By stufflovely
Whether in spray, cream, or stick formula, deodorants serve a basic purpose: To mask body odor, and in the case of antiperspirants, also keep our skin from feeling sweaty for an extended period of time. Dove Advanced Care Cool Essentials Antiperspirant does both — and costs less than a matcha latte, might we add.
Like virtually all antiperspirants on the market, it works by using aluminum zirconium as the active ingredient. In other words, it works by essentially plugging up your sweat glands to keep the surface of your skin dry to the touch. However, an effective formula doesn’t mean that it can’t simultaneously take sweet care of your underarm. Like many Dove products, it contains the brand’s proprietary NutriumMoisture complex, plus a one-fourth concentration of moisturizing ingredients to soothe skin that gets irritated from shaving and other types of hair removal. (Mine are lasered, so this is less of an issue, but I can still get behind the concept of armpit skin care.)
Nothing gets me sweatier than a Peloton spin class, so naturally, I figured that there would be no better way to put the Advanced Care Cool Essentials Antiperspirant to the test than to hop on a bike and ride it out to the best pop songs of the ’00s and ’10s. After half an hour — I barely exaggerate when I say this — every inch of my skin is moderately drenched, and not in a modelesque, Nike commercial way.
Dove claims that this stuff should keep me dry for an impressive 48 hours (not sure where showering fits into that, but I digress). The solid stick glided right on like butter with pretty much no white residue, and sure enough, felt great on my skin. It did transfer a bit to a bodycon black dress I wore later that day, but I doubt any deodorant could stand up to that challenge and totally succeed. The Cucumber & Green Tea scent added an extra boost of freshness, and as my boyfriend hilariously pointed out, reminded him of his high school girlfriend. Nostalgic fragrances are powerful stuff, folks.
I was definitely moist by the end of my spin session, but less than when I usually go in with my aluminum-free deos. (Truthfully, I would’ve been shocked if the stuff had successfully wicked away every drop of pit sweat as I pedaled it out to “Black Magic” by Little Mix.) When I tested it on an average day of running errands and taking meetings, I felt pretty dry and fresh by the time I took my nighttime shower. At just under $5, it’s one of the more affordable deodorants I’ve come across and is readily available at just about drugstore. We stan an accessible personal-care product.