I thought I would branch out a bit and try a new kind of lube for me: warming lube. After absolutely loving Sliquid Original H2O and Sliquid Organics Natural Gel I knew Sliquid would be the perfect company for my first warming lube.

Sliquid is dedicated to producing glycerin- and paraben-free lubes which works wonderfully for me as I am trying to only use lubes without those ingredients. Glycerin can cause or exacerbate yeast infections in women prone to them, is used as a suppository for constipation so it can *ahem* do the opposite of that if used anally⁰¹ and if that isn’t enough it is also responsible for the horrible stickyness that most water-based lubes are known for. Parabens are endocrine-disrupting chemicals and can disrupt the reproductive system including mimicing estrogen or affecting the secretion of testosterone, they’re found in lots of things and I am avoiding them everywhere as much as possible.

Sliquid lubes are also hypoallergenic, non-toxic, non-staining, vegan, and compatible with condoms and every sex toy material. They even have an Organics line and an organic version of Sizzle called Sensation.

The only difference between the ingredients of Sliquid Sizzle and Sliquid Original is food grade menthol which actually triggers cold receptors and creates more of a cooling sensation than a warming one. The cooling is so intense, however, it’s almost like a warming sensation. Technically menthol irritates your skin, which may be (I think) the source of the warming-like sensation.

Friction is supposed to activate and enhance the warming-like sensation, and it definitely does it’s job. It usually only takes a couple seconds after applying Sizzle before I can feel it with no additional rubbing aside from that which is needed to apply it. Due to the lack of glycerin Sizzle is not sticky at all, yet it’s also not thin like a lot of other water-based lubes. It’s quite thick, actually, which helps you get it only where you want it.

Since it does have menthol in it the taste and smell reflect that quite evidently. If licked soon after putting to use before it has the chance to calm down a little bit it can definitely make your tongue tingle, which makes for interesting oral. It also smells like menthol, though I can’t smell it when it is on me I’m sure if your nose was down near it you would be ale to smell it, so if you don’t like minty smelling things you might want to pass.

Personally, I’m not sure how I feel about the warming-like sensation of Sliquid Sizzle. I have only used this on my clit, not internally as I’m not sure I would enjoy that sensation and haven’t gotten up the nerve to give it a try. Though I imagine it feels much like many other warming lubes and I know it feels similar to a few arousal products which employ menthol or peppermint oil to do their “arousing,” I’m just not convinced I enjoy that tingly cooling/warming sensation in general. I do know that it has piqued my interest, and I am definitely interested in trying other warming and cooling products out there.

My own preferences aside, however, this is a wonderful lubricant from a wonderful company and a great way to dive into sensation lubes or to enhance an existing collection.

You can find Sliquid Sizzle, along with other Sliquid products, Dildos and sex toys of every flavor on SexToy.Com.

Name: Sizzle – Warming Formula

Manufacturer: Sliquid

Type: Water-based Lubricant

Compatibility: Works with all toy types. Latex safe. Body safe.

Glycerin-free: Yes
Paraben-free: Yes

Organic: No, but there is an organic version: Sliquid Organics Sensation
Vegan: Yes

Flavored: No

Ingredients: Purified H2O, Plant Cellulose, Polyquat 007, Food Grade Menthol, DMDM Hydantoin

Smell: Like menthol, which shouldn’t be a surprise, but not overwhelmingly.
Taste: Also like menthol, and the fresher you get it from the bottle the more likely it is to make your tongue tingle too.
Sticky? Not at all, of course!

Rating: 3 Lotus’ (out of 5) – Good & Recommended

Much thanks to SexToy.Com for letting me review Sliquid Sizzle!

1. This gem of information is thanks to Tristan Taormino’s wonderful Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women (review coming soon)! [↩]

I swear, it seems like Courtney Trouble is making films just for me. Queer Porn Noir? How does she know what I have always longed to see? This is the second film by Courtney that I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing (the first being Nostalgia) and it won’t be the last.

The first line of Speakeasy kind of sums up what it is about: “Queer Speakeasy, a secret underground club famous for its hedonism, genderfucking, drama.” Based on real life Speakeasy clubs which were establishments during prohibition which served alcohol illegally. Of course this means all the characters are decked out in suspenders, fedoras, high heels, classy dresses, and look absolutely wonderful.

The only problem I had with it is that I didn’t care much for it’s leading lady, Lorelei Lee. While I do think she was a fit for the part and she did look the part she’s just not my kind of girl so I didn’t find her that attractive. She also frequently let off high pitched whimpers within her two scenes which was distracting, she kind of sounded like a dolphin.

Even though I didn’t care for her I did think her scenes were hot, especially the first one with Tomcat. Both of her scenes left me a little uneasy, however, as her character seemed to be out of control and often she didn’t seem like she was enjoying her lack of control instead she was burdened by it, especially with Tomcat. The two scenes without her were amazing and two of my favorite scenes in any porn I’ve ever watched. I fell head-over-heels with Speakeasy, as I have with everything by Courtney Trouble I’ve seen thus far (more reviews coming).

The music helps to set the mood as well, but I don’t mean the bow chicka bow wow style mood, but rather it is mostly piano-based period music which fades when the scene is colorful and helps the sex scenes connect with the rest of the movie. All non-sex scenes are in black and white and are wonderful at framing the sex as well as giving a feel for the period the piece is imitating. When the black and white scenes change to color everyone else we see in the establishment disappears aside from the couple in the scene, which gives the sex scenes the feeling of fantasy.

I especially love watching Jiz Lee and Dallas Fivestar enter the club at the beginning of the film: once inside Dallas hands Jiz the purse Dallas was carrying, takes the flower out of hir hair, takes of the feminine looking coat ze is wearing to reveal a white button-up shirt and suspenders, and slips a cap on hir head as an added touch. Ze successfully goes from a socially acceptable feminine appearance to one more masculine, which would have been appropriate for the time period.

Title: Speakeasy
Writer & Director: Courtney Trouble
Studio: Reel Queer Productions

Cast: Lorelei Lee, Jiz Lee, Dallas Fivestar, Billy Castro, Tomcat, Moustache Malone, and Cyd.

Length: 76 minutes (not including extras)
Year: 2009

Extras: Speakeasy Short (a version of the movie with brief clips of the sex scenes instead of a full version), Behind the Scenes, Photo Gallery, Nostalgia Trailer, Roulette Trailer.

Trailer

Synopsis

A mysterious detective with a heart of gold and a fist of honey discovers an underground queer speakeasy, filled to the brim with hedonism and topped with a cherry bomb. Lorelei is a drop dead gorgeous femme fatale ignored by her misfit man, who would rather guzzle ale and arm wrestle than please his lady. She takes matters into her own hands with the elusive detective, who’s more than willing to fight for a chance to dance. Meanwhile, the bar heats up as Jiz Lee and Dallas Fivestar seductively play with suspension and sex – and the Speakeasy’s bartenders split the tips the hard way. Shot in the style of classic film noir and reminiscent of the 1940’s, Speakeasy draws you inside it’s secret world of rough sex, queer fetish, and fearlessness.
-via Courtney Trouble

Scene-by-scene

The first scene has no real lead in, it just drops us in the action of Lorelei Lee and Tomcat going at it in a hallway. There is an obvious power dynamic from the start between the two of them, and at points Tomcat is pretty rough with Lorelei including choking, much slapping, and dirty talk.

Most of the scene is extremely enjoyable, but when Lorelei gets really excited she seems to make that squeal/whimper sound that is pretty common, and while I’m sure in the moment it is hot it doesn’t do anything for me, so I end up watching a lot of the scene with the sound down. The other thing that I noticed is there seems to be two different camera angles in the scene, and the lighting is different depending on the angle, which is slightly distracting to the scene as a whole.

I do really like it, though, even if I have to turn the sound down.

This may possibly be my favorite scene in any porn I have ever seen thus far. Jiz Lee is rope suspended by Dallas Fivestar first partially and then fully. Jiz and Dallas work off of each other wonderfully and it’s obvious that they are both enjoying the scene and genuinely having fun. At one point after Jiz is tied up but before they are suspended Dallas puts hir cap on them, which is adorable.

There is a lot of wonderful rope work in the scene, and it gives a great example of how rope can take a while but there are plenty of things to while tying someone up to keep things interesting. This scene also has a bit of strange lighting disparities, but the beauty of the suspension is so great that it didn’t bother me while watching it, though I did notice it.

Another favorite scene of mine is a bit of the opposite of the last one, the bartenders Mustache Malone and Cyd can’t keep their hands off of each other and have some excellent gay FTM strap-on fucking behind the bar. It is a wonderfully queer scene, with two realistic colored Vixen Creations cocks (a Leo and another VixSkin one I’m not sure of). Mustache’s harness seems to slip down while he’s fucking Cyd bent over the bar, but that is the only thing that distracts from the extremely hot scene.

The final scene comes after a fight between Billy Castro and Tomcat which results in both of them on the floor. Essentially they are fighting over Lorelei Lee, and she shows her appreciation to Billy in this final scene. He is equipped with what looks like a Vixen Creations Brando, a monster cock if ever there was, which makes an obscene bulge in his pants which made me exclaim “let it out already!” before Lorelei has the good sense to let the beast free.

Unfortunately this is another scene where I had to turn the volume down, and this one pretty much the entire time. I enjoy her sounds most of the time, but Billy’s guttural grunts added to her dolphin squeaks just did not do it for me. The scene in general seemed very odd to me as well, maybe because she is pushed around so much during the duration of the film and even though she is choosing to be with Billy and their interaction is much more tender than hers with Tomcat it still seems more of a helpless action than a chosen one. I’m not entirely sure why, I’m still thinking about that one.

There was also a part of the scene where a DO NOT URINATE in building sign was on the ceiling directly above Lorelei, and I couldn’t help but be amused when it caught my eye. Why? I’m not sure.

Despite not being fond of the lead actress still I absolutely adore Speakeasy, and I do think that other people would enjoy the sounds in the first and last scene even though I didn’t. The suspension scene is amazing, though, too, and if nothing else, this scene is worth getting the movie (though there are plenty of other reasons).

Much thanks to Good Releasing for sending me Speakeasy! (It can also be found for purchase GoodVibes)

Rating: 4 Lotuses (out of 5) – Very Good & Highly Recommended