Lancôme
Lancôme
101 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Bergamot and cardamom explode with immediate brightness and peppery snap, whilst lavender lends a cool, almost medicinal quality. The initial impression is crisp and green, almost cologne-like in its sharpness, with virtually no sweetness whatsoever.
Ginger and geranium gradually assert themselves, introducing genuine spice and a slightly dusty, herbaceous character. The jasmine emerges with unexpected peppery edges, creating a floral heart that's complex and subtly uncomfortable—in the best possible way.
Moss and vetiver establish a dry, mineral base whilst benzoin provides warmth without sugar. The composition settles into an earthy, woody chypre structure that feels considerably more austere and serious than the opening suggested, lingering with quiet persistence.
Sagamore Lancôme is a chypre that refuses to whisper. Launched in 1985, it carries the confident swagger of its era—a fragrance for people who understand that elegance needn't be demure. The opening marriage of bergamot and cardamom immediately establishes a spiced citrus framework, tart and almost peppery, with lavender adding a slightly austere herbal counterpoint rather than softening the composition. This is where the green accord asserts itself; there's a crisp, almost sharp quality that prevents the citrus from becoming sweet or gourmand.
What makes Sagamore genuinely interesting is how the heart notes disrupt expectations. Ginger enters with genuine bite—this isn't the warm, baking-spice ginger of modern fragrances, but something with sharper edges that plays beautifully against the geranium's slightly dusty, leafy character. The jasmine arrives not as a creamy floral anchor but as something considerably more green and peppery, almost indolic in its refusal to coddle. It's a spicy floral arrangement that demands attention.
Add fragrances to your collection and unlock your personalised scent DNA, note map, and shareable identity card.
4.2/5 (98)