Every so often there a brand comes along that releases that “perfect” product that hits all the right notes, instantly catapulting it into cult-obsession category. Agent Nateur, an LA brand founded by stylist Jena Scaccetti, launched with one product: AGENT NATEUR N ° 3 deodorant that basically changed the landscape of deodorants & put the brand on the wishlist and beauty counters of every cool girl.
Natural (using premium organic or non-gmo, pesticide free ingredients), Luxurious (fans include the teams at GOOP & uber-luxe Violet Grey), & Photogenic (proof: check out its prevalence on Instagram’s #ITGTOPSHELFIE hashtag), this deodorant checks all the marks for a cross-segment winner.
Here’s why: prior to its introduction, the deodorant market beyond the basic drugstore selections (which are predominately formulated with aluminum) were separated into the natural and the luxury categories. Natural picks often ran on the crunchy, unrefined side with putty paste-like textures or DIY-like recipes that made the wearer smell like an aisle at Whole Foods. Luxury selections all too often contained ingredients: triclosan, aluminum, artificial fragrance, phthalates, etc. that the consumers more and more are avoiding in their search for better quality and safer ingredients.
Enter Agent Nateur, at $19 a digestible price point for both the luxury and natural markets, that offers more thoughtful ingredients than luxury competitors and a more refined, sophisticated presentation than natural competitors. Jena hand pours each bottle at home and takes an active role in the brand’s social media channels which feature prominent displays of her signature deodorant often next to floral backdrops.
Reviews for the deodorant commonly hail it as the one natural deodorant to “finally” work – although there are some detractors, which, given how different people are when it comes to sweat and BO is not surprising.
We ran it through our tests which means handing out sticks to our team and friends to see how this functions in the real world, here are our findings:
- The scent component is comprised primarily of eucalyptus and lavender essential oils. It’s a straight forward, unisex blend that does have a fresh, crisp scent but just make sure you’re down with the two essential oils before you buy. So it’s not exactly a Frederic Malle fragrance but there is enough “on pointedness” to ensure that you won’t smell like a Whole Foods aisle either.
- The deodorant stick applies a little more stiff than conventional deodorants but isn’t that complicated. Warm it up a little for better application and go slow.
- This is not an anti-perspirant, so if you’re looking for a product to manage sweat (mainly products containing aluminum), look elsewhere – although we’re firmly on Team No-Aluminum.
- The deodorant does have some staying power but because the fragrances are not synthetic – it does not have that otherworldly staying power, so if you’re looking for that ultra-performance work horse, this is not that type of product. In our use with regular levels of activity, one application in the morning usually helped us stay fresh past lunch time and even after an afternoon workout, there wasn’t awful BO or anything although the deodorant’s presence had completely dissipated by that time.
- There are reports of irritation caused by baking soda, which you either experience or you won’t depending on how your skin tolerates it. We’re told that it will get better with consistent use. In all fairness, despite being the 2nd highest in the ingredients list, members on our team with known baking soda sensitivities reported minor itching with continued use and would recommend it over most other natural deodorants that do contain baking soda.
The ingredients list is pretty straight forward:
Organic coconut oil, sodium bicarbonate, beeswax, sunflower butter, avocado butter, castor oil, raw organic honey, lavender essential oil, hydrogen peroxide, eucalyptus oil, love
This product has over a 1 year shelf life. This is because many of the ingredients have natural anti-bacterial properties, as Jena says “Raw organic honey is extremely antibacterial and healing. I’d rather add a drop of honey instead of a toxic preservative.” We’re fans of her approach, which doesn’t just stop at the ingredients she chooses.
The packaging looks at home with deodorants from Parisian labels thanks to minimalist yet finely attuned choices. And following Agent Nateur’s social media, we’re treated to daily on-brand images inspired by this cult deodorant, like below:
Simply put: the Agent Nateur No 3 Deodorant is a well conceived and well executed product that has us excited for what’s next from this LA brand. Recently a collaboration with Shiva Rose was launched, as well as travel sizes, and there are reports of a men’s deodorant in the works as well.
When this is released, you know we’ll be all over it!
In the meantime, Agent Nateur can be purchased at many places – we recommend The Detox Market, Citrine Beauty Bar, GOOP & Violet Grey.
