| Lancôme | |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Founders: | Guillaume d'Ornano Armand Petitjean |
| Location City: | Paris |
| Location Country: | France |
| Industry: | Cosmetics |
| Parent: | L'Oréal (1964–present) |
| Products: | Perfumes and cosmetics |
Lancôme (in French pronounced as /lɑ̃kom/) is a French perfume and cosmetics house that distributes products internationally.[1] Lancôme is part of L'Oréal which is its parent company and offers skin care, fragrances, and makeup.
Founded in 1935 by Guillaume d'Ornano and his business partner Armand Petitjean in France, as a fragrance house. The name "Lancôme" was inspired by the forest of Lancosme that lies in the Indre valley in the heart of France in the region of - the name was chosen by Guillaume's wife Elisabeth d'Ornano. The roses in the area inspired the company's symbol of the single golden rose.[2]
Lancôme launched its first five fragrances in 1935 at the World's Fair in Brussels: Tendre Nuit, Bocages, Conquete, Kypre and Tropiques. Petitjean entered into the skincare market, launching Nutrix, his first "all-purpose repair cream" in 1936, followed by make-up, cosmetics, and skincare products. Lancôme was acquired by L'Oréal in 1964, and became part of its luxury products division.
The company produces fragrances, skin care, and makeup.
Lancôme fragrances are made in association with perfumers: Alain Astori, Annick Menardo, Daniela Roche-Andrier, Christian Biecher, Jacques Cavallier, Calice Becker, Pauline Zanoni, Maurice Roucel, Thierry Wasser, Christine Nagel, Armand Petitjean, Gerard Goupy, Olivier Cresp, Harry Fremont, Alberto Morillas, Dominique Ropion, Olivier Polge, Francis Kurkdjian, Robert Gonnon, Nathalie Lorson, Sophia Grojsman, and Alienor Massenet.
Since 2014, the fragrance La Vie Est Belle is the best-selling fragrance in Lancôme historic market, France.
Despite founder Armand Petijean's assertion that Lancôme never advertise, today Lancôme is one of the top advertisers in the beauty arena. Its ads can be seen in numerous publications worldwide. Lancôme's ads have been shot by leading photographers, including Peter Lindbergh, Mario Testino, Mario Sorrenti, Nick Knight, Steven Meisel, Brigitte Lacombe, Patrick Demarchelier, and Dusan Reljin.
One of Lancôme's longest-running partnerships was with actress Isabella Rossellini. Rossellini was the international face of Lancôme for 14 years. In 2016, Rossellini returned for a collaboration, more than 30 years after she became its first face.[3]
In 2006, Clive Owen became the first male spokesperson for Lancôme. He joined to represent the brand's new Men's skincare range and the fragrance Hypnôse Homme.
In 2014, Lancôme launched a marketing campaign via social media platforms. This program gives points as the reward to members for sharing on social media.
Lancôme has had several makeup artists representing it.
See main article: Denise Ho. On 5 June 2016, Lancôme canceled a promotional concert by Hong Kong pro-democracy singer Denise Ho that was scheduled to be held on 19 June in Sheung Wan.[4] The cancellation was due to a boycott campaign launched by the Communist Party-controlled Global Times, which denigrated the Cantopop star for supposedly advocating Hong Kong and Tibet independence.[4] Lancôme posted on Facebook that Ho is not a spokesperson for the brand.[5] The cancellation drew a heavy backlash in Hong Kong, resulting in some Lancôme shops in Hong Kong shutting down during the protests.[6] Some Hong Kong merchants refused to accept the political pressure from the Chinese government.[7] Listerine, another brand that Ho represents, retained the singer despite criticism from the Global Times for hiring Ho as its spokesperson.[4]
Ho ended up playing the concert without Lancôme's support.[8]