How to match perfume and deodorant
Written by GlenN lauritz andersson & denis vasilije, fragrance experts
Do you have a favorite deo and are looking for a perfume that complements or matches its scent? Or maybe the other way around? Here are some tips to keep you dry and fresh this summer without your perfume clashing with your deodorant or antiperspirant.
There are basically two ways to approach it: either you choose a perfume that complements your deodorant (if it’s rich, dark, and woody, you might want to lighten it up with a fresh scent), or find one that matches your deodorant as closely as possible.
Another option is to choose the deodorants launched by perfume brands, giving you a ready-made solution with deo and matching perfume, but here we opt for the more creative route with unique deodorants for the niche fragrance lover, which means you'll have to experiment a bit more.
benjamin barbers antiperspirants
Benjamin Barber's popular roll-on antiperspirants come in three scents – Saffron & Leather, Black Oak, and Oud.
Saffron & Leather is the freshest of the three, despite the name, with a slight hint of leather, tobacco, and vanilla, and with a fresh top note. Here, you could highlight the fresh aspect of the deo by pairing it with a marine scent like Fleuve Tendre from Liquides Imaginaires, or if you want to find the closest match and reinforce the character of Saffron & Leather, we recommend 1899 from Histoires de Parfums.
Black Oak is spicy and woody with notes of cedarwood, tobacco, and creamy sandalwood. Here, you can choose to enhance the sweetness of the sandalwood and tone down the spiciness with the help of Floris' classic Santal or go the opposite direction and go all-in on woodiness with something like Nasomatto's Pardon, which works well as an all-round scent, especially in summer.
The oriental-inspired Oud is the heaviest of the scents with a spicy oud character, tobacco, and sweet dates. Here, you can choose to lighten up with soft, creamy oriental saffron like in Widian's Gold II Sahara or amplify both the sweetness and the spices in the deo with the fruity and smokier Liwa from the same brand.
floïd deodorant vetyver splash
The classic Spanish brand Floïd has taken many by storm with its fresh, discreet scents and well-absorbing deodorants with magnesium salts from the Dead Sea.
Particularly popular is their Vetyver Splash deo stick, with a fresh green scent of vetiver, bergamot, olibanum, and woody accords. Vetiver is a grass that, in its fresher form, can provide effective freshness, while the root can give an earthy, almost smoky impression.
Here, you can choose to complement the vetiver note with citrus and fruit as in Venti4 Profumums Splendido or accentuate and highlight the smoky and woody from the root with Roja Vetiver Pour Homme Parfum Cologne or – for an even smokier, drier result – Spectre 590 - 899 A Wash of Chilled Vetiver from Danish Alûstre.
citrus notes
If you’re one of those who loves citrus in your deodorants, it’s actually super easy because there is not just an abundance of citrus perfumes to explore, where you can choose to highlight a particular citrus note like lemon, verbena, or grapefruit, or why not add some creamy sweetness to the deo with a citrus perfume that has hints of vanilla. Many citrus scents also come as a perfume with a matching deo in the same scent as with Acqua di Parma, L'Occitane, and others, if you’re aiming for a completely uniform fragrance package. Feel free to experiment.
