Personal moisturizer - lubricant discontinued by LELO - review by P'Gell

Lelo, one of the "high end" sex toy manufacturers now presents us with their take on sex lubricant. Or as they call it, "Personal Moisturizer."

This product is a water based lubricant, with a large list of chemicals and herbal additives in it's ingredient list.

We found it usable for PIV sex, toy use and anal sex, as well. It performed well, although thicker than some, was a bit runny for our needs, but did stay in place and provide good glide and protection of tissues adequately.

My main concerns were the addition of a large quantity of chemicals and herbal ingredients, most of which (with the exclusion of one or two ingredients for texture and protection from bacterial and fungal contamination) I doubt have any substantive application in the quantities normally used by sexual lubricant users. (See below for details.)

The inclusion of Aspartame (Nutrasweet) was probably to offset the bitter taste of the Aloes the lube also contains, but many try to avoid the use of this chemical. Although, I usually avoid consuming Aspartame, as it gives me migraines while taken orally in food quantities, I did not find this problem when using this lubricant. My guess is the lube would have been unbearably bitter without it, as Aloe is the fourth ingredient, and high on the ingredient list. In my opinion, this quandary could have been solved by simply omitting the Aloe altogether, as it does not seem to really add any "moisturizing" effects to it's credit.

As a "Moisturizer" this lube doesn't seem to do anything that most good quality, water based lubes do, with fewer ingredients. Although, as a simply sexual lubricant, is performs quite well.

Lelo Personal Moisturizer is a medium thick lube. It will "mound" when placed on the skin (a test I like to do to see if a lube will be thick enough for most of our activities; we tend to like very thick lubricants) but tends to run a bit more quickly than some. It is not really "watery" but doesn't hold a "mound" quite as nicely as I would like.

However, in use, once one learns how much to use (we always find we use too much when trying a new lube, which is certainly better than using too little) it is pretty good at staying where you put it, although tends to cause some "squishing" noises that we both found comical at times, and irritating at others.

I was offered this lubricant in the smaller 2.5 oz plastic squeeze tube. The tube has a nice, easy to open flip cap, and the lube is easily dispensed by squeezing the tube's contents into one's hand.

It works well for everything from toy play (perfect with good silicone toys, as it felt right at home with my new Ella G-Spotter Dildo, also by Lelo) to PIV sex and even worked well, with no need to reapply for anal sex. Even longer sessions (lasting up to 45 minutes) the lube was still working and we didn't feel the need to reapply. There was no irritation or discomfort either during or after use.

However, it does leave behind a slightly sticky residue, which did not wipe away with Kleenex and did require to be either washed or bathed away before I felt comfortable again.

It is, as it should be, slippery, long lasting and protective.

This lube has a slightly medicinal aroma, most likely from the litany of herbs contained in it, and a mild sweet taste (due, no doubt to the added aspartame) with a barely detectable bitter aftertaste (most likely due to the Aloe.)

My Man could not detect either the sweet or bitter tastes of this lube, but I was able to with no problem. The aroma is very mild, most probably will not notice it and it is not noticeable in most uses, but the taste, in my opinion was stronger than I think "the Perfect Lube" should contain. As we use this mostly for anal play and very occasionally for toy play, there are not a lot of opportunities for this lube to get into my mouth, so it was a livable side effect that does not detract from the sexual experience in most situations.

As I have said before, I like sex to taste and smell like sex. The smell and taste of this lube, however, was not so overwhelming that it bothered either one of us, and we have used it extensively with few complaints from either of us.

This product lasts a long time with each individual application. We have used it for PIV sex, toy play and anal sex and have not needed to reapply it, even during long marathons of play. We have used it for nearly hour long anal play and sex sessions and found it adequate and still slippery. In my mind The Perfect Lube would be the consistency of medium thick Hair Product, and although this lubricant wasn't quite that thick, and did run a little while applying, it did the job of lubricating and I felt it protected my delicate tissues from excess friction and made the activities even more enjoyable.

It feels slightly cool when applied. There are no "Cooling" "Tingling" or "warming" chemicals in this lubricant, but the high water content may cause the slight, mildly exciting cool sensation when first applied. As soon as friction sex play begins, the lubricant simply glides as it warms to body temperature.

As I mentioned, it does leave behind a slightly sticky residue. I found I needed to nearly always wash it away, either at the sink or in the bath as soon after activity as possible. My Man was not bothered enough by the residue to need to wash until he got into the shower at his appointed time the next morning, or later in the day, if used in the morning. He found that wiping it away with a Kleenex was enough. He only went to the sink for soap and water after performing anal play on me, but that is regular hygiene for us, and for him after these specific activities, not due to this particular lubricant.

As this product is water based, contains no silicon or dimethicone or oils, it appears safe for use with most condoms, whether latex, polymer or animal based and all sex toy material.

The packaging for Lelo Personal Moisturizer is elegant, classic and beautiful. The 2.5 oz tube is in Lelo's Classic Black, a black cardboard box, with the Lelo name in it's signature circle design, and the plastic tube is black, with reflective silver writing on it. The tube rests on it's flip top cap, and is very sturdy and the product stands well on the cap. There was no leaking of product while not in use, and any dripped product was easily wiped off the tube with tissue.

Both the tube and the box have the expected CYA warnings ("This is not a contraceptive and does not contain spermicide" as well a both containing a full ingredient list. There are also general directions on how to use the lubricant, which they insist on calling a "moisturizer." The tube also lets you know the product is compatible with "all materials."

The 2.5 oz tube is very discreet and would be at home tossed into a travel bag or overnight suitcase. Nothing about the tube says "SEX LUBRICANT!" and could easily be stored in plain sight.

Lelo Personal Moisturizer is, as I said, a water based lube which contains a number of different herbal additives in it. I am not sure why all these herbs were contained in this lube, but I will list them and possible reasons why they were included.

Guarana also known as palina cupana;

In one study in rats, increased memory retention and physical endurance when compared with a placebo. I doubt there is enough Guarana able to be contained in a single application of this lubricant to actually cause any increase in physical endurance. Guarana is also believed to be an aphrodisiac. This herb contains large amounts of caffeine and is one of the most commonly used additives in soft drinks in many parts of South America, where it is grown. Caffeine can cause blood vessel constriction, which is not good for sexual activity, but as I said, it is doubtful that enough of this herb is contained in each dose to be of any significance.

Panax Ginseng is believed to be an aphrodisiac and an Adaptogen, an agent which helps the body deal with stress. Ginseng is also known to contain phytoestrogens. Which can speed sexual development of female mice and promote sperm production. Some feel, however, that phytoestrogens may also have unwanted estrogenic effects on the body, and try to avoid them. However, Ginseng used in "subclinical doses" does not have measurable medicinal effects. My guess is that the nickle to quarter sized blob of lubricant most people would use does not contain a "Clinical Dose" of Panax Ginseng.

It also contains Avena Sativa bran, which is simply the humble Oat. Although in large quantities Oat can decrease serum cholesterol levels as well as moisturize and heal skin, I can’t quite see what good a small quantity would do in a sexual lubricant. Oat has the effect of of causing mucilage like effect on liquids, helping them to thicken. This could be the one of the reasons this “herb” was placed in this lube.

It also contains Aloe barbadens, whose effects are rumored to be many, and research has borne out it’s helpful effects on minor burns and abrasions of the skin, as well as the alleviation of constipation. However, Aloe has a distinctive bitter taste, which is probably one of the reasons Aspartame was included in the formulation of this lubricant. Not much Aloe is needed for clinical effects and it is possible that some may find this lubricant has the skin protection and softening effects of Aloe. I did feel my skin was protected by this particular lubricant, but as for it's claim to be "Moisturizing" I found it no better in this aspect than lubricants with smaller and less "herbal" ingredient lists. My skin felt no more or less "moisturized" than with any other good quality lube. It left my tissues and skin they way they were, no worse, no better. Honestly, this is fine with me.

This lube also contained a number of chemicals in addition to the herbs; Propylene Glycol, Hydroethylcelluose, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Polysorbate-20, Polyquaternum 5, PEG-45M, Citric Acid. Most of these additives are used for stabilization of texture, buffering Ph levels, preventing the growth of bacteria, mold and fungus in the lubricant, and thickening. Those who are averse to any of the above ingredients may want to avoid this product, but we felt the use of some of these chemicals for protection from contaminated lubricant was not a huge deal for us to sample this lubricant a dozen or so times. Some may have sensitivities to any or all of these chemicals and may feel different about even sampling a lubricant with this many chemical additives.

However, we do own lubricants with much shorter ingredient lists, which also offer adequate protection from contamination of the product and protection from growth of undesirable pathogens while the product in in the tube, as well as excellent tissue protection and good glide properties. If hard pressed, I would choose a lubricant, as "My Perfect Lubricant" with a much shorter ingredient list, with fewer chemicals and I also have no desire for the need to include "herbs" that for all intents and purposes are only going to be used in subclinical doses anyway.

This was certainly slippery enough for all our activities and held up well. It was a bit runnier than I would have liked, but did not stain fabric, bedding, "pleather" waterbed bumper material, or clothing.

My Man and I have been sampling a number of lubes in recent months to find "The Perfect One". We haven't quite found it yet. This product is, in our opinion, in the middle of the spectrum. Certainly not the sticky, thin, chemical waste dumps that some supermarket and drugstore available lubricants are, but also is not quite as nice and rich and pure as some of the higher end lubes such as Sliquid and others seem to be. As I have said, protecting the lubricant in the bottle from contamination is important, but for our money, this one had a few too many chemical ingredients contained in it.

We liked it's performance a fair amount, but most likely will not purchase it any time in the near future. We have found lubricants with better chemical profiles, and perhaps if Lelo could trim the ingredient list, we would give it an other round of trials in our bedroom.

After this review, it will go back into the headboard with the other lubricants, unguents, toy cleaners, cock rings and various and sundry bottles and potions. But I feel, after giving it a good dozen uses or more, we will be reaching for lubricants with a slightly different profile more and more, and this one will be pushed to the back of the cubby with the now forgotten Astroglide Green Cap and several others (although I do feel the Lelo performed better than the Astroglide.)