Walk past any aisle in the supermarket, and you will find row upon row of deodorants and anti-perspirants. When I was living in London, there was not much choice—bottom line is, Filipinos like to smell good and are conscious of their body odor. Even if they don’t have any, most will take the precaution and use any anti-perspirant.

The topic of personal hygiene, particularly in relation to smell and sweating, is a touchy one—and rightly so, as no one can smell his/her own body odor.

Every person has an odor—not good, not bad, just a scent that is totally hers/his. As hormones and body chemistry change, so do the scents in your body.

I can’t stand the deodorant smell where “blossom fresh” smells like a bouquet of rotting roses. So I tried another with baking soda, but then I started smelling like a man.

Men’s sports deodorants also smell like, well, deodorants—the musky scent that’s known to be a man’s. There is also the smell of deodorant on clothes after a long day. No one will admit it, but you know what that smell of synthetic fiber and deodorant is like.

On one of my trips to the supermarket, I saw a bottle of Rexona Clinical Protection and thought I’d try it out. On the way home, I realized that perhaps something this strong would also result in a strong bouquet scent which I hate.

Rexona’s “Won’t let you down” slogan has been around for as long as I can remember. The box of the Clinical Protection line looks different from the usual silver, blue and black ones that look intimidating. In it is a cream-like substance.

I admit I was a bit wary because I had a bad experience with another brand that had a similar formulation—very sticky and slimy. I went and tried it anyway. I was expecting an explosion of a smell, but was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t sticky, and you had to sniff real hard to get a faint scent—I got the shower fresh. Other shower fresh deodorants usually smell like a vat of baby powder. Not so with Rexona Clinical Protection, where the shower fresh scent really does smell like the light scent of soap.

Sweating buckets

Everybody also sweats, or as I like to call it, “glow.” Some people actually do sweat—they sweat buckets, in fact. Perhaps the most awful thing is to see a man with sweat stains under his arms when he is wearing a nice shirt. That’s what antiperspirant-deodorants do; they try to combat the two main problems that go hand in hand, sweat and smell. Most of the time, however, the product you get is an overpowering semiplastic substance that seals your pores.

With deodorants, the smell of nothing means that it’s doing its job. I also noticed no wetness or stickiness that makes you feel gross at the end of the day. Its 48-hour protection means that if you had no time to shower in two days, you would still stay dry and feel fresh.

Rexona’s TRIsolid formula adapts to the body to form a deep level of protection and control sweating. The best part about this deodorant is that it does not streak on clothing.

Rexona Clinical Protection isn’t just for the sweaty Bettys; it’s good for anyone who has a lot on her hands. Everyone from a full-time mother—one of the hardest jobs ever—to a triathlete can benefit from the confidence Rexona Clinical Protection gives them.

On most days, I have a day-to-night schedule, when I usually try to stop by the house quickly to change out of the clothes that have been perspired in. I’ve finally succeeded in finding a deodorant-antiperspirant that can take me from day to night without me smelling like the earth.

Feeling fresh and clean is a big part of making it through a day.