Belated Adult Expo report, in time for Valentine's

Did I forget to mention that alongside other nerds in Las Vegas last month for the Consumer Electronics Show, I headed across the Sands Convention Center hall for the Adult Entertainment Expo 2006? Both events share the same space, an annual source of amusement. The Sands center becomes a hub of business suits, skintight bodysuits, and bejeweled birthday suits.

The week's after-hour parties were a nightmare-inducing mix. Combine Microsoft flacks in spaghetti straps, steroidal SoCal pornsters, and wannabe Ludacris groupies. Add the backdrop of a high-up hotel suite, TV screens embedded in mirrored walls, marble hot tubs, bubbles, and a bar nearly as long as the private bowling lane.

Ya think the sex and tech industries care about clean technology? Finding some green products was my mission as I parted the curtain and entered the Adult Expo. Was there anything for your Valentine? Keep reading...

Somehow, amidst the boobs of both mannequins and real people who consider themselves dolls, I spotted the booth for Naked Scents lubes and oils right off the bat. Unlike lubricants that use stuff found in antifreeze, these are natural enough to whip up in your kitchen. The essential scents--like cinnamon vanilla--make you hungry and the texture of the lubricants is light, while the pleasure butters are rich enough to butter bread.

Company multitasker Carrie Wheeler said the plant ingredients nourish your skin and repel germs. She showed how the fragrances take on your unique signature, smelling different on her wrist than on mine. Then she handed me articles about the health benefits of healthy sex. The company, one of the first of its kind, is revamping its packaging to attract hipper customers.

Around the corner, Cheryl Flagel showed off Kama Sutra oils, which offer few eco-friendly selling points (and which I spied at said after hours party). But their corn-starch-based honey dust, which comes with a feather duster and pouch, is the bee’s knees. It's also free of talcum powder, which is linked to cervical and ovarian cancers.

Prolube was introducing its silicon lube, the medical kind (not industrial) used to grease up hospital needles and aid in artificial insemination. Flavorless, odorless, hypoallergenic, it maintains its consistency without getting tacky or, like water-based types, requiring more H2O to revive it. Siliconepro is ok for latex and other condoms, but not with silicone accessories. It supposedly helps avoid irritating skin, throwing pH out of whack, or cultivating infections. Here are some rival brands. The company already has Walgreen’s distribution.

At the Tantus booth, sex-positive pioneer Diana Cage (left), author of Box Lunch and former On Our Backs editor, showed off a dizzying array of high-end, silicone dildos. After a while, they all start to look like bookends you might find in Jeff Koons’ house. Unlike Koons’ “Michael Jackson with Bubbles,” Tantus’s works are oilable, dishwasher safe, and bleachable (but I say keep that Clorox away no matter how well it disinfects).

Said Cage of the less discriminating sex toys standing at attention throughout the convention: "You’re putting this in your mucous membrane. It goes int o the bloodstream…People don’t understand that sex toys aren’t safe…why wouldn’t you think about what we put in our bodies?"

oops--gotta run--will cap this off in a bit...

technorati tags: sustainable sex green

Comments

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[Kalimar Shibioz]

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[Sex Toy Fanatic]

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[dildolector]

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[Sec Toy Addict]

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[Ryan]

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[mike hunt]

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[Wendy]

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