When attempting to add a warm, ambient glow to your immediate surroundings the options are generally confined to light bulbs, candles or full-on bonfires. The latter two are not to be recommended in this day and age, primarily because there's a good chance your house could burn to a cinder. Of course, light bulbs are all well and good, and they do exactly what they say on the tin. The problem is, they're about as interesting as, well, light bulbs!

For this very reason the clever people at Mathmos have been busy creating illuminating lighting innovations for the past 40 years. Famous for inventing the generation-defining Lava Lamp, Mathmos are world leaders in funky lighting and these gizmos are an absolute triumph of design excellence.

The Minilamp is a miniature marvel that hypnotises as well as it accessorises. The mouth blown glass lamp glides through its colours after being pressed, creating a mesmerizing feature in any room.

The Blimp is an ingenious, ergonomic pebble of light that gently and hypnotically cycles through a kaleidoscope of gorgeous colours. Press the top of the Blimp to turn it on and press and hold the top for two seconds to turn it off again.

Perfect for setting the tone at parties, these lights will have friends gawping at their spectacularly captivating light show for hours. In fact, these sleek little lights have the same inexplicably entrancing quality as a real fire, a tropical fish tank and that video by Beyoncé. They will also add an air of the extraordinary to any room in your home. Put one in your boudoir and the effect is truly enchanting and guaranteed to give your evenings a psychedelically atmospheric feel. So go on, buy one and you'll see the phenomenon of light in a whole new, er, light.
Mathmos Softlight Ghost:
This spooky shape is the latest member of the Softlight family.