Deodorant Showdown (Sure vs. Sanex Men Dermo Active Control)

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ROLL UP, ROLL UP AND GET READY FOR THE BIG SHOWDOWN: SURE MEN ORIGINAL DRY vs. SANEX MEN DERMO ACTIVE CONTROL!

That's right, we have not one but two products designed FOR MEN. Deodorants have long been gendered - is there a teenage boy in the land that doesn't smell like a cocktail of hormonal body odour and Lynx spray? - and these both have the word "men" in their names. But which is most manly? The only way to know for sure is to compare the two and find out which gets the testosterone pumping!

To do this we will focus on the product descriptions, packaging and scents. I would test their effectiveness as antiperspirants, too, but I am a very sweaty man and I have not yet found anything that will stop me perspiring, so that would be a stinky hiding to nothing.

Sure Men Original Dry Roll-On Antiperspirant Deodorant 

Overview 

I was going to begin by describing this product, but the Sure website beat me to it:

It’s morning. Shower. Breakfast. Work. You know your routine – it just works. Your antiperspirant deodorant should, too. Wake up to 48 hours of protection against sweat and body odour with Sure Men Original Dry Roll-on Antiperspirant Deodorant. All with a classic, masculine scent.

This men’s antiperspirant deodorant is designed to respond directly to movement with MotionSense^TM technology. Microcapsules sit on your skin and burst as you move, delivering a boost of spiced, woody fragrance. The more you move, the more MotionSense^TM works to keep you fresh, releasing that original, masculine scent.

Take the stairs. Take the long route home. Move. You’re designed for it.

Sure. It won’t let you down.

Quite the blurb! Note that it is very manly: it has "a classic, masculine scent", mentions of technology and wood hint at well-known male obsessions such as gadgets and DIY.

We also have the promise of "48 hours of protection", with the two-day schedule perhaps appealing to male apathy.

Packaging

This deodorant comes in a small, silver plastic package. The silver sheen and tapered shape suggest machinery or a tool, which is very manly. Perhaps this is the kind of deodorant the Terminator would wear? Or maybe use as a weapon?

On top of that we have the red on the label, like the eyes of a Terminator, so we instantly know that it's not for girls. Except the image on the website makes it look pink. Which is a bit less Terminator-y.

Smell

We were promised a "spiced, woody fragrance", but neither "spiced" nor "woody" quite capture the chemical scent that this product actually delivers. The nearest equivalent I can think of is Playdough, which is significantly less manly than either spice or wood. 

Sanex Men Dermo Active Control

Overview 

The Sanex website is less forthcoming than the Sure one, but we are still given some details. The first of which is that this product is for "Normal skin". Sanex does not reveal what qualifies as normal skin, but perhaps this is something we are simply meant to know. Beyond that, we have the blurb:

Sanex Men Active Roll On Deodorant regulates the skin's natural condition. Stimulated by the natural perspiration process of your skin, the formula with active pH levels provides extra protection and freshness. Your skin will feel fresh and dry all day.

This seems strikingly less masculine than the Sure blurb. There are no mentions of masculinity or wood. It even uses the word "natural" twice in the first two sentences, which is a world away from technology! However, we should give the website some credit. If you click the "Gender" menu, the two options available are "Unisex" and "Men".

 

Sanex are so manly that they have erased women entirely!

Packaging

The main colours on display here are white (not especially manly), blue (quite manly) and red (manly). There is even a red line underlining the word "MEN" for bonus manliness. But the shape is more rounded, so it would be a less effective weapon.

 

If anything it has a "suppository" quality. And while a suppository is probably more manly than a pill, it is less manly than an injection.

On the back it matches Sure's promise of 48-hour protection, thus eliminating the need for unmanly daily reapplication. It says that it is "formulated for men" and "fights malodor", both of which are very manly. But it also "respects pH & bacterial flora", which sounds awfully close to liking flowers. And, as we all know, flowers are for girls.

Smell

Sanex Men Dermo Active Control has a fresher smell than its competitor, primarily reminiscent of wet wipes. And while that might not seem manly at first, it is probably more so than Playdough.

The Verdict

From a personal stance, Sanex Men Dermo Active Control smells better and has a less offensively try-hard blurb attached to it. What do you know about my life, Sure? How dare you presume that my routine "just works"? My life is a mess! I don't even have a routine! So what use is your deodorant to a man like me, eh? Think about that before you go appealing to the wider general public.

However, in terms of masculinity, it is impossible to look past Sure. From the chemical smell to the cheap invocation of metallic edges, everything about Sure Men Original Dry Roll-On Antiperspirant Deodorant screams being made to satisfy a marketing executive's idea of what "men" want from a toiletry product. Not even refusing to acknowledge the existence of women can beat that.