The 11 Best Smelling Deodorants For Men

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Deodorant is one of those grooming items that needs to pull double duty. The best deodorants serve two functions: they keep your pits from smelling bad (and in some cases sweating as much) and it also needs to smell good. We’re not talking smell good enough to cover up the scent of your natural musk. The very best deodorants smell great—like great enough that you’d want to wear the fragrance on its own, even if you weren’t expecting it to do anything else. We like to approach deodorant as an extension of your cologne—it should smell just as good as the fragrance you spray at the end of you grooming routine.

We also have to note here that deodorant’s job is not to completely stop sweat. Antiperspirants are different because they must contain aluminum in order to block the sweat glands under your arms. Deodorants, while many contain sweat controlling ingredients like baking soda or tapioca starch, will not actually stop you from sweating, but they will stop you from stinking. These best smelling deodorants do just that and then some. The fragrances on this list rival your cologne collection—exactly the way a deodorant should.

ND1 High Performance Natural Deodorant

This may be a high price tag for a deodorant, but consider this: the scent is so good it could rival even your fanciest cologne. Not only does it help control odor without aluminum and addresses the sweat issue with ingredients like Amazonian clay and tapioca starch, but the elevated scent will have you sniffing your pits all day (but not, like, in a weird way). Reserve it for special occasions or hot dates.

Deodorant

This roll-on deodorant feels nice and smooth on your skin (it’s the glycerin in the formula) and rolls on clear, which is always welcome. As for the scent, it’s what you’d expect from a brand like Le Labo: fresh, citrusy with a touch of clean lavender and anchored with tonka bean. Think of it as the perfect fresh, springy cologne, but for your pits.

Aluminum Free Deodorant Spray

We love a spray deodorant simply for the ease of use and this aluminum-free version is no different. It provides excellent coverage and no weird residue to stain your clothes. The eucalyptus scent is fresh and woody, but smells more natural and elevated than your typical drugstore “fresh” scents.

Natural Deodorant

Coconut oil and shea butter give this deodorant its smooth texture and tapioca starch helps soak up wetness, but the real draw here is the scent. If you’re a vanilla guy, this one is sweet and rich, but not overpowering. In fact, for a coconut and vanilla scent it’s surprisingly lightweight and subtle.

Deodorant

This sensitive-skin friendly aluminum-free deodorant gets the job done, but really the draw is the scent. The elevated citrus-forward fresh scent, that also includes notes of eucalyptus, mint and juniper, smells what you’d expect from deodorants double the price. It smells too good to use every day—but use it every day.

Aluminum-Free Natural Deodorant

This high-performance deodorant works overtime to control odor and sweat (thanks to absorbent cassava powder) even during the most strenuous workouts. Swipe it on before and after you train to enjoy the smooth woody sandalwood and sweet fig fragrance that, dare we say, smells pretty elegant for a deodorant.

Eucalyptus Deodorant

This deodorant is so beloved around the Esquire offices that you could basically use it as currency. It smooths on clear and keeps you well-scented all day long with the fresh, herbal spa-like scent of eucalyptus. It’s the deodorant that we reach for over and over because it just smells that freaking good.

Aluminum Free Deodorant

Not only is this baking soda-free deodorant suitable for sensitive skin, but the smokey, woody scent of tobacco, leather, and cedarwood is almost a literal interpretation of “out west”—in a very good way. You’ll wonder why they haven’t bottled it and sold it as a cologne (seriously, why haven’t they) and then you’ll be impressed by how well this stuff actually works.

Natural Deodorant

What makes this deodorant extra strength? It offers 24 hour odor protection, which is honestly pretty rare for a natural deodorant, but there’s also a generous helping of fragrance that goes on strong, but doesn’t overpower. The rich scent of santal (aka sandalwood), vetiver and amber smells like your fanciest fragrance and helps mask odor for hours… and hours.

Herbal Deodorant Roll-On

This alcohol and aluminum-free deodorant also comes in a spray, but we’re partial to the roll-on because it provides just a bit more coverage. Plus, it gives you more of the fragrance to enjoy, which is fresh and herbal with a slight resinous undertone that smells natural and green.

Sauvage Deodorant Stick

It’s the earthy, spicy Sauvage you know and love, but in a deodorant. Need we say more? Swipe this on when you don’t want to use your spray or as a starting point to a layering extravaganza. The good thing is that it’s subtle enough that if you do add your spray on top, you won’t be overpowering like a department store fragrance counter and by itself it’s surprisingly subtle.

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