H2O lube - lubricant discontinued by Sliquid, LLC - review by Luscious Lily

Sliquid H2O is a water-based lube designed for the sensitive-skinned, by the sensitive-skinned. It contains no irritating ingredients, so it can safely be used anywhere you need a little more glide.

As it dries out or is absorbed by the skin fairly quickly, this isn't a great lube for handjobs, clitoral play, or other external stimulation. While it does the job, if you're at it very long you'll need to re-apply multiple times. Sliquid H2O works best for penetrative play, whether with toys or with a lover.

Sliquid H2O does make a good personal moisturizer. If you get a little too dry for comfort in day-to-day life, this is a good non-irritating lube to use. Because it is absorbed into the skin without leaving a sticky, slimy mess you need to wash off, it's much lower maintenance than many other options.

Sliquid H2O is a very thin and runny lube, with a decent level of slipperiness. It feels much like natural lubrication, but thinner. There is none of the odd stickiness felt with some lubes; it disappears into a woman's natural lubrication. Unfortunately, it also just plain disappears, leaving nothing that will easily revive.

While very easy to pour, this lube will not stay where you put it. This is great if you want to pour some lube on the tip of a dildo and let gravity do the work of spreading it, but if you're filling a hand to re-lube during sex, you're going to get it everywhere.

Sliquid H2O is completely odorless. Though mostly flavorless, it is slightly bitter, making it something I'll never reach for during oral. Put this on after you're done with all oral activities, because once it's on, you don't want to place your mouth to a lubed surface without cleaning it off first.

If you absolutely must have a water-based lube with absolutely NO potentially irritating ingredients, this is a decent lube. Not a great lube, not a spectacular lube, not the be-all and end-all of water-based lubes, but a decent lube.

Sliquid H2O doesn't last very long. For any form of penis in vagina sex, it had to be re-applied every few minutes, and wouldn't revive. It's a barely passable lube for anal play with small, smooth toys; anything larger or more textured, and it isn't thick enough to do much good. For hand-jobs and clitoral massage, it was gone too fast. It worked out pretty well for a good titty fuck, but ours never last very long outside the shower.

As a personal moisturizer, this worked well, though it won't be breaking any records. It added enough extra moisture to be comfortable, and when it fades it doesn't leave behind any sticky/slimy/greasy/overall icky film. Anyone who's had to clean off and re-apply moisturizers to the vagina in a public bathroom will understand how much annoyance this saves.

The one place where this lube shone was with glass and very slick silicone toys. Neither need hard-core lubrication to begin with, and Sliquid H2O gave them just enough slip to get them going, without eliminating all friction and feeling.

Sliquid H2O comes in a round, squeezable bottle with a pop-top lid. This makes it easy to open and pour when things get slippery, but under the same conditions it's hard to close the top securely. The bottle is definitely not the most discrete, as it proclaims "Intimate Lubricant" across the front. Turned with that side to a wall, it's less likely to attract attention, but it still looks like a lube bottle.

If you're going to be traveling with your Sliquid, make sure to put the bottle in a tightly sealed plastic bag. The lid doesn't leak, but it doesn't take much pressure to open the top, so anything could bump into it and unleash your lube upon the world.

Sliquid has a very short ingredient list free of the usual offenders for irritation.

Purified Water: just good old H2O; no danger unless you're the Wicked Witch of the West

Plant cellulose: organic (as in hydrocarbon) polymer; used to thicken the lube and make it more slippery; found large quantities in your fruits and veggies, it's definitely food-safe

Polyquat 007: artificial organic polymer; used to thicken the lube and make it more slippery; Sliquid claims that theirs is Food Grade, but while it has been approved for cosmetic use, I could find no mention of it having been approved for food use

DMDM Hydantoin: antimicrobial agent; works by releasing tiny amounts of formaldehyde; approved for cosmetic use

Of the two esoteric ingredients in Sliquid H2O, the DMDM Hydantoin worried me the most. However, it makes up less than 1% of the volume of the lube, and the amount it has to release to work is truly minuscule. I have a moderately strong formaldehyde sensitivity, and never experienced any irritation from this lube.

This has been our go-to water-based lube for over a year, and now I can't for the life of me figure out why. It's a mediocre lube. Yes, it's non-irritating. Yes, it leaves no residue. It has its place, and I'm not going to throw it away. But for us, it just doesn't cut it for sex. We tend to lean toward the marathon style when it comes to sex, so having to re-apply lube over and over gets old very fast. At this price, going through lube so quickly can get expensive.

Besides, my vagina eats lube. (Or so I'm told by he who has to keep reaching for the lube to keep us both comfortable)