The handmade solid shampoos, bath balls and bath teas from Greek brand Fresh Line contain Greek herbs and essential oils

It’s a slow and ‘solid’ revolution, but one that’s going to thrill you if you happen to be a girl on the move. You can shove aside those bulky bottles of creams and shampoos and tune into the latest buzz — go-everywhere solids.

Deconstructed, that means that the beauty market has been deluged with perfumes, shampoos, body butters and body fizzes that come as fragrant solids rather than the liquids you’ve known all your life. If you are balking at the thought, know this — they are your best bets when you’re travelling. They are nifty little cakes, easy to slip into your bag. The cherry on the cake: no leakages or spills.

So, luxurious brands like L’Occitane, Lush, Fresh Line, The Body Shop and Bomb Cosmetics are offering the best of solid products that are handcrafted and environment friendly too. Their promise: an exercise in aromatherapy with solids made with an impressive range of essential oils, natural ingredients and minimal preservatives.

At L’Occitane, the French brand headquartered in Provence, be prepared to surround yourself with natural solids. Solid cocoa butters apart, their top sellers are perfumes such as Fleur Cherie Heart, Cherry Blossom and Green Tea variants. They are available in charming little heart shapes and discs. “Dab them on pulse points. For a long-lasting effect, layer them by spraying eau de toilette,” advises Guillame Geslin, store manager at L’Occitane, Delhi.

Guillame Geslin (above), of L’Occitane, says cocoa butters are a popular pick apart from the brand’s line of perfumes; Pic by Rupinder Sharma

And no, the solid perfumes don’t trigger off any reactions even on ultra-sensitive skin. “We use an eight per cent concentration of essential oils in a beeswax and paraffin base,” adds Geslin.

Temptation is clearly the name of the game — and a dented wallet is a certainty as solids are way more expensive than your regular products.

“The idea is to make solid cosmetics look good enough to eat,” says Shrimayi Kapasi, spokesperson for Bomb Cosmetics, a UK brand now available in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Bomb Cosmetics offers an extensive — and droolworthy — array of bath brulees, buttercups, tulips and mallows that are solid bath melts and yet look a bit like cupcakes. There’s more: solid shower gels, shampoo bars and massage bars.

“They’re mixed, pressed, moulded, rolled, piped, decorated and shaped by hand — and each solid is checked individually,” adds Kapasi.

(From top) Lush’s line of solids includes the cute Godiva shampoo bar and the refreshing Breath of God perfume; the solid pat of hair oil called Coconut Hair Shine from The Body Shop smoothens all hair types

Anastasia Bocchi, an Italian distributor and spokesperson in India for the Greek brand, Fresh Line, swears by her small pack of Galene (that’s the Goddess of Calm Seas in Greek), a solid shampoo that’s perfect for sensitive scalps.

“The first time I saw the cute roundel of shampoo bar, I was flummoxed. But I’d moved to India and it suited my hair like nothing else. The added bonus is that I can carry it when I go swimming,” smiles Bocchi. The one to check out is Lush’s Godiva shampoo bar named after Lady Godiva, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman in the 11th century who rode naked through the streets of Coventry in England covered only by her long hair. By the way, the Godiva bar could almost pass off for a cheerful yellow macaroon.

All you do is massage the puck (that’s what Lush calls its solid shampoo bars) into the scalp. Leave it in for five minutes to allow the essential oils and cocoa butter to seep in. It’s a fragrant experience as the notes of jasmine, ylang ylang, palmarossa and cypress oils engulf you.

The UK-based Lush has quite an enticing repertoire of solids. According to Saroj Joseph, spokesperson, Lush India, solids need very little or no preservatives at all and minimal packaging. “Each shampoo bar lasts over 80 washes, the equivalent of three bottles of 250gm shampoo,” she says.

Walk into any Lush outlet (they are in Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai and Bangalore) and be treated to a range of 10 solid shampoos. Other solid hotsellers include its Bath Ballistics that detonate colour, glitter and lovely fragrances into your bath water. Other must-sees are its massage bars, solid body butters, solid perfumes and chunks of facial cleansers that are cut from hefty blocks.

Fresh Line (available in Delhi) too offers a host of solid shampoo bars, fizzy bath balls and solid face cleansers, all made with essential oils. And how about running a teabag bath? The Greek brand — launched by founder Mayra Vagioni Stasinopoulou in 1992 — also has a range of botanical bath teas that come in small organza bags containing Greek herbs and essential oils. Just dip a pouch into your bath for an aromatic dip.

“I use ingredients from the kitchen. It began with the beauty recipes passed down by my grandmother,” says Stasinopoulou.

The Body Shop too stocks up on solid cosmetics — including a solid perfume called Love Etc, a solid pat of hair oil called Coconut Hair Shine and a solid moisturising stick of cocoa butter. “A person with sensitive skin can choose to use Love Etc as it is alcohol-free. The unique formulations make it safe to be used all year round,” says Smita Sahoo, product manager, The Body Shop.

But be prepared to part with hefty amounts. A 10gm unit of L’Occitane’s solid perfume is priced at Rs 600. At Lush, a pat of solid cocoa butter comes for Rs 750 while a 12gm solid perfume stick can go up to Rs 1,260. A shampoo bar costs about Rs 1,000 at Fresh Line and The Body Shop prices veer between Rs 700 and Rs 900 for its solid line. However, they all offer value-for-money in the long run as they last anywhere between four to six months if you keep them dry.

So, yes — it’s time to drown yourself in swathes of solid experience.