Hi everyone!

Let’s talk about makeup & skincare today!

Cosmetics are something which have become an integral part of everyone’s fashion statement ( be it men or women). As we all know, Lakme is India’s number one colour cosmetics and leading premium skin care brand. It has been the pioneer of make-up and color cosmetics in India by launching numerous trend leading and high performance products . From its insanely famous owner HUL, to its exponential year-to-year profit growth, it seems clear that Lakme is surely taking over the women in India & the world.

To this point, I did some research and digged up some of the most unbelievable facts about every girl’s favorite cosmetic brand. Keep scrolling to find out 10 of the most insane facts about Lakme!

Routing back in the mid 1950s, a monetary review of spending in India uncovered that Indian women were going overboard on buying imported beauty care products (due to the lack of any indian cosmetic brand). Prime Minister Nehru was not exceptionally upbeat since it was influencing the forex reserves. Maintaining the forex reserves was of utmost importance considering the fact that Indian economy was still in its inception stage. Nehru hit upon the idea of a home-grown beauty brand which would cater to cosmetic needs of Indian women.

Nehru knew that only JRD Tata had the passion and entrepreneurship skills to tackle the above challenges and personally requested him to come up with a solution, which he readily accepted.

JRD named the brand after the French opera “Lakmé”, which derives its name from Sanskrit for “Lakshmi”, the goddess of wealth and epitome of beauty. It was the perfect name for the company as it was actually bringing wealth to the nation (by saving precious forex). It could correlate itself very well with the beautiful Goddess and it appealed well to upper middle class women due to its videshi sounding name (“Lakshmi lipstick” or “Lakshmi eyeliner” would have sounded very desi).

Lakme became a hugely successful brand since it’s inception & became the masses favourite. In 1996, Tata sold its stake in Lakme to HLL (Hindustan Unilever Ltd) since it felt that HLL being a FMCG company will do better justice to the company and HLL have continued to efficiently nurture the brainchild of JRD.

In 2014, Lakme was ranked 36th among India’s most trusted brands according to the Brand Trust Report 2014. A recent survey again ranked Lakme to be one of the top 50 most trusted brands in India in spite of the heavy competition from local as well as international cosmetic brands.

Let’s take a look at the most popular Lakme products as of 2018:

• Lakme Absolute Illuminating Blush Shimmer Brick: One of the best highlighter plus blush for the perfect glow in the market. A must-try!
• Lakme 9 to 5 Matte Lip Color: These lipsticks are an essential. They come in so many wonderful different shades, it’s hard to choose.
• Lakme 9 to 5 Weightless Matte Mousse Lip And Cheek Color: This is a lip and cheek stain that is indeed light and weightless. Perfect for everyday use.

Lakmé Lever has a presence of more than 380+ Lakmé Salons at premium locations in over 100 cities.Lakmé Salon’s franchise journey as a beauty entrepreneur started in 2001. Lakmé Salons are dedicated towards the evolvement of the modern Indian woman and her exploration of beauty. It bring a plethora of beauty and grooming services that proudly match up to international standards.

Lakme provides a wide range of products, maintaining quality and quantity. Their range begins from those affordably priced to the professional level range. Lakme thus witnessed good growth and stability in the urban markets on the back of availability of modern trade (MT). Typically, MT, which consists of supermarkets and hypermarkets, contributes about 12-15 per cent of the overall sales for this FMCG company. General trade, especially the small mom-and-pop stores also helped in increasing the sales value.

Lakme’s bond with beauty and fashion is manifested through the Lakmé Fashion Week, which is now the largest fashion event of its kind in the country. It’s a bi-annual fashion event that takes place in Mumbai. A confluence of beauty, fashion and everything in between, Fashion Week wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for Lakmé. From trend-setting runway magic to glamorous style statements with every passing season, Lakmé Fashion Week has revolutionized the idea of ground-breaking runway styles. The season’s most coveted designers come under one roof and work their magic with styles and ​trends that make the fashion and beauty nothing less than a ​splendour + innovation driven space.

Talk about innovation, and this lady should pop in your mind. “Reinventing Lakmé simply meant predicting the consumer’s needs ahead of time. We did that by launching the 9 to 5 range for working women. I try something new each season.”, quotes Purnima Lamba. Her job is all about creation, she is  responsible for new product ideas and development, consumer research—plus advertising and communication. She had made Lakme the only brand who could offer the Indian woman an entire grooming portfolio, as well as be her stylist, and help to reinvent her.

Talking about the creativity & newness, Purnima doesn’t  shy away from experimenting. She recently announced that Lakme India has signed upcoming actress/model Isabelle Kaif as the new brand ambassador of the brand in the country. Isabelle, the sister of popular Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif will now join the likes of Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shraddha Kapoor to endorse the cosmetic brand. The campaigns featuring Isabelle are expected to be launched in the coming months across all verticals i.e. television, print and digital.

Let’s hope that Lakme maintains it’s pole position in India’s booming cosmetic market for now & forever. Because it is affordable & easily available & it’s my all time favourite.

Byeeeee

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