Nobody knows but your purse.
That would be my tagline, if I were smart enough to market and sell this homemade carry-along freshener (for your underarm regions).
If I were a multinational corporation hellbent on ruling the world, I WOULD market this stuff and sell it and make a kajillion by making you believe you couldn’t do anything like this all by yourself in your very own home.
It would have a fancy label. And it would be packaged in a fancy box. And the price tag would be $729illion dollars. Someone would buy it.
(I have a friend who always says, “If you have a bag of rocks, someone, somewhere in the world, wants to buy it for whatever price your asking.)
Anyway. Digressing.
After yesterday’s hoopla about a new homemade deodorant recipe, it became clear that now was the time to post this handy little secret weapon.
Some people still use store-bought, some of you use natural store-bought, some of you crunch your own, and others of you are, like, the crunchiest people I’ve never been in a room with, because you don’t use deodorant at all.
Regardless of your deodorizing methods, many of you were looking for little “pick-me-ups” when things went astray and whatever underarm protection started to … fail a bit. This is also a great insurance policy for those of you who are afraid to try homemade deodorant, and want something to use just in case while you’re out.
I’d actually had this extremely easy secret tip ready to go up in yesterday’s blog, but when I reach 1200 words, I make myself stop.
So, without further ado (and keeping this puppy under 800 words):
Your Secret Weapon: Carry-Along Freshener (Nobody Knows But Your Purse)
So. What if? What if you’re in the middle of dinner, after walking around town all day, and you lean over to hide your extra dinner roll in your jacket pocket and find yourself a little … fragrant? What do you do?
Excuse yourself and cry in the bathroom until everyone leaves?
No.
Order a vodka and tonic. (Stick with me here. Don’t start drinking yet, ya lush.)
Surreptitiously dip your napkin in it, hold the napkin out of eyesight, and take a trip to the powder room. Do. Not. Cry.
Just rub the napkin under your armpit a few times. The alcohol will dry up any wetness, and it will also get rid of the odor. Immediately. (The odor won’t stay GONE forever, but it will buy you some time.)
If that option sounds a little too weird, here’s a better one:
Carry a Vodka Freshener secretly in your purse.
Note: At any point from now on, when I say vodka, you can substitute witch hazel if you’d prefer.
How to Make a Purse-Sized Freshener
- Find a small bottle.
- Find vodka.
- Find purified or distilled water.
- Pick a good antibacterial, fresh-smelling essential oil (lavender, tea tree, lemon, pink grapefruit, bergamot, peppermint).
- Place equal parts vodka and water in the small bottle. Drop in 10-20 drops of your essential oil (keep it on the LOW side if you’re using peppermint).
- Shake well.
- Carry secretly in your purse with a few cotton balls, a reusable strip of cotton cloth, or nothing at all (that’s what an extra square of toilet paper is for).
Please repeat after me: I hereby solemnly swear that I will not drink from this bottle, no matter how dire the situation or how loud my kids are yelling.
Once you put the essential oil in there, it is undrinkable, do you hear?
Please note, as well, that if you use this excessively, it may dry out your skin pretty handily. And not in a good way. Occasionally, though, it’s a great fix. It’ll even help those of you with hyperhidrosis (i.e. excessive sweating). Not forever. But for a little while.
And how to use it?
Just pull out your little cotton pad, or swipe that extra square of toilet paper, and dribble a little bit of your secret freshener on it, and then wipe your underarms lightly.
Nobody knows but your purse.
I’m Done Talking About Armpits
Done for quite some time, anyway.
What do you think of this handy little tip? Some people use this as their ONLY deodorant even.
Not a Secret Homemade Deodorant
a lot of unnecessary verbiage for a simple recipe
I use vodka. Many people know I don’t drink, and they ask why I’m buying vodka. Sometimes people I don’t know comment on my purchase (“Ready for Saturday night I see, ha ha”). I tell them it’s for external application because it’s not good to put rubbing alcohol on your body. I don’t find it embarrassing to say that! As for something to carry in the car or purse, a bit of essential oil disguises the alky smell (I like ylang-ylang and/or palmarosa). Police are unlikely to think you’re drinking perfume-flavored vodka from a spray bottle. And even do, just say I can explain, ossifer. . . .
Definitely going to try this. Thanks for sharing
I am going to be making your “not so secret” mix soon. The commercial stuff I’ve been using for years is discontinued (I wondered why it was so cheap that time) and I need something to kill the unladylike man-funk I can exude. Tom’s of Maine and the crystals do NOT work for me, so I’m hoping the vodka and your homemade can do it. My BF is pushing for the vodka (since I do fruit liqueurs, I have a lot of 160 proof vodka on hand) spritz. I should have thought of that sooner, spritzing my bellydance costumes after a performance is a given. I’ll probably add lavender and tea tree since i have them on hand as ingredients in a burn ointment I make. Fingers crossed….
Oh, and I LOVE your site. BF found your “not a secret” and sent me the link (as a hint I think <3 )
HI Betty,
Love your site and ideas. I have been using homemade deodorant for almost a year now and for me there is no going back. I use a recipe I found on thehippyhomemaker.com site which I LOVE and I also carry a spray in my purse, when I need a pick me up. It is made up of EO’s and witch hazel. I am so sorry I did not know about these things sooner. I would have saved soooo much money and they really work!
Keep the ideas coming! I love your site.!
I made a perfume using similiar ingredients. The recipe called for witchhazel and vodka but I find that after I use it I feel slightly damp as I am thinking the witchazel is the culprit. I will have to try using it on my armpits and see what happens or maybe next time add more vodka and less witchazel?
I use some alcohol and essential oils in a little travel spray bottle, goes anywhere I need and easy easy to apply!
Great idea– and it doubles as a bug repellant and hand sanitizer, depending on the essential oils you use. I make my own bug spray and use a blend of vodka & witch hazel, ditto for hand sanitizer but adding a little rubbing alcohol. I like using blends of eo– but the most effective for keeping away critters AND being antibacterial are lemongrass, lemon eucalyptus, lavender, sage, oregano, and patchouli. Sometimes I add frankincense and lemon. I’ve also used it, as you note here, as a little pick me up on those uber stressful days. I think this recipe is awesome, but if you want to have a kill 3 birds with one stone in your purse, find a blend of essential oils that do double and triple duty. Also note, the patchouli isn’t there for scent. It’s the only thing that I have found that repels biting flies.
Is it weird that i read this post in a whisper?
I was looking for something to try while gathering ingredients and infusing the oil to make my own soothing deodorant. This should be perfect! I hate my commercial stuff, all the bad stuff in it and it doesn’t even work that well! Thank You!
I’m still laughing about making soup in the toilet.
I am going to make this and put it in my gym bag.
so, I wondering now, if Vodka can be used for witch hazel in my bath bombes? I think a trial is in the cards. I love this site and am looking for a really small spritzer for this concoction!
Hello, I want to try this but I’ve had no luck finding Witchhazel, and being 5mths prego am a little hesitant to walk into a bottle shop and buy vodka – Which is worse – a prego lady buying vodka, or me trying to explain that I need it to make deodorant…. haha. But I did find some rubbing alcohol – Isopropyl Alcohol at a pharmacy, it dosn’t appear to have any other ingredients in it. I’m sure I could get witchhazel from an online store but I’m impatient 🙂
Oops, so my question is, can I use the Isopropyl Alcohol instead?
You can use Isopropyl Alcohol, but I read somewhere that it can be toxic over time…I don’t have the source anymore so do your own research to make sure! Just to try it and see if you like it should be ok.
don’t, it smells terrible. my advise is to get a friend to buy your vodka. I’m not even allowed to since I am under drinking age, so my dad got it for me. you can also use it in hairspray and body spray and in a spray bottle for that grungy formal dress that has lurked in the closet forever. or shoes. (yuck)this really works. it was discovered by Russian ballet dancers with REALLY yucky tutus. (trust me, the fifth hand ones are not too fresh. all this to say it is worth it.
I can just see me sitting at the bar and dipping and dabbing my pits oh so discretely with a cocktail napkin… (it’s really crowded and I wouldn’t want to lose my seat, and anyway, did you see the line for the loo??)
Seriously though, this is brilliant. Because the only times you really notice that your deodorant has failed are when you are away from home and can’t do anything about it.
Now, if it could double as a breath-freshener, you’d really have something!
How ’bout I carry one for stinky pits and one for “drinking emergencies?” Everybody wins!!
I use lavender and do my linen spray sort of like this. Bet you could put it in a tiny spray bottle and use it for a car freshener/sheet spray/personal pit freshener! Brilliant once again!
LOL… I’ve actually made something VERY similar to this before but I think mine had too much vodka and I smelled like I just came home from the bar. I know vodka is not supposed to have a scent, but it does. I don’t care what people say. I even use the same brand you have shown. I’ll have to experiment with more distilled water.
In the spray deodorant recipe (I know, you mentioned no deodorant talk), the “alcohol” is listed as ethanol. I’m wondering if instead of using vodka you can try Everclear which has a higher alcohol percentage?
You can use everclear, and be sure NOT to drink it or be near a source of combustion – that stuff is highly flamable (I used to use it to make liqueurs and do extractions). Instead of everclear, I now use Devil’s Springs vodka. It’s a little less potent (only 160 proof), but about $10 cheaper.
You are brilliant (and funny as hell). Wait, hell isn’t really funny. Anyway, loved this.
Cant help wondering if this would work well with a small spray bottle and do away with the cotton balls and such ;>
I was thinking the same thing!
Well, there’s only 1 way to find out ;P- will post comment when I have tried it! I am likely to go with the witch hazel though.
I can’t, for the life of me, find a deodorant that works for me for more than 2 hours. I don’t even have to be doing anything that makes me sweat. By the time I drive myself to work in the air conditioned car and go on my first break, I start to be a little “fragrant”, as you say. I sit in a cubicle all day, so it’s not like I’m running around like a mad woman sweating. I began carrying a small spray bottle of liquid soap diluted with water and some clothes that I can wash and reuse, along with some baby wipes in a Ziploc sandwich baggie. I want to try this new method out and see how it works for me. I’ve been saying for months that I want to make homemade deodorant so maybe I’ll give it a whirl this weekend.
MIchele,
I used to smell so bad i could hardly stand myself. I thought it was never going to change and had given up. Started using Apple Cider Vinegar 2 months ago and it worked surprisingly well. A week ago I made a recipe similar to the one above but used Everclear (high proof alcohol). MUCH safer to use than rubbing alcohol and It works so well I can hardly believe it. I used a 2 oz glass spray bottle. I have one here and carry a bottle in my purse. I put a few essential oils in it (Vetiver, Lemon, Frankincense). It smells great and is totally effective. I want to shout it from the mountain tops and get everyone I know and love off of commercial DO/AP. I hope you try it.
Before I read this post I had some orange essential oil combined with a little macadamia oil in a small spray bottle for this very occasion (when my pits need some freshening up). But now I’m going to add vodka and try not to drink it. (readers: i put my orange essential oil in food and it hasn’t killed me yet…..)
I have the little spray bottle with grain alcohol and lemon EO, but I got to thinking a few weeks ago as I was driving to my cousin’s house with it in the cup holder (as I hadn’t applied it yet) how would I explain it to the police if I got stopped for whatever reason? I decided I would have to show them my DIY shower gel, toner, body oil made with olive oil and aloe vera, etc. and hope they would believe that I wasn’t drinking and driving! Just something to consider….
That would be a very interesting convo at the check out line.
Joe (who is 17, mind you, and I would like to slap upside the head half the time): “Oh, Vanessa, I thought you don’t drink? Are you finally joining the real word?”
Me: “Oh, I’m not going to DRINK it. I’m going to put it on my arms puts.”
Joe: “. . .”
Me: *smiles like a dork and skips away to the land of rainbows, butterflies, and nice-smelling arm pits*
Ah, the woes of working at a grocery store, and all of your coworkers knowing what you’re buying and wondering what you’re going to do with it. *shakes head*
~Ness