Writing lubricant reviews: What to look out for

Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to lubricants. With my last order, I did two buy-out assignments for water-based lubes (one good for anal and one probably not so much). As such, I'm going to be writing reviews for them (obviously). I want to maintain my level of quality in these reviews, despite my inexperience with lubes. So I've come here to ask others what is important in a lubricant review and what they personally like to see included.

Examples:
Good for anal?
Runny or otherwise?
Safe for condoms?
Hypoallergenic?

Are these important? What else should I include?
02/21/2012
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Contributor: - Kira - - Kira -
How thick is it? Does it feel like natural lubrication at all? How long for it to drip if you hold it upside down. How long for it to rub in completely into the skin.

I'm really big on detailed ingredient information. I have bad reactions to a number of ingredients that other people don't. I get very frustrated when I see reviews that say "good for sensitive users" if they contain glycerin or parabens. Err..no. Some research on the ingredients would clear that up. What the ingredient is, what it's used for, and if there is any possible irritation associated with it.
02/21/2012
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
I agree with Kira---I really like to see an ingredients list at minimum, and some simple descriptions if you feel like going the whole mile. (Including a list, that you type up from looking at the bottle, matters a lot to me, because EF's product page ingredients lists have a character limit and can leave ingredients off the end.) I prefer an ingredients list rather than just saying "hypoallergenic" or "not hypoallergenic," because everybody's body might be different.

Another thing I like to see is, when it dries, what kind of residue does it leave? Do you have to wash up before you can put clothes back on?

Also, how fast does it dry in air (for use as a jack-off lube) versus how long does it stay slippery when used for penetration?

Aaaand... safe for condoms is important. Something like "good for anal" can be important too, but it's also very subjective. So explain what you mean when you say "good for anal"---does that mean it's thick? I don't need a very thick anal lube, but other people might.

Thanks for going the extra mile!
02/21/2012
Contributor: Silverdrop Silverdrop
Quote:
Originally posted by Nazaress
I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to lubricants. With my last order, I did two buy-out assignments for water-based lubes (one good for anal and one probably not so much). As such, I'm going to be writing reviews for them (obviously). I ... more
You could also consider getting a mentor for those two reviews. I know there are some lube fanatics around the forum who own and have reviewed loads of them, and I'd imagine some of those are mentors. Unfortunately, I don't remember names off the top of my head, but someone will probably pop in and give more specific recommendations. l

I find lubes fiendishly difficult to review because they're so subjective, so good for you for taking on the challenge!
02/21/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Great suggestions so far! I'm definitely going to bookmark this thread so I don't lose it. I want my lube reviews to be as good as my other reviews and you guys are definitely helping me learn what's important to include.

@ Antipova: No problem! I do my own research by looking at what others have included in reviews but sometimes, people don't write good reviews and don't include what they should. I thought it would be best to see what the people want themselves.

@ Silverdrop: That's actually a really good idea. Why didn't I think of that? I've never done the Mentor Program myself but I've suggested it to others a million times. If anyone knows of any mentors that are smart about lubes, please tell me! I want to pick someone who knows what they're talking about.
02/21/2012
Contributor: Beck Beck
I agree about the ingredients list for items like lube, lotion, and beauty products. There are some members who won't use certain products and those who are allergic to many things so I like the breakdown. If you want a good site for that it is skin deep. They are very straight forward about the ingredients. Some sites you have to read a lot of information to know about the ingredient. If you can't find the ingredient on that site then Google it.

Kira, Sam, Antipova, Kindred, Toy Time Tim, and many more for Lube mentors.
02/21/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Quote:
Originally posted by Beck
I agree about the ingredients list for items like lube, lotion, and beauty products. There are some members who won't use certain products and those who are allergic to many things so I like the breakdown. If you want a good site for that it is ... more
Thank you for the link and recommendations.
02/21/2012
Contributor: Ryuson Ryuson
Lube reviews are super hard for me. Often what I do is bring up some reviews from experienced lube reviewers and use them as examples for what makes an awesome lube review. I must take me about twice as long to write a lube review as a toy review!

Great thread, but the way!
02/21/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Quote:
Originally posted by Ryuson
Lube reviews are super hard for me. Often what I do is bring up some reviews from experienced lube reviewers and use them as examples for what makes an awesome lube review. I must take me about twice as long to write a lube review as a toy ... more
Thank you! I made this thread for my own selfish reasons ( lol ) but now that I think about it, I'm sure this will be helpful to many others, as well.
02/21/2012
Contributor: cottonxcandy cottonxcandy
This is an awesome thread, I'm bookmarking it too!
02/29/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Quote:
Originally posted by cottonxcandy
This is an awesome thread, I'm bookmarking it too!
I'm glad you could also find it useful.
02/29/2012
Contributor: Nazaress Nazaress
Well, I finally got around to finishing my first lubricant review. I tried to incorporate all of the advice I was given. Tell me what you all think (if you read this) and please tell me if I've forgotten anything important so I can fix it. Here it is: link

Worst comes to worst, I'm bumping this thread for other people who need help with writing lubricant reviews.
03/20/2012