Wild Deodorant and Lip Balm Review: The Bee Case

Wild sent me a package to try: the deodorant in their Bee Case, two refills, and the lip balm in the matching Bee Case.

Quick verdict before I get into it. The lip balm I’m properly into, though I get through it faster than I’d like. The deodorant I rate higher, and I suspect I’ll rate it higher still once the weather cools down.

The lip balm is the one I actually reach for

I love this. It’s gone straight into my bag and I’ve been reapplying it without even thinking about it, which is honestly the best sign a lip balm is working – I’m not remembering to use it, I’m just doing it. It’s a solid 4/5 from me.

One honest gripe, and it’s the reason this isn’t a straight 5. I have to reapply it more often than other lip balms I’ve tried. Not a dealbreaker, but I notice it. I still reach for it constantly anyway, because I like how it makes my lips feel and the scent is lovely.

The fact it’s refillable is a big part of why I like it. You’re not throwing the case away when the balm runs out, you just pop a new one in.

The deodorant – my honest experience so far

It glides on properly, no drag, and I haven’t had any irritation from it. That second bit matters to me, because it’s not always a given with a new deodorant.

I’m knocking off half a point for one reason: I’m a very sweaty person, and I don’t think this is going to hold up through a heatwave. I haven’t actually tested it in one yet, but I know myself well enough to call that one now. Where I think this is genuinely going to shine is autumn and winter, once I’m not roasting – that’s when I expect to love it properly. If I needed something for exercise or serious heat, I’d reach for an antiperspirant instead of a deodorant – that’s just what I’d personally do, not a knock on this one.

For everyday, casual, out-and-about wear, though? No complaints at all. The scents are lovely, and I like that Wild gives you a proper choice rather than one generic smell. Fresh Cotton & Sea Salt is the one that’s won me over – it’s a 4.5/5 from me so far, and that scent is a big part of why.

Deodorant or antiperspirant – which one is this?

Worth being clear on this, because Wild sells both and they’re not the same thing. The stick I was sent is a deodorant. A deodorant works by neutralising odour rather than stopping you from sweating, which is the mechanical difference from an antiperspirant – an antiperspirant is formulated specifically to reduce how much you sweat. That’s also why my instinct is to reach for an antiperspirant on a day I know I’ll be more active: different job, different product.

Layering it with the rest of my scents

This is a real plus for me. I like to layer my body care and my fragrance rather than treating them as separate things, so having a deodorant and a lip balm in scents I actually like means they can sit underneath whatever perfume I’m wearing instead of fighting it. I’ve written about how I build a scent up in layers in my Dossier review if you want the fuller version of how I think about this.

What’s actually in it

The base of Wild’s stick deodorant is the same whatever scent you pick: tapioca starch, shea butter, cocoa seed butter, sunflower seed wax and sunflower seed oil, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium hydroxide, zinc ricinoleate and tocopherol, plus whatever fragrance oils make up that particular scent. Wild’s own figure is that it’s around 98% natural origin. The sodium bicarbonate is doing the odour-neutralising work – it’s also the ingredient most people react to if they’re going to react to anything, which is why Wild sells a separate sensitive range that swaps it out for rice starch instead.

My two refills, full ingredients straight off the boxes:

• Fresh Cotton & Sea Salt: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Tapioca Starch, Stearyl Alcohol, Sodium Bicarbonate, Triethyl Citrate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Parfum (Fragrance), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Magnesium Hydroxide, Zinc Ricinoleate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Limonene, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Peel Oil, Tetramethyl Acetyloctahydronaphthalenes, Juniperus Virginiana Oil, Hexamethylindanopyran, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Linalyl Acetate, Pinene, Citronellol, Citrus Aurantium (Bitter Orange) Peel Oil, Beta-Caryophyllene, Lavandula Oil/Extract, Coumarin, Hexadecanolactone, Benzyl Alcohol, Citral, Camphor, Terpinolene, Linalool, Terpineol, Geranyl Acetate, Rose Ketones, Tocopherol.
• Pear Blossom: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Tapioca Starch, Stearyl Alcohol, Sodium Bicarbonate, Triethyl Citrate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Parfum (Fragrance), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Magnesium Hydroxide, Zinc Ricinoleate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Trimethylbenzenepropanol, Tocopherol.

Both are the standard range, so both contain sodium bicarbonate rather than the sensitive formula.

The lip balm is built from shea butter, mango seed butter, coconut oil, sunflower seed oil and wax, rice bran wax, avocado oil and hydrogenated castor oil, again plus the fragrance for whichever scent you’ve got. Wild lists it as around 99% natural origin, and it’s petroleum-free, which was one of the things that put me off some lip balms in the past.

Mine is Hibiscus & Coconut: C10-18 Triglycerides, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Parfum (Fragrance), Rhus Succedanea Fruit Wax, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Limonene, Citrus Aurantium (Bitter Orange) Peel Oil, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalyl Acetate, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Juniperus Virginiana (Cedarwood) Oil, Rose Ketones.

Is it good for sensitive skin?

Wild’s standard range is dermatologically tested, and there’s a baking-soda-free sensitive version if sodium bicarbonate is the kind of thing that reacts on you – that’s a real difference between the two, not a marketing tweak. On me, the standard version caused no irritation at all, though again, that’s under normal everyday wear rather than anything more demanding.

How to actually refill it

Here’s Wild’s own process for each one, because it’s easier shown as steps than described in a sentence.

Refilling the deodorant case

1. Wind the base of the case all the way down to its starting position.
2. Pull the base out from the body of the case.
3. Take the new refill, give it a gentle squeeze to loosen it from its cardboard sleeve, and pull the lid off.
4. Press the refill firmly onto the base so it sits securely.
5. Slide the body of the case back over the base and refill until it clicks into place.
6. Twist the base to bring up 2-3mm of product, and you’re ready to use it.

The empty refill is compostable or can go in with your paper recycling.

Refilling the lip balm case

1. Take the lid off the case.
2. Remove the lid from the new lip balm refill.
3. Place the refill inside the case.
4. Twist the case down, and it’s ready to use.

Same idea as the deodorant, just smaller. Either way, the case itself is a one-off buy – after that you’re only ever buying the refill.

The case I’ve got, and what else Wild sells

Mine is the Bee Case – Wild’s collaboration with Emma Bridgewater, in her Bumblebee print, on the aluminium case for both the deodorant and the lip balm. It’s a limited design rather than one of the standard colourways, so it might not always be in stock.

Outside of that, Wild’s everyday case colours include black, pink, purple, aqua and coral, alongside seasonal and collaboration designs that come and go – the Bee Case is one of those. Whatever the design, the case itself works the same way and takes the same refills.

Wild’s stick deodorant scent range is huge. The everyday line-up includes Fresh Cotton & Sea Salt, Coconut & Vanilla, Cherry Blossom, Unscented, Mint & Aloe Vera, Thunderstorm, Cedar & Sandalwood, Ocean Mist, Jasmine & Mandarin Blossom, Lemon Basil & Blood Orange, Summer Breeze, Sunkissed and Honey & Cactus Flower, with sensitive (baking-soda-free) versions of most of them. On top of that there are seasonal and collaboration scents that rotate through – things like Chupa Chups Watermelon, Sicilian Summer and a Christmas range – so it’s worth checking what’s actually in stock rather than assuming a scent will always be there.

The lip balm range is just as wide: Coconut & Vanilla, Original, Peach & Mango, Watermelon, Passionfruit Swirl, Plum & Frosted Pear, Vanilla Frost and Manuka Honey among the regulars, plus SPF 25 versions of a few of them and a rotating set of seasonal scents on top.

Where to buy it, and my code

Wild sells direct at wearewild.com, and you’ll also find it in Boots, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Superdrug and Holland & Barrett if you’d rather see it in person first.

My code is NEVEEN for 20% off. It works across the whole site – deodorant, lip balm, roll-on, body wash, hand wash – with no minimum spend, no exclusions, and no expiry date. It works whether you’re new to Wild or already a customer, so there’s no catch to it.

Shop Wild and apply NEVEEN for 20% off, or read the full terms on my Wild discount code page.

So would I buy it again?

The deodorant, yes – 4.5/5, and Fresh Cotton & Sea Salt is the reason. The half point I’m holding back is heat: I’m a sweaty person and I don’t think this would keep up through a heatwave, though I haven’t actually tested it in one. I think it’s going to come into its own once autumn and winter roll round. The lip balm, also yes, though it’s a 4/5 rather than a 5 – I get through it faster than other lip balms I’ve used, but I keep reaching for it anyway because of how it feels and how it smells. If you’re after an everyday deodorant in a scent you actually like, and you’re the kind of person who cares about the refill side of things as much as I do, this is worth a look. If you need serious sweat control for the gym or for hot weather specifically, that’s not really what this product is for.

If you like keeping your body care and fragrance in the same lane, my Sol de Janeiro lotion comparison and my ilapothecary balm review are both in the same vein, and my Where I Actually Buy Everything post has the rest of what’s in my routine.

Wild deodorant and lip balm FAQs

• What is the Wild Bee Case?
  It’s Wild’s deodorant and lip balm case in Emma Bridgewater’s Bumblebee print, made from aluminium so it’s reusable, and it takes Wild’s refills the same way any other Wild case does.
• Is Wild deodorant a deodorant or an antiperspirant?
  The stick I was sent is a deodorant, not an antiperspirant. A deodorant neutralises odour rather than stopping you from sweating, which is why Wild also sells a separate roll-on antiperspirant for people who want to control sweat itself.
• What’s in Wild stick deodorant?
  The base ingredients are the same across every scent – tapioca starch, shea butter, cocoa seed butter, sunflower seed wax and oil, sodium bicarbonate, magnesium hydroxide and zinc ricinoleate, plus the fragrance for whichever scent you pick. Wild’s sensitive range swaps the sodium bicarbonate out for rice starch instead.
• Is Wild deodorant good for sensitive skin?
  Wild says the standard range is dermatologically tested, and there’s also a baking-soda-free sensitive range if you react to that. I didn’t get any irritation using mine, though I’ve only worn it for everyday casual wear so far, not anything sweatier.
• How do you refill a Wild deodorant case?
  You wind the case down fully, slide the top off, and push the old refill out before clicking a new one in. Wild sell the refills separately from the case, which is the point – you keep the case and just replace what’s inside it.
• Is Wild lip balm refillable?
  Yes. You take the lid off the case, pop the old refill out, and slot a new one in. It works the same way as the deodorant case, just in balm form.
• What’s in Wild lip balm?
  Shea butter, rice bran wax, coconut oil, mango seed butter, sunflower seed oil and wax, avocado oil and hydrogenated castor oil, plus the fragrance for the scent. Wild’s own figure is around 99% natural origin, and it’s petroleum-free.
• Is there a Wild discount code?
  Yes, mine is NEVEEN for 20% off. It works across the whole site, there’s no minimum spend, no exclusions and no expiry, and it works whether you’re new to Wild or already a customer.
• Where can I buy Wild?
  Direct from wearewild.com, or in Boots, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Superdrug and Holland & Barrett if you’d rather see it in person first.
• Is Wild worth it?
  The deodorant is a 4.5/5 for me, mostly down to the Fresh Cotton & Sea Salt scent – I’m holding back half a point because I’m a very sweaty person and don’t think it would hold up through a heatwave, though I haven’t actually tested that. The lip balm is a 4/5 – I have to reapply it more often than other lip balms I’ve tried, but I still reach for it constantly because I like how it makes my lips feel and the scent is lovely.

This was gifted to me by Wild for review. My code is an affiliate link and I earn commission if you use it. All opinions are my own.