Perfume and Deodorant

Ah, body odor, modern humanity’s odorous enemy. No matter what the virtues of body odor used to be–smelling bad is now a faux pas and people often equate smelling like BO to having bad hygiene. Now, some of us can’t help how we smell. Some of us sweat more than others, some of us exercise a lot and thus sweat more, some of us just have more odor. Enter deodorant, soap, perfume, and other deodorizing, smell good agents.

I’m shocked constantly by how many times people ask if they should use deodorant if they use perfume and vice versa. The answer is, sure, if you want to. I suppose the real question here is, how do you use deodorant and perfume without one overpowering the other or without creating a miasma of convoluted scent? The answer to that is simple too.

If you’re going to wear a perfume and need to wear deodorant as well, you should go for an unscented deodorant. The reason why you should avoid scented deodorants if you’re going to rock some perfume is because deodorant scents are strong, hardy things. Many of them project well, and have excellent longevity. Deodorants need to be robust because the purpose behind them is to both control odor and mask it. So chances are, a scented deodorant will overpower or mingle with perfume you choose to use.

There are a ton of unscented deodorants out there and if you don’t like the unscented stuff, using a deodorant with a light smell is good too. Some companies even brand men and women’s unscented deodorant–which is just asinine if you ask me.

Some of my picks for unscented deodorants include:

  • Mitchum Unscented Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant (Gel)
  • Dove Antiperspirant & Deodorant, Unscented for Sensitive Skin (Solid)
  • Crystal Stick Body Deodorant (Rock)

Just a forewarning, this is not a deodorant review site and I am not a deodorant expert. I will warn, however, that deodorants containing aluminum can cause a yellow, cakey build-up on clothing for some people. The result is a ruined shirt. And, let’s admit it, it’s kinda gross to look at too and probably not very comfortable to feel.

If you don’t sweat a lot, I highly recommend using deodorants without aluminum like the rock-type deodorants. If you’re okay with a lightly scented deodorant, I can recommend The Body Shop’s DeoDry deodorants as an aluminum-free option with scent. If you do sweat a lot and worry about odor these options may not work as well for you.

Which leads me to the next  question that gets asked rather often, “Can’t I just spray my perfume under my armpits?” Well, you certainly could on a strictly scented-view (I’m not a dermatologist either and can’t say whether spraying perfume on your armpits is a good idea or bad idea on a medical standpoint) but keep in mind that perfumes weren’t formulated to be deodorants.

They’re more delicate for one, won’t last as long for another, and weren’t developed to suppress odor and mask it at the same time. The most a perfume would do on your pits is mask the scent until you start sweating and giving off odor.

Remember, one of the ways perfumes give off their scent is through heat. They give more scent if it is hot and they don’t last as long when it is hot. So when you’re sweating and your body  temperature is elevated your perfume will be projecting a ton at first but its lifespan is probably going to be pretty dismal. That’s not to mention your natural body odor will mix with the perfume’s scent and what you end up with might be a concoction that smells similar to armpits, salt and sour vanilla.

Finally, please note that perfume and deodorant are two different things. I know how obvious that sounds but you won’t believe how many people buy a can of spray deodorant and insist that they are using perfume. It’s not perfume. It is a deodorant spray and it has a far different function than perfume.

So that’s the low-down. Use an unscented deodorant, or a lightly scented one, and wear your perfume freely–just not on your armpits.

Crystal Stick Body Deodorant


Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Pour Homme

Light Blue Pour Homme falls into that weird category of “sports” fragrances that are described as fresh, clean and perfect for the active man. It’s no surprise then that Light Blue Pour Homme is as inoffensive as they can get. It also sort of smells like deodorant and at the same time smells like about ten other sports fragrances for men out there. Light Blue Pour Homme

In Bottle: Spicy, woodsy, citrus. Pretty standard as far as inoffensive aquas go. With an opener that contains lime, bergamot, rosemary and a hit of woods, I don’t see this turning any heads to someone or away from someone. Most people would probably just think you’re wearing a standard men’s deodorant.

Applied: Same deal here, hit of bergamot, lime, rosemary and some woodsy notes. It stays like that for a few minutes with the citrus ebbing out a bit as the rosemary gets stronger. The dry down is a bit woodsier but still with that sharp, fresh and clean bite to it. Light Blue Pour Homme is an all-purpose sporty fragrance with a lack of distinction. It doesn’t smell bad at all. It just smells–eh–ordinary. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. If you’re just looking for something that’s going to smell good, that you can wear during the summer months, that won’t offend anyone, Light Blue Pour Homme is the safest bet.

Extra: Dolce & Gabbana started in 1985 as an Italian luxury fashion house. One of their most popular fragrances, that this one was based off of, is Light Blue.  Another that you may be familiar with from Dolce & Gabbana is The One.

Design: The bottle for Light Blue Pour Homme is a step above the bottle for original Light Blue. Pour Homme has a more interesting shape, though the look of it reminds me more of a bottle for a face cleanser than a luxury fragrance. But still, the design is decent. The sprayer works fine, distributing a fine and even mist. The cap is easy to take off and put on. It has that really nice slide to it.

Fragrance Family: Spicy Fresh

Notes: Apple, bluebell, cedar, jasmine, rose, bamboo, amber, musk.

With the fact that I said this smells more like a deodorant than an interesting men’s fragrance, I will point out that Light Blue Pour Homme comes in deodorant stick form. Hey, talk about convenient.

Reviewed in This Post: Light Blue Pour Homme, 2009, Eau de Toilette.

Disclaimer: The fragrance sampler spray reviewed in this post was provided to me for free. I am not in any way receiving pay or compensation for this review. This review was written based upon my personal experience and opinions of the product.