the pits

 

what the heck 

Of all the things I’d have to adapt to in a foreign country I never imagined it would come to weird deodorant. In the U.S. we believe in stick deodorant. Every deodorant up and down the aisle at the grocery store is in the same form. Target has almost two whole aisles of deodorants--all sticks. It’s simple: you wipe it on, and you never think twice about what other forms deodorant could or should take. Once I saw an elderly woman buying a little green roll-on contraption labeled Ban. She was obviously from the dark and distant past when stick deodorant hadn’t been invented and being elderly, naturally feared modern technology. She probably still owned a black and white television console with dials instead of a channel changer.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived at Boots drugstore in Ireland and the aisle was filled with deodorants of all shapes and sizes…but not a single stick. I’ve tried to vary my deodorant habits in the past. I made the switch to Arm & Hammer aluminum-free deodorant about two years ago after using Secret for years. Except for the most intense of summer days it does the job. Once I even tried Tom’s Natural Deodorant and smelled bad for a whole week just to make a serious attempt. Never have I had to use a deodorant other than the standard stick.

My first instinct at Boots was to buy a little roll-on applicator only because it was the familiar Dove label and they had a citrus scent I liked. For some reason the idea of rolling a wet substance onto my armpit seemed creepy so roll-on was out of the question. I stood there dumbfounded in the aisle and as I stood, I noticed every woman reaching for tall hairspray-bottle deodorants with the utmost confidence. In the interest of experiencing all things authentic about Irish culture, I too chose a tall spray deodorant can. Today is my first day spraying my deodorant on and at 6:23pm I am happy to report success. Does anybody know how long one bottle of spray-on deodorant lasts?