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Ask Lilly: Holiday Sex Toy Gift Buying Guide

I get a good number of people who contact me for advice on buying a sex toy as a gift for their partner as a surprise. This really isn’t an easy feat unless you and your partner have already owned multiple toys and you know what they like.

Consider the Size

If you’ve never used toys, the judge by the size of your cock of your fingers. And keep in mind that hard materials like plastic, ceramic, glass, wood and metal can seem a little bigger than they are just because there is no give to the material. If you’re new to toys, don’t go overboard with the girth. If you’ve had a few and want to take things up a notch then do so but with caution.

Consider Sensitivity

Hopefully you and your partner are open and communicating, honest about orgasms and how things feel. Unless you already own vibrators that you know are not powerful enough, always choose ones with more than 2 speeds.

Consider the Price and Quality

Sex Toy Snob Warning: For the love of Pete, don’t buy a questionable brand (like CalExotics, for example) as a gift! But on the other hand, don’t drop a huge amount unless you’re pretty certain they’re going to love it. Reviews, reviews, reviews. Read them! Hunt them down! And don’t always go by the 1-liner blurbs directly on the sites because you never know who really left that comment. Before you weigh the prices and think about going for a cheaper jelly toy, read about phthalates and the possible side effects.

Things to avoid

Specifically, I’d advise against things like the We-Vibe, the Sqweel (or however it’s spelled, the one that’s rotating tongues, ick), anything that looks like a human tongue, and new-to-the-scene companies that seem too good to be true (like the Zini Roae). As tempting as they are, avoid wireless remote controlled bullets/panties, as they are fraught with glitches problems and a serious case of the unimpressives.

Glass Dildos Make Great Gifts

Why? Because they appeal visually, and unless you’re an advanced toy user/owner, it’s something new and exciting. You get to experiment with temperature play and different sensations. They can be so artistic sometimes that you’d feel comfortable leaving it out and they are therefore non-threatening to a novice. Here’s some recommendations:

Andromeda from GoodVibes.com

I love this one for the curves, it would be awesome for g-spot play. Currently it’s $69.99 and it qualifies for free shipping.

The Pink Rotator from EdenFantasys.com

This one offers more girth and a shorter length, with a handle for you or your partner (works best partnered, I think) to help rotate the dildo and massage the g-spot.

Sapphire Falls Graduated Glass Dildo from EdenFantasys.com

I love this one for it’s color, the slight curve, the bloops of shape and the fact that you can use either end – it’s graduated in size so if they can’t handle the 1.5″ then start at the other end and work up to it.

Buy a Vibrator that is Multipurpose

And I don’t mean a “rabbit” style. By this I mean get one that doesn’t require you to have your anatomy laid out a certain exact way for it to work, get a vibrator with varying speeds, and one that can be used internally or externally. Stick with silicone and reliable brands (to see more about this, see my post on How to Buy Sex Toys Online). Here’s a few of my recommendations:

The Climax Twist Vibrator from Babeland – On sale!!

I love this vibrator, it’s probably my favorite rechargeable vibrator. It’s like a massager, but it bends to a 90 degree angle and has two working ends. (review here). And Babeland has it on sale as of this writing, so hurry! It’s a great sale, down to $59.99.

Harmony Bullet Vibrator from EdenFantasys

I love this bullet because it can get me off at any speed due to the type of vibrations – deep and rumbly and lovely. Buy it in black, the issue I talked about it my review with it glowing was only true of the white one (I now own the black).

Fun Factory Rechargeable Mini “Bubbles” Vibrator from EdenFantasys

Internal, external, short yet fat it gets great reviews and seems very versatile. Silicone, reliable company and rechargeable all boost up its cool factor.

LELO Mona Vibe from EdenFantasys

EF sells it for $135, so while it’s generally more than I’d recommend spending I think it can be worth it. I like the Mona better than the Gigi for g-spot stimulation; the vibrations are really similar to the Gigi but just a hair better – just a hair deeper/stronger, and enough for me to get off clitoraly with this. It’s great internally, it’s great externally and it’s reliable.

Want to Wow them? Can you splurge? NJOY.

I don’t care if you get an anal plug, the Pure Wand, the Eleven or the Fun Wand just invest in Njoy. DO IT. You’ll love it. I promise.

Need more?

Read up on how to choose a dildo for beginners and get some recommendations on those. And anything in the Men’s Toys category are ones I’d recommend for a guy in addition to a Tenga Egg as a stocking stuffer.

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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 | 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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A Comparative Review: Top Electric Massager Vibrators – Part 2

This is a continuation, please see Part 1 which talks about the plug-in style.

I already mentioned this but I’m going to mention it again.

The Big Pro:

~It’s cordless. You can use it anywhere that doesn’t have a nearby outlet or even electricity, provided it’s fully charged.

The Big Con:

~It is not “full power full time”. I think most of these have a run-time of about an hour, depending on how firmly you press the head to your body.

To reiterate from Part 1:

Should you choose one style over the other? That depends on the environment you’d be using it in and your masturbation style. The plug-in style boasts all power, all the time, always on. However this means you are tethered by a cord and must be near an electrical outlet to use it. The rechargeable style means that you can take it anywhere you please, so long as it’s charged. The downside is that your usage hours will vary depending on how hard you press down on the head, and you could very well find yourself mid-wank with a waning vibrator (been there, done that). The rechargeable is also more expensive. They aren’t lacking on power though. I’d rate that the Acuvibe falls in between the Hitachi and the Miracle Massager. Whereas the MM can’t get me off, the Acuvibe will. My verdict is to start wherever you want but eventually own one of each style.

Rechargeable Style Massagers

First up is the more well-known and more vanilla of the bunch: The Acuvibe. Because it’s the mother of the rechargeables, it doesn’t have the most ergonomic design to it. It’s in the same boat as the Hitachi. It does however look more modern than the Hitachi. Hitachi’s design clearly has changed very little since it’s conception. Acuvibe comes in a pretty light blue and white design. Is it more powerful than it’s newer fancier cousin, the Ideal? I’m not really certain on that.

Natural Contours doesn’t seem to publish the RPMs (like CalExotics doesn’t publish the RPMs). I think it’s safe to say though that it’s comparable to the Acuvibe but the Ideal is certainly not equal to the Hitachi. But hey that’s not always a bad thing. The Ideal is made by a sextoy manufacturer, and the design is focused on being more ergonomic. The handle is hooked. As I said in my initial review, I love the handle but I hate the noise. Most of the people who’ve reviewed the Ideal mention the excess noise. Above and beyond the noise of the vibrations is this ratting-like-something-is-broken sound. It’s annoying and makes me doubt the longevity of the toy. That rattling noise does disappear when there is any pressure on the head, but that’s not quite good enough for me.

And then Acuvibe introduced the mini. Acuvibe mini is only one speed, it’s smaller, and comes in blue or pink. Because of its smaller stature it is even more portable. I believe the single speed is equal to the full size version’s Low setting, but I can’t find documentation on this. Oddly the RPMs of the original are out there, but not the mini.

One other thing I find disconcerting in my research is that specs aren’t always matching from site to site. Some places claim that the Acuvibe Mini is two speeds – it’s not. Some claim the Acuvibe Mini is 1.1 pounds, or 1.3 pounds. Even on the Human Touch website, their description paragraph says it is 0.6 pounds but the specifications section say it is 1.2 – the same as the original. This can’t be true, since they’re not the same size. (its not, I got out my kitchen scale for the ones I have and asked other Mini owners to look at their packaging insert)\

I do want to mention something here about the Acuvibes – the manufacturer tells you to let the massager completely drain of all power every 16 hours of use or thereabout, to increase longevity of the battery.

	Acuvibe	Acuvibe Mini	Ideal
Price on EdenFantasys	$65.99	$59.99	$58.99
Power	High is 5700 rpm and Low is 4300 rpm. Compared to Hitachi this means: High is really close. Low is close but definitely less. There’s more difference between high and low than Hitachi. 1400 rpm difference vs 1000 pm difference.	I can’t find documentation of the rpm. I think it’s probably say….4800, I felt it was just a touch less than Hitachi’s Low setting.	Again I can’t find documentation on the rpm – there is a high and low and I think they’re about comparable to original Acuvibe. From what I can feel, High is pretty equal to Hitachi’s Low.
Noise Level	While the manufacturer claims these both have a “vibration damped” motor and are “whisper quiet”, I don’t think that’s accurate. It is certainly quieter than the Hitachi though but not at all whisper-quiet. Low is markedly more quiet than high.	Perhaps a bit quieter than the full size	As mentioned above, I think that when it’s pressed against something the noise level would be equal to the Acuvibe, but when not? It’s like a mini jackhammer.
Head Design	The head is about 2″ in diameter, smooth but with 3 grooves for decoration. These grooves are difficult to clean gunk out of – you need a toy cleaning cloth like Afterglow Wipes and a fingernail or similar. It’s a spring-mounted head but a firm plastic covers the spring – you can’t see it.	This head is entirely smooth, but to go along with the smaller body the head is 1 5/8″ in diameter.Same spring-mounted type head as original Acuvibe.	Completely smooth surface, easy to clean. Diameter is 2.25″. It is also spring-mounter however when you bend the head a bit you can clearly see exposed spring. Might be bad for the ladies who don’t shave bare or trim to minuscule.
Body Design	Straight, smooth plastic where its white and a different plastic where its blue. If I press my nail into the blue part, it indents. Makes for better gripping. Weight is 1.1 pounds. Length is 11.5″. Sliding switch in the upper third of the handle.	Straight smooth plastic. Weight is 0.6 pounds. Sliding switch in the upper third of the handle.	Angled ergonomic handle, smooth plastic. Weight is 10 ounces. Length is 8.5″ measured in a straight line, or 12″ measured from tip to top. Sliding switch is different from all other massagers – goes side to side rather than top to bottom. Right at a bend in handle.
Attachments	There are none made for it. However, a few of the other attachments might work on it. The silicone head cover fits. Perhaps the MM dual stim?	None. The head is smaller than all the others and any attachment falls right off.	Natural Contours makes one specifically for this vibe, even the color matches. It’s a dual stim. A few Hitachi attachments work with it.
Charging	Acuvibe says you should charge it for 8 hours, I didn’t wait that long. They also say it’ll run for 45 minutes, give or take depending on usage.	Same as original Acuvibe.	Reports say the charge lasts an hour; charging time takes 5 hours. You can certainly wait less time if you must, it’ll be fully powerful it just won’t last as long.

My verdict? I’m torn. I really am. Acuvibe Mini is great for what it is – more portable because of its small size. Also perhaps even more usable during sex because of its small size. But you can’t use attachments and it has one speed. Acuvibe original fits some attachments, has more power. The Ideal has a shorter charge time, a slightly longer use time, the head is a bit bigger so it’ll fit more attachments (even though the intended one sucks) – but….big BUT here… I still hate the rattling loud noise. And that you can see the spring easily. I just wonder about the quality and longevity of this toy as compared to the Acuvibe. All of these are equally discrete and can pass off as a back massager.

Below is a quick video showing the noise levels of the various massagers in both categories

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