Does the Best Deodorant for Women Come From Brooklyn?

Apparently, the best deodorant for women requires you to frost your armpits like a birthday cake. On August 20th, the New York Times’ style section shined the spotlight on Soapwalla, a skin care company based out of the Gowanus section of Brooklyn. The line’s founder, Rachel Winard, began her experiment in personal care after being diagnosed with lupus, the side effects of which include highly sensitive skin.

Happily, the proactive Ms. Winard turned her proverbial lemons into beauty- and grooming-product lemonade with Soapwalla. Her star product and bestseller is none other than the aforementioned deodorant cream (whose recipe took six years to perfect!). It lacks sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens, petroleum and aluminum compounds, and reportedly flies off the shelves of Paris hotspot Colette, among other chic beauty retailers. “There are professional athletes who use it and people in high fashion and self-professed granola hippies,” its inventor attests.

What inspired Winard to start making deodorant crème, of all things? “Sheer desperation.” We hear that. The brutal temperatures this summer, work stresses, and just plain old day-to-day have had us clamoring for a deodorant that does exactly what it’s supposed to do. However, finding a deodorant that keeps our underarm area free of embarrassing perspiration marks and suppresses our natural, erm, “musk,” from the time we run into work in the morning through our end-of-day spin class, has been easier said than done. Those of us who try to keep it au natural (and by this we mean aluminum-free) for whatever reason, be it pregnancy or plain ol’ eco-consciousness, have had the added pain of experimenting with (notoriously unreliable) natural deodorants.

Needless to say, we were psyched when we spotted Soapwalla’s segment in the Times. Even more so when we headed over to the brand’s website and saw that our very own health and beauty guru, Calgary Avansino of Vogue UK, co-signs the stuff: “…this little blue pot of magic found its way into my cupboard and my quest was over! Soapwalla’s deodorant is unlike anything I’ve tried before.”

Still dubious about the whole frosting-and-finger-application situation? No sweat. (ha!) From the all-natural to the super-strength, including roll-ons, solids, gels, and even more creams, we’ve sought out the most effective and refreshing deodorants and antiperspirants for women. Check them out in the slideshow above, and let us know your signature scent in the comments below.Apparently, the best deodorant for women requires you to frost your armpits like a birthday cake. On August 20th, the New York Times’ style section shined the spotlight on Soapwalla, a skin care company based out of the Gowanus section of Brooklyn. The line’s founder, Rachel Winard, began her experiment in personal care after being diagnosed with lupus, the side effects of which include highly sensitive skin.

Happily, the proactive Ms. Winard turned her proverbial lemons into beauty- and grooming-product lemonade with Soapwalla. Her star product and bestseller is none other than the aforementioned deodorant cream (whose recipe took six years to perfect!). It lacks sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens, petroleum and aluminum compounds, and reportedly flies off the shelves of Paris hotspot Colette, among other chic beauty retailers. “There are professional athletes who use it and people in high fashion and self-professed granola hippies,” its inventor attests.

What inspired Winard to start making deodorant crème, of all things? “Sheer desperation.” We hear that. The brutal temperatures this summer, work stresses, and just plain old day-to-day have had us clamoring for a deodorant that does exactly what it’s supposed to do. However, finding a deodorant that keeps our underarm area free of embarrassing perspiration marks and suppresses our natural, erm, “musk,” from the time we run into work in the morning through our end-of-day spin class, has been easier said than done. Those of us who try to keep it au natural (and by this we mean aluminum-free) for whatever reason, be it pregnancy or plain ol’ eco-consciousness, have had the added pain of experimenting with (notoriously unreliable) natural deodorants.

Needless to say, we were psyched when we spotted Soapwalla’s segment in the Times. Even more so when we headed over to the brand’s website and saw that our very own health and beauty guru, Calgary Avansino of Vogue UK, co-signs the stuff: “…this little blue pot of magic found its way into my cupboard and my quest was over! Soapwalla’s deodorant is unlike anything I’ve tried before.”

Still dubious about the whole frosting-and-finger-application situation? No sweat. (ha!) From the all-natural to the super-strength, including roll-ons, solids, gels, and even more creams, we’ve sought out the most effective and refreshing deodorants and antiperspirants for women. Check them out in the slideshow above, and let us know your signature scent in the comments below.