Sensual massage oil by Kama Sutra - review by Pixel

The bottle the Sweet Almond old comes in is tall and thin and made of squeezeable plastic. Kama Sutra has updated their packaging, so the bottles are no longer frosted, they're now clear with a classy looking and vaguely middle Eastern logo. This is something you could leave out on your dresser, as there is nothing overly explicit on it. The scent of the oil is listed on the front, along with a brief description of the oil’s properties.

The lid seems to hold up well and hasn’t leaked in my toy box, but I’d recommend storing it upright and put it in a plastic bag if you decide to travel with it. The back of the bottle has a quick description of the oil in multiple languages as well as the ingredients, which are:

Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Pistacia Vera Seed Oil, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Prunus Amygdalus (Sweet Almond) Oil, Fragrance (Parfum), Tocopheryl Acetate, Lecithin, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Coumarin, Limonene, Linalool

The scent, Sweet Almond, smells like marzipan to me. Marzipan is insanely delicious Christmas treat for me, but something that’s best in small amounts, otherwise it leaves me feeling nauseated. Sadly, this scent has a similar effect. It smells really strong to me, and my girlfriend also finds it overwhelming. Also, the scent sticks around on skin. Half an hour after I’d given a massage with it (and washed my hands!), I’d keep getting whiffs of marzipan. If you like the scent of your massage oils to be long lasting, this is definitely for you! Kama Sutra’s oils also come in several other scents, including ‘Serenity’, ‘Healing Blend’, ‘Pleasure Garden’, and ‘Soaring Spirit’.

The oil is a very light and (as oil tends to be) is very runny. Be careful pouring this onto your partner’s back, as it may decide not to pool conveniently and run over their sides. It will stain fabric, so putting down an old towel before you start your massage will keep you from worrying about ruining your sheets or blanket. The oil isn't meant for consumption, but if you accidentally get some on your tongue, it doesn’t have much of an aftertaste, just the normal ‘Oh, hey! You just licked something that is made of oil’ flavour that’s to be expected. I also don't recommend using this oil as a sexual lubricant. Oil weakens latex, and having to deal with a broken condom will definitely ruin the relaxed mood your massage just created!

In use, I found that you really didn’t need a lot of this oil. A quarter sized puddle worked well for a fairly long (15 to 20 minutes) massage on my victi…erm, subject’s back without needing to reapply. It stayed reasonably slick and smooth without becoming tacky. However, the reason I didn’t need to reapply it was that it didn’t soak into the skin the way I prefer my massage oils to. It stayed lightly on the surface of the skin and needed to be washed/wiped away so it wouldn’t stain the sheets or our clothes. My subject's comment post massage, was "I feel nice from the massage, but my skin feels like I worked a shift at a fast food place 'cause of the oil on it. I'm going to go shower now." I wasn’t a fan of having to let them shower post-massage so we could go to sleep or leave the bedroom without accidentally ruining surfaces we came into contact with.

I really wanted to love this massage oil, but I can’t get over how overwhelming the scent is. I give it 3 strongly scented paws up out of 5.