There's a menagerie of sexual lubricants out there, so how do I choose the right one? It can be confusing, but if you let your intuition guide you, a little information can go a long way. So here are some pointers.

Water Formula
Water-based lubricants are the most commonly used while offering the widest variety, including flavors, warming, stimulating, and natural. They can be reactivated by adding water, wash from the body quickly, and are non-staining.

Silicone Formula
Silicone based lubricants create the longest lasting glide and never feels sticky. Great to use in the water, it feels like an "oil" but is safe to use inside the body. Although silicone lubricants are compatible with latex, they are not suggested to be used with most silicone toys and devices.

Hybrid Formula
Hybrid lubricants offer a sensual creamy consistency, feeling slippery, but thin enough to allow for a lot of sensation. A unique water-based lubricant with a touch of silicone, it doesn't feel sticky and often hydrate, protects or moisturizes the skin.

Paraben-Free
Parabens are a common preservative found in most beauty products, but some women develop a sensitivity toward petrochemicals in the form of skin irritations.

Glycerin-Free
Glycerin, which is a common ingredient in most water-based lubricants, often mimics sugar when added to feminine chemistry, and can exasurbate existing issues in sensitive women.

Carrageenan Formula
Carrageenan lubricants feel natural and moisturizing, offer an exceptional slippery sensation and can sooth and relieve dryness.

Organic Formula
There are many different definitions of "natural" and "organic", so we encourage you to read the product ingredients to determine if it is the right lubricant for you and your body.

Stimulating
Designed to increase sensation for both partners, stimulating lubricants often include active ingredients that increase blood flow and awaken the nerve endings.

Flavored
Flavored lubricants can be lots of fun adding pleasure and novelty to oral sex. Flavored lubricants are a great idea if enjoy oral sex, but you haven't yet developed a taste for your freshly showered lover's genitals. A word of caution: any product that contains sugar should not be used on or in the vagina. Sugar disrupts the natural and healthy bacterial balance in the vagina and can easily cause yeast infections in women. A sugar-free flavored lube is just as fun without this potential side-effect. Check the bottle to make sure that your flavored lubricant is latex friendly.

The Effects of Kegel Exercise on Sexual Pleasure

As the pelvic floor muscles are the muscles that that surround the vaginal opening and contract rhythmically during orgasm (in both males and females) it is not surprising that sex therapists have emphasized the importance of these muscles as playing a major role in the orgasmic response.

In 1952, Dr. Kegel published a report in which he claimed that the women doing his exercises were becoming more easily, more frequently and more intensely orgasmic. Thirty years after Dr. Kegel's article, sex therapist Bryce Britton wrote a book titled "The Love Muscle," calling her publication "Every Woman's Guide to Intensifying Sexual Pleasure." There is controversy over the precise effects of the PC muscle on orgasmic response but certain benefits of a strong pelvic floor are well accepted.

A fitter, well-toned pelvic floor will almost certainly increase sexual pleasure for you and your partner and it can dramatically improve your sexual confidence. The physiological reasons for the improvement go far beyond the increased tactile sensations resulting from a tighter vagina. Kegel exercises create an increase in pelvic vascularity which means more blood flow and more veins in the pelvic region. This will increase your awareness of the clitoral and vaginal sensations that lead to orgasm. Any stronger muscle will contract more powerfully than would a flabby muscle, and hence the likelihood of stronger orgasms is much higher with stronger PC muscles.

In a study of the effects of Kegel's exercises on sexual arousal researchers measured both women's own assessment of how aroused they felt and the the physical changes in vasoconstriction of the vagina. The study showed that vaginal contractions enhanced both the women's subjective ratings and clinical measures of their arousal.

With regular kegel exercise many women report being able to experience vaginal orgasm for the first time. Women also report more intense and more frequent multiple and g-spot orgasms. We can also reveal with confidence that some women squeeze their pelvic muscles, forcing blood down into their genital tissue, and in so doing turn themselves on. As Germaine Greer writes, some women are even able to bring themselves to orgasm exclusively with voluntary pelvic floor contractions. "You can masturbate no hands. This ability is not so much skill in controlling as a liberation of muscles repressed since infancy.

As Germaine also points out, you can undoubtedly add novelty and pleasure to your love making by squeezing your well-toned vaginal sphincter around your partner's penis. This will be fun for both giver and receiver!

But probably the most important thing about doing Kegel exercises is that you will become more familiar with your pelvis and more likely to take ownership of your internal and external genitalia. You will strengthen the muscles that contract during orgasm, and you are making an important investment in lifelong urinary control. Is it a major component in a becoming orgasmic? The jury is still out on that one but it is certainly something non-orgasmic women should include in their quest for the "Big O".

You are sure to find the perfect product for your kegel exercises here at The Goodies Box!

6 Steps to Asking for What You Want in Bed

Sexual communication, which is necessary to get what you want out of sex, is a challenge for most couples. Many people are either too embarrassed or concerned that talking about sex and what you want in bed will lead to an argument. Discussing sex with your spouse will not only increase your intimacy, but it will also improve sex. And you can talk about the kind of sex you'd like to have without fighting. Really. Here's what you need to do to ask for what you want in bed when having sex -

1. Sexual Communication - Think before you talk.
Before you broach the subject of sex with your spouse, you must be sure of your intentions. Your motivation should be to improve your sex life and enjoy sex more and not to punish your husband for forgetting to mow the lawn last weekend. Once you are certain your intentions are good, come up with a plan for what you'd like to say. Consider your spouse's feelings and think specifically about what you truly desire. Make a list if you have to.

2. Sexual Communication - Set the mood.
Obviously, you should pick a time and place (your home is probably best) where the two of you can be alone and free from distractions. If you're just interested in increasing the frequency of sex, you might consider setting the mood before coming out and asking for sex. For instance, you could light a few candles, run a bath for you and your spouse, and then start kissing him or her to get sex started. In this way, you are communicating without saying a word.

3. Sexual Communication - Be positive.
Instead of telling your partner the things he or she does during sex that you don't like, tell them what they do to pleasure you. For example, you could say, 'You drive me wild when you nibble on my ear before sex', instead of, 'I hate it when you lick my belly during sex'. If you keep telling your spouse about the stuff you like, eventually he or she will focus on a repertoire of those things.

4. Sexual Communication - Give explicit directions.
Again, you're trying to eliminate criticism and negativity to avoid hurting your spouse's feelings. Tell him or her exactly what you'd like done to you. Be very specific. Whisper something like, 'Look into my eyes as you unbutton my shirt. Kiss me and run your finger down my torso. Begin to touch my breasts.... You get the idea. This exercise will not only get you what you want in bed but it can also be erotic, which can spice up sex.

5. Sexual Communication - Use your hands.
Sometimes, you don't even have to talk. You can simply use your hands to direct your spouse along your body and into the positions you'd like. This show and tell could even be a game for the two of you, where neither of you talks, but you let your hands - and perhaps some moaning if it happens naturally - be your guide.

6. Sexual Communication - Employ positive reinforcement.
When your spouse does something you enjoy while having sex, tell him or her. Moan, groan, or simply say, 'That was great...' or 'I love it when you do that...'. Speak up because a pat on the back, a round of applause, and a pat on the back. 'You're wonderful' always sets up a person for continued success. We all want to get those applause again and again.

Be sure to visit our large variety of books for guidance or inspiration on adding a little color to your romance!