I can’t recall how the topic came up.

We were in our yearly editorial retreat when the topic turned to deodorant. I pray it wasn’t my work colleagues try to send me a hint. But Anicka, our Editorial Director asked if I’d ever tried Native and I confessed not only had I not tried it, I hadn’t heard of it. I used Tom’s of Maine, I replied to the scoffing of what seemed like the entire room. Nathan, our resident cool just-turned-30-editor-who combs-his-hair-once-a-week-whether-it-needs-it-or-not, also piped in with an ode to his love of Native.

As we moved on to planning our editorial calendar, my mind was stuck on how to best serve my armpits. While people debated whether we need more traditional or contemporary homes, I flipped opened my laptop and navigated to the Native site. When someone asked my thoughts on what new restaurants to feature, I replied…

“Guys, Native deodorant is $12 a pop. American.”

I mean, who were these moneybags I had been working with for a decade? 

“Just trust us,” was Anicka’s reply. The “you cheap screw,” was implied. So was the “and maybe can we get your full attention as we plan the editorial calendar.”

So I did it. I ordered three tubes, in three scents and because I was new and ordered in bulk the total was $24 USD (or $32.60 CDN). Not exactly Rockefeller territory, but not cheap either. And then I forgot about it. The shipping was free, which was good because it took a while for it to arrive from the US. But when it did, wow.

I’m not going to tell you it changed my life, because unless you have hyperhidrosis I don’t think any deodorant is going to change your life. But, it’s pretty awesome. For starters it’s really natural, with no parabens and no aluminum at all (something the peanut gallery claims isn’t the case with my Tom’s, which uses aluminum salts) and the rest of the natural ingredient are set out in laypersons terms. But above that it doesn’t feel like a natural deodorant – ie wimpy. It actually go on like some nice anti-perspirant without the globbing. I’ve tried Cucumber Mint, Eucalyptus Mint and Herbal Musk Citrus and they all smell swell.

Anicka claims each tube lasts longer than your average drugstore brand, but for me it’s only been slightly more. And I’ll be honest: I was down in the US over Christmas and I was sorta bummed to see it on the shelves at Target and Walmart. Why, I’m not sure. But when you see it mixed in with all the others, that $12 price tag really stands out.

But other than that, it’s pretty much all awesome. The only downside is that I assume I’ll now be paying triple for deodorant for the rest of my life, which I’m sure an actuary could have a field day with in terms of cost over a lifetime (no doubt I could buy a Porsche and be further ahead). But I’m okay with it€”how do you put a price on a lifetime of smelling really nice?

Neal McLennan

Neal McLennan