Stella massage oil by Luz de la Riva - review by Crystal1

Stella Massage Oil is made by Luz de la Riva, a company that makes what they call "couture intimate cosmetics." The aromas are chosen for their aphrodisiac qualities to add to the sensual massage experience, while the oil's other ingredients are selected for their skin nourishing and moisturizing abilities. You'll find simple, natural ingredients like almond oil, coconut oil and shea butter among the oil's short list of seven ingredients.

This oil can be used to give your partner a sensual rub down as a part of foreplay or a relaxing post-sex pampering, or on your own to aid in relieving some muscle tension. The oil can also be massaged into dry areas of skin that could use a little extra pampering. It is not intended for internal use, nor is it edible.

The massage oil is, as you can guess from the term "oil", a liquid with a slightly thicker consistency than water. It's easy to drizzle a bit from the bottle onto the skin, or just turn the bottle upside down with your finger over the hole to get a small amount on your fingertip. A few drops of the oil poured onto the skin will quickly spread out on their own, covering the area. During application, the oil does not feel greasy but quickly moves towards a velvety smooth texture. It does absorb into the skin quite quickly, so long massages will require several reapplications. Once the oil is absorbed, there is almost no oily residue left on the surface of the skin; it just feels soft and nourished.

Pale amber in color, the massage oil looks a little like vegetable or olive oil. In the bottle it's a bit cloudy with a lot of tiny particles floating in suspension inside, like a snowglobe that's been frozen in action. You should give the bottle a good shake before use for best results.

The manufacturer describes the "Sweet Cherie" scent as a mix of peach, melon, apple, jasmine, rose, musk and ambergris. I wasn't personally able to pick out any of the fruit notes and got more of a basic perfume scent, like what one is hit with when walking through a department store's maze of perfume counters. It's not an overpowering scent; once applied and rubbed into to the skin you need to get within about a foot away to smell it. Should you want to remove the scent after your massage, a quick shower or light scrub with a soapy wash cloth should do the trick. Otherwise, the scent does linger on the skin for several hours.

Although the ingredients are mostly natural, this is not an edible product, and should not be tasted.

This is not the kind of massage oil that leaves you feeling greasy or sticky afterwards. It absorbs into the skin well, if a bit quickly, and leaves behind a velvety smooth finish. You could easily go on about your day after using this without having to worry about being covered in an oily residue.

I only got about a minute of really good "massage time" while I was testing this before I felt like I needed to apply more, since it was already mostly absorbed into the skin. If you are massaging a large area for a long time, you're going to have to reapply this several times.

A white cardboard box printed with the brand name in several places, an ingredient list on the bottom and a quick description of the product on the bottom serves as packaging. The front of the box features a simple, colorful illustration of a nude woman with arms and legs crossed in a way that conceals everything; it's more suggestive than overtly sexual and is unlikely to raise eyebrows if left in the open. It would actually be right at home in most perfume or upscale body product displays.

The oil comes in a glass bottle with a black plastic twist-off cap, giving it the appearance of a vintage perfume bottle. The bottle is similar in size to the average palm of a hand or a deck of cards. The only adornments on the bottle itself are the clear sticker on the front with a line drawing of the same woman that decorates the box, and a tiny white sticker on the bottom which reads "Stella Massage Oil" and the scent name. Turned sideways, this would easily blend in with other beauty product bottles on a shelf, since it does very little to call attention to itself.

The simple but sophisticated packaging and velvety texture of this massage oil were both hits with me. I can't use "perfumey" scents (instant headache), so I got a second opinion on the scent from a friend that likes perfume, and it got a thumbs-up from her.

One thing to keep in mind is that this is designed to be a luxury massage oil. A small amount goes a long way, but it does absorb quickly, so longer massages will take several applications. Using this by the handful would mean only a few uses from the bottle, so it is probably better suited to a shoulder or foot rub than a full body rubdown.