Estee Lauder, Clarins and L'Oreal, as well as half-a-dozen other manufacturers and retailers including Macy's and Bloomingdale's, have agreed to come up with a single product for an unprecedented give-away.

Once decided upon, the product will be advertised, and distributed in the US on a first-come, first-served basis.

The agreement - which still needs to be approved by a court - is the climax of a five-year-old class-action lawsuit alleging price-fixing.

The defendants deny any liability, saying that they have settled the case in order to avoid any further costly litigation.

First come, first served

The lawsuit was originally filed in California's Marin County in 1998.

New York icon Macy's is among the defendants

Since then, it has snowballed into a class-action suit on behalf of a nationwide group of buyers of so-called "prestige" cosmetics.

But these consumers, who demanded heavy damages in their initial lawsuit, will not necessarily benefit from the settlement.

Anyone can become eligible for the make-up hand-out, by signing an unverifiable statement that they have bought a product from one of the defendants.

The launch of the give-away - dates and venues yet to be decided - is already being talked about as a likely stampede.