Original Deodorant Roll-On 75ml

The roll-on is the quietest way to buy the classic, and Tabac Original Deodorant Roll-On 75ml puts the scent on the skin without putting any of it into the air.

That matters more than it sounds. A spray disperses, a roll-on does not, so the fragrance stays exactly where you apply it and the effect is more discreet from the start. It also goes on wet and needs a moment before dressing, which is the one drawback of the format.

The scent is the traditional one. Lemon, petitgrain and black pepper make a bitter, dry opening with no fruit to it at all, lavender takes over as the dominant material, herbal and clean and faintly soapy, and chamomile and geranium sit with it, the first soft and hay like, the second green and sharp.

Carnation, sandalwood and vetiver finish it, which is a proper base for a grooming product: dry and spiced from the carnation, creamy from the sandalwood, rooty and earthy from the vetiver. It smells like a barber's shop in the best sense. Seventy five millilitres is a modest size, it travels well because nothing can spray in a bag, and it is the sensible choice for anyone who dislikes aerosols or shares a small bathroom with someone who does. Used daily it controls odour through a normal working day and leaves a light version of the scent behind on the skin.

One point about the format is worth making plainly: because a roll-on puts the scent directly where it is applied and nowhere else, it is the most economical of the three ways this is sold. A spray loses a good proportion of itself to the air every time, and over a year that difference adds up. It is also the quietest to use, which matters more than you would think in a house where other people are still asleep.