Some have said that chocolate is better than sex, so what could be better than licking chocolate off of the erotically sensitive parts of your lover's body to enhance the pleasure?

As an added bonus, eating chocolate is said to release endorphins, also known as pleasure chemicals — natural chemicals released from the body, which cause an emotion of pleasure.

Before you go running off to the kitchen to heat a saucepan of water and get a bowl to melt the chocolate in, stop: regular or cooking chocolate is not suitable, as it gets hard too quickly and is also likely to be sticky and messy.

You'll need to purchase specially-designed chocolate body paint, which stays at roughly the same consistency at normal temperatures. It is available in various different sizes of tubes and jars, from 150g up to the deluxe 500g. It is usually supplied with a brush, ranging from a basic paintbrush to an elaborate brush capable of swirling designs. However, it may be more fun to use your fingers as a painting instrument. As it is designed to be consumed, there should be a 'Best Before' date on the product.

Varieties

The varieties of chocolate body paint are fairly limited. It is available in milk and white chocolate. The milk chocolate has a couple of choices of added flavouring, such as hazelnut and strawberry. The taste may also vary a little depending on which brand you buy, so it's worth trying some different brands to find the one most suited to your taste-buds.

Nutella is said to be a suitable alternative, though a little thicker than the body paint.

How to Use

Each tube or jar should come with instructions, though general advice seems to be that the tubes or jars can be kept in the fridge and then warmed — though not in a microwave — to body temperature for using.

Chocolate body paint can be used on its own, with whipped cream, bits of fruit or anything edible that you would like to seductively devour from your lover's body. The only limit is your imagination and any allergies you or your lover may have.

Some chocolate body paints come packaged with stencils with words such as 'love' and 'kiss', along with symbols such as a heart and kissing lips. These are ideal for chocolate tattooing.

There is little information on whether chocolate body paint is any more likely to stain clothing or furnishings than any other type of chocolate. However, it may be worth using an easily washable throw-over or spare sheet when using it while on your white leather sofa or best silk sheets.

The ideal end to the chocolate paint session is to have a shower together, to wash off any remnants of the body paint.