The business of not stinking

I received the new Ban deodorant/antiperspirant Invisible Solid just as I was realizing that my regular one was irritating my skin while not being as effective as I'd like. I already lined a few others, but since Ban was sent to me for review, I decided to start with it, which proved to be a very good thing.

Ban Invisible Solid claims to have a new patented technology that eliminates odors and sweat before they become a problem. I can't vouch for it, since the active ingredient is the widely used aluminium zirconium tetrachlorohydrex. However, I checked and compared it to seven other deodorants for men and women that I have at home (yes, I take not stinking very seriously) and it's among the very few that have a 19% concentration of the active ingredient (compare to Lady Speedstick that offers 15.4%-16.3%, varies between specific products).

This higher level of active ingredient really delivers on the promise of at least 24 hours of freshness. I'm not a heavy sweater, but the last few days have been on the muggy side and called for serious anti perspiration action.

The inactive ingredient list is quite different than other similar products I checked. It has all the usual suspects of names out of chem lab, but also a bunch of other, more natural additions, like bark extract, oleic acid, sandalwood extract and barley extract. I'm not sure which one, if any, are part of the patented new formula, but it definitely makes Ban stand out in the crowd.

The other promise, the one about being invisible, is not completely fulfilled, though I have yet to meet even one deodorant that truly lives up to this claim. It won't stain all of your clothes, but is far from invisible when you slide into a black lycra cami.

The fragrance I tried, Satin Breeze, is supposed to have citrus top notes and a base of woody notes. The sandalwood is unmistakable and quite pleasant. It's a nice, light scent that doesn't offend or clashes with other products, which is all I ask from a perfumed deodorant (other then "my armpits aren't orchards and have no business smelling like fruit").

Hippie Dippie

I'm spoiled. It's not very often that I come across a Really Bad Product. My guess would be that it's the same for most of my readers. When was the last time you tried a beauty product and found it horrible? I don't mean something that doesn't work too well with your skin or a color that doesn't match. Nor do I mean a fragrance you hated. That's more of a taste and skin chemistry. I'm talking about a product that is so bad you can't believe that in our day and age someone is actually selling this.

As I said, it's a very rare occurrence for me.

My local Whole Foods Market has a separate Whole Body store next door. It's a lovely place with a big selection of natural products, supplements, aromatherapy and anything else bath, body and beauty related. It's not Sephora or anything like that, but I go there to buy pure oils, shea butter and organic aloe vera gel. The last time I popped in to buy jojoba oil (which I use on my skin to make whatever perfume I'm wearing last longer) I stopped in front of the deodorant display.

This was probably another proof for the power of advertisement, as the thing that lured me there was a poster inside the main store about how much better and healthier are deodorants made of natural products, or something like that. I decided to give it a try and randomly chose Kiss My Face Active Enzyme deodorant. It looked innocent enough, active enzymes sound like something that is both natural and powerful and it promised to last all day.

Huh.

The first problem I encountered was actually getting the deodorant on my skin. It is so poorly made that unlike any stick deodorant you or I have ever seen, its shape is concave. I had to reshape it with a knife. Then there's the texture that is very solid and doesn't yield without putting some effort, but when it's finally on the skin it's unpleasantly sticky. Who wants to have sticky pits?

But the worst part was that it does nothing. At all. It just doesn't work, and all I can do is thank the patron saint of beauty bloggers for: a. this being winter b. trying it on a lazy weekend at home, within running distance from my shower.

To add insult to injury, the scent I chose, Peaceful Patchouli, serves to remind us why dear old Patch has such a bad rap. I love patchouli as a note in several good fragrances, but the way it was used here was in its stinkiest, dirtiest incarnation. Like an unwashed hippie.