MAN REVIEW! Malin+Goetz Eucalyptus Deodorant

I've long been of the opinion that the world of deodorants, especially with those targeted at men, was a bit of a strange one. The focus seems to be on absolute dryness, total evasion of perspiration at all cost - so much so, that it's extremely difficult to find a deodorant in high street shops that isn't also an anti-perspirant.

I'll admit that my armpits are a generally quite sweaty place, so much so that I've pretty much given up entirely on the notion that an anti-perspirant can actually work for longer than half an hour or so. I've tried various different forms (aeresol, roll-on, stick) and brands (run-of-the-mill stuff from Sure, Right Guard, Nivea etc. to premium efforts by Anthony and Lab Series), and haven't had any success with any of them. Perhaps my prolific sweating is abnormal in this regard, but from my experience the logic seems to follow that if you block up your skin with anti-perspirant, the sweat glands will actually work harder to find a way for the sweat to get through. There is, surely, a reason that we sweat other than to simply embarrass.

As a result of my many failed anti-perspirant trials, I've tended to stick with deodorants that promise only to stop me from smelling foul. Only Sarah would be in a position to tell you whether that particular mission has actually been a successful one! My current anti-ming of choice is the Deodorising Body Spray from the Charles Worthington Results For Men line. It doesn't clog the skin and has a fairly light, apple-tinged fragrance, whilst retaining a degree of masculinity. The only real problem I have with it is that it's now discontinued. Typical. Luckily I managed to grab a big batch off eBay before it all disappeared, but sooner or later I'll need to find an alternative. Enter the sample of Malin + Goetz Eucalyptus Deodorant Sarah kindly gave me to try in return for these here thoughts.

Taking the form of a twistable stick, the packaging is refreshingly non-gender-specific (or simply minimalist?) and feels well-put-together. The fragrance is light and cool, obviously reminiscent of eucalyptus, but also a bit of lemon with a menthol-esque cool hit. This is a very good thing. To me, it's neither particularly a feminine nor masculine scent - it reminds me a bit of a less potent version of the Iceberg Twice Eau de Toilette I used to have. It's an alcohol and aluminium-free recipe that absorbs in easily and doesn't feel sticky (a problem I'd often associate with 'stick' deodorants) or greasy. So far so good, then.

Testing over a few days, it seems that over the course of a day, the Malin + Goetz deodorant does its job with the minimum of fuss. It might be my imagination, but I also didn't seem to sweat as much as I normally would - perhaps this is due to its alcohol-free nature. I'm not certain that it really does last 24 hours as promised, and its effects were certainly at least a little reduced by bedtime, but over a standard waking day, I can't see this being a problem. Besides, I'm perhaps not a fair test subject, being a relentless sweaty git.

So overall, I'd say i'm impressed. The Malin + Goetz is certainly something I'd consider using long-term - at £15 a throw, it's definitely a premium item, but no more expensive than its competitors. Check it out, yo.