I was recently sent the full lineup of the magnesium-enriched deodorants from Crystal. And since I have a new interest in learning more about making videos, I made a short video that I posted on both TikTok and YouTube to introduce the scents.

I am usually an antiperspirant user. I live in Las Vegas and you may have heard that it gets hot here. (It’s not hot right now. If you’re one of those people who think it’s always hot, you’re probably one of those people walking around The Strip on winter nights dramatically underdressed and shivering while visiting my city. Please come back and visit as soon as you feel comfortable traveling!) Due to the heat, I don’t want to be dripping sweat, and while you can’t control it coming out of your face, or your back or on the backs of your knees or wherever, especially while running, there is antiperspirant for your pits. And using it reduces the amount of wetness so you don’t end up with wet circles on your shirt’s armpits.

I also come from a family with a lot of breast cancer history and I’ve heard all sorts of stories about how terrible antiperspirant is for you. But for every story like that, there are articles to counter it. So I don’t have really big passionate feelings about using only natural deodorants to avoid cancer. I figure cancer will take up residence in my body at some point in life.

That said… I also don’t have a problem with the natural deodorants existing on this earth. They are gaining in popularity all the time these days. Even this brand, Crystal, used to be viewed as some strange hippie deodorant where you rub your magic rock on your pits, right? Am I the only one who’s seen that portrayal?

So I’ll break down some deets about this new product and you can choose your own path on your armpit journey, alright?

The good things:

• No baking soda (cause that irritates people?)
• No parabens
• Not tested on animals, cruelty-free
• Dermatologist tested
• Hypoallergenic
• Essential oils
• The scents!

I thought all of these smelled delightful, each one with a different profile.

• Sweetness in the Vanilla Coconut
• Soothing in the Lavender Rosemary
• Masculine in the Charcoal & Tea Tree
• Clean/Fresh in the Cucumber & Mint
• Subtle in the Sea Salt & Sage

I really did like the scent of all of these, even the most “masculine” one wasn’t overly so and it’s not that I would hesitate from the smell. It’s not Axe Body Spray or whatever.

The negative things:

• It doesn’t smooth on as easy as other products. The first swipe is a little stiff, but it seems to smooth on better as it warms up.
• It claims 24 hours protection, but I didn’t feel that. I felt stinky after a little while each time I wore this. And this is at a time when it’s been cooler out and I don’t sweat as much.
• Little bumps in my armpits showed up after I worse this. I know it says it’s hypoallergenic and I don’t know if it was a rash since it didn’t hurt or itch, it was just weird little bumps.

I don’t want to feel like the “stinky kid” and that was challenging with this. Maybe someone who is acclimated to only wearing natural deodorants would have a better time with this. I truly would like to wear these scents, but not if I’m going to smell bad.

But if you’re already acclimated to a natural deodorant or are willing to put in the time to adjust over weeks and weeks of stink, give these a try.