The Complete Guide to French Deodorant

A few months back, I had a reader ask me what type of deodorant I used, because she was having bad luck finding one that works for her here in France. After much trial and error, I like to think I've found success on the hunt for smelling clean. Hopefully, this post will be helpful to a few of you in your search for perfumed pits. ;)

Tip: While trying out a new deodorant, it's important to find a blunt friend with an intact sense of smell who isn't afraid to let you know if it's working or not. Really important.

Roll-Ons

I tend to go with these, because they're fairly reliable and really easy to find. I feel like they cover the entire underarm as well, unlike the sprays.

You do have to be careful with these though. I've found several brands that just fade out by the end of the day, even when I'm not sweating very much. When it fades, it doesn't really leave you with a strong BO smell either. It's just this odd sweat smell.

Tip: Keep your arms up while this dries and let dry completely before getting dressed. While it's wet, the deodorant moves around and is very easily rubbed off - leaving you with less than ideal coverage.

Watch out for the "Pierre d'Alun" deodorants. There are a lot of well-known brands that have come out with these new natural formulas and many of them do not work - at all, on anyone. They take the aluminum-based chemicals out the deodorant, a controversial product in the world of deodorant science. Unfortunately, the aluminum based compound is usually what keeps your armpits from smelling badly.

However, I do have one awesome all natural recommendation that you can read about here.

Spray

These are my least favorite. In case you are like me and were wondering how they are supposed to be used, you point them to the middle of your armpit and spray for the count of 1 Mississippi. I always end up choking on the deodorant fumes no matter how quickly I spray them and find the coverage is splotchy because you're not apply the product directly to the underarm skin. You're

Solid sticks & Gels

These are generally the deodorants that Americans are the most comfortable with, and quite frankly, they tend to be the most effective. Again - I realize that everyone is different deodorant wise and you might be the exception to this rule. Unfortunately, if you're not willing to use anything but stick/gel deodorant, you're choices will be very limited in France.

Here they are:

Men's deodorant - they have a few stick options, but risk smelling strong of cologne.

Clinical Strength - They are really easy to find, but your scent options are limited. You can choose from Dove or Rexona (a.k.a Secret).

Deodorant that should have stayed in the 90's - Boring, chalk white, will certainly ruin your new black dress, crumbly deodorant. Larger stores may have one or two of these gems hiding amongst their collection.

Homesick?

Check Amazon France.

They have quite a few American brands available. Or, if you're truly desperate, and willing to pay the extra shipping, Amazon Uk has TONS of American goodies like that. The shipping to France is reasonable, and you won't have to pay any extra custom taxes on your package when it arrives. Yay!




Disclaimer: What works for me might not work for you. Deodorant is a very personal thing, and what you are looking for in a deodorant might not be what I'm looking for in a deodorant. This is just a brief post on what's worked and not worked for me so far.

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Happy Wednesday! :)