I’ve been a devoted Dove deodorant/antiperspirant user for a really long time — to the point where I stocked up when we lived in Canada, because I believe, if I am remembering correctly, that the one they sell up there is slightly different and isn’t a combo. So I’d get four-packs every time I went back over the border and then forget where I stashed them and end up with a dumb amount of deodorant. I am a creature of habit, sometimes to my detriment, but now I am finally, finally actually running out of it — there will be no accidental discovery of an unopened one someplace unexpected — and there are a lot of new brands out there so I have been tempted to shake it up, even if it just ends up confirming that I’m already using the right one. But then I chicken out of exploring, because who wants their deodorant to backfire on them?!?
Obviously there are the classics, like Secret and Degree, neither of which are great for me but I know people who swear by both. Body chemistry is a magical thing. Also, a lot of companies are leaning more toward deodorant OR anti-perspirant, rather than a combo? I did try Native years and years ago, but it didn’t blow me away, but then again that WAS pre-Covid and products have surely changed since then. That one says it’s aluminum-free. There’s one called Freaks of Nature that claims it’s an endurance deodorant, which is appealing, as some days in Los Angeles ARE an act of endurance. Things I Bought and Liked, aka TIBAL, swears by the Donna Karan Cashmere Mist. Necessaire sells deodorant also, and I know that’s a nice brand, but they’re $24 each. Are they that nice? (I love the Donna Karan but also it is expensive!! It usually is a good pick-up in the Sephora or Nordstrom sale. — J)
The big one that keeps coming up all over Ye Olde Feeds is Lume. They’re most known for the sticks and sprays and creams that claim to be whole-body deodorant (you can mix and match a three-pack of scents, which is fun), a concept that has made me uncomfortable since I was a kid and we were told not to monkey with pH below the waist, no matter what the TV ads say. But obviously nobody HAS to use it everywhere; if it’s a good deodorant, then that’s useful intel. But I like an anti-perspirant; Lume now has a separate line of “deodorant plus sweat control” which does NOT say it’s 72 hours or whole body. Is “plus sweat control” somehow clinically not the same thing as antiperspirant? Can they not make that claim?!?
I do keep a pack of Lume’s deodorant wipes in my purse — I would have sworn until this minute that they were unscented, but apparently they’re actually Cool Cucumber?!? — which is mostly a defense against my teens, although one of them and I both used them after a day in Palm Springs at a lacrosse tournament that spilled directly into a team dinner. I felt like we both had to do whatever we could, out of a courtesy to the people breathing in the air around us. They seemed to work well enough, but also, the entire GROUP may have been in a fog of funk so who knows?!? But a wipe for emergencies and a stick that’s supposed to last a whole day, or 72 hours as they claim, are not the same level of need. And can anything beat the friendly price tag and double-effectiveness of my Dove $12 twin pack? And do people still use sprays, a la Lane Meyer up there?!? (I bought some spray deodorant in London last time I was there — I think it was Dove?? — and LOVED IT but it’s not sold here and I cannot become a person who is spending an insane amount of money to buy European deodorant on the black market. -J)
What are your holy grails here? What can we never pry from your grasp?
Like most websites, GFY uses affiliate links where available, and may benefit from brand partnerships. If you buy something using our links, we could earn a commission. Affiliate links help keep this website in business! Thank you for supporting us!
