REVIEWS

It’s funny. Every time I seem to turn around now, there’s a new clit cream on the market. I remember it being only a year ago when I had to search to find more then a couple of brands available.REVIEWS

It’s funny. Every time I seem to turn around now, there’s a new clit cream on the market. I remember it being only a year ago when I had to search to find more then a couple of brands available. So, although this is the last article in my review series, if anyone happens across other clit creams out there that you’ve tried personally, shoot me an e-mail (kathleen@libida.com) and let me know what you think. Who knows? Perhaps it’ll fuel additional comparisons in a future article.

Climatique claims to have been developed by female researchers as a sexual stimulant designed especially for women. Upon probing though, I couldn’t find out who these researchers necessarily were. However, Climatique does have the distinction of being the only clit cream endorsed by the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (yours truly being an alum – but don’t worry, I have my bias in check). The product is manufactured by Taylor Wright Pharmaceuticals. Taylor Wright also makes Vigorex and Vigorex Femme (what they say is the “natural” capsule form of Viagra for men and women).

Climatique is trying to differentiate itself from the rest of the pack in several ways. In addition to L-Arginine (an amino acid that is related to sexual responsiveness), the manufacturers have included Niacin. Niacin is a water-soluble vitamin that can contribute to increased sensitivity of the clitoris. They have also included menthol (like all of the other creams). However, they claim that they only include it for marketing purposes as consumers have grown to expect menthol in their clit creams. They say that so little is actually in the cream that they could technically only list it as a flavoring. This is quite a different angle as the previous theory as to why the manufacturers of these products were using menthol, was to create a tingling sensation, which women could “mistake” for arousal.

Climatique offers several ways in which E-Tailers may choose to carry their product: 1) Set up an affiliate with them and get paid a commission for each purchase – usually about 25%. In this case Climatique handles everything from fulfillment to customer service; 2) Buy the product wholesale from them and retail it on your site. In this scenario, the minimum order is a dozen at $12 per bottle plus shipping. Order two dozen and the pricing goes to $11 per bottle and down to $9 a bottle for every 10 dozen; 3) The last option is to set up a Yahoo store with Climatique, negotiate shipping and handling with them as you wouldn’t have to carry inventory, and have customers purchase with a coupon code. The E-Tailer would be responsible for fulfillment in this case and therefore their cut would be a more substantial 30-40%.

Climatique itself retails a one oz. bottle for $24.95. The company believes that this is far more reasonable than competitors like Viacreme’s $15 per 2-3 applications or HerTurn’s $60 per bottle. It’s in this way that the company believes Climatique can build a stronger customer base and have less customer service issues.

My personal use of Climatique varied more widely. One of my major complaints with some of the other clit creams was that they were way too strong initially, causing more of a burning sensation rather than a tingling. However, the first few times I used Climatique, it was so mild that the results were barely noticeable. Additional uses did progressively give way to increased sensation. But women may need to be more patient with working up to their stimulation with this particular cream, which I suppose is a trade-off if you want to avoid the burning sensation.

Overall, the clit cream and female sexuality market is proving to be big business. It seems that these creams in one form or another will become a staple of the market. So, my suggestion to E-Tailers is to perhaps carry a couple of different creams, be sure to give a disclaimer, and let women choose what works best for them.

For more information on Climatique go to: www.climatique.org

Sexologist Dr. Kathleen Van Kirk, is also a Marriage and Family Therapist and serves as the VP and Director of Content for the progressive women’s sexuality site www.libida.com. You can reach her at kathleen@libida.com for any questions or comments.