Sliquid Swirl Cherry Vanilla is a water-based personal lubricant with a sweet, fruity taste that is intended to make oral an extra tasty treat. You can rest assured that this lubricant is free of DEA, gluten, glycerine, glycerol, parabens, PEG, propylene glycol, sorbitol and sulphates. It’s also made to be 100% vegan-friendly. I wouldn’t say it’s completely natural, though. More on that further down in the review.
This flavored lubricant comes in a 4 oz bottle. The images below are of the sections of the label not visible in the first image. Product features, the Sliquid promise, the ingredient list, and company information are printed on the label.
The cap has a section to press with your finger to flip up part of it to dispense the lubricant. The bottle is fairly easy to squeeze, and I’ve had no issues with getting the lube out or having it spill. Such a top also lessens any contamination of the lubricant. You’ll need to remove the safety seal before use.
EdenFantasys always ships discreetly. Every package I receive from them comes as a plain USPS Priority Flat Rate box with the return address labeled as “Web Merchants”, and no indication of the contents.
Purified Water, Plant Cellulose (from Cotton), Cyamopsis (Guar Conditioners), Cherry & Vanilla Flavoring, Aspartame, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid
The Sliquid Swirl Cherry Vanilla is safe for use with all toys and latex condoms.
Aside from being an ingredient that easily upsets my stomach, aspartame doesn’t have a very good rap, despite what the EWG Cosmetics Database says about the artificial sweetener. Google it. You’ll see what I mean.
It’s too bad that something like the stevia plant wasn’t used in this flavored lubricant, instead of sketchy artificial sweetener.
This lubricant is clear and has a smooth texture. The consistency is nice; not so runny that it would get everywhere, and not so thick to coat the mouth while giving head. It takes about 9 seconds for a good drop of it to drip off my finger.
For an oral lube, it can last pretty long. Of course, this depends on how much of it you swallow or dilute with your own saliva. I’ve had no issues with it drying out. Really, the taste should trigger salivation, which helps to keep the lube hydrated.
For vaginal intercourse, it lasts long enough to reach orgasm without it getting sticky or drying out. Our sex sessions usually don’t last more than 5-10 minutes, though. After using this vaginally, you’re probably going to smell like it for a while.
My husband says the Sliquid Swirl Cherry Vanilla smells fruity, like chocolate covered cherries. This was before even telling him what flavor it is. I think it smells purely like maraschino cherries. Actually, it also kind of reminds me of cherry Coca-cola.
It’s very easy to smell, but it isn’t obnoxiously strong either.
It tastes just like maraschino cherries. That’s something we both agree on. Unfortunately, we also both agree that it’s got one funky aftertaste, probably due to the aspartame.
The taste is pretty strong, and covers up the natural taste of my husband’s genitals. It’s not really overpowering to the point of being too much, but it’s quite sweet.
All you need is a little soap and water, or to throw things in the laundry machine. I’ve had no issues with this lube leaving a residue or staining anything.
My husband’s reaction to this was “Ooh, you finally got a good one!”. I wish that were true. The presence of aspartame makes Sliquid Swirl Cherry Vanilla a terrible lube for me, since it upsets my stomach. Also, I’m not sold on the safety of that artificial sweetener, and I don’t see how Sliquid can label this as “natural” with a chemical sweetener in it. If the aspartame would be replaced with stevia, I just might be more sold on this. I would make a great oral lube for my husband to use on me, but I’m not comfortable with that ingredient list. Plus, the aftertaste isn’t very pleasant.
Posted in Couples Sex Toys
If you’ve never heard of Nexus before, they’re a luxury sex toy manufacturing company. Their prostate massagers are some of the most popular in the industry and there is an obvious reason for this.
Because they’re awesome!
The people from Nexus sent me a few of their products to try out a couple of months back and the Silo was one of them.
For starters, the Silo is one of the prostate plugs offered by Nexus. All that means is that it’s more of a hands free option. The design allows it to slide in and stay put while stimulating the prostate. If you squeeze or flex the muscles in that area, the plug will sort of rock back and forth to massage your prostate. It can be worn during sex or masturbation. A lot of times, the natural muscle spasms from having an orgasm and movements you use to thrust will be enough to move the plug.
Having said all of that, the plug was too large for John to enjoy. He wasn’t comfortable using it for anal play (on me or himself) because it’s size and shape are more geared for very advanced butt players. It’s made of a 100% matte silicone, which creates a bit more of a drag and gives some resistance to entry. It also doesn’t really have a slow taper that lends itself to more gentle anal use. Eventually, he may decide he’s ready for it, but for now he’s content to use the smaller plugs and massagers we own (and will be reviewing soon!).
So, we used it for g-spot stimulation. The same curve and stiffness of the toy that makes it ideal for prostate massage, make it a good g-spot toy. It’s relatively short and doesn’t have much of a handle, so for solo use it’s awkward to try to use, but it’s divine when you have a partner there to rock it around.
A few safety and care tips about the Silo:
Other than that, enjoy it!
Posted in Couples Sex Toys
The first item I saw in the Icon Brands Fashionistas line was the Fashionistas Bunny Plug (small and large). One day while browsing for a new crop I ran across the Fashionistas Riding Crop. They also make a whip. Both are available from Amazon. The design looked super pretty and I knew I had to have one.
WHAT IT IS
The name pretty much says it all. The Fashionistas Riding Crop is a crop. Didn’t take much to figure that one out, huh? Crops are used for impact play. The difference between this crop and others is that the handle is made of glass, etched with a pretty fairy design. You could use the handle as a dildo, but it’s pretty thin. It does do double duty if you need it to.
PACKAGING
The packaging on the crop is pretty, but not at all discreet. It’s entirely made of plastic with the front clear so the crop is visible through it. It says “Fashionistas Glass Crop” on it. The back has a little blurb about the product and has photos of the other products in the line, including nipple suckers and a paddle.
The packaging holds up well (it’s been sitting in my drawer for a while and hasn’t lost shape), so it’s possible to use it for storage. Since crops tend to take up enough room without adding bulk around them, I doubt you’ll end up using it for that.
MATERIAL
The crop is made from leather and glass. The packaging doesn’t list the material of the middle, but our best guess is plastic with nylon coating.
The leather is semi-soft and pliable. It has the letter F enclosed in a circle embossed on it. The ends of the leather have a lot of the little fuzzies that you get with leather items. It isn’t extra high quality, but it’s better than cheap leather.
The glass is black with fairies etched onto it. It’s quite weighty. The weight from the glass makes holding this feel different than holding other crops. You can really feel the weight in your hand when you hold onto it. My husband says he really likes the weight while using it.
The stitching on the leather is a bit off. It doesn’t seem to be perfectly straight and is fraying a bit from use. It does seem like it will hold up, it just doesn’t look spectacular.
SIZE
The total length of the crop is 19″. The crop portion is 3 3/8″ long and 1.75″ wide. The handle is 6.5″ long and 1″ wide.
At 19″, this is a shorter crop. This makes it easy to store, which is a plus. In use, the length will depend a lot on preference. My husband seems to prefer the shorter crops as he can use them during sex and doesn’t have to be far away from me to hit me with them. The length really makes no difference to me as the receiver. Since he likes the shorter ones, I try to buy to his preference.
DESIGN
The crop is done in slapper style, meaning that it’s a piece of leather folded over on itself. This creates a loop in the middle. The encircled F on the leather isn’t something that can be felt, nor will it leave the lettering on the body.
The crop portion is very pliable. I can push on the top of the loop and flatten it down. The pliability of the material seems to make it more “slappy” in feeling. And, yes, I know that’s not a real word.
The middle is, as best I can figure, plastic with a nylon wrapped around it. The nylon has a shiny appearance that catches the light and makes it look sparkly. It’s cut in a diamond design which is probably why it has the sparkle effect. Through the diamond cut outs you can see the black plastic.
The handle is simply stunning. Etched onto it is a grey-ish gold design of two fairies and some floral accents. The fairies appear in naked silhouette with what can only be called stripper heels. I thought my husband would hate the girly design of the handle, but the naked fairies must have won him over.
RIDING CROP IN USE
Since it’s got the slapper loop, this makes the crop louder than a solid leather crop. It makes that familiar “smack” sound that reverberates through the room. It’s not something you should use when you have house guests.
The impact of it isn’t super intense, but isn’t weak either. It falls right about it the moderate category perfectly. Probably too intense for a true beginner (when hit with full force), but perhaps not intense enough for those who enjoy high levels of pain. We find this to be the perfect crop for warming up. Sometimes we’ll just use this one on a lighter evening. Most of the time it’s followed by a more intense impact toy.
If you slap with it lightly, it can produce very mild results. Because of this, beginners who have a light hand may be able to use it. Just be cautioned that it can get stronger with a heavy hand.
The end result after using this for a while is a red backside, but not a bruised one.
The feel of the crop is somewhere between stingy and thuddy, leaning a bit more to the stingy side. The crop has enough width that it doesn’t have the same sting as a narrow tip crop or cane would have. It’s also not thuddy in the same way that a thick leather flogger would be.
I quite like this as a warm up crop given the moderate intensity and the fact that it doesn’t sting terribly. I like both stingy and thuddy sensations, but prefer thuddy.
Apparently this crop really shines on the holder’s end. Since we got this crop, my husband has used it every time we play. Before writing this review I asked him why that was. He says he really likes the weight of the glass in his hand when he wields it. Where most crops are light, this one has a heavy weight to it. He also likes the length of it because he doesn’t need to be far back to use it.
I’m a big fan of the design of the crop with the pretty fairies on it. I also think it’s one of the better warm up tools we have. I like the slapping sound it makes as well.
RECOMMENDATION
If you’re looking for a moderate pain level crop, then yes. If you want something to the softer or harder side of impact then this won’t work. I think the market for this will be intermediate impact players or advanced users who want a warm up item. Or advanced users who want a pretty glass handle to hold onto.
IN CONCLUSION
Given how much my husband seems to adore this crop, I can’t help but give it five stars. It may not produce the heaviest impact, but you need something to warm up with! Plus, you know, fairies!
Rating: 5/5
Intensity: N/A
Noise: N/A
Pros: Heavy glass handle, Middle appears sparkly, Makes slapping sound, Good for warm up
Cons: Won’t work if you’re looking for heavy impact
PURCHASING
The Fashionistas Riding Crop is available from Amazon for $37.43.
Posted in Couples Sex Toys
