Good Deo, Bad Deo

Deodorant, I am obsessed. 

Well, not with the products themselves, but with smelling clean and fresh. 

I've been through 4 deodorants in the last few months, and I feel very comfortable saying one of the worst deodorants on the market for my body chemistry is Secret. Currently, the one I loathe is Fresh Effects in Wild Orchid. I seriously smell so funky- like a camping trip gone awry. Once again, I was fooled by the packaging. I have tried everything- from the original to the clinical strength and I cannot ever vouch for the efficacy of this product. Everyone's chemistry is different, but I will never buy Secret and expect it to work for me. I want my $5 back. 

I ran into L'Occitane one day and picked up (in a clearly Secret-induced emergency)  the Eau de Baux men's deodorant (I thought it would work better because it was made for the intense male chemistry). I soon came to find this was not an antiperspirant, because I was sweating large pools through my coat. Very personally, I believe sweating is good for us, and if I could sweat without an odor, I would choose that route. However, this formula doesn't work well in intense situations, like yoga class. I kept getting faint whiffs of what smelled like onions being microwaved in a neighboring room, only to discover the scent was wafting from my own underarms. The one plus was the spicy scent, and sometimes I wear this deodorant on non-yoga days just because it appeals to me. Not a complete fail, but definitely not worth the $16 I spent on it, even if it is alcohol free. 

Desperation also led me to try Dove's Go Fresh in their Grapefruit and Lemongrass scent. Terrible. Leaves an awful residue all over my clothes even though it's supposed to be clear. And the smell of the body is somehow exacerbated by the awful scent of this ick stick. Yeah, I called this deodorant an ick stick. I hate this stuff. And lest you think I am anti-drugstore-deodorants... 

The winner of my deo challenge is the Vaseline Intensive Care Roll On Fresh Deodorant. You don't understand! This stuff actually works. No weird smell, it's an antiperspirant and deodorant. It staves off anxiety and adrenaline induced sweat sessions, and  can comfortably raise my arms because I'm SURE I smell fine. Here's the catch: I think it's only available in the UK and Ireland because that's where I bought it. And I biked about 18 miles and smelled good. In long sleeves. Plus I use it every time I know I am going to be in intimate situations. Take your mind out of the gutter, I meant whenever I would even be raising my arms to apply makeup. WINNER. Sorry about the unavailability in the US situation. Next time you're at my petite paradise, BOOTS, pick this stuff up! The best use of $5, ever. 

Freshness counts. 

Kiss Kiss

S.