Posted by Lilly | 7 Comments

A trip to Babeland and Seattle

On my trip back at the end of April (yes, it’s taken me this long to write about it!!) to see Coy Pink , one of our days was spent in Seattle – sightseeing, lunch with Scarlet, and my first trip to a Real Sex Toy Store. It was a seriously fun day. The Pike Place Market? Wow. It literally hurt my heart to keep walking by all this gorgeous produce and SEAFOOD and not be able to buy it and cook it up. I did, however, buy some fancy Moscato grapes  – a type used to make a sweet white wine – that just blew away any boring seedless grape I can get in my state.

As a teenager I was dared to enter the crusty, filthy local “adult” store boasting videos and Live Girls and comfortable viewing booths. I recall the famed Horse Dildo up on the wall, and the rest I’ve blocked out. On my last visit to NYC, BadBadGirl and I ducked into a jam-packed store. They had a large selection, particularly of costumes and lingerie, as well as toys but all were in boxes or behind glass. I didn’t feel uncomfortable in there, but it didn’t impress me much.

So, Babeland. It was interesting – kinda small, smaller than I expected it to be but then they don’t have a huge inventory even online. Of course, they also don’t carry shitty toys and jelly items galore. I take quality over quantity any day – plus the ability to handle the toys and turn them on??? Priceless. For someone who does all of their sex toy shopping online, this was a very cool experience. And educational, for me.

JimmyJane Toys

Man, talk about overall disappointment with a brand. The Form 2 was underwhelming in power once any pressure was applied to the vibrating “tongs”. The Form 6 didn’t seem to have anything over the Lelo Elise. The slimline metal vibrators that they make in various  types of metals didn’t do much for me. The Iconic Collection of bland, white toys was as boring as their lack of color. JimmyJane is touted as a luxury brand but to be frank I saw no just cause for their luxe prices.

Delight and Curve

The Fun Factory Delight and Curve have been on my list of consideration for review for years now. I didn’t get to test out the vibrations of the Delight but both toys were smaller overall (size, girth, length) than I expected. I’m probably a little less interested in them now.

Tenga Flip Masturbation Sleeve

I have to admit, if I were a man I’d probably pick the Tenga Flip over a Fleshlight just because it looks so darn cool. And yes, we all stuck our fingers in the male masturbators.

Mystic Wand

Another one of the many “massager” style vibrators, this one is about the size of an Acuvibe Mini and has the trademark vibration style of deep, rumbly and powerful. Quite nice, actually.

Better Than Chocolate

In person, it looks cheaply made. The vibrations felt fairly weak and buzzy, as well. We got it turned on but we couldn’t really get that “intuitive slider bar” to work and change speeds. Glad I’ve passed on it to review before!

Lelo Mona, Nea, Ina

While the new Ina and Mona felt a little more powerful than Lelo’s first run of vibes, I’m still undecided on them. Mostly with Ina my concern is it fitting my anatomy. Any rabbit-style vibe though carries that question. I’d never reviewed the little Nea or Lily because of concerns that the vibration type would be the same as Mia (surface and buzzy) but man are they cute, little and pretty! Especially the Nea. It made me a little sad when I saw that their reincarnation of the minis, the Siri (the pink that Babeland carries is like the old style, but EdenFantasys carries a bright purple and red like the Mona), carries the color style of the Ina and Mona – half white, half bright ass solid. The Nea always appealed to me aesthetically.

The Crybaby, Remote Panty Vibe, Bnaughty Unleashed

Ugh. Just…..no. Granted, I have no idea if Babeland keeps their batteries fresh in these toys but they all felt very “meh” to me. Certainly not worth the cost and would provide a tease, not an orgasm. Since my visit there, Babeland no longer carries the Bnaughty wireless vibe, but they had it in that store. Perhaps they realized it wasn’t very good? Let’s hope. Sadly, wireless remote bullet vibes have to come a lonnnng way  yet before they’re ever worth their pricetag.

Sqweel

I didn’t think it was possible, but this toy looked and felt even more disturbing in person than it does in photos. It’s mechanically noisy and just… no. No no and no.

Sasi

Due to the concept and geekiness of the toy it’s something I’ve wanted to try for a long time. But holding it, feeling it, I now really know that it would be the right toy for me. It’s pretty tame, as far as sensation delivered and vibration. Neat, but not for me.

Go Girl vs P Style

The Pstyle is a lot harder than I expected. It’s rigid plastic and can’t bend, so I have to wonder how portable it really would be for a FTM to carry around inconspicuously. The Go Girl was nice, pliant silicone but I’ve read some reviews that indicate it’s a little harder to use and not have a mess / aim with this one.

There were so many other toys there that I can’t remember their name or what exactly I thought of them. It was a little overwhelming! I hate that all the things I remembered seem to be so negative but I know what I personally like and I was hunting down the toys I’ve been wondering about for some time now. In October when I’m in NY I hope to be able to get in a visit to another store, either Babeland or maybe the Pleasure Chest which is where one of my fellow calendar models works, Brandon B.

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Posted by Lilly | 4 Comments

Ask Lilly: How do I know if a sex toy has phthalates in it?

Another Formspring question here!

When looking for a new toy how do you know if it does or does not have pthalates? asked by mydnitebyte

First, a definition from Wikipedia: Phthalates, or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid and are mainly used as plasticizers (substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity).¹

The sex toy review community and sex-positive toy shops are all buzzing about phthalates and how bad they are for you. Phthalates are found in many plastic items that have been chemically softened. The studies going around are saying that phthalate exposure can damage all sorts of organs, and can possibly cause cancer. There are a lot of harmful things in our world these days that we can’t avoid – so when we CAN avoid something like toxins in our sex toys, we should. Not to mention, toys that contain phthalates are also porous and can harbor bacteria if not cleaned properly; they also cannot be sterilized for 100% safety against transmission of STD’s.

 

So how DO you know if a sex toy has phthalates in it?

1. Research your toy purchases from sites that include that sort of information.

a. At EdenFantasys, you can choose “Phthalates Free” in your search options when you’re browsing categories like vibrators, dildos, butt plugs, etc.
b. At Babeland you can purchase anything they sell and know that there are no phthalates – they won’t sell toys that contain them.
c. At Good Vibes, look for this logo on the product description page for a toy:
d. At SheVibe.com, every safe toy will be marked as “Phthalate-Free” in the logos underneath the description for each toy

 

2. Stick with materials that are known to be safe. This includes:

a. 100% pure medical-grade silicone
b. Elastomer, TPE, TPR, WTP
c. Hard plastic/acrylic
d. Glass, metal, wood, ceramic, and other natural materials

Avoid sex toys made of jelly, rubber, pvc/vinyl. While some of the “cyberskin”/UR3 and other “realistic materials” may not contain phthalates, I would personally recommend staying away from them. They’re porous, they usually have an odor, they require “powdering” (no talc!!! that’s proven to be bad for genitals) and many are painted to look even more realistic but this paint suspiciously rubs off with use/washing.

Can condoms keep you safe from phthalates?

Researchers/scientists haven’t come to a conclusive yes/no result yet, but they say it depends on numerous condom factors such as:

a. The thickness of the latex.
b. The integrity of the condom.
c. Additives in latex condoms could also influence whether phthalates pass through. For example Nonoxynol-9, which used to be used as a spermicide in condoms, could actually increase the risk of phthalate exposure (Nonoxynol-9 is no longer commonly used on condoms or personal lubricants though).
d. The personal lubricant in pre-lubricated condoms could (but doesn’t necessarily) facilitate the leaching phthalates out of a sex toy.²

One thing that I wasn’t able to find in my searches is this: Since the FDA isn’t regulating the sex toy industry, could a company claim that a toy is phthalate-free if it’s made out of a blend or cyberskin & its comrades? Since I can’t find an answer on that – and given that the iffy toys are kinda gross to begin with, what with their chemical odor – my recommendation is to just avoid the stuff altogether. Spend the extra $10-20 on a known-as-safe toy material and you’ll get a longer toy life and the peace of mind that your toys are safe.

 

 

1 – Definition of phthalates from Wikipedia
2 – Phthalates and condoms fom About.com:Sexuality

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Posted by Lilly | 2 Comments

Lost and Found

I plan to write more on this, for this blog, but for now this is just a quick meta-post. The post before this one detailed how I finally care enough about me, for myself, to want to look and feel better.

But my husband felt that some commenters might have missed that point. By saying that perhaps women who appear polished and well-dressed are really hiding flaws and fears might have some merit with some women, but it certainly isn’t a standard. I feel that many of those women appear that way because they *care about themselves* and how they look. The old adage of “look better to feel better” is really so much more true than some of us can realize. I feel sexier when I dress sexier. I feel more attractive when I put on my make-up and dress smartly. I feel it, so therefore I exude it, and therefore…I AM. For years, I did this all for the benefit of others above myself. But now, it’s for me above and beyond all else. It’s going to extend past wearing smarter clothes and into eating healthier and exercising more. I don’t know how, but I’m going to do it. He was more proud of me than I expected, upon reading that post. He was more moved than I expected, as well. I guess because you don’t see the changes in yourself as easily as the ones closest to you.

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I feel like you all are going to think we have a sploshy food fetish, but I swear we do not. We got messy with some food again the other day, but this time it was purely for the camera and I ran for the washcloth right after. Why for the camera? Well let’s just say inspiration struck when eating something, providing us with photos and a mental image for him that normally wouldn’t occur. You’ll see soon enough!

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Over there in the sidebar, up top,  I put a new textbox to alert you whenever I see a really good you-can’t-miss-this sale on a fabulous sex toy that I love. I’ve got alerts set for a number of toys but this first one is near and dear to my cunt heart – the Njoy Pure Wand. Right now Edenfantasys has a deal where you get a free $50 giftcard towards your next purchase, if you buy the Pure Wand (and buying the Pure Wand gets you free overnight shipping). If you buy sex toys even on a semi-regular basis, that’s kinda like getting the Pure Wand for nearly half off. In a roundabout $50-worth-of-free-sex-toys way. Which is awesome in my book :)

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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