All that is Solid Melts into Air

I like to carry perfume with me when I go out, but fear that one day, the bottle or vial will break, and I'll waltz into a restaurant or something and be the perpetrator of a major olfactive faux-pas. The solution? Carry a solid perfume. Whenever you need a refresher, just whisk your fingers across its waxy or powdery base and apply to pulse points.

SOLID!
Here are some solid versions of today's favorite scents. Many come in gorgeous compacts or slim touch-on pens:

• Marc Jacobs Perfume Solid Compact
• Estée Lauder Pleasures Touch-on Perfume
• Philosophy Amazing Grace perfume solid compact
• Bvlgari Pour Femme Perfume Solid
• Bvlgari Omnia Perfume Compact
• Origins Ginger Essence Perfume Compact
• Pink Sugar Solid Perfume
• Stacked Style Baroque Bleu and Rococo Rouge Gelee de Parfum
• Stila Jade Blossom Solid Perfume
• Britney Spears Fantasy Solid Perfume Compact
• Fracas Solid Perfume
• Rouge Hermes Solid Perfume Stick
• Boucheron Parfum a Poudier
• Boucheron Trouble Solid Perfume Compact

WEARABLE SCENTS

Designers have discovered a way to let you wear their fragrances in two senses of the word - as scent and accessory.

• Angel by Thierry Mugler Midnight Collection Lucky Touch Pendant
• Island Michael Kors Solid Perfume Pendant
• Donna Karan Pure Cashmere Solid Perfume Pendant

COLLECTORS' NOTE

Many compacts and pendants housing solid perfumes are limited editions and thus become collectors' items. And of course, there is a whole website dedicated to collecting them! Visit SolidPerfume.com for information, pictures, items for sale, and much more.

DIY

Interested in learning to make your own solid perfumes? Mandy Aftel's book, "Scents & Sensibilities" features descriptions and detailed instructions on making solid perfumes at home with beeswax, jojoba oil and essential oils.

* bizarrely enough, the title quote is from Marx's Communist Manifesto!