Lancome is a brand of makeup that has been owned by L'Oreal since 1964. Lancome is part of the Luxury Products Division which offers skin care, fragrances and high end ma... Keep Reading

Lancome is a brand of makeup that has been owned by L'Oreal since 1964. Lancome is part of the Luxury Products Division which offers skin care, fragrances and high end makeup. The company was founded in 1935 by Armand Petitjean in France. Lancome will celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2010. The founder's idea for the company was simple, to create a brand of beauty products that would give French elegance around the globe. The name "Lancome" come from the ruins of a castle, Le Chateau de Lancosme, while the company's logo of a single golden rose was inspired by the roses in the area.
Lancome introduced its first five fragrances in 1935 at the Brussels World's Fair. They were Tendre Nuit, Bocages, Conquete, Kypre and Tropiques. These fragrences were produced in association with more than 20 perfumers. Soon after, the company expanded its business into makeup and skincare products. One of the products launched in 1936 , Nutrix, is still in existence today.
Lanceome is one of the world's biggest and most expensive makeup brands that still, to this day, tests on animals. Lancome has made no move to decrease or eliminate their testing on animals, and has made no effort to stop such testing. The company has made no claim that they will ever stop testing on animals in the future.
From the beginning Lancome has used actresses and models to advertise its products. In 1978 at only 18 years old, Carol Alt became the youngest model to be the face of Lancome. More recently, models Shalom Harlow and Marie Gilain have been spokes models for Lancome. Mick Jagger's daughter Elizabeth has also been a spokesperson for the company.
One of the company's longest running partnerships was with actress Isabella Rossellini, who signed on in 1982 and was the international face of Lancome for 14 years.