Ever heard of a solid perfume?! It’s simply a perfume or scent with a balm-like consistency instead of a liquid, similar to a lip balm. They can be carried in lip-balm style tubes or other small containers. I didn’t discover solid perfumes until we visited the Monastiraki Flea Markets in Athens on our Europe trip. In one little shop there were hundreds of the cutest tiny jars of perfume for literally a couple of dollars each! Of course I grabbed a handful without knowing what to do with them or who they would be gifts for – they were too good to pass up.
Since then I’ve noticed more and more solid perfumes popping up, for men as well as women. It seems everyone is discovering just how good they are!
I’ve also discovered they are actually pretty handy to have, and make great gifts. If you haven’t already got one, consider these benefits…
Seven Benefits of Owning a Solid Perfume
1. Traveling
We all know how hard it can be to make sure you have all products under 100mL when traveling with carry-on. Instead of leaving the perfume at home, it can be one less thing to think about when it is in a solid form.
2. Alcohol Free
A lot of liquid perfumes contain alcohol to help them evaporate when sprayed. A solid perfume doesn’t need any help drying so generally won’t contain any alcohol or other irritants.
3. Conveniently Small
The easiest way to carry a solid perfume is in a small container or lip balm tube. You can carry them with you for a quick pick-me-up throughout the day.
4. No Leaking
If you’re traveling with perfume or even just have it stashed in a cupboard at home, a solid perfume is not going to leak and cause a mess!
5. Aromatherapy
If you’re into aromatherapy and mixing different oils, you can make it into a solid scent to take anywhere. Got a headache? Whip out your lavender perfume balm! You can even pre-mix a range of balms for different ailments to make it easier than using oils in their liquid form.
6. Being considerate of others
Is anyone else not a fan of getting a huge choking waft of someone’s perfume or deodorant when they decide they need to freshen up in a public space?! To me, spraying a scent where others could get caught in it is a big no-no, but with a solid perfume, the scent ends up only on your skin. Which leads to…
7. Less Waste
Sprays can often end up going in every other direction except on your skin, but a balm or solid perfume ends up directly and only where you put it. Also, some scents can be diluted with water, but a solid state perfume isn’t (they’re anhydrous, meaning they contain no water), making it a lot longer lasting.
Check out the solid perfumes below, including a men’s scent!
1. Lush Vanillary Solid Perfume US$11.95
2. Glossier You Perfume Solid US$22
3. Diptyque Do Son Solid Perfume US$50
4. Solid State Men’s Drifter Solid Perfume AUD$39.95
To be honest, I don’t know why solid state perfumes and balms aren’t more readily available! Do you have one, and if so, what do you think? Soon I’ll be posting an easy DIY to turn your favourite scent into a solid perfume, or create your own solid perfumes from scratch!