Ô de Lancôme
Lancôme (1969)

Ô yeah. Ô yeah! The moon, beautiful...The sun, even more beautiful, ah ha ha. Ô yeah! Chicka chicka chicka...

An herb garden after the rain, damp mosses genuflecting before trees, honeysuckle hedges, lemon yellow and basil green; all of this comes to mind upon applying Ô de Lancôme. It's made for late July, when you're starting to grow weary of the heat and need something to lift you up and stretch your limbs into action. It's just bitter enough to put a pep in your step, just sweet enough to put a smile on your face.

The vetiver in the dry down is an added bonus, as it seamlessly syncs with the citrus and herbs and is always a joy to have aside the oakmoss, making for a winsome skin scent hours in from application.

Citrusy, bitter, but soft. Not something I would bother buying at all.

Dark citrus with a touch of florals.
After a regular cologne, the moss in Ô makes it feel like sunglasses on a bright day.
****

Citrus chypres are rather common in the world of scent, stretching from the 1920s (R&G's LE JADE) through the 1990s (Gres' HOMME DE GRES).

O DE LANCOME is one of these with a light citrus burst that calms down to an oak moss, vetiver and labdanum chypre.

They are all perfectly likable and very much like each other. One of the simplest formulas in the perfume world, but done well, the best type of summer scent imaginable.

This one is as competent as the others. Thumbs up on its own merits, as it would be unfair to take it down a notch because of its lack of originality.

Turin gives it three stars and names it a "fresh citrus," while Herman praises its "tart, green, herbal dry down."

I cannot bear to give Ô de Lancôme anything but a thumbs up, but that is for the old one, the vintage, the pre-reformulation fragrance. Ô de Lancôme used to be one of my favourite scents for summer and sports – refreshing citrus with the most gorgeous, soft and sexy sandalwood drydown. The wave of reformulations round about 2010 hit Ô de Lancôme as well, and left what is an insult to both the old fragrance and those who loved it. Its new version is a sharp, charmless, lemony washing-up liquid, not to be recommended. Best not dwell on that though, but to remember the dreaminess of the Ô de Lancôme that used to be...

This is for the pre-2000 formulation.

This is a summer staple and is just wonderful when the weather is making everybody a bit torpid and droopy. A very smart pick me up for the nose which then drifts off gently into oakmoss, musk and wood.

The longevity isn't as long as I'd like, but this comes in such large bottles that it's no problem to reapply during the day and give your nose and brain that sharp sting of green and citrus again on a warm afternoon.

I've had this bottle now for about ten years. It's hardly been used and has been kept in dark places so hasn't lost any of its character.

To be honest, it was bought for me and I initially did find it overpowering, which is why I didn't throw myself into using it. Glad I kept it though as it's actually growing on me now and I'm finding I'm using it more often.

Going to stick with it and enjoy rediscovering i!t

Ummm.... has anyone stopped at the Lancome counter recently?? They reissued this with a new bottle and it says right on the tester that the bottle is new but the juice is the same..... NOT! it is not nearly as green and now where near as strong.... even the SA said it is not the same...??? TYPICAL!!!

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.

Well, O de Lancome has been hanging around, quietly, for 40 years plus. There is a reason for that. It is not loud, it is not trendy, it is not controversial. It is, quite simply, a classic chypre style fragrance that is bright and fresh.

It is a little bit of a tart bomb in the opening. Bergamot green with a dose of lemon sets the stage. This slowly transitions into an herbal melody that stays green and fresh. Some may not enjoy this sour/tart phase, but it is unquestionably a heat beater. The drydown brings a mossy, green woody closure to this little green gem.

Wearable by male or female, easy on the wallet and a green blast of cooling tartness make this an oh! Never out of style, and never quite the trend, it still serves it's purpose with an ease that is to be commended.

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 Lancôme fragrances 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 a senior 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. Besides, with a giant 4.2 oz bottle like I have, I can douse myself in the stuff!

Love it.

Given my latest kick for citrus, I retested this. It's citrus green mania and it's wonderful . Really bright citrus aromatic top . Then it becomes greener and greener on my skin with really just a little touch of sweet floral before it becomes woodier. Light character but seems tenacious .Well done fragrance and I would get a bottle if I were not in love with so many other similar citrus scents.