It's all good (minus the acne causing ingredients)

It smells lovely, it isn't oily, it's moisturizing but it can give you breakouts. This is a nice product with one major flaw - myristates, which can cause acne! For me, that is VERY disappointing! As someone who struggled with acne for years, I would give it a higher rating if not for that one very big problem.
Published:
Pros
Smell, price, most of the ingredients, not tested on animals, glycerin/paraben-free
Cons
Acne causing ingredients, allergy issue for people with seed/nut allergies, "pheromones"
Rating by reviewer:
4
extremely useful review

Use

This product is nice for massages, but also works as a nice moisturizer for skin. I think it would work well for a nice massage and according to the bottle is great "to ease sore, tense, aching muscles".

Here is a list of the ingredients, and safety information that I could find for each of them: Sweet Almond Oil, Safflower Oil, Sesame Seed Oil, Isopropyl Myristate, Avocado Oil, Myristate Propionate, [www.cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient_details.php?ingredient_id=49|]Jojoba Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil, Kukui Nut Oil, Actiphyte of Rose Hip, Ginseng, Hawaiian White Ginger, Juniper Berry Fragrance, Evening Primrose, Jasmine, Sun Flower Petals, Rosemary, Lavender, Fragrance and Pheromones

All of these ingredients seem very safe and natural...well, for the most part. I had difficulty finding information on Myristate Propionate, and when I finally did I didn't really like what I found. If you click my link for it under my ingredients list, it will take you to a link on Myristate & Acne. It states that myristate "provides the smooth application and feels sheer or "lightweight" while wearing makeup. However, myristate causes a type of acne induced by using cosmetics. The medical term for this type of acne is acne cosmetica." It goes on to list a number of chemicals that the Environmental Working Group recommends avoiding, which are: "isopropyl palmitate, isopropyl isothermal, putty stearate, isostearyl neopentonate, myristyl myristate, decyl oleate, octyl sterate, octyl palmitate and isocetyl stearate and PPG myristyl propionate." Ick! This has both Isopropyl Myristate AND Myristate Propionate.

I had applied this to my skin once before finding this information, and to be honest that information makes me wary of using it again - especially for a massage, as I would want to break out all over my back! Not only does this worry me because I have sensitive skin, but also because I struggled with acne for years. My skin has been clear for a few years now, but in that time I have used products on my skin that triggered breakouts that took weeks to months to get rid of! I really do not feel like going through that, or making my partner breakout (and he is prone to breakouts).

If you have nut or seed allergies, you should not use this due to the almond oil and sesame seed oil. Also, "pheromones" are kind of an ambiguous thing, so this may not be vegan. I could not find any information anywhere saying it is or is not, but who knows where the "pheromones" come from or what they contain.
    • Massage
    • Mood enhancer

Texture / Consistency / Thickness / Viscosity

The texture of this is kind of like olive oil, the consistency is about that of vegetable oil. It is thicker than water, but still a thin liquid. It is easy to squeeze out of the bottle - I do it carefully and close to the skin, so as not to make a mess as it is runny.

It is an oil but it absorbs into the skin it is applied to without an oily, greasy feeling. It leaves skin feeling smooth, though that is probably due to the myristate ingredients. My hands, however, can feel a little bit oily after applying it somewhere, but nothing too bad. I can just rub them on my skin and they feel less so.
    • Oily
    • Smooth
    • Thin

Taste / Aroma

I am not a fan of floral scents so I was not interested in the idea of something that is supposed to be Passion Flower scented. However, after seeing all of the great reviews for this product I was convinced that I should get it. Everyone was saying it had such a great scent! Upon first taking of the seal from the bottle, I thought this smelled like some sort of cookie. After looking at the ingredients, I realize this is because of the almond oil. The almond oil is probably the strongest aspect of this scent. I would not call this a strong scent, but it is not really light either. If you don't mind the smell of almond cookies, you won't mind this. It almost has a sort of buttery smell to it when applied to my skin, like a sweet butter cookie. The smell is not overly sweet or sickening at all. I found that the smell stays on my skin for several hours. It is not overpowering at all, it is a warm pleasant smell. It fades throughout the day, but I can still smell it when I put my nose to my skin. Warm smells like this, like vanilla and baked goods, often have a comforting affect on people so that is a nice added touch. What's better than a scent that will make you even more cozy when getting a massage? Also, lavender is known to have a calming affect, and jasmine is supposed to be an aphrodisiac. Almond oil is supposed to be an aphrodisiac for women, and also can help with eczema.
    • Smells good

Performance

This product is not greasy and it lasts for hours. I had some flaky skin on my forearm from a recent sunburn, and I decided to see if this would moisturize it and make it look better. I put it on the dry skin on my arm in the morning, and it instantly felt moisturized. Hours later, I could see a difference still. That patch of skin almost had a faint glow in the light but it did not look oily at all, it looked visibly moisturized.
To my surprise when I woke up the next day, the skin looked a lot less flaky and unappealing. I only put it on that one time and I did not reapply it at all point.
    • Absorbs into skin nicely
    • Long lasting
    • Performance

Packaging

This product comes in a plastic bottle with a cap that has a push top. It comes with a seal on the bottle under the cap, so that you know it has not been tampered with and so it does not leak. The bottle seems like it wouldn't be leaky, but I don't care to take any chances. I am cautious and intend to keep it upright when I store it and make sure that the cap is closed tightly. I would hate to have an oily mess everywhere!

The bottle is pretty discreet. I mean, it says Sensuous in big letters, but it says massage oil right under that. It does not looks like a very sexual product to me, but after all a massage is an intimate thing. Perhaps if you have some prudent family with prying eyes you wouldn't want to leave this out on the dresser. I love the bright purple label and the pretty design on the front. All of the ingredients are listed on the back of the bottle, but it isn't terribly informative.

At 4.5 oz, you get a substantial amount of massage oil. This would probably last anyone a really long time, unless you were filling kiddie pools with it to wrestle in.






    • Can be opened with one hand
    • Discreet looking packaging
    • Easy to use / dispense

Personal comments

I think the idea of pheromones in products is silly. They do not work, and that is not something that makes me want to buy a product. In fact, it kind of makes me not want it. I have to wonder what they put in this that is a "pheromone". And whatever it is, is it vegan?

Also, I see that this is listed under "Oil based lubricants". I would NEVER use an oil based lubricant for a number of reasons, and I would definitely NOT recommend using this as such. It even says on the bottle that it is a massage oil! But to explain why oil based lubricants (which this should not be used as!) are bad...
Oil-based lubricants are not condom safe. Here is a quick video visual for that. Plus, it can cause infections easily. The oil leaves behind a layer and can cause vaginal yeast and bacterial infections. Also, with anal play, it can do the same thing - leaving behind a layer of oil that allows bacteria to incubate. Not fun! I recommend water-based lubricants all the way. Or silicone, if that is what you prefer and you are not using silicone toys, but oil is just not a good idea.
Follow-up commentary
I wasn't comfortable with the potential of having my or my partner's acne flare up, so I did not want to use this for a full massage. I applied it to my dry skin a few times, but only in areas that I've never had acne so I figured that would be best. I ended up giving this to a friend, I'm not sure if she ever even used it.
This product was provided at a discounted price in exchange for an unbiased review. This review is in compliance with the FTC guidelines.

EdenFantasys Review Program

  • Get Free Toys
  • Enjoy Special Deals
Become a Reviewer
Comments
Subscribe to comments
  • Contributor: Voir
    My acne is crazy enough as it is lol thanks for the helpful review :3 looks like a nice product but I'll have to hold off on this one.
  • Contributor: Beneath The Bed
    Thanks for the review!
  • Contributor: Starshiptrooper84
    Very thorough review, thanks.
  • Contributor: bayosgirl
    ty
  • Contributor: TransMarc
    Really useful. Allergies sucks.
  • Contributor: queergaze
    Thanks for the review, especially about sensitivity.
  • Contributor: BurntToast
    Fantastic research!
  • Contributor: SadoMas
    ty
  • Contributor: Woman China
    Thank-you for all the information on the ingredients and the links! Very helpful!
  • Contributor: 007
    Wow! Amazing review! Thanks for all the great info.
  • Contributor: sugar&spikes
    thanks for the review!
Forum
Discussion Posts Last Update
Sensuous massage oil 8
Sensuous oil alternative suggestions? 6
Is oil safe for your skin? 3
Sensuous – oil 19
Sensuous oil - Pheromones? 1
Thank you for viewing Sensuous – oil discontinued review page!