Diwali Gifts Under ₹500 That Are Not Dry Fruit

The dry fruit box has one real advantage: nobody has to think about it. It is also why it gets regifted. Everything below costs under five hundred rupees, is made in Jaipur, and gets used.

Under ₹200

Neem Wood Comb — ₹120 to ₹150

The best small gift we sell, and the one people are most surprised by. A wooden comb produces no static, does not snag wet or oiled hair, and lasts years. Most households still use plastic without ever having thought about it. Several shapes available — the wide-tooth one is the safest choice for somebody else.

Steam Distilled Rose Water — ₹99

A hundred millilitres, no alcohol, no fragrance added. Useful to almost anyone: a face mist, a toner, the liquid you mix a face pack with. Good as a filler in a larger gift.

Pure Neem Leaves Powder — ₹99

For somebody who already makes their own face packs. Not a gift for a beginner.

₹200 to ₹350

The Clear Scalp & Skin Duo — ₹320

Neem toner for the face, tea tree oil for the scalp. The smallest of our sets and a sensible gift for anybody in their twenties, where oily skin and a flaking scalp usually turn up together.

The Bhringraj Ritual — ₹350

Bhringraj oil, virgin coconut oil, and a neem wood comb in a drawstring pouch. The safest gift in the whole range — hair oiling is a habit most Indian households already have, so you are improving something they do rather than asking them to start.

The Scalp Purifying Ritual — ₹350

Neem oil, tea tree oil, comb. For the person who has been complaining about dandruff all year. A specific gift says you listened.

The Henna Strengthening Ritual — ₹350

Henna oil and amla oil. Henna oil does not colour hair, which is the thing worth explaining when you hand it over — it is the strengthening without the three-hour paste.

₹350 to ₹500

The Everyday Oil Box — ₹399

Coconut, neem, kalonji and olive, 15ml each. A sampler, and a good gift for somebody curious who does not want to commit to a full bottle of anything.

The Three Oils — ₹445

Bhringraj, brahmi, amla. The classic three, and the set that lands best with parents and in-laws, who usually know these herbs better than you do.

The Aloe Ritual — ₹450

Rose toner, aloe gel, aloe oil. For somebody with dry or heat-irritated skin, and genuinely useful through a Rajasthan summer.

The Kumkumadi Ritual — ₹499

Rose water, saffron water and kumkumadi oil. The most recognisably luxurious thing under five hundred, because kumkumadi tailam has a reputation that precedes it.

The Sandalwood Rituals — ₹499

Two versions. Red sandalwood for marks and uneven tone. White sandalwood for heat and sensitive skin. Pick by the person, not the price — they are the same cost and they do different things.

How to choose between them

If you know nothing about the person's skin, gift hair. Hair products are far harder to get wrong — there is no equivalent of giving an oily-skin mask to someone with dry skin.

If you are buying several, buy the same thing for everybody. People compare, and they always notice.

If it is going to another state, order by the fourth week of October. Diwali is Sunday 8 November and couriers slow down badly in the week before it.

The full range is in the Diwali collection.