Lakmé is an Indian

cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...

brand, owned by

Hindustan Unilever Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is a consumer goods company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a subsidiary of Unilever, a British company. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents, personal care products, water purifi ...

. It was named after the French

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Lakmé ''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the Opéra-Comique at the (second) Salle Favart in P ...

'', which itself is the French word for goddess

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

who is renowned for her beauty. It was started in 1952 as a 100% subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills, famously after Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

was concerned that Indian women were spending precious foreign exchange on beauty products and persuaded

JRD Tata Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (29 July 1904 – 29 November 1993) was a French-Indian aviator, industrialist, entrepreneur and chairman of Tata Group. Born into the Tata family of India, he was the son of noted businessman Ratanji Dadabhoy ...

to manufacture them in India.

Simone Tata Simone Naval Tata (née ''Dunoyer'') is a Swiss-born Indian businesswoman belonging to the Tata family. Simone Tata was born in 1930 and brought up in Geneva, Switzerland and graduated from Geneva University. She visited India as a tourist in ...

joined the company as director and went on to become the chairperson. In 1998, Tatas sold their stake in Lakmé to Hindustan Unilever for . Lakmé mainly sells coloured cosmetics products such as

lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick dates back to ...

eyeliner Eye liner or eyeliner is a cosmetic used to define the eyes. It is applied around the contours of the eye(s). It is often used to create various aesthetic effects. History Eye liner was first used in ancient India, ancient Egypt and Mesopota ...

s and

skincare Skin care is a range of practices that support skin integrity, enhance its appearance, and relieve skin conditions. They can include nutrition, avoidance of excessive sun exposure, and appropriate use of emollients. Practices that enhance appea ...

cream. In December 2018, it launched its e-commerce platform. As of 2021, Lakmé also runs 485

beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and medical spas. Beauty treatments Massage for the body is a b ...

s under Lakmé Lever. The company is the title sponsor for

Lakme Fashion Week Lakmé Fashion Week is a bi-annual fashion week which takes place in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Its ''Summer-Resort'' show takes place in April while the ''Winter-Festive'' show takes place in August. History The event first took place in 19 ...

(LFW), a bi-annual

fashion week A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence the upcoming fashion ...

which takes place in Mumbai. Lakmé has

Shraddha Kapoor Shraddha Kapoor (born 3 March 1987 or 1989Kajol Devgn Kajol Devgan (née Mukherjee; born 5 August 1974), known mononymously as Kajol, is an Indian actress. Described in the media as one of the most successful actresses of Hindi cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six F ...

Kareena Kapoor Kareena Kapoor Khan (; ''née'' Kapoor; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood, Hindi films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. Noted for pl ...

, and

Ananya Pandey Ananya Panday (born 30 October 1998) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. The daughter of actor Chunky Panday, she began her acting career in 2019 with roles in the teen film ''Student of the Year 2'' and the comedy '' Pat ...

as brand ambassadors. In ''The Brand Trust Report'' 2012, Lakme was ranked 104th among India's most trusted brands and following year it was ranked 71st on the list. In 2014, Lakme was ranked 36th among India's most trusted brands according to the Brand Trust Report 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lakme Cosmetics Unilever brands Indian brands Companies based in Mumbai Cosmetics brands 1952 establishments in Bombay State Indian companies established in 1952 Manufacturing companies established in 1952