Lakmé is an Indian

cosmetics Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...

brand owned by

Hindustan Unilever Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is an Indian fast-moving consumer goods company, headquartered in Mumbai. It is a subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents, personal care products a ...

. It was named after the French

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'' Lakmé'', which itself is the French word for the goddess

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

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 Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

was concerned that Indian women were spending precious foreign exchange on beauty products and persuaded JRD Tata to manufacture them in India.

Simone Tata Simone Naval Tata () is an Indian businesswoman, and a member of 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 1953, where she met ...

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

lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetics, 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 ...

s, eyeliners and skincare 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 that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and Day spa#Medical spa, medical spas. Beauty treatme ...

s under Lakmé Lever. The company is the title sponsor for Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW), a bi-annual

fashion week A fashion week is a week-long fashion industry event where fashion designers, brands, or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media which influences upcoming fashion trends for the current and appro ...

which takes place in Mumbai. Lakmé has Shraddha Kapoor, Kajol Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, and Ananya Pandey as brand ambassadors. In ''the Brand Trust Report'' 2012, Lakme was ranked 104th among India's most trusted brands, and the 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. In 2022, it has been ranked as the 27th most trusted brands in India according to the Brand Trust Report 2022.

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