With Yuletide just around the corner, it is time to indulge those shopping pangs yet again. Cosmetics may not be high on everyone’s gifting agenda, but for this Christmas season, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetic Store at Garuda and Forum Malls have unveiled 15 new products that aim to tiltilate the senses.

Renowned the world over for its “naked feel”, purely for its policy of keeping the cosmetics unpackaged with a view to reduce carbon footprints, Lush has only three stores in the country, two in Bangalore and one in New Delhi. The soaps, shampoos, creams, lotions and myriad other bath cosmetics are handmade and undergo strict quality control measures like no animal testing and ban on usage of palm oil.

The exotic ingredients exude a seductive fragrance and are named with a tinge of humour, like ‘Honey I washed the kids’ and ‘Mask of Magnaminty’. While the exorbitant prices for shockingly minimal quantity may want the not- so- rich scurry for cover, its all about value for money, says store Director Sangeetha Kamath. “As we don’t use preservatives, our products are beneficial for the skin. Investing in a soap from a luxury brand that costs Rs 450 but lasts 3 months with everyday use is a pretty good bargain,” she says. There is another dimension too. “We also ensure fair trade with our raw material suppliers who are from rural areas,” she explains.

‘Go Green’ is the vibrant theme for the new range which goes in tune with both the store’s credo of environmentalism and the festive spirit. Bubble bar slices, shower jellies, spray and solid perfumes, shampoos, with unusual components like champagne, frakincense and beer, Hawaiian sea salt are packed in cardboard boxes filled with puffed rice, wrapped in recycled paper and cloth ribbons for a truly green Christmas. Santa are you listening?