I haven't been particularly fond of Durex's line Play in the past. I admire their innovation; with multi-functional lubricants, C-rings, vibrators, and more, but so far I just haven't seen their sensations make it up to par. I was extremely disappointed with their Play Warming, and when I got this assignment for their female arousal gel, I was both intrigued and hesitant. I didn't want to get let down.

So far, I don't quite think I have been.

Utopia seems to have its ups and downs, but I do think its an interesting product. It's water based, which starts the Good list, and definitely very smooth and not too sticky.

The packaging is definitely well done. The box is a cute white and dark pink, with the Play symbol, with the words "UTOPIA female arousal gel" on the bottom (The O, of course, is bolder than the other letters there). The bottle is small, but kind of elegant. A simple glass pump bottle with that frosted look. I happen to really like the way it looks. Very pretty.

It has a fairly light and unnoticeable smell. Something earthy and musky, with a little bit of a menthol smell. Not exactly a wonderful scent, but not bad either.

I had some confusion when it came to taste. Nothing on the box suggests that the gel is edible, but nothing says it's not either. Also, the word "flavor" is listed in its ingredients, which made me even more confused. So, I went ahead and dabbed a teeny tiny bit on my tongue, for reference's sake, and kind of wished I hadn't. The taste is pretty nonexistent, just like a tiny bit of menthol and glycerin, but...lets just say my tongue is still tingling a bit.
So no, I wouldn't recommend this product for use during oral sex.

Now to the sensations. Hm.

The packaging boasts Utopia's "unique combination" of ingredients and sensations. I actually have to agree with them. And if I was afraid I'd have another Durex Warming (non-existent) experience, I was proven wrong pretty quickly. The feeling it gives is an interesting mixture of tingling, cooling, and warming at the same time, and I could definitely dig it. Immediately after being rubbed against, the skin, you can feel a sort of tingling, cold sensation, followed quickly by a warm, heating feeling. When blown on, the cooling feeling comes back, while the tingling kind of remains around, even after the other sensations go away.

About that, though. Here's the problem. It doesn't last long enough. When left alone, all the warm and cold feelings (and most of the tingling) goes away in a matter of minutes. During sex, it seems to go away as soon as the action actually gets going. The first time W and I tried it out, I kept stopping him so that I could reapply the gel. And while it did "increase sensation" it didn't do nearly enough of it. Especially since I had to keep going back to get more of it. I haven't tried it during masturbation yet, but I get the feeling it would only be a little bit better that way.

Cleaning up is pretty simple really. Being water-based, just a quick rinse will get rid of it (but you know you should use soap anyway). And because of how short-lived (and smooth) it is, just leaving it and falling asleep that way doesn't create that itching, uncomfortable feeling some sensation-based lubricants can give you when they're left on too long. Although, I don't know what that would do to your skin in the long run, so I wouldn't recommend doing it often.

Overall I do appreciate the Utopia gel. It's not the best stuff in the world, and the need for reapplication can be a bit annoying, but the sensations are pretty good, and I do think it can be worth it at times. Although considering its problems, I do think it's a bit overpriced.

I just want to mention that while the sensations (warming, cooling, etc.) weren't fantastic for me, I do think they would affect most women a little bit better. I have a physical problem that keeps me from feeling sensations accurately "down there", so everything's kind of dulled. I do think the tingling feeling might be a little more intense for other women.

Which would be awesome, if the stuff lasted longer.

I still use this every now and then, although I still run into the same problems before, probably due to my own physiology rather than any fault in the product. I feel the sensations, sure, for a tiny bit of a while, but it doesn't arouse me in the least or last long. I still give it a shot, hoping it'll work right at some point. But like I said, I think that's my own problem, not the product. If you like lots of sensations, this is for you.