There are at least two compelling reasons to use this product. First of all, it’s water-based, which means it can be used with silicone toys (or toys made from most other materials, for that matter). There are tons of water-based lubes on the market, though, so the main selling point of this one is that it’s paraben and glycerin-free. For those who don’t know, parabens are a kind of preservative commonly found in many products—including lubricants—that may or may not be correlated with an increased risk of cancer. Even if they do turn out to be safe in this respect, there are individuals who are allergic to them, so it’s best to avoid them if you can. It’s the lack of glycerin, though, that’s likely to be particularly appealing to women interested in this product. Lubricants containing glycerin appear to increase the likelihood that a woman will develop a yeast infection—particularly if she is already predisposed to them. There is, again, some disagreement over exactly how serious of a problem this is, but better safe than sorry.

Thin lubricant is a huge pet peeve of mine; it dries quickly, makes a mess, and feels nothing like my body’s natural lubrication. To be perfectly honest, this lube is still a bit thinner than I would prefer, but it’s not nearly as runny as some I’ve tried. It’s not immune to the effects of gravity, but it does cling a bit; if I rub some between two fingers and then pull them apart there is just the slightest amount of tackiness, which I like. I consider it thick enough for masturbation or vaginal intercourse, but if you want a lubricant you can use anally, you might want to look for something with a bit more substance to it.

To be blunt, this does not taste good; even in small quantities, it’s extremely bitter, so I would suggest using something else if the evening’s program includes oral sex. The strong taste doesn’t seem to translate into a strong smell, though. In fact, I can’t smell it at all when it’s in use.

For the most part, I don’t use lube for partner sex, so bear in mind that my evaluation is based mainly on using it with toys. That said, though, I really like this product. It does dribble downwards, so I would recommend putting a towel underneath you if you don’t want to stain the sheets, but enough stays in place that I’ve never experienced any chafing or discomfort, even when using a powerful vibrator like the Hitachi. I find that it also works well to slick up penetrative toys, but I expect that individual opinions on this will vary based on how wet you are naturally—particularly because, in my experience, this lube lasts a long time when it gets mixed in with natural lubrication. I’ve used it for at least 45 minutes without it drying noticeably or getting sticky. Cleanup is easy as well; you can wipe if off with just a bit of water. The most important thing to me, though, is that as soon as it warms up to my body temperature (which it does fairly quickly) I can’t tell that it’s there—it supplements natural lubrication very well because it just blends right in.

Astroglide is a pretty well-known lubricant, so the name alone is going to give it away, but other than that the packaging is fairly discreet. The label does have the words “personal lubricant” on it, but it’s written in fairly small print; from a distance, it could easily be a bottle of hand sanitizer. Both the bottle and the cardboard box it comes in have information about use and ingredients, although it’s really fairly self-explanatory. More important is the fact that you can flip the cap open with one hand and still be able to control the amount of lube you dispense. I should add that while I’ve never noticed the bottle leaking—and it seems pretty airtight—I’ve never tried storing it somewhere where it would really get jostled around.