Exotic massage oil - oil discontinued by Shunga Erotic Art - review by spookycutie

I received this from a friend, presumably because she didn't like it. I was excited to try it out because I LOVE giving and getting massages, especially lately, with the stress of moving to a new city. I know lavender is used for aromatherapy, and is a very relaxing, calming, and soothing fragrance, so I thought this would be ideal for my boyfriend and I to use on one another.

The packaging is very pretty, with some traditional Oriental artwork on the front. I'm glad to see that this bottle opens from the TOP and not the bottom, like the ONO Oil I have and love.
(FYI, Even though this says erotic...it's NOT lube! but I'm sure you all knew that already.)

Lavender is one of the few floral fragrances I actually enjoy, (I'm usually more of a sickly sweet, candy-scented kinda girl) but this...is like no lavender I've ever smelled before! It smells heavy, and sort of reminiscent of a basement/attic/mothballs. Just popping open the cap made me hesitant to try it, but I figured if I tried it and liked it, I could always buy my own in a different fragrance (since this is certainly more soap than lavender!)

My boyfriend said it smelled "OK," so I guess to some people it might not be as bad, but keep in mind he's not at all picky, and he's not the one using it most of the time. So really...it's a big risk on this one whether you'll find the smell terrible or not.

The consistency looks a little thin in the bottle, but it's just right once you actually use it. I started off by pouring some onto my arm, and it didn't run or drip all over the place when I moved to set the bottle back down, so that's a big plus--not messy!

Once the oil is actually on my skin, the smell is considerably better, but still not GOOD by any means. I like how quickly it absorbed into my skin, leaving just enough moisture behind to leave my skin feeling soft without feeling greasy. I hate, hate, hate that! It stays moist enough to give a good long massage, too, so your hands can still glide around easily. If you're using it more for a lotion than a massage oil, it should dry enough pretty quickly to get dressed without leaving marks on your clothing.

The smell does seem to linger for a big part of the day, which upset me because I didn't WANT to smell like this...but if you enjoy the fragrance you got, you'll love it.

One of the other reviews I read for this mentions adding a few drops to bath water, and to me, that seems like a great idea. Thanks for the tip, now I don't have to throw the entire bottle away!

If I had bought this for myself, I would have gone with either the Vanilla, Fruit, or Apple scents, and I just might use some spare points to get a bottle of one of those because I'm VERY impressed with this product - just not this particular fragrance.

Though I loved the way this worked, it's still terribly stinky, so much so I can't bear to use it.