Posted by Lilly | 5 Comments

Review: The Vida Lussuria

Vida Lussuria Vibrator Review

I have this fault when it comes to sex toys – ok well it can apply to many other things. Makeup, for example. Show me a nice little kit of some eyeshadows and etc. and oh that’s nice but I’m not quite tempted. Now….show me a kit that has a really cute case and a few extras and is presented well? Sold! And that’s one reason I was drawn to the Vida line of sex toys from MyPleasure.com.

It wasn’t until after I received the vibrator that I found out that Topco actually makes the Vida line. They’re not shouting it from the rooftops and it’s not exactly easy to figure this out but they are the parent manufacturer and I have to be bluntly honest with you – if I’d known it was Topco, I would have been a lot less interested in it because in my past experiences Topco does not manufacture a high-quality toy. They might be trying to look like and act like a luxury manufacturer with the Vida line…..but they’re not. At the heart it’s still a Topco item and examination shows this. I hate to disappoint readers but I warned you before that not only have I become jaded about luxury sex toys, I’m super picky. If you’re going to charge over $100 for a toy, it needs to wow me. It needs to be worth that investment.

The entire Vida line of vibrators share these same features:

• Rechargeable
• Includes a soft wrap-style pouch for the toy
• Silicone and plastic material
• Comes with a reusable zippered faux-leather case

At first glance, it’s all gorgeous and draws you to buy it and comes with a case big enough to hold at least 4 other toys and wow!! Then you really start looking at it, and using it.

The pouch and case

The case looks nice, but close inspection reveals typical Topco corner-cutting constuction. The cheap zipper is a large-tooth zipper which means its choppy to open and close and can easily get jammed. The zipper actually goes the entire way around the lid, but there is a piece of material glued to the back to give the impression of it being “hinged”.  When you first receive the item and unpack it, the vibrator is sitting up on a piece of foam so that it’s packaged nicely and the items aren’t just rattling around in the case – except for some reason the foam that is immediately visible without removing it from the case…..is dyed black. My hand was damp from just washing the toy and the dye did rub off a little on me when I handled the foam.

The pouch is black microfiber sort of, it wraps around the toy with the head of it down in the pouch part and keeps shut with a satin ribbon. The problem is, Topco/Vida only seems to have made one size – and it’s too small for the Vida Lussuria. From what I’ve seen in reviews of the Vida Vanta it fits that one perfectly.

The Lussuria – A visual inspection

Ok so the extras could be over looked, but what about the toy itself? As with the case, the construction seems flawed and obvious corners were cut. These flaws are shown in the photos above and include: creases/dents in the silicone covering; unknown black paint at the charging port once the silicone cover is lifted; obvious open edges and poor fit of the plastic pieces.

There is one button, which does light up, and you must cycle through everything. You can hold the button though to turn it off quickly. The noise of the button is quite clicky and loud.

The Lussuria  – In use

There’s two things about this toy that hit me right away – it’s loud. Secondly, the louder it got……well, it just got louder. It didn’t translate to the ultra-powerful vibration that others have talked about in their reviews (mostly of the Vanta). In fact I didn’t really feel much at all! Its surface-only buzzy vibrations have more bark than bite and as I held it to my vulva while increasing the power level I could barely feel any discernible tactile increase in intensity. Am I crazy? Are the other reviewers ultra-sensitive? Did I get a defective one? I have no idea what the answer is.

There are two sides to the Vida Lussuria and it can be used as a clit vibrator or internal. The scoop I assume is meant to cradle the clit but without any power intensity that design feature did nothing. The other provides ridged-stimulation which could be nice. As a g-spot toy it didn’t impress me much.

Overall, the problem with luxury sex toys is that a few companies, namely Lelo, have already set a bar. While I personally don’t 100% love all of the Lelo toys because of a motor/power/intensity issue, they ARE well-made toys. Topco’s Vida line seems to be trying too hard with the exterior and not focusing on working on their quality and interior. The premium-style packaging (from box & bag to case) signifies to buyers that what’s inside must be good – it’s like how comedian John Pinette describes salad “Salad isn’t food. Salad comes with the food. Salad is a promissory note that something good is going to happen… and I should just wait right here.” In the end, I could recommend many other vibrators that outperform the Vida Lussuria. Many thanks to MyPleasure.com for sending me this to review, they are wonderful to work with and a great place to buy from.

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Posted by Lilly | 7 Comments

Wanton Wednesday: Photoshop Actions

There’s a lot of cool, creative things you can do with Photoshop – many of them I like to do on my own but sometimes I lack the patience, skill, time or a functioning right arm to do the more complicated ones. So I’ve downloaded a bunch of actions to do it for me!

And now I’m off to go play some Pink and do some step aerobics to attempt to quell the impending-doom dread that’s building in the pit of my stomach with regards to the upcoming holiday. I’m sure I’ll whine about that in another post, shortly.

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Posted by Lilly | 15 Comments

Holiday Blogger Giving/Getting Wishlist

I participated in this last year and had a lot of fun, so here we are again! From the creator, Essin’ Em, here are the details:

Step One
– Make a post to your blog, tumblr, facebook, myspace, what have you. The important thing is to make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want and that people can see the post.
– If you wish for real possible things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it’s your address or just an email address at which you can be contacted by potential wish-grantors, real or imaginary.
– Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your post, so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two
– Surf around your friends list/blogroll/RSS feeds (or friends friends, or just random places ) to see who has posted their list.
– If you see a wish you can grant, and it’s in your heart to do so, make someone’s wish come true. Sometimes someone’s trash is another’s treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don’t want or a gift certificate you won’t use–or even know where you could get someone’s dream purebred Basset Hound for free–do it.

You needn’t spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn’t to put people out, it’s to provide everyone a chance to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not–it’s your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just…wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you’ll have the joy of knowing you made someone’s holiday special.

My Wishlist:

• Sephora giftcards. I kinda have an addiction to Sephora, to put it mildly. Or, samples from Sephora. A big ass package full of tons of samples would make me a happy girlie.
• The help & advice of a nutritionist who isn’t against Weight Watchers. Sometimes I need some information/guidance when I hit a plateau that the forums people can’t really help with.
• Plan to do any sex toy shopping for the holidays? I’d really appreciate it if you’d consider purchasing through my affiliate links: EdenFantasys || Good Vibes || VibeReview || Babeland
• Post my banner (found here) and/or link me on your blog
• Help judge e[lust] occasionally! It’ll be starting back up in January and I could really use all the judges I can get.
• Various Wahl massagers: Silver/Red one; Heat version; Rechargeable Mini Wahl (!)
• Large (32GB or more) functioning USB keys – I need a few solid-state reliable backup storage options for all my photos
• Micro SD card that’s bigger than 4GB, for my Samsung Captivate phone.
• Accessories for my phone – a protective screen cover, a cute rubberized plastic case
• Etsy things I like and would love similar: Pearl necklace; Wristlet Purse 1; Wristlet Purse 2; Hot pink Chalcedony necklace or bracelet
• A few delicate, sparkly silver chains – I don’t know what the type of chain is called but its very fine, very shimmery & sparkly (17″-19″ length)

For those who have wishlists:

I have swap lists up on Makeup Alley and ToySwap Network that you can look at if you’re a member, if you wish for any makeup or sex toys you can check out what I have. Also, if you are wanting movies, tv show seasons or music and don’t mind e-version (just the files, not the dvd/cd) let me know and I can share what I have.

Other Lists:

Essin’ Em

Screaming Violet

Juliettia

True Pleasure

Dusk in chains

Mistress Kay

The Blogging Slave

Jessie Beth

Venus Etc.

Misfit Momma

Curious Nicky

Pussy Goes Grr

Lucid Obsession

J’s Curious Alley

Autumn Rain

Ashley and Andrea

Lucy Lemonade

Geeky Nymph

Alan and Michele

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Posted by Lilly | 32 Comments

Durex Love-Box: Condoms To Go

I received the entire line of the new Durex Love-Box condom kits from Smile.ly (free to review), and 14 readers can have a box of their choice too, courtesy of me! These are cute 2.5″x2.5″ hinged color-screen-printed tins that contain 3 Durex condoms (you can buy them here or check out Durex’s site). There are two different lines – the more feminine tins all contain condoms that are super-thin (Feeling line); the masculine designs contain condoms that have strategically placed ribs and raised dots (Pleasure line). It seems that they put the condoms that do the most for the guy in the femme designs, and the condoms that do the most for the woman in the masculine designs.

Want one for yourself? I’ll be happy to personally send you one! Choose from the ones below, and comment with your top 2 favorite designs and tell me why you want one. Simple! All I ask is this:

1. US and Canada readers only, please, since I’m shipping this.
2. If you are chosen, I want you to email me with your thoughts on it. Just a few sentences is all that’s needed, and I’ll publish them all here.

I’ll email you to get your address if you’re chosen – I’ll take comments on this until next Sunday the 28th and then get them sent out.

Feeling Line:

Pleasure Line:

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Posted by Lilly | 6 Comments

Review: The Zini Roae

A lot of reviewers have been staring at and sighing at the Zini line of toys for awhile now. They appeared to be unlike any other sex toy, so far as design was concerned. The cheesy lost-in-translation language makes you roll your eyes, but you ignore it because the Zini line isn’t American, it’s Korean.

The Zini Roae is another in the ever-expanding world of “Premium Sex Toys”. High priced, supposedly high-quality, and supposedly “perfect”. In fact, Zini claims (on their website found here) that a lot of the points of the Roae are superior to other sex toys and “perfect for everyone”. The length, the width, the angle of the insertable portion, the vibration, etc. Now, I know I’m jaded. I realize this. But it also makes me expect really super fucking great things from vibrators priced over $100. As of this writing, the Roae sells at Edenfantasys for $139. And I have to be perfectly honest….I wouldn’t recommend you drop that kind of cash for it.

The Roae is a rigid, silicone-covered dual-stimulator vibrator. Dual-stimulator / “Rabbit” vibrators always rope women in with the promises of one toy doing the job of at least two. It’s a trap I’ve fallen into, as well. But the thing is…..most dual-stimulator vibrators are going to work for only a small portion of the population for two reasons – strength of vibration (some women are totally fine with less power) and the design (i.e. your body and the design and measurements of the toy must line up).

It pains me to say that this vibrator fails for me. But again, these are reasons it fails FOR ME. I’ll be getting a second opinion on it in a few weeks, and will post an update from someone else whose taste in sex toys is very different from mine.

1. They say the curve is optimal for g-spot pleasure (nay nay, it’s magical!) but it’s not for me. My g-spot is fairly shallow inside my vagina, just past my pubic bone (and also requires more of a “hook” to the toy)

2. The vibrations are best described as “diffuse”. It says that it has multiple motors but I have yet to translate this into either pin-point clit stimulation or overall power. Here’s a screenshot from the Zini site showing exactly where the motors are….neither are near the clitoris nub. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s weak or buzzy – it’s just not enough vibration/stimulation of the clit for me to really get off.

3. The clit portion appears like the larger “pad” of it will rub your clit, but it doesn’t for me. The only part of the clit portion that comes in contact with me at all is the very itty bitty tip.

4. I have fuller labia, and because the buttons are pretty far down on the top of the clitoral stimulator, the “minus” button is completely buried within my outer labia.

5. I enjoy a girthier toy, sometimes toys that many women wouldn’t be able to tolerate. While I wouldn’t call the Roae ultra-slim, it’s still thin enough that the width can not make up for the gentle g-spot curve that doesn’t work for me. As shown on their site, the Roae is slimmer than traditional Rabbit-style vibrators.

You have to admit, the Zini Roae looks really pretty and cool and sleek. Premium/luxury sex toys hook you on their looks. Their packaging. Their included extras. The Roae comes in a box that seems to be typical now for the higher-end vibrators – colored, pressed cardboard that is very sturdy and looks modern. Zini also includes a very nice storage pouch for the toy. The buttons light up and are fairly easy to use (with the exception of placement on the toy because then for me half the buttons are buried during use). There are 5 levels of power, and 10 pulsating programs. The 3-button design glows white when you’re changing the power level, blinks orange when you click the center button to switch over to pulsation patterns, green when you’re going “up” through the various patterns and red when you’re cycling back down through the patterns. You can lock the vibrations for travel, like Lelo toys do, and when you’ve successfully locked it it will blink red, unlock blinks green (simultaneously pressing the + and – buttons). It is rechargeable, with the charging port located on the curve – the cover for the port fits very snugly so the toy is splash-proof but not for submersion.

Cleaning the toy is fairly simple; it’s silicone and plastic. Use the wipe-down method but keep an eye on the clit portion and the gaping seam between the silicone part and the plastic part – fluids get trapped in there pretty easily and require a careful fingernail covered with a damp cloth/paper towel to fully clean it. This is how I, and pretty much most knowledgeable sex toy sellers and reviewers would tell you to care for this toy (and of course the lube situation). But Zini has other ideas, and I don’t know what their basis is. In the manual as shown below, they tell you to not use any chemical (i.e. bleach) or alcohol-based cleaners on it (therefore making it impossible to sanitize). They also tell you not to use any scented or oil-based lubes/massage oils.

Who might like the Roae? If you: Have a deep g-spot, prefer slimmer insertable vibrators, do not need strong vibrations on your clit, your clit is situated 1.5-2″ from the entrance to your vagina and your clit is larger than a pea and sticks out a bit. If you meet all those or nearly all of those criteria, I think you might enjoy the Zini Roae. But when you get right down to it these types of sex toys aren’t always worth the monetary risk. This is why I’ll always recommend a good bullet vibrator for external stimulation and then a separate vibrator/dildo for internal – because if you have 10 women in a room it’s pretty likely that none of them will have the same preferences of sex toy attributes or the same “layout” of their vulva & vagina.

Thanks to EdenFantasys for letting me try out this toy which was
provided to me at no cost, in exchange for my honest review.

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All text and images on this site require permission before they can be used anywhere. To obtain permission click here to contact me