I know it’s just deodorant, but this is one of the best purchases I’ve made in a long time. I got a $10 bar in Florida because, well, I’ve never been to an in real life Lush before. And I needed new deodorant.

I’m from New York and Florida is really much too hot for my tastes. But even when I was running around the beach all day, or playing epic hour long games of mini golf in the noon sun, I didn’t smell bad or even sweat that much. (Despite the fact that it’s not supposed to keep you from sweating.) It was really the perfect testing grounds for this product, and it passed for sure.

It smells amazing. It’s good for you (via not putting aluminum in your pits.) My bar is still going strong after six months, but once it runs out, I’m totally buying another one.

Weird. This appears to work.

It’s an all-natural deodorant made out of, basically, baking soda, kaolin and patchouli. It looks like a rough bar of soap, and you warm it in your hand before rubbing it on your armpits, where it leaves a creamy residue, which is nicer than it sounds. I just have a small chunk as a free tester, and it’s a bit tricky to apply because of its size, but I would imagine the larger chunks sold in the shops would be much more comfortable in the hand. Incidentally, I’ve been using the free tester for well over a fortnight now and it’s barely got any smaller at all, so I’d imagine the large chunks would last months and months, making them really good value.

I really like the fact that it’s all natural and doesn’t block my pores up, and given the scare stories about the aluminium in antiperspirants potentially causing breast cancer, I feel good about avoiding them. Plus there is no packaging apart from a slip of paper, which is good news for the environment. Handy for travelling too – I’m off to Dublin soon and I’m just going to chop off a chunk and slip it into a small tupperware container or a baggie.

As this is just a deodorant, it doesn’t stop you sweating, and I was warned by the lovely pink-haired Jen in Newcastle Lush that after years of antiperspirant blocking my pores it might be like opening the sluice gates of my pits. But as yet it hasn’t really been a problem, and it’s been pretty warm lately. Having looked into it further, it appears that it contains witch hazel, which is an astringent and may contribute to a tightening of pores which, in theory, could lessen sweating. Anyway, I haven’t been paranoid about being stinky, and I’m pretty sure I haven’t been stinky, so it’s a winner with me. When the little freebie runs out, I’ll be investing in a full size lump.