Let me tell you a story about my friend Sam.
In college, Sam and I went up to New York. Sam was on a mission to impress a girl. I was on a mission to eat some food and borrow his rich friend’s second(!) couch.
Sam had taken a bottle of cologne with him: In typical college fashion, we were doing the best we could to emulate adulthood.
Neither of us the suitcase type, we packed our belongings into our backpacks and, when we got to the apartment Sam had finagled, he opened his bag to find that his cologne bottle had cracked.
His bottle was ruined. His bag was ruined. His clothes were ruined, soaked beyond repair.
Suffice to say, it didn’t work out.
I never forgot that lesson. To this day, I’m afraid to travel with cologne, which is a real bummer when you think about it: often enough, you’re traveling for a special occasion.
That’s why solid cologne is one little invention I’m proud to recommend.
Sure, it sounds silly, but the advantages add up. Besides being impossible to spill, solid cologne is easy. Flying with fluids is always an annoyance. Flying with a bar is easy; it operates like a stick of deodorant, jangling in your backpack.
The price is right, as is the size: At $24.00 for a half-ounce bar, you aren’t stuck with one scent for years and instead are given a lightweight and ultra-portable solution that can fit not only in a backpack but even a pocket(!) as needed.
And the product itself is tight: it’s natural, elegant and simple, made with shea butter, beeswax, and phthalate-free fragrance oil. That means it feels good to the touch, smooth and easy compared to acidic chemical sprays.
The scent also works, as one should hope. I find it layered and complex, without getting too fancy. It’s simple, a touch of citrus emerges in the face of more dominant fragrances.
The best part? Because of its portability, you can always ensure you’ve worn the right amount. Touch yourself up at a party or event and you don’t have to worry about overdoing it. Because if it happens, just wash and reapply.
Historically, there have been many liquids-to-solid conversions that didn’t quite pan out—solid ketchup slices, for one. But this cologne is an elegant, not to mention practical, solution for those averse to the potent and often messy liquid colognes.
So get a bar for yourself, or for a friend who smells terrible.
Do them a solid.