O de Lancome Lancome for women

My relationship with O de Lancome began in my childhood and to this day its lemony goodness lifts my spirits.

Fundamentally structured as a chypre, I find I need to go easy with the application as the moss can overwhelm the senses. O de Lancome then becomes yet another classic chypre reminiscent of many classic chypres which all seem to be losing their lustre lately for some strange reason. The heat may be a factor.

However, it manages to smell amazing mixed with droplets of Pacific Ocean drying on your sun-kissed skin.

A summertime treat arousing sensations of contentment.

One of my favorite, to wear in summer! Just love it!

I love this one one of my favorites ever :)
If you like the nature, the citrus mood this is perfect to wear any time.

Oh dear lord! Get this away from me! Call me unprofessional, but this is terrible on me. It smells like I've spend a day rubbing grass and pond scum on my skin. I probably will just donate this to Goodwill.

I love it a lot, but worry that it's too strong for those around me. It reminds me so much of clinique aromatics elixer... Except more green. I was surprised to find out this isn't in the chypre family.

I find it hard to appreciate green perfumes, although I like YSLs Y as a soapy chypre, so I was mighty surprised when I fell for O de Lancome in the airport dutyfree shop recently. It was a hot stuffy day and I was overwhelmed by the zesty cool bergamot and lime with hints of vetiver. There was biting power, but nothing harsh or bitter. It seemed to make my nose tingle like luminous bubbly champagne.
At home I liked it less. I never got back that amazing refreshing zing, although it certainly hits out with a strong citrus punch, but it fades fast too. To be fair, it's not a winter fragrance and it may come into its own again in summer, I hope so anyway.

Phew citrus!!!! I have worn this on & off for about 20 years. However have never been complimented on it. I love the staying power of this one, but it is rather overpowering, which is why my tastes have changed these days, am now more of a Green Tea girl ~ much gentler & less 'in your face' ...!

very "green" scent as for my nose. Good for summer.

Un vero e proprio elisir tonificante per le giornate estive....piacevole e fresco a cominciare dal flacone verdino effetto "glacé"

This starts out bright and very fresh, a burst of citrus in the opening. The spices join in, with a predominant basil, making it garden like, though it does become quite masculine indeed. The oakmoss then comes out in force. A woody vetiver note makes an appearance at the end. If oakmoss isn't a problem for you (it gave me a serious headache), then this would be a great scent for hot weather, pretty longlasting, very natural. This reminds me forcibly of my Italian grandparents herb garden,growing from baking earth, fragrant in a summer sun.

I have worn this superb citrus delight off and on for over 40 years and every time I try it again I remember what a unique fragrance it really is. While many citrus blends provide an intoxicating and pungent burst at the start they quickly fade into a cloud of vapor. Not so with O ! It lingers over many hours with a soft melange of wood and flower, elegant yet subtle, fresh and soft.
This fragrance imparts a feeling of contentment and joy and the compliments are neverending.

i used this perfume many years ago...yesterday i got a 50 ml for a bargain that i could not let go...i'm very happy to have it again...the memories turned back...for me is not only a citrus fragrance it's more complex and a very well done perfume like most of the lancome's fragrances...mature elegant...makes me feel good with myself giving me a secure sensation...

I used to like this perfume, spray it on before I went to work. Although a bitter slightly artificial citrussy note came thru, O de Lancome smelt clean, fresh (though slightly dated) and "safe" enough to use for my daytime occupation as a physiotherapist. Or so it seemed. This was before I got married. 2 years later in the fall I tried O de Lancome again. My husband came into the bathroom and thought it was a new toilet cleaner I had just tried out :o He sniffed appreciately and said "oh was that the new lemon toilet disinfectant from the store, honey?" He said this without any irony too. I realised the strong clean lemon scent would never smell womanly or glamourous after that! I quit using the perfume as I didnt want to smell like a clean bathroom! I did recently buy the new Lancome scent de l'orangerie which smells beautiful and chic (see my review on that). Maybe they should change some of the basil/rosemary notes in O de Lancome to make it smell more edgy and modern?

Too harsh and unwelcoming, perhaps likely to be worn only by the fans of Chanel #19 :) Is this really "a perfume"?

Ô de Lancôme is absolutely one of the most delightful citrus fragrances I've ever smelled. It smells natural and uplifting and lasts longer than most other classic citrus chypres. It's very green and "balmy", with a kind of herbal face-lotion feel (which many older Lancôme fragrances seem to have), but if you want a green citrus fragrance, there's not much out there better than Ô de Lancôme.

My mom actually wore this one for years, and then I started wearing it when I was in high school. Like all citrus fragrances, it is a bit fleeting, however the mileage is still impressive for a fragrance of its type - I get 4 hours out of Ô de Lancôme before it finally dissipates.

I also find Ô de Lancôme to be totally unisex - there's really nothing feminine or overtly masculine about it, so anyone can wear Ô de Lancôme easily.

Try it if you haven't yet!

Ótimo, acho unissex, extremamente fresco.

I tried this today at Macy's and fell in love at first sniff. It is a very sharp fragrance and not for everyone. The only problem I had with it was the lasting power. It starts off promising packing a HUGE punch but after 2 hours it is completely gone on my skin. What a bummer. I am really glad I did not buy this because it would have been a return!

Found this fragrance when searching at the time for a 4711 substitute. 4711 is pretty hard to find in Canada in a small town but I was desperate to get it for my mother who is German and it is her fav. The clerk said to me that this O de Lancome was a fav of other German women looking for that similar scent. Citrusy I guess and she said that "vetifer" scent. Okay I though I'll buy it. Well Mom died a few months ago and when cleaning out her bathroom guess what I found? Her O de Lancome that I had bought her...untouched. Surrounded by bottles of 4711 that she preferred and had obtained from her trip to Germany. I guess that the clerk was wrong. I have since tried it....and it's a light type of summer scent that actually needs to stay on the skin for a little bit to have the best fragrance. If you just smell it from the bottle you dont get the real effect. It's one that needs to mix with your body oils. anyway all in all...its not bad but I still would prefer the 4711. If you are looking for a nice light summer scent that is very natural than this might be a good one to try. Attractive bottle. Pretty green.

Very similar to Diorella. Green, with a lot of basil and lemon, but a little bit darker, heavier (maybe the coriander), and fresh in a "soapy" way.

I tried it on paper today. It smells like lemon. Then, three hours later - lemon. Nothing special, really, unless you want to smell like lemonade. Sharp lemonade, that is.

Oh so sharp!! My wrist smelled like something that you polish the floor with.. I recived comments from friends like "are you wearing a mens perfume?" and "Oh God, what is that?!" in a not so good way.. My mamma really loves it, but she is really all about this extreame citrus smells. If you really want something extream and sharp, that lasts all day (even after many atempts to wipe it off) go for this one! I prefere Lancome O'azure, much more plesant. Azur whit a little bit more citrus would be heaven, any tips of something like that?

This is very nice. I received a tester of this and I like it a lot. I love both lemon and honeysuckle, as well as lily-of-the-valley, and this contains all three.It is a very feminine, pretty, light and refreshing scent, and is perfect for summer daytime wear. Pretty bottle, too.

*I bow to JB78, for the gift of this mini (7.5 ml) vintage coffret he has so kindly sent to me. You are the best, my Old School perfumed friend!*

On sniffing this mini, after receiving it in the mail, I thought: "sharp, somewhat bitter...and (maybe?) a bit sour". Once it hit my skin (and the air) this vintage baby worked it's magic on me (and my Mom...she is drooling for one herself!)!

This opens with an intense citrus trio: mandarin, bergamot and lemon! Here they are: what made this so sour, bitter and sharp! And, I thought maybe it was aldehydes or something...?! Honeysuckle MAY be in here; but if it is, it's only to soften the citric "bite" with it's heavenly, soft aroma. As this begins to dry, it DOES get just a bit "soapy" with the warm greens of an herbaceous blend of corriander, rosemary and basil, mixed with the citricity. Now it is warm and green, like a vintage natural soap, but it also has a distinctive subtly floral air about it (jasmine?!) that adds to it; but this is totally woven into the herbs and very difficult to say: "oh, and that's jasmine!". An excellent scent for warm temperatures, and the herbs keep the citruses (and thin florals) from fading too fast! It is just delightful that this was made the same year I was! I had many 'citrus aromatic' scents before coming to Fragrantica; but since coming here, members have shown me the true beauty of CITRUS by itself. This scent is wonderful! I cannot imagine a reformulation of this (although I love the scent of sun-dried grass...and the song of crickets!) as it would be something (no doubt) more "fresh", "sporty" or "aquatic"! The drydown is awesome, as well, (like the rest of it!) with oak moss and it's wonderfully strange, sharp dry green scent with sandalwood's incensiness and vetiver's green earthiness. The soapy/herbal cobination persists right up to the drydown. The "juice" is the perfect color for this perfume...a light not quite sea-green, that captures all the layers of this gem. Citric, warm leafy greens and grassy, dry woods. O!...Indeed!

Sillage: quite good
Longevity: very good (for a "citrus" scent)
Overall: 4.25/5

If Acqua di Parma Colonia ever married for love and compatibility; then, O! de Lancome would be his soul-mate. Both have a wonderful citrus and lovely clean type scent in common and also some warm greens. HE is more woody and musky (and lavendery) and SHE is cute and innocently floral; but down to earth and no "pushover"...a match made in Heaven!

;)

This is a wonderful, bright, sunshine fragrance! The perfume has many facets but maintains the citrus, lemon, notes throughout the longevity of the perfume (which quite a few hours)! It's not a new scent, and I'm sorry I waited so long to try this one. It is not offecsive to ones self or others, it is clean and not cloying, it's becoming an everyday favorite! Try it if you're interested, you're the best judge of what you like!

O this is a horrible scent. I wish I could like it, as I do like green scents, but it just smells so sharp and acrid. There is no warmth or friendliness. It just smells cruel...

My grandmother had this perfume, my mother had it too, so she offered me the EDT. It's a great fragrance, classic, very simple, light and fresh, for all women. Ideal for very young women if they want to discover fragrances. For summertime, hot days.

I wore this one on my wedding day in mid August 20 years ago and during my honeymoon in Greece.My husband loved it back then but yes, I agree, Lancome has changed it. What a pity! Still refreshing but never the same.

Must be me. I've tried it a couple of times now.I'm not getting the light lemony green that everyone else gets.

Yes, it starts off really zingy, like a men's aftershave splash. This lemony green lasts for a few short minutes before it turns into something that could be a twin to Jean-Louis Scherrer (or a triplet to this and Aromatics Elixir). These other two are actually very heavy-hitting fragrances. They share sandalwood, oakmoss, vetiver -- which must take over on my skin. It's winter right now where I am. People say O de Lancome is more of a hot weather scent, so perhaps I should give it another try in a few months?

This is not my kind of scent personally, but if you happen to like citrus, green, and fresh, you should give it a shot. What I like about this one is that it's not sour at all. I can appreciate it.

il profumo della mia gioventu

This is so lemony. It reminds me of when I was a kid and I used to buy lemon sherbets. I would bite one and then the powder inside the lemon sherbet would spray inside my mouth tasting of lemon. So refreshing. This perfume makes me think of that. A good perfume for a long journey as it is so refreshing and cool. The lemon trees in the green field, scratch a lemon and sniff it. Lovely.

....a dry lemon that lasts, with the green woody scent of citrus leaves and stems......as caribou55313 has put it. Exactly. But to me, somebody should have reviewed it like....starts green with a lolly-pop type lemon scent, not the fresh lemon zest you are looking for, then the green monster disappears and there comes a fairy with a sugar syrup wand, you are holding your breath because things are happening fast here... so the fairy hits you with her sugar syrup wand and suddenly smoke arises....and lo and behold you turn into a fro.....I mean a prince....something is wrong here :)
(cheap and masculine is what I was getting at :)

Tested on a card:
only vetiver and arome of an old-fashioned perfume.
I love green notes, but this one is not for me!

this is so annoying..i used this perfume a lot in over 20 years ago.bought it again last summer an its changed.it used to be a lovely lingering smell now it is just lemon air freshner gone wrong

Had the same impression as Pandalia when I tested O de Lancome just a few days ago; apparently it has been reformulated like many other perfumes, I don't feel any citrusy notes like it used to be in the past. It's now more similar to classic like Miss Dior...

Vey refreshing summer scent. I liked to use it when it whas a hot summers day.lemon green. Nice

For me, it s a strong scent...and a night scent, but i realy love it!

I had this, back then it was a gorgeous green grass, lemon that smells like it stay all winter outside.

But now, this smells like rotten lemons left in the desert with somekind of damp wheat yuck!

This is not the same O from many years back. And no it's not just one bottle, I've tested many of the same and still yuck. Bring back the original dose of each notes please!

I used to have this years ago and adore the bottle.
Unfortunately, there's a tinge of something in O that I don't like.
The lemony-ness is spoiled by the fact that O goes kind of 'spicy' on me after a while.
I don't recall it doing this in the 80s, unlike the bottle I bought about 5 years ago, I wonder was it reformulated?

Is not what i expected from a citrius fragrance. The smell of it remindes me of something lets say classic (1969). What surprised me is that all the others here have only good words about this one. Maybe the woman at the perfumery gave me to smell something else the O de Lancome??

I wear it especially in the spring and summer... or whenever I want a fresh feeling!

Not sure this is what I had expected.

Top notes are fabulous, citrusy, fresh and sparkling almost herbaceous not cloyingly sweet like most citrus based scents.

It is the dry down that puzzles me.
It begins young and modern then prematurely ages. The base notes are a little musty.

I think this could work if worn in autumn when the air is thin and crisp but during the suffocating heat of summer it feels 'dirty' and the scent flat.

O De Lancôme would be a good 'between season' scent.
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Update
I was right this fragrance works wonders in a cooler temperature.
23degrees today and the scent was so invigorating and optimistic.

This fragrance is absolutely wonderful. Superb in fact.

I had chosen the perfect day to test O de Lancome. A rather humid Summer day in the centre of a busy and steamy city.

I must say that at first the citrus notes came on quite strongly. It was very green and lemony. Although not entirely unpleasant, I was expecting the worst seeming that these fragrances don't seem to agree with my chemistry or my nose very often. I was about to write this scent off the list when I brought my wrist up to my nose for another sniff.

I was met with a delightful, fresh and cheerful blend of honeysuckle, various herbs/spices, jasmine and mild citrus notes. On my skin the heart and drydown was soft, slightly soapy, musky and feminine.

I can't say that I understand the masculine references here. To me O de Lancome is girly and somewhat sweet, in other words something I can't imagine a man wearing.

I had no idea that this was a fragrance from the 70's, it is very modern and could easily pass as something being produced today. The lasting power is average, around 7 hours. I do recommend this.

It smells almost like a lemon peel, but more softer. Also it reminds me a citrus cologne for men, that is why I couldn't wear it.

A very distint scent that truly is citrusy, the drydown is calming &refreshing,a classic for summer days at the office

Really refreshing and green...fills u with energy for the day!

i think there are plenty of male users - the perfect scent for an early morning start, very dynamic and optimistic and a bit of melancholy, the honeysuckle does it, i guess.

one of the loveliest most refreshing fragrances for summer. Green and citrusy but never sharp or acidic. The citrus tones are softened by a very classy combination which works so well on my skin

Lemon + more lemon + Lemon = O de lancome. This is a light and fresh fragrance which is perfect for a hot sunny summer day at Miami Beach, my lovely hometown. This one makes me feel like a bottle of pink lemonade, or maybe like a lemon icee. Want a drink?

My mom had it when I was a kid, back in the 70s. I grew up with this scent, one of the first memories of my life is regarding the embossing of the bottle - there were roses, in my imagination.
In 1995 I wanted to give Ô de Lancome to my mother as a gift - alas!, they have changed the original smell to this green fresh zesty concoction, which rather smells like freshly cut grass heated in the sun. You can even hear the crickets!

My mom is disappointed, too. I've asked her to try it, with the hope that maybe on her skin.. but no, a bit more and i could have touched the grass on her hand. This perfume is so different on her that the one I smelled as a kid. I still miss the original.

Really green and citrus smelling, after few hours of wearing it I could smell a rosemary and basil. Reminded me of my uncles colognes while I was a child and hairspray from Schwarzkopf. Definitely old fashioned touch, classical and lasting on my skin for 8-10 hours. Not my favourite, although i like green and fresh scents. My mother thought I was wearing a male perfume that day...

Extremelly citrusy fragrance. A lot of lemon and green notes. Great for summer, light and fresh and strong at the same time.
I really like it and think men can use too.

This was one of my first perfumes (many years ago) but I could definitely never wear it again. Too light, too airy... I prefer much stronger oriental fragrances now.

It took me the better part of the day to pin-point this scent, because I 'knew' it. Somehow, somewhere, I had already sniffed it (and swooned). After making sure that it wasn't one of the scents my deceased aunt or grandmother would have worn, I kept searching. I knew this scent; I knew I'd stumbled upon it before! But where? Tonight, I sprayed my pillow with some of this and it suddenly just hit me.

When I want to relax and go away to a place that nobody but myself has ever visited, I meditate. Imagination. I imagine a place that, to me, is the epitome of relaxation. Everything is peaceful. There is a river that stretches out endlessly, and I'm drifting on it on a quickly crafted sea vessel worthy of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Fin, while the sun shines down. No rapid waters, no waterfalls, just a very, very calm river. But what Ô de Lancome truly, truly invokes, are the scents that I've always imagined to come from the landscape around it. Green. It's green. Pure nature. Grasses, trees and citruses. A dark, bitter but calm green. Nature isn't always clean; it can be dark, bitter but something 'sweet' will always penetrate. That is nature. And the heady scents tend to come out during the summer, and this scent is a perfect example of that.

Ô de Lancome is a very natural scent that invokes that very mental exercise in me, not to mention that it relaxes me (of course). There is no denying that this is very green and something all of us want to find in nature. But in cities filled with smog, dust and dirt, this is rather hard. And if you get a chance to escape to the country side during spring or summer and lie down in your aunt's spacious backyard that looks out to farm fields and your uncle's honeysuckle plants and beehives, you realize that this is 'the life', if only just for a few fleeting moments. That is yet another thing this scent reminds me of. This takes you away to different places, where nothing is very complicated and all you need to do is to relax.

This is, in my opinion, a very intimate perfume, perfect for not only summer, but for all year round. I won this perfume here on fragrantica, so thank you.

Light with lots citrusy lemon. Bright and not sweet at all. Green and herbal.

I adore this scent during the summer months! I find the way all the notes in this scent establish themselves as it settles on my skin after 15 minutes to be a true pleasure...many fauceted. That said, I will add that if this scent is zealously applied it will become an old fashioned mish mosh! Soooooooooo...to get the fresh, feel good notes to come through and make you smile, go lightly! I just rediscoverd this scent. I will admit I have many a fond memory that goes along with it. I first used it at a time we were stationed in Germany. The summer was filled with Rhine River day cruises, visits to Vienna and Munich. I will say after just recently using it again for the first time since then (12 years), I still find this a most wonderful scent. One that will always be a summer favorite for me. A side note. As a migraine sufferer that has had to give away more than one perfume bottle I loved, this scent works well for me...no migraines. Just do NOT overdue this one! It will spoil the wonder of it!

Lovely fresh Summery scent, classy but it has something old-fashioned about it that sometimes put me off.

very cool and refreshing, drying into an old fashioned, comforting soapy smell...love it :)

This has been a favourite for more than 30 years. I wear it mainly in the summer because of its freshness. I never ever get bored with it.

This one its a nice lemon scent... Not sharp :)
Its fresh, cool, pleasant... just right balanced with the others components.
Pretty good.

This green scent is as green as a scent can get. Like someone said, there is nothing sweet or aquatic about it. It is sharp, bitter and astringent. Some people think it's refreshing, but I find it repelling like Aerogard. To be fair, I can accept that it is a classic, but I don't understand where it's coming from... For me it ranks with Elle (from Yves Saint Laurent) as being scents I simply can't stand. It is like a greener, herbier version of Cristelle. So if you are attracted to refined, sharp scents, this one is definitely worth a try!

It's a perfect fresh fragance for daytime use and it's longlasting enough in my opinion, when I wore it I could still smell it when I got home in the evening.
Sharp - citrus - clean but with a spicy touch on the dry down that makes it so special.
It's extremely fresh and there's nothing sweet or aquatic in it. It's also very far from the "green tea" scents that were so fashionable in recent times.This fragance is genuinely green and this is a category where very few have succeeded. This one did in the 1970s and it's still a classic.

Very nice, elegant and tonic; it's on my top 3 list.

Very strong at first, but after few minutes it becames a perfect citrus fragrance. I like it. Long lasting and maybe has a bit aquatic accord.

Wunderschöner zitroniger, frischer Duft.
In einem heißen Sommer immer wieder aktuell.
More wonderfully lemon fresh smell. For hot summer over and over again topically.

A great one. In this hot climate, it's one of the best.

A summer cologne classic. On a hot summer day this cools like nothing else. Green, fresh, with a powerful citrus blast -- this is a scent that will not date.

The lemon is very authentic. At the first sniff I thought of this fragrance - a masculine, unfashionable smell. But I've found out when trying it later, it is very wearable for women and interesting. In the summer it's so refreshing, only equalled to a glass of lemon or grapefruit lemonade.

Light and fresh with a lot of lemon inside - perfect for hot days.

Superb on the hottest of days, a dry lemon that lasts, with the green woody scent of citrus leaves and stems.