The Sol de Janeiro Jelly Perfume Balm Is My New Solid Fragrance Obsession

Are you ready for this jelly?

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two women in red and black clothes next to three tubes of jelly perfume in red pink and yellow
(Image credit: Getty Images; Sol de Janeiro)
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Solid perfumes are nothing new in the perfume world. After all, there is evidence that ancient Egyptians regularly incorporated solid perfumes made of wax or balm into their beauty routines. Now, 4,000 years later, it's pretty standard, especially for niche perfume brands, to debut a solid product option in their collection (Diptyque, Sidia, Dior, and and Next Memory all have one). But I can't recall seeing a jelly perfume option in my 12 years as a beauty editor, until the Sol de Janeiro Jelly Perfume Balm crossed my desk.

The new launch joins the ever-expanding lineup of fragrances from the Brazilian beauty brand, which is already well-known and loved for its body care offerings. With body and hair mists, scented lotions, body washes, and traditional eau de parfums, I assumed that Sol de Janeiro was reaching the end of its fragrance innovation (I'd still take a hand cream TBH) but clearly I was wrong, because these cutie pie perfume jellies just became my new favorite method of applying my daily fragrance. Let's get into the latest launch.

The Formula

There are currently three scents in the Perfume Jelly Collection: Cheirosa 68, a fruit floral with notes of Brazilian jasmine, pink dragonfruit, and ocean air; Cheirosa 40, a blend of black amber plum, creme de cassis, jasmine blooms, and vanilla woods; and finally, Cheirosa 62, the most iconic Sol de Janeiro scent of the bunch, with notes pistachio, salted caramel, and vanilla for a lush summer accord. The colorful packaging is in line with the rest of the Cheirosa scents, so it's incredibly easy to pick up your favorite of the bunch, or mix-and-match to your heart's content.

The brand reveals that the formula is alcohol-free, which is impressive given its 10-hour wear claims (alcohol facilitates projection in a fragrance so that you have a better silage, or a scent trail). The jelly is housed in a compact, plastic, twist-up tube with a snap cap, perfect for travel or throwing in your bag for a day of work or running errands.

The Wear

As with any solid perfume, attention must be paid to the feel of the formula. It isn't as simple as spritz and go, and if it feels sticky or tacky on the skin, well, who is going to want to use that on a regular basis? I'm pleased to report that the Sol de Janeiro Jelly Balm has a lightweight and very bouncy feel on the skin. It's super cushion-y when you run the tube of product over the your wrists, neck, or wherever you love to wear your perfume, similar to the viral Milk Makeup Jelly Lip + Cheek Tint that caused TikTok to lost its collective mind over last year. There's also a very skincare-like feel after you apply the product. Your skin is left silky soft, not greasy or slime-y, and there's a very faint sheen leftover after application. It makes me think that sliding this along your collarbones would make for the prettiest, candlelit highlighter effect.

As for the scent itself and wear time, I was really impressed that just a single swipe imparted a lot of fragrance. It's comparable to at least two spritzes of a regular mist of eau de parfum, so it's definitely a concentrated scent that will be easy to build to your preferred level. And although the fragrance did wear down over a few hours (as every scent inevitably does) it didn't disappear any faster than the brand's other fragrance offerings. Considering the affordable $26 price-point, that's pretty impressive.

The Takeaway

Hannah Baxter holding three sol de janeiro perfume jelly balms in her hand close up

The Jelly Perfume Balm trio.

(Image credit: Hannah Baxter)

Even if you're not a die-hard Sol de Janeiro fan, these perfume jellies are incredibly fun to use. They also make fragrance layering a breeze, and the unexpected skin radiance wherever you apply it is a welcome bonus. I predict that these are going to inspire more brands to get in on the jelly format game, since it's such an easy and enjoyable way to play with fragrance, no matter your age or olfactory personality. Only time will tell if 2026 is set to be the year of the jelly perfume craze, but if I had my way, my fragrance collection would be full of this cheeky format by the end of the year.

Shop Sold de Janeiro Jelly Perfume Balm

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Hannah Baxter
Hannah Baxter
Beauty Director

Hannah Baxter is the Beauty Director at Marie Claire. She has previously held roles at The Zoe Report, Coveteur, and Bust Magazine, covering beauty, wellness, fashion, and lifestyle. She authors the Marie Claire newsletter Face Forward. Her writing has appeared in Harper's Bazaar, Allure, The Cut, Elle, InStyle, Glamour, Air Mail, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Byrdie, Nylon and more.

She is also the founder of Anxiety Beer, a weekly newsletter about the intersection of culture and mental health. In her spare time you can catch her reading too many overdue library books, thrifting, or hanging with her hairless cat, Norman. You can find her on Instagram and TikTok @hannahbaxward.