided an important foundation for Petitjean’s later conception of his own brand. His goal was a distinctive luxury house that would bring French beauty and refinement to the world.

“Why did I create Lancôme? Because I saw two American brands dominating the beauty industry. A French brand should stand alongside them.”
Armand Petitjean

After Coty died in 1934, Petitjean chose to create a new house. In 1935, Lancôme was born through his work with a group of colleagues. “A prestige brand, or nothing”: that was his conviction.

His Colleagues and the Name “Lancôme”

Those involved in the founding included colleagues responsible for the commercial side, such as Guillaume d’Ornano; chemist Pierre Velon; and Georges Delhomme, who designed the bottles. Fragrance, science, form and business: these different areas of expertise came together to shape the new brand.

The name was inspired by the Château de Lancosme in France. Petitjean and his colleagues, looking for a name with a French sound and a sense of elegance, chose this one.

The silent “s” was removed from Lancosme and a circumflex accent added, creating Lancôme. The name itself was entrusted with expressing a French sense of beauty.

“Lancôme: a symbol of France.”
The perfumeknowledge blog, presenting this as Petitjean’s sentiment

The 1935 Brussels World’s Fair: Five Perfumes for the World

In 1935, Lancôme unveiled five perfumes at the Brussels World’s Fair: Tropiques, Conquête, Kypre, Tendres Nuits and Bocages. Rather than making a single fragrance carry the whole identity of the brand, it began with a group of creations, each with its own character.

In contrast to the simple, geometric designs of the period, the early bottles had a rich visual presence, with flowers, gold ornamentation and elaborate forms. Delhomme’s designs presented the world of fragrance as an object one could hold.

“In the 1930s, the simpler something was, the more chic it was. Rooms had no decoration. Perfume bottles were square, rectangular or flat. We wanted to do the opposite.”
Georges Delhomme

Petitjean considered how women’s tastes differed according to their country and way of life. To reach the world, he offered several different ways into fragrance. This international outlook was present from the earliest days of Lancôme, a house born in perfumery.

“Tropiques is like honey. Heavy with spices and aromas, it may intimidate people in northern Europe and Britain. Yet it will resonate deeply with society women and artists. Conquête is a rose chypre: any woman who wants to attract attention at the theatre or a restaurant will like it. The cleanliness of Bocages is perfect for young women and will enchant women in Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Germany and northern France.”
Armand Petitjean

From Perfume to Skincare and Makeup

In 1936, the house introduced Nutrix cream. Working with chemists, Petitjean extended beauty beyond fragrance into skincare. The passion for perfume that had been there from the beginning was joined by science-based product development.

In 1938 came Rose de France, a lipstick with a soft texture and a rose scent. Products that valued the sensations and pleasure of wearing them helped establish the three fields that would support Lancôme: fragrance, skincare and makeup.

Training People to Communicate Beauty, Even in Wartime

As the Second World War made sourcing raw materials and manufacturing difficult, Petitjean turned his attention to training people. In 1942, he founded École Lancôme in Paris. His aim was not just to make products, but to nurture people who could explain how to use them and convey their appeal.

The school is said to have taught knowledge of the skin and body, skincare, makeup and sales techniques, as well as artistic sensitivity. Its graduates went out into the world as representatives of the brand equipped with skills and knowledge.

“Women are best able to speak about women.”
Armand Petitjean

Petitjean placed importance on letting people experience the products and allowing their reputation to spread through personal recommendations. The idea of a beauty adviser giving individual attention to each woman is connected to these initiatives.

Magie and Trésor: Fragrance Classics of the 1950s

Magie was introduced in 1950. Its twisted-looking crystal bottle is known as a notable example of Delhomme’s design. Here, too, one sees the approach of treating scent and container as a single creation.

The original Trésor appeared in 1952. Its launch at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris is said to have featured ballet by Serge Lifar and music by Henri Sauguet. It was a lavish presentation celebrating the birth of a perfume through the performing arts.

After management difficulties and a generational transition, Lancôme became part of L’Oréal in 1964. Petitjean died in 1970 at the age of 86. His vision of bringing French beauty to the world was passed on to the brand that followed.

What Matters to the Brand

Connecting Beauty and Happiness

Themes such as love, joy and living in one’s own way recur in Lancôme’s perfumes. Making oneself beautiful is connected not only to a change in appearance, but also to a change in feeling. This idea, present since the early years, flows through the house’s contemporary fragrances.

Trésor evokes memories of love; La Vie Est Belle, happiness chosen for oneself; and Idôle, confidence in oneself. Although the way these creations tell their stories changes with the times, they share a desire to accompany the lives of the people who wear them.

The Rose: Both an Ingredient and a Brand Symbol

Petitjean loved roses and had a rose garden at his home in Ville-d’Avray, near Paris. Appearing on perfume labels from the house’s founding, the rose eventually became the flower that symbolized the brand.

In 1974, rose breeder Georges Delbard created the vivid fuchsia Lancôme rose. The existence of an actual rose bearing the brand’s name is another expression of the bond between the flower and the house.

Domaine de la Rose in Grasse also gives this relationship a physical form. The official 2023 report describes it as a site of approximately seven hectares devoted to organic cultivation. The house’s involvement in land that grows perfume ingredients supports its rose-centred world.

Bottles as Stories You Can Hold

Lancôme has shown a strong interest in the form of its perfume bottles from the beginning: the twisting shape of Magie, and the jewel-like container of the original Trésor. The vessel that holds a fragrance has also played a role in communicating its character.

The bottle of La Vie Est Belle was inspired by a container designed by Delhomme in 1949, its curves suggesting a smile. Industrial production was difficult at the time, and the shape was made as a miniature for special clients before being brought to life as the bottle of a new perfume in 2012. The ribbon at its neck carries the image of wings of freedom.

With Idôle, the expression shifts to a thin, flat, modern glass bottle. The ability to convey a world through a simple outline as well as through lavish decoration reveals how aesthetic sensibilities change with the times.

The Fragrance Lineup

The Five Founding Fragrances: Tropiques, Conquête, Kypre, Tendres Nuits and Bocages

The five creations introduced at the founding in 1935 form a historic lineup that recalls Lancôme’s origins in perfume. They pointed in different directions, including flowers, spices, cleanliness and depth, expressing an ambition to respond to diverse tastes around the world.

Petitjean’s determination was also embedded in the name Conquête, meaning “conquest.”

“Conquête was a symbol. We needed to conquer the world and establish Lancôme’s reputation.”
Armand Petitjean

Magie: 1950

A signature creation from the founder’s era, in which fragrance and bottle form a unified whole. It is known for a composition incorporating woody notes and jasmine, and for a container that resembles twisted crystal. This discussion concerns the historic 1950 creation, distinguishing it from later products, including those bearing the same name.

Trésor: A Name from 1952, Reimagined as a New Fragrance in 1990

Trésor, French for “treasure,” was newly created in 1990 while carrying forward the name of the 1952 original. The fragrance now widely known was composed by perfumer Sophia Grojsman. A creation on the theme of love, it layers the radiance of peach and rose over a soft, lingering impression.

The memories of actress Isabella Rossellini are intertwined with this perfume. She took part in selecting the fragrance and particularly liked one of the candidates she tested without knowing its name. When she met the person who had composed the chosen scent, she discovered an unexpected connection.

According to Rossellini’s recollection, Grojsman had created the composition that became the basis of the perfume under the inspiration of the romance, adventure and mysterious atmosphere of Casablanca. The film’s leading actress, Ingrid Bergman, was Rossellini’s mother. A daughter chose a fragrance inspired by her mother’s film and became its face: the story of this convergence has been passed down as an anecdote told by Rossellini herself.

“When I learned that the perfumer Sophia had been inspired by my mother’s [Ingrid Bergman’s] film Casablanca to create this perfume… I felt that we had chosen each other. It was a perfect marriage.”
Isabella Rossellini

La Vie Est Belle: 2012

La Vie Est Belle has a French name that celebrates the beauty of life. Olivier Polge, Dominique Ropion and Anne Flipo were involved in its creation. Centred on iris, it combines floral radiance with gourmand sweetness.

Its development is also described as an attempt to balance richness and simplicity by narrowing the selection of ingredients. Iris, jasmine and orange blossom are layered with patchouli and sweetness suggesting vanilla and praline, expressing Lancôme’s theme of happiness through scent.

“It was also a statement about Lancôme’s level of luxury. Perfume defines how aspirational a brand can be. It embodied Lancôme as a brand that offers happiness.”
Nicolas Hieronimus

Julia Roberts was the face of the fragrance at its launch. The advertising depicted someone moving away from the constraints of conforming to others and towards her own happiness. It also enjoyed considerable commercial success: reports in 2024 stated that it had held the number-one position in Europe for eleven consecutive years. That ranking is based on reporting from 2024.

Idôle: 2019

Idôle was jointly composed by three women perfumers: Shyamala Maisondieu, Adriana Medina and Nadège Le Garlantezec.

Centred on rose and jasmine, it layers in an impression of clean musk. The concept of finding one’s own strength and beauty is reflected in the transparent fragrance and the silhouette of its thin bottle.

Zendaya became the face of the launch campaign, representing a new generation of women. In depicting someone who moves forward believing in her own potential, its world expresses in contemporary language the Lancôme philosophy that has long linked beauty with the joy of living.

By the Way…

A factory called the “Versailles of perfume”: Petitjean envisioned a large manufacturing complex in Chevilly-Larue, near Paris. The plan, with its grand architecture and gardens, expressed his desire to entrust the brand’s prestige to the place where its products were made as well. He even dreamed that “the last thing people leaving from Orly Airport see will be the Lancôme logo.”
From person to person, rather than through advertising: Petitjean is known for declaring that he would “never advertise,” placing emphasis on personal recommendations and demonstrations. However, advertisements from the early years and the 1950s survive, so this does not mean that the company literally never used advertising. His thinking is clearer when understood as placing particular importance on training people to communicate beauty.
Joining Comité Colbert: Lancôme joined Comité Colbert, an association of French luxury houses and other institutions, in 1992. It participates as a house that communicates French creativity and craftsmanship.

References