Dame’s Warming Arousal Serum Is the Perfect Potion for Heating Up Your Solo Play

If the pandemic’s negatively impacted your sex drive, you’re hardly alone. But if you’ve basically massage-wanded your vagina into numbness in an effort to jump-start your arousal, you—and anyone else struggling to get in the mood—might benefit from trying a new product: Dame Arousal Serum ($30), an all-natural stimulating cream that aims to spark your desire, awaken your pandemic-weary body, and make oral a lot more interesting.

Arousal Serum came to be as a result of the brand wanting to make a sexual arousal product to suit the needs of its community of vulva-owners. According to sexologist and Dame co-founder and CEO Alexandra Fine, 72 percent of the Dame Labs community members who were polled said the most important feature in a topical arousal serum is the sensation intensity. The community also wanted a product made of natural ingredients, free of parabens, hormones, and glycerin. These components ultimately became the foundation of the serum.

“Arousal Serum includes natural ingredients for a sensation that isn’t too intense—to avoid the ‘burning’ feeling other topical arousal creams sometimes provide—and is pH balanced, so as to not dry out vaginal tissue,” says Fine.

Scroll down to find out what, exactly, makes this Arousal Serum so sensational.

Meet Dame Arousal Serum, an aphrodisiac that’ll warm you up

Shop Now: Arousal Serum ($30)

Arousal products aren’t new to the sexual wellness market, but only recently have we started seeing an uptick in options that move beyond oil-based formulas, which can degrade latex condoms. Arousal Serum is a water-based formula that has a creamy consistency, is vegan (which isn’t always the case for topical arousal products), and comes in an easy-to-use hand-pump bottle in Dame’s signature azure blue.

“Arousal Serum is even safe and pleasurable to use during oral sex, with a slightly sweet, earthy taste.” —Alexandra Fine, Dame CEO

“Arousal Serum is even safe and pleasurable to use during oral sex, with a slightly sweet, earthy taste,” says Fine. “It strikes a balance between awakening your nerve endings while also treating the vulva to gentle, natural elements.”

To confirm, I taste-tested the serum and can officially agree that it is low-key delicious, and when considering the ingredient list, that makes a lot of sense. “We wanted to add cinnamon and ginger for their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory components—also for a warming sensation—and balance it out with peppermint, which cools and stimulates for an exciting sensation,” Fine says. The result? An impactful fire-and-ice feeling with definite cinna-mint taste undertones.

Now that taste is settled, let’s get down to how the Arousal Serum feels: I applied it as instructed, by pumping a drop onto my finger and then massaging it onto my vulva. I found that the longer the massage, the better the result, because it allows the body to acclimate to the stimulation and mild temperature fluctuations. Once you get used to the tingling, you might really start to dig it.

When I paired Arousal Serum with one of my go-to mini massagers, I could feel a more targeted, excitable pleasure buildup than what I normally experience when using the toy. It also gave me a harder, almost heartier orgasm that packed a deeper wallop than my average weekday fare. (On weekends, however, I have my time on my hands.)

Speaking of hands, I would definitely recommend grabbing Arousal Serum if you want to up-level your manual masturbation routine. When a buzzy friend is on the fritz or you simply don’t have a vibrator around, this product is a potent salve for reaching (and amplifying) your climax way faster.

As far as caveats go, this might not be the best match if you’re someone who wouldn’t enjoy a tingling sensation (one friend described this feeling as “not knowing if my vagina is anxious”) or have a hyper-sensitive vulva. Otherwise, I find Arousal Serum to be a welcome sensation multiplier in a bottle—an effortless pleasure booster, especially if you’re going sans vibrator. If you’re looking for something to intensify your pleasure or you want to make oral an exuberant experience, you couldn’t find a sweeter match.

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