Josh Asks - What Deodorant Should You Use?

Josh doesn't "do" perfume.

He wears Tom Ford For Men because his girlfriend's mum bought it for him.

However one evening in the pub he started asking some great questions so I started a feature called "Josh Asks..."



Today's question -

"With male deodorants nowadays being heavily scented how does that work with selecting your perfume?"

Short Story -

I use a discreet smelling deodorant so as not to interfere with my main fragrance.



Long Story-

I remember in my teens, just before we were wearing aftershaves and actual cologne, fragrant deodorant was the thing to wear. Specifically Lynx (Known as Axe in some countries), smelling Lynx Africa still takes me back to being 14 years old at school.

In a way it was a good introduction into choosing something purely for its fragrant benefit; it was affordable, readily available, and new ones were released regularly.

Then they started making shower gels, so not only could you have the deodorant of your choice but you could also have the matching shower gel, and therein began my first experience of layering.

Layering refers to applying different forms of the same fragrance. Back when I worked in Penhaligon's the full method we would show to customers began with shower gel/soap, then spraying the fragrance itself, then moisturiser, and then sometimes a dusting of talcum-like powder. Every one of these products smelt like the main fragrance you were buying.



What is the point of layering?

Clearly it is a good way to sell more product, to "up-sell" someone who just wanted the perfume, but there is a genuine utility to layering -

By applying moisturiser after applying your fragrance spray you significantly increase the longevity of the fragrance, in other words you smell good for longer. The best bit is that it doesn't have to be a special moisturiser, any kind will do.

What some people have even been doing is buying a fragrance-free one and then spraying in their own scents to create their own perfumed lotion. I didn't see the point of this because then you're stuck with one type of scented lotion and I didn't think it would be any different results-wise to a pre-scented one.

I do not own any scent-matching deodorant, I use one type and have done for over a year now. My main reason for using my current one (Sanex) is that it is only a deodorant, it is not an antiperspirant. This is because I don't think purposefully blocking up your sweat pores is a healthy thing to do and when I used to use antiperspirant it would cause yellow staining on my work shirts (Since switching I don't get these marks).

My other reason is that I want to avoid "scent clash" which is where my deodorant is fragrant to the point of obstructing or disrupting the main aftershave I am wearing.
Here is a picture to illustrate this point -

The white perfume cloud is obscured by the blue deodorant clouds.

That's why the deodorant I use is quite neutral smelling and discreet, so as not to interfere with my aftershave.



What about shower gels?

I have one perfumed expensive shower gel that I use occasionally and it makes the whole bathroom smell great but lasts on my skin for maybe twenty minutes so I do not recommend it as a long-term fragrance application method.



Conclusion

I loathe "shoulds", I think you should (!) find out for yourself what suits you best.

Generally the reasons for my choices are cost and utility; I want to spend money on smelling good for as long as possible and I don't think having a deodorant/shower gel to match every bottle of perfume is an effective way of doing this. It would cost too much to match every bottle I own and I don't think it is an efficient way of smelling like the chosen fragrance.

Even though I don't think shower gel is good for lasting fragrance I still use it sometimes simply because I like using it!


Do you layer your scents and if so, how effective is it?