Lakmé is an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n brand of cosmetics

Cosmetics

Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...

, owned by Unilever

Unilever

Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....

. Lakme started as a 100% subsidiary of Tata Oil Mills (Tomco), part of the Tata Group

Tata Group

Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Tata Group is one of the largest companies in India by market capitalization and revenue. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy,...

; it was named after the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 Lakmé

Lakmé

Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. Delibes wrote the score during 1881–82 with its first performance on 14 April 1883 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Set in British India in the mid 19th century, Lakmé is based on the 1880 novel...

, which itself is the French form of Lakshmi

Lakshmi

Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...

, the goddess of wealth, also renowned for her beauty. Indian cosmet Lakme was started in 1952, famously because the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

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

Simone Tata

Simone Tata, née Dunoyer, currently the Chairperson of the Trent Limited, is an Indian businesswoman. French by birth and educated in Switzerland, she came to India in 1955, and joined Lakmé as Managing Director in 1961, rising to become its Chairperson in 1982. The small subsidiary of Tata Oil...

 joined the company as director, and went on to become its chairman. In 1996 Tata sold off their stakes in Lakmé Lever to HLL, for Rs 200 Crore(45 million US$), and went on to create Trent and Westside

Trent (Westside)

Trent is the retail arm of the Tata group. Started in 1998, Trent operates Westside, one of the many growing retail chains in India based in Mumbai, Maharashtra.-History:...

. Even today, when most multinational beauty products are available in India, Lakme still occupies a special place in the hearts of Indian women.

Lakme also started its new business in the beauty industry by setting up Lakme Beauty Salons all over India. Now HUL (Hindustan Unilever Limited) has about 110 salons all over India providing beauty services.
Lakme' has been ranked as 47th most trusted brand in India by The Brand Trust Report

The Brand Trust Report

The Brand Trust Report, India Study, 2011 is published by Trust Research Advisory . The book is a result of a syndicated primary research on Brand Trust that generated 10,00,000 data points and 16,000 unique brands from over 10,000 hours of fieldwork conducted in 9 cities TRA’s study partners in...