Fleshlube fire warming lubricant - lubricant discontinued by Vie Products, Inc. - review by Champagne and Benzedrine (Roland Hulme)

Lube is love, folks. Everything is improved with the addition of a little lube. Except perhaps French Toast (make sure not to keep yours too close to the Aunt Jemima because that's the sort of taste it takes a while to get out of your mouth!)

Fleshlube Fire is a warming lubricant that enhances almost any sexual encounter by spicing things up with a little warming element; think Bengay for your 'wibbly bits.' Water based, it's compatible with just about all sex toys and can be used for all sorts of illicit sexual purposes - adding a bit of slick to vaginal sex, easing the way for anal or smoothing the path to plunder a masturbation sleeve.

Because the warming element isn't too intense, and the water-based lube is safe for most toys and activities, this is an ideal product for those wanting to elevate themselves from store-brand lubes (KY, Astroglide and whatever) into the realm of something a little saucier.

How you like your lube is a deeply personal thing. I tend to like mine fairly gloopy, while others like slick, liquid lube. Fire is closer to the later - a viscous, but watery substance that drips into every crevice with the thoroughness of 15/40W engine oil.

Although water-based, Fire does a great job of staying slick beyond the point most other lubes get dry and crusty. That makes it particularly suitable for masturbation sleeves.

I'll confess, I didn't get around to tasting Fire; but I did smell it and remarkably found it pretty much odorless. There was, perhaps, the slight whiff of honeysuckle, but that was about it. It certainly didn't have that 'lubey' smell others do (especially when you use them in the quantities that I do!)

Fire treads a tightrope between extremes. Although water-based, it does stay slick a surprisingly long time; making it a fine choice for water-based lubes. Similarly, although there's a certain warming element to it, the lube isn't 'picante' and nobody's going to be running to the bathroom in floods of tears (I mention this due to the way in which I found out, as a teenager, than Bengay could not be used as an effective sex lube.)

One drawback people might have is the fact that this lube contains both glycerin and sucrose, which can trigger yeast infections in some women. It's worth considering if you know you're prone to them; but if you've used other water-based lubes (like KY or Astroglide) without problems, I don't anticipate any hoohoo hiccups using this product.

Fire comes in a simple little lotion bottle with a clip-lid, making it fairly discreet and easy to apply. Mix it up amongst all the potions and products on my wife's vanity and nobody would know it was a sex lube, which makes it easy to stow in a place for easy access.

The 'special property' of Fire is, of course, the warming element. Something in the ingredients causes a gentle warming sensation, kind of like you get with cinnamon gum or Bengay. This adds a level of intensity to vaginal or anal sex, and makes fucking a masturbation sleeve just that much more realistic as it makes the sleeve feel like it's at body temperature.

The nice thing is that that warming sensation is infinitely subtle; not likely to cause discomfort.