They say cleanliness is next to godliness, but the latest bath products, with their heady fragrances, swirling colors and silky textures, are becoming downright sinful. In a market where Calgon and Caress used to be exotic items, shoppers now choose between bath bombs, bath melts, soap-by-the-slice, seaweed-infused cleansers and a myriad of other options.

And in the Bay Area, where we're used to filling our baskets with gourmet cheese, olive oil and chocolate, it's not too surprising that specialty stores selling high-quality, handmade, confection-like soaps are popping up by the tubful.

These products are perfect as a gift that's small but luxurious, or as a restorative self-indulgence. Why settle for drugstore suds? This new breed of Bay Area designer soaps makes commercial cleansers a wash-out.

Here are our current favorites:

Lush
240 Powell Street, San Francisco
415-693-9633
www.lush.com

For years American soap lovers have watched this UK-based retailer of fresh, fun and edible-looking bath products crop up in countries like Bahrain, Croatia, Slovenia, Qatar, and Hungary — everywhere, it seemed, but here. Finally, the rumors that Lush was planning a San Francisco store — their first in the U.S. — have come to fruition.

Wheels, wedges and chunks of their handmade soaps fill the front of the store, and their delicious aromas can entice shoppers from as far as a block away. The Fresh Bar, located in the back of the store, is truly unique — several large chilled bowls are filled with freshly prepared mixtures of foods (like avocado and orange), herbs, and oils that you pack onto your hair, feet, or anything in-between for smooth, moist, cleansing perfection. They're sold in resealable containers that should be refrigerated to keep the products fresh.

One wall showcases several bins of Bath Bombs. Lush was an early purveyer of these balls of sodium bicarbonate, which are laced with essential oils and, when dropped into the tub, fizz away like giant Alka-Seltzers. Variations contain stuff like real flower petals or glitter that lingers when the fizz is gone.

Also on the menu: solid versions of shampoo and bubble bath, textured Massage Bars and a pleasantly surprisng number of products that contain (and smell of) chocolate.

One word of caution: Do not walk into Lush hungry, else you could end up with a spoon in a pint of Dream Cream moisturizer.

Hydra
1919 Fillmore Street, San Francisco
415-47HYDRA (474-9372)
www.hydrasoap.com

Hydra swears "it's not the size of the tub, it's what you put in it" that matters, but if your bathtub saw the 7 foot tall, 15 foot long tub on display here it would surely shrivel with inadequacy.

Fortunately, everything else is quite soothing. Hydra's Tub Teas, for example, take the familar satchel of dried herbs and flowers and make it big enough for the bath, so the oils and scents are relased — without a mess — when placed under warm running water.

Hydra believes in letting the customers decide how much to buy — the essential oil-infused bath salts and bubble bath beads are available in bulk and can be mixed together to your heart's desire, and even their colorful specialty soaps can be sliced to order.

Perhaps the greatest thing about Hydra's products is that your wallet won't feel inadequate either — all of their well-made products are a great value.

Body Time
Various locations in San Francisco, Berkeley, Marin and Oakland