The launch of Maybelline, which was supposed to have taken place around Diwali, will now kick off on November 2 with a bang. However, company officials were tight-lipped about the launch.

The details about the pricing of the brand are not known. Maybelline competes with Revlon in the US market. According to industry sources, Maybelline is likely to be priced at a mass-premium end to compete head-on with Lakme's Ultra range of colour cosmetics.

L'Oreal set up shop in India four years ago with its hair colourant range. The hair colourant brands launched by L'Oreal include Excellence Creme and Majirel, which is the number one hair colour cream brand in the internationalmarket.

Internationally, L'Oreal has four divisions of which Laboratories Garnier manufactures the Ultra Doux range of shampoos. In India, the company largely outsources its requirement. Through Synergie, the company has launched face creams in India.

L'Oreal is one of the biggest cosmetic manufacturers with presence in over 150 countries.

The growth of the Rs 1,500-crore Indian cosmetics and toiletries industry, which had been booming at around 30-35 per cent for the last two-three years, has come down to 20-25 per cent this year. While the industry growth is still at a healthy 20-25 per cent, consumer trend shows that growth has come largely in the low-to-medium priced categories and not in the premium categories.

The domestic cosmetics market is witnessing a clash between multinational companies, with international names like Revlon, Avon and Oriflame having marked their presence, and Lakme having now been taken over by Unilever's Indian subsidiary Hindustan Lever.

Lakme currently dominates thecolour cosmetics scene in India. The brand faced a threat of an erosion in its market share when Revlon launched its range three years back. However, Lakme managed to withstand competition and maintained leadership position through the launch of its mass product range of colour cosmetic brand Elle-18.