Deodorant for Women

Mitchum ‘nose’ best in female deodorant review

Deodorant probably isn’t the most glamourous item in your bathroom or handbag, but we all know it’s a necessity to help you stay fresh throughout the day. No one enjoys bad BO, especially after a workout or a stressful day at work. But what’s even worse is getting that little black dress stained by deodorant – it’s a lose-lose situation sometimes. With this in mind, there’s certainly a wide range of brands available, so if your current deodorant is letting you down at the most crucial times, we’re here to help!

Canstar Blue has surveyed more than 1,000 women to find out which brands keep us gals happy and provide long lasting effectiveness – from the office, to date night. Brands were put to the test on a range of critical factors, including effectiveness, smell, value for money, packaging and overall customer satisfaction.

Seven brands received the minimum sample size to be included in our ratings, but only one achieved five stars overall – Mitchum. Replacing last year’s winner Mum, Mitchum also achieved five stars for effectiveness and four stars for smell, packaging and value for money.

Best-Rated Women’s Deodorants

The seven brands in our women’s deodorant review have been rated in the following order for overall customer satisfaction:

• 1^st Mitchum
• 2^nd Mum
• 3^rd Lynx
• 4^th Dove
• 5^th Rexona
• 6^th Nivea
• 7^th Norsca

Mitchum was rated number one for overall satisfaction and effectiveness. Mum and Lynx followed up closely behind with four stars, while the rest of the brands scored three stars overall. Other results of note included Mum receiving five stars for effectiveness, value for money and packaging, while Lynx rated five stars for smell and packaging.

Now, let’s jump into what each brand has to offer before looking at what Aussie women might want to consider when buying a deodorant.

Female Deodorant Brands

Mitchum

Throughout Mitchum’s 50+ year history, its main goal has been effectiveness, the company says. Mitchum Clinical is available in a variety of fragrances for both women and men, stated to be a 2-in-1 antiperspirant deodorant with 48-hour protection. It’s claimed to be dermatologist tested and contain aloe and vitamin E to help soothe and condition. The range includes roll-on (50ml), stick (45g), powder (45g) and gel (57g) options.

• Mitchum achieved the only five-star rating for overall satisfaction, and backed up some of its claims with another five stars for effectiveness. The brand also received a respectable four stars on smell, packaging and value for money.

Mum

The brand Mum was born way back in 1888 and has been rolling its way through the years on a global scale. It offers roll-on (50ml) and spray options (100g), which are all claimed to be 2-in-1 antiperspirant deodorants, plus alcohol free. Fragrances include ‘Cool Pink’ and ‘Dry Active’, stated to be light and delicate to not clash with perfume. While Mum does have fragrances for men as well as unisex deodorants, these aren’t sold in Australia.

• Mum achieved a four-star rating for overall satisfaction and smell, but notably scored five stars on effectiveness, value for money and packaging.

Lynx

Lynx Anarchy For Her is the first and only body spray fragrance for women from Lynx. Available in a 155ml spray, the fragrance is described as having top fruity notes of pomegranate, apple, blueberry and kumquat. This is followed by middle notes like violet and cedar leaf, as well as undertones of tobacco wood, sandalwood, white amber and coumarin. The compact size is said to be for carrying on the go, although the deodorant can apparently last all day long.

• Lynx achieved a four-star rating for overall satisfaction, with five stars on smell and packaging. However, it got three stars for effectiveness and value for money.

Dove

A brand owned by Unilever, Dove says it’s committed to helping Aussie women realise their personal beauty. Dove offers roll-on (50ml), stick (45ml) and spray (169ml and 250ml) deodorants. According to Dove, there’s a product to suit every situation, such as ‘Clinical Protection’, said to deliver up to 48 hours of protection and ‘Invisible Dry’, claimed to leave no white marks on more than 100 colours. Dove’s antiperspirant deodorants are also created with one-quarter moisturising cream.

• In this year’s review. Dove got a three-star rating for overall satisfaction but four stars in all other categories.

Rexona

Another brand owned by Unilever, Rexona provides deodorants for both women and men. Its options include roll-on (50ml), stick (42ml) and spray (180ml & 250ml). Rexona offers its invisible Black+White range to protect clothing from stains, while its ‘MotionSense’ technology is said to help with excessive sweating. Fragrances range from ‘Shower Fresh’ and ‘Cotton Fresh’ to light, floral notes. It also features a hypo-allergenic formula with a low scent.

• Rexona scored three stars for overall satisfaction, plus three stars for smell and value for money. However, it earned a respectable four stars for effectiveness and packaging.

Nivea

German personal care brand Nivea features a wide range of deodorants – for males and females. Its women’s line-up includes roll-on (50ml) and spray (150ml & 250ml) options. It features a number of different formulas from ‘Pearl & Beauty’, stated to feature pearl extracts to support an even skin tone, to ‘Pure Invisible’, which is claimed to protect against white marks on clothes and underarm skin. Nivea also offers its ‘Sensitive Protect’ roll-on deodorant, specifically developed with chamomile extract and avocado oil for sensitive skin, according to Nivea.

• Nivea got three stars for overall satisfaction and smell, as well as four stars on effectiveness, packaging and value for money.

Norsca

Available in a range of fragrances for men and women, Norsca antiperspirant deodorants are aimed to combine cool, fresh, exotic and soothing scents to “awaken your senses”. While it does provide roll-on options, its Norsca For Women range only features three sprays – Clear Passion flower, sport, and baby powder (150g). Its sport variant is designed for 48-hour protection with no added alcohol or colourants, according to the brand.

• Rounding out this year’s review, Norsca received three stars for overall satisfaction and all other factors, except effectiveness for which it rated four stars.

What to consider when buying deodorant?

Aside from revealing the best-rated deodorant brands for women, our research identified the following drivers of customer satisfaction:

• Effectiveness: 46%
• Value for money: 22%
• Smell of product: 21%
• Packaging: 11%

Effectiveness is evidently the biggest factor when buying deodorant, and it makes sense – why bother with deodorant if it doesn’t do the job? Value for money was the second most important factor and as deodorant is typically a product that’s used daily, you wouldn’t want to be paying too much.

The survey also found that two in five women (39%) always buy the same brand of deodorant, while 9% buy the cheapest brand, which might suggest that there are many shoppers out there who are willing to spend more on a deodorant that works well for them.

Here’s what else our survey revealed:

Types of female deodorant

Deodorants come in all shapes and sizes. The main types you’ll find on supermarket and pharmacy shelves include:

• Roll-on
• Spray/aerosol
• Stick
• Crystal
• Powder

According to our survey, 49% of respondents purchase spray deodorant, while roll-on came in second with 41%, followed by stick deodorant on 7%. It typically comes down to preference as to which type you buy. It’s important to note that our ratings include feedback on all of these deodorant types.

Deodorants vs antiperspirants

A handful of respondents to our survey (12%) indicated they didn’t know there was a difference between deodorants and antiperspirants, which means some people might be buying the wrong product for their needs. While many brands boast 2-in-1 combinations, deodorants and antiperspirants target two separate problems.

It’s a common misconception to think that sweat smells. In actual fact, sweat itself is essentially odourless – it’s the natural bacteria on our skin reacting with sweat that releases the smell we call body odour. So, the primary goal of deodorant is to mask the smell of excessive bacteria, while antiperspirants aim to prevent sweating.

The bottom line on women’s deodorants

So, there you have it – Mitchum has been rated the number one brand of women’s deodorant, so you might like to add it to your shopping basket on your next trip to the supermarket, as the only brand to receive a five-star rating for overall satisfaction.

While deodorant isn’t the most exciting purchase you’ll ever make, you still deserve to get great quality and value for money. There are plenty of brands out there, so if your current deodorant is leaving you in a sweat, it’s good to try something else. On that note, we hope our ratings provide a helping hand.

About the author of this page

This report was written by Canstar Blue’s home & lifestyle journalist, Tahnee-Jae Lopez-Vito. She’s an expert on household appliances, grooming products and all things grocery and shopping. In addition to translating our expert research into consumer-friendly ratings reports, Tahnee spends her time helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services, while highlighting the best deals and anything you need to be aware of.

Online Grocery Shopping Reviews

Picture credits: Africa Studio/shutterstock.com, Sergey Ryzhov/shutterstock.com