silicone vibrator

Review: PinkPunch Sunset Mushroom Vibrator

Kate Sloan

Honestly, I respect sex toy companies that take risks in terms of toy shapes. Any ol’ company can crank out a vibrator shaped like a rose, or a butterfly, or an egg – but it takes guts to make a vibrator shaped like a woodland mushroom. Let’s talk about this one by PinkPunch.

 

What is the PinkPunch Sunset Mushroom Vibrator?

Launched in April 2021, PinkPunch is a fairly new sex toy company, and the Sunset Mushroom vibrator was their first product. It’s a small silicone vibrator shaped like a mushroom, and was designed to appeal to people who’ve never used a sex toy before and are intimidated by the thought of doing so.

The toy comes with its own charging case, inside of which it fits perfectly.

 

Things I like about this toy

  • The aesthetic of the Sunset Mushroom and its charging case is adorable, and reminds me of the Powerpuff Girls. I agree with PinkPunch that newbies are sometimes intimidated by the wide selection of sex toys available and may prefer something with a friendly aesthetic like this.
  • The charging case is really cool. It works similarly to AirPods, holding its own charge (once you charge it up) which can be used to recharge the toy up to 3 times even if you have to be away from a power outlet for a while. This is super convenient if you plan on traveling with the toy, using it on-the-go, etc. or even if you’re just lazy like me and don’t always feel like plugging in a charger when a toy needs some juice. I’ve never seen a sex toy that had this type of charging system before and I’m really impressed with it.
  • I like the shape and size of the toy for clitoral stimulation, and also for inserting shallowly to hit my G-spot.
  • It’s reasonably quiet.
  • It’s waterproof! (The case, however, is not, so be careful to dry the toy thoroughly before putting it back in there.)

 

Things I don’t like about this toy

  • The vibrations are, unfortunately, bad. The lowest setting is a tolerable mix of buzzy and rumbly, but its other two steady speeds are verrrrrry buzzy and thus don’t feel anywhere near as stimulating as rumblier vibes. Buzziness also causes temporary numbness that can make it hard to enjoy sensations and orgasms.
  • There are only three steady speeds, followed by five vibration patterns, and only one button to cycle through them all. I hate this. If you ask me, every vibrator should have 5-10 different steady speeds and a maximum of 3 patterns, and you should be able to control the former separately from the latter, with “up” and “down” buttons instead of just one button.
  • The handle vibrates as much as the head of the toy, making it uncomfortable to hold onto for more than a minute or two at a time.
  • Out of the box, the toy had a rubbery smell that has only dissipated slightly when washed. It’s actually such a strong smell that I could detect it while sitting at my desk even when the toy was inside its half-closed charging case on the other end of my desk. I did a flame test and the results seem to indicate that the toy is indeed made of silicone as PinkPunch claims it is, but I have no idea why it smells so strongly of rubber if that’s the case.
  • Not sure whether to put this on the “pros” list or the “cons” list, but: PinkPunch warns you twice in the toy’s instructions that you should only use it externally, but also includes a “safety strap” you can attach to it, to make retrieval easier if you do use it penetratively. On the one hand, I’m glad that they’re giving customers a slightly safer way to put this toy up their butt if they so desire (harm reduction, yay!); on the other hand, if they wanted to actually make the toy anal-safe, they should have given it a flared base and/or made the safety strap non-removable. As is, it could all too easily detach from the toy while in your butt, which could end up necessitating a trip to the emergency room.
  • The toy’s one button, which you use to turn it on and off and to cycle through its settings, is unmarked and hard to push.
  • The PinkPunch app, which you can supposedly use to control this toy from nearby or from far away, is not available in my region (Canada). Not sure why.
  • This toy costs $99 and simply is not worth that much money. (I would hesitate to say it’s worth even half that much, frankly.) You can get way better clit vibes, like the We-Vibe Tango X and Hot Octopuss Amo, for less.

 

Final thoughts

While I love the look of the PinkPunch Sunset Mushroom vibrator and the way that it charges, the motor of a toy is its most important quality, bar none, and this one has a baaaad motor. It’s nowhere near rumbly enough, strong enough or satisfying enough to justify the toy’s $99 price tag.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if anyone who works at a vibrator company is reading this, please tell your team to focus first and foremost on developing motors that are rumbly (i.e. low-pitched), powerful, and allow for variable speeds. Everything else is just window dressing, and if you blow your budget on bells and whistles, the product itself will be forgettable and disappointing no matter how flashy and fabulous it may look.

 

Note: You can use the code juice40 to get 40% off your order from PinkPunch!

This post was sponsored, meaning I was paid to write a fair and honest review of this product. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

Review: Bestvibe Cupid 3-In-1 Heating Thrusting Vibration Realistic Dildo

Kate Sloan

It is a known fact that I love dick. I didn’t always, but now, after many years of sexual activity with many lovely dick-owners, I am very much a fan. (And no, none of that is me giving you permission to send me pictures or textual descriptions of your dick. I like the ones I know, the ones I consent to see. Nonconsensual penises are ugly and gross, no exceptions.)

So, naturally, I am a fan of realistic dildos as well – provided they’re well-made. And it’s even more intriguing when those dildos are capable of doing some of the things human dicks can do, like feel immediately warm upon insertion or thrust in and out. This Bestvibe 3-in-1 dildo can do both of those things and more, so I was excited to review it. Let’s talk about it!

 

What is the Bestvibe Cupid 3-in-1 Heating Thrusting Vibration Realistic Dildo?

Phew. Bestvibe’s product names are always such a mouthful! Maybe we should just call this the Bestvibe Cupid, for short.

The Cupid is a realistic silicone dildo with a 6.3-inch insertable length (it’s 8.66 inches total, including the balls and suction cup base). It has a diameter of about 1.7 inches at its largest point.

However, in addition, this dildo can vibrate, heat up, and thrust in and out. It comes with a small remote control that allows you to control these three functions.

 

Things I like about this toy

  • The dimensions are great for my particular vag. It’s got enough length to hit my A-spot easily if I keep it anchored deep inside me by placing a pillow between my legs at the base of the toy (more on that below), but I can also position it more shallowly to hit my G-spot. The girth is wide enough to feel satisfying but not so wide as to need much warm-up before inserting it (for me, anyway). I am very much a fan.
  • Visually and tactilely, the toy is quite realistic. The closest thing I can compare it to is actually dual-density silicone dildos like the VixSkin toys, in that it’s realistic-looking in quite a detailed way and feels both squishy and firm. The Cupid isn’t dual-density like those toys are, but its mechanical core feels very similar to the firm silicone core of a dual-density toy, so that in use they actually feel very much alike.
  • The thrusting! Oh, the thrusting. A lot of self-thrusting toys feel pretty weak – more like a perpetual-motion machine on somebody’s cubicle desk than a hard rough fuck – but this one has some serious strength behind it. At its best, it feels almost as good as a real live human fucking me. And since its steady modes are much more rhythmically regular than the average human is capable of being, it gets me off more easily than most people can with their dicks. (By the way, whenever I talk about getting off from penetrative toys, assume that I mean “with added clitoral stimulation via my fingers or a vibrator,” because – like the majority of people with my anatomy – I don’t orgasm without clit stim.)
  • While a more pronounced curve would’ve been my preference, the subtle curve of this toy is good enough to hit my spots the way I like. It helps that it has a well-defined coronal ridge which can rub against those spots on every thrust.
  • It’s got a suction-cup base. This normally isn’t something I care that much about, since the combo of chronic pain and laziness means that I almost always masturbate lying on my back in bed – but with a thrusting toy, it can be nice to be able to back up onto it, or sit down on it from above, or whatever.
  • The wide base also means this toy is harness-compatible, which is interesting. I wonder what it would feel like if a mechanically-thrusting device was simultaneously thrust in and out of me by an actual person… However, even if you turn all the mechanical functions off when using it this way, the Cupid also functions perfectly well as a regular strap-on dildo.
  • The Cupid costs £49.99, which (at time of writing) works out to about $60 USD or $81 CAD. That’s a really reasonable price for something that looks and feels this realistic and has this many functions.
  • The toy comes with a small battery-powered remote, which is auto-paired to the dildo. All you have to do is put the battery into the remote, turn on the toy by long-pressing the power button on its base, and press one of the 3 buttons on the remote to activate one of the toy’s 3 functions (or use more than one at once, if you prefer).
  • On that note, each of the 3 functions can be controlled independently – so if you want vibrations but no thrusting, or vice-versa, you can do that, or you can use both at once.
  • This toy is safe for both vaginal and anal insertion (though, as with any other toy, you’ll need to sanitize it in between using it anally and using it vaginally).

 

Things I don’t like about this toy

  • It had a bit of an oily residue when it first arrived, which made me think it might be made of an unsafe material. However, after washing it and (later) doing a flame test on it, now I’m pretty sure it’s made of real silicone, and just had some residue left on it from the manufacturing process (which is pretty common and is the reason most companies will tell you to wash a toy before using it for the first time).
  • The button on the base of the toy is really hard to locate and press, especially if you have hand strength issues like I do.
  • The toy is decently loud, like most thrusters are. The sound diminishes when it’s inside you, however.
  • There are only 3 thrusting settings. The first one is hard, fast, and steady. The second one is more erratic, switching between a few different speeds, which I guess is meant to feel more authentically human but actually just annoys me. The third is slower, steady thrusting. I like the steady settings but wish that there were more of them, and that the toy started on the slowest setting and worked its way up from there.
  • As with many warming toys, I can’t actually detect the heating function in this toy. These functions usually take a few minutes to reach peak heat and the heat itself is usually pretty subtle, which makes it hard to notice, especially since, by that point, usually I will have put the toy inside me already and so my body will already have warmed it up a bit.
  • The remote is battery-powered rather than being rechargeable, and uses a type of battery you’re unlikely to have just lying around the house (27A 12V). There’s also no markings on the battery chamber or in the toy instructions regarding which way the battery should be oriented, so you just have to guess and then flip it around if your first guess is wrong.
  • Additionally, there’s no way to control the toy without the remote, so if you lose the remote or its battery dies mid-session, you’re shit outta luck. This is honestly probably my #1 issue with this toy. Remote-control toys should always have buttons on the unit itself if at all possible.
  • As with most self-thrusting toys, this one will tend to shimmy its way out of you if left to its own devices (so to speak), so you’ll need to keep it in place by putting a pillow or somesuch against the base of the toy, between your legs – or by making use of its suction-cup base to attach it to a firm surface like a wall, floor, or mirror.
  • The vibrations are so weak and buzzy that they can barely be discerned. Don’t get this toy if you want internal vibration; thrusting (or being manually thrusted) is the only thing it does well.

 

Final thoughts

Of the latest batch of products Bestvibe has sent me (more reviews to come!), the Cupid dildo is by far my favorite. It’s rare to find a thrusting toy that actually feels anything like getting fucked, and that can elicit orgasms as intensely and reliably for me as this toy does.

It definitely has some issues – mainly its limited settings, terrible vibrations, and awkward controls – but in my view these are ultimately forgivable, because its thrusting is so damn good. Much like some of the people I have dated/fucked, its issues seem minor in comparison to the pounding it can provide.

 

This post was sponsored, meaning I was paid to write a fair and honest review of this product. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

Review: Lovegasm Multispeed Tongue Vibrator

Kate Sloan

I keep reviewing different cunnilingus simulators – can’t stop, won’t stop, baby! – because I’m always looking for that holy grail: an oral-inspired toy that actually feels like oral.

It’s hard to find, partly because the textures of a tongue and lips are difficult to replicate, partly because mouths are self-lubricating and toys are not, and partly because the motions involved in good head are deceptively complex, compared to what a toy can do. Licking, sucking, adapting to fluctuating levels of arousal and sensitivity – many toys can do one of these things effectively, but I’ve yet to come across (or come on) a toy that really nails the varied sensations of good cunnilingus.

But the Lovegasm Multispeed Tongue Vibrator looked like it might be a viable contender, so I was excited to test it out. Let’s discuss.

 

Pictured with thighs & tattoo, for scale

What is the Lovegasm Multispeed Tongue Vibrator and what does it do?

Sent to me by the folks at Lovegasm, the Multispeed Tongue Vibrator is large – just over 12 inches from end to end. The reason the toy needs to be so big is that its makers have crammed several different functions into one toy, to make what is essentially a genital-safe Swiss army knife. (It’s, um, not sharp, though. And doesn’t have a bottle opener on it, as far as I know. Maybe this was an unwise metaphor to choose…)

At one end of the toy is a “mouth,” consisting of a silicone tongue that moves up and down, inside of what is colloquially known as a “pussy pump,” i.e. a plastic cone that generates suction on the clit and labia. The tongue has a pre-warming function as well, to lend it more realism. In theory this reproduces the sensations that a tongue and lips working in tandem can provide.

On the other side of the toy is essentially a rabbit vibe: a dual-stimulation toy with a penetrative part and an external clitoral part, both of which vibrate. It feels incorrect to call this toy a two-for-one, because really it’s more like a four-for-one!

 

dat tongue tho

Things I like about this toy

  • I think it’s a really cool idea, considering that a lot of people like to receive oral sex as “foreplay” for penetrative sex, and this toy can provide both. In my testing sessions I was always glad to have a penetrative object at the ready, on the other side of the toy, once I got worked up enough from the “mouth” to want something inside me.
  • The combo of suction and tongue-flicking felt really good, once I had lubed the entire area and found an optimal position for the toy. The suction is rhythmic, rather than being steady, which creates an effect that feels more like an actual human sucking on my clit, while the tongue gently flicks against the tip or underside of my clit (depending on how it’s positioned). There was one testing session when I had planned to test several other toys after this one and actually started to bargain with myself about why I didn’t need to test any other toys and could instead get off from this one, because it felt that good 😂
  • As with many well-designed suction toys, this one is quite effective at encouraging bloodflow to my clit/vulva, prompting physical arousal which can easily translate into mental arousal too. I could see this being a good “foreplay” toy to generate arousal toward the start of a masturbation/sex session.
  • A lot of clit-focused toys end up feeling too intense for me because they target the head of my clit, rather than where I prefer to be stimulated (the clitoral hood area, for a more indirect sensation), but I had success moving this one around to find a position that worked for me. This was also great because I was able to move it further toward the tip of my clit as I got more turned on (but had to momentarily disengage the suction function in order to do this, because otherwise it would have been suctioned onto me and thus hard to move).
  • The internal part of the rabbit-vibe end of the toy is long enough to hit my A-spot and has a nice curve that lets it arc right up into that spot. It feels pleasurable when thrusted against that spot.
  • While the buttons’ placement and lack of labeling are confusing (more on that below), each button lights up with a different color when its function is enabled, which makes it easier to (eventually) tell them apart and remember which button does what.
  • The pump part of the toy can be removed for easier cleaning between uses.
  • The toy comes with another pump cylinder that you can swap in; it has a flat rim, as opposed to the vaguely vulva-shaped rim of the original cylinder, and is meant to be used on breasts/nipples, which is cool. This toy’s commitment to having multiple different uses is unparalleled.

 

Things I don’t like about this toy

  • Ultimately I just didn’t find any part of this toy stimulating enough to get me off (though the mouth felt, at times, like it could get me off, on a highly sensitive day). The pump’s suction didn’t have a consistent enough rhythm, the tongue didn’t deliver strong enough stimulation, and the vibrations in the rabbit-vibe part of the toy are so hilariously weak, buzzy, and buried that they’re almost imperceptible on lower settings and just kinda “meh” on higher settings.
  • The buttons are not marked/labeled in any way. With some vibes this would be acceptable, but this one has several different functions and four different buttons, none of which are placed in a particularly intuitive way. I had to keep referring to the instruction manual to figure out which was which (so don’t toss your manual!) and ended up hitting the wrong buttons several times anyway.
  • When I’m using the “mouth” side of the toy, the buttons are facing away from me, unless I flip it around and hold it in a way that feels awkward and un-ergonomic. Since (as discussed above) the buttons are hard to tell apart even when I’m looking at them, this makes it almost impossible to change settings during use – something I do a lot of, since “close-to-orgasm” me has very different preferences and needs, stimulation-wise, than “barely-aroused” me.
  • The amount of suction produced by the higher settings of the sucking function is sometimes kinda scary. I don’t have the medical background to know whether it’s actually dangerous, but it’s a lot, and there’s no quick-release mechanism. Suction toys should always have a non-electronic quick-release button in case of malfunctions or emergencies, etc.
  • I prefer clit-focused suction rather than full-vulva suction. That’s just a personal preference. The pump on this toy is sliiiightly too big for me to position between my outer labia to allow for a more clit-centric sensation.
  • The tongue actually slows down when you press the button that ought to make it speed up. I found this infuriating when I was on the precipice of potentially coming.
  • The clitoral arm on the rabbit-vibe end of the toy is too short for my anatomy. When I get that arm into a pleasurable position on my clit, it throws off the angle of the internal portion so that that’s no longer pleasurable, and vice-versa. This could be solved with a longer and more flexible clitoral arm.
  • The mouth part of the toy is loud and distracting. The suction function sounds like a robotic truck backing up and the tongue function sounds like a shopping cart that needs its wheels oiled. The rabbit vibe portion of the toy is very quiet, though.
  • As with most toys involving suction and/or a tongue-like object, this one requires a lot of lube to feel good – not just on my clit but on my entire vulva. Could be an issue if you’re on a budget and/or just have limited access to lube.
  • The tongue’s heating function takes 3 minutes to work, during which time you can’t use any of the toy’s other functions. This is fine if you have the time and patience to let the toy sit there for 3 minutes while you do other stuff (like perhaps watch porn, read erotica, or touch yourself with your hand), but otherwise kind of annoying. It also barely works; the tongue just gets mildly warm, not even as warm as it would get from a few minutes of being pressed against my genitals.

Final thoughts

I really wanted to like the Lovegasm Multispeed Tongue Vibrator, because I think its concept is interesting and I haven’t seen many toy companies attempt to combine suction with tongue-like flicking in one toy, for a more holistic oral-like experience.

However, in execution, this toy could really use some work. When it comes to sex toy design, usually it’s best to focus on doing one or two things really well – and instead, this toy tried to do 4-5 things well and ultimately all of them are kind of mediocre. Not to mention, the ergonomics and controls of this toy are somewhat inscrutable and highly distracting during use.

Lovegasm carries lots of other vibrators and suction-based vulva toys that are worth checking out, especially if you’re in search of an oral sex simulator, as many of them have tongue-like features and/or combine suction with vibration. But this one just didn’t work for me, although at several points during testing, I felt hopeful that it might.

 

This post was sponsored, meaning I was paid to write a fair and honest review of this toy. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

Review: Bombex Butterfly Desire Vibe Pro

Kate Sloan

Does anyone else remember when butterflies were all the rage in the sex toy industry, circa 2008-2009? First there were rabbits; then, suddenly, everyone was talking about butterflies.

The main one I remember was a wearable, remote-control butterfly-shaped vibrator that my friend-with-benefits owned around that time, but there were also dual-stimulation vibes and even cock rings made to look like butterflies. Not really sure what made this particular insect a sudden sex symbol. I do know that Jason Mraz has a whole song where he keeps referring to a vulva as a butterfly, though, and that my own vulva kinda resembles one when my labia are spread apart, so maybe that has something to do with it…

Anyway, today I’m reviewing the Bombex Butterfly Desire Vibe Pro, another beautiful butterfly-shaped product. It’s a dual-stimulation toy: the outer portion (the “butterfly” itself) uses pressure-wave technology to stimulate your clit, while the inner arm, when inserted vaginally, transmits vibration into your G-spot. Let’s talk about some of the benefits and drawbacks of this little bug…

 

Things I like about this toy:

  • The vibration of the internal arm is decently rumbly and strong, even on the first setting. There are three steady speeds and I’ve gotten off on the first one before, which is pretty impressive. The vibrations stay rumbly through all three speeds. I feel like I should have more to say about this, because it’s one of the most important qualities of any vibrator and Bombex got it very right here – but all I really have to say is that it’s rumbly and good and I like it!
  • The shape of the internal arm is such that it can hit my G-spot fairly easily, and feels great doing so. I love that it’s got a swollen head and a slightly slimmer shaft, because this makes its sensations more discernible to my G-spot and also makes it so that I can sort of fuck myself hands-free with the toy by clenching and unclenching my PC muscles rhythmically.
  • That last point is worth expounding upon more: this is a toy that stays inside me pretty well, even when I’m using it hands-free, but nonetheless will gently move back and forth against my body if I rhythmically squeeze my pelvic muscles. For me, this quality makes it way easier for me to orgasm with a dual-stimulation toy, because the additional motion on top of the vibration (+ in this case, pressure waves) makes the whole toy feel more stimulating.
  • The shape and size of the clitoral stimulator work well for me. It can’t stimulate as much of my clit as the large-mouthed Lelo Sila, but at least it doesn’t focus uncomfortably on the exposed tip of my clit like so many other toys of this kind. There’s a soft rim of silicone around the opening that makes the sensation feel gentler but no less pleasurable.
  • It’s made of body-safe silicone and ABS plastic!
  • It’s waterproof!
  • It has a remote control! Unfortunately I could not test this component because I had to fly to New York midway through working on this review and forgot the remote at home, but in theory I think it’s a great idea for a toy like this to have a remote. It makes it so that you can control the intensity without needing to reach into your pants/underwear every time (should you be wearing any), which could make this toy useful for public play.

Things I don’t like about this toy:

  • You can’t control the toy’s two functions separately. I know I complain about this in almost every dual-stimulation toy review I write, but if a toy does two different things to two different body parts, you should really be able to control each component individually, since different body parts don’t always want the same kinds of stimulation at the same time. On this toy, both functions are controlled in tandem by one button.
  • The outer portion of the toy has very little flexibility, which makes it so that if you have a particularly long or particularly short distance between your clit and vaginal opening, you might not be able to comfortably use both parts of the toy at the same time. (The distance from the middle of the clit stimulator to the top of the vaginal shaft is about 1.25″.)
  • Three steady speeds is not really enough. Granted, I’m generally not a fan of vibration patterns – but setting that aside, the fewer steady speeds a toy has, the bigger the jumps between each speed are likelier to be. Moving up to the next speed often feels jarring and takes me out of the moment a little, rather than encouraging higher and higher levels of arousal.
  • Having only one button means you have to scroll through all 10 settings to get back to a previous one. This is bad news for anyone who, like me, tends to turn the vibrations up and down a lot during any given session to help prevent overstimulation.
  • The vibrations feel stronger/rumblier/more impactful than the clitoral pressure waves, so sometimes all I can really feel is the vibration. However, I still get enough clit stimulation that I can come with this toy easily if I’m watching porn or otherwise engaging my brain in some sexy stuff.
  • As with most other pressure-wave toys, this one can make me orgasm easily but the orgasms aren’t always the most satisfying, and are sometimes immediately overtaken by discomfort as the toy keeps sucking my clit while I get hypersensitive post-orgasm.

Final thoughts:

There’s a lot I don’t understand about this toy. Why is it a butterfly? What are the wings and antennae supposed to do?* Why is there an illustration in the instructions that seems to indicate you can use the pressure-wave component on a partner’s penis while they’re fucking you?!

Overall though, I think the Bombex Butterfly Desire Vibe Pro is a good value for its price point ($60), assuming you want a dual-stimulation toy with pressure waves and the distance between your clit and vaginal opening is in range for this one to work for you.

 

This post was sponsored, meaning I was paid to write a fair and honest review of this product. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

*When reached for comment, a representative at Bombex told me, in response to these questions: “Women are like butterflies, representing beauty, freedom, rebirth and goddess. Women are like a butterfly, her wings unfolded. Sucking and vibrating at the same time. Stimulating the clitoris and G-spot to give you out-of-this-world orgasms. Women like butterflies. The color of the red rose symbolizes romance, love, beauty and courage. The antenna flirts with your secret desire. The two eyes turn into usb port for long-lasting pleasure and can be quickly recharged. They shimmer and glow in the moonlight and almost seem to come alive. Women are like butterflies. People say a butterfly cannot see the color of its own wings. Cannot see how beautiful they really are. We are butterflies. Even if you can not see it. Even if you can not see how beautiful you really are. Just know that BOMBEX MAKES YOU FEEL BOMB AF!” [sic]

Review: Magic Wand Mini

Kate Sloan

The Magic Wand franchise turns 54 this month. Yep! Can you believe it? In 1968, around this time, a vibrator was being launched that no one knew was going to change the world. In fact, it seems that no one knew it was even a vibrator; for decades after its launch, the toy’s makers, Hitachi, still insisted it was merely a “body massager.”

Brief primer on Hitachi Magic Wand history (which someone should really pay me to write a book about one of these days – don’t think I haven’t pitched it!): While officially billed as a non-sexual device, the Magic Wand’s popularity for pleasure first picked up steam in the late great Betty Dodson’s legendary masturbation workshops, so I’ve been told. The story goes (and I believe it to be true) that she would hand out wands to each workshop participant when the time came, and that many of them had their lives changed in an instant by their first taste of genital vibration. In the years since, the Magic Wand has gained nicknames like “the Cadillac of vibrators,” has showed up in countless porn videos (especially those featuring queer performers), and has become one of the most instantly recognizable vibrators in the world.

There was some drama around 2015 when Hitachi almost pulled the plug (so to speak) on producing the wand anymore. I don’t know why for certain, but I’ve been told by sources in the know that the company is relatively conservative and didn’t like having their name associated with a world-famous sex toy. An American sex toy distributor called Vibratex, then best known for their Rabbit Habit vibrator which was featured in a memorable episode of Sex & the City, stepped in and offered to take over marketing and distribution of the wand. They also overhauled the mechanics, making the toy safer (it had previously been known to overheat or even burst into flames) and adding a rechargeable version to the lineup but otherwise leaving it as close to the original as possible. As far as I’m aware, still to this day, the wand is physically produced by Hitachi but officially it is a Vibratex product.

(If you’re wondering why I know all this, it’s because in my last year of journalism school, they let me spend a semester writing a feature story on anything I wanted, and I wrote it on the Magic Wand. In the process, I interviewed, among other people, Vibratex’s VP and several people who had owned multiple wands, having immediately bought a new one when their old one died. Some interviewees even allowed me to sit in on real-life sex or masturbation sessions where they used their wands; I sat in the corner fully clothed with a notebook and pen, rapt. Truly don’t know why my professors let me do this but hey, it led me here.)

Anyway, I bring this up because there’s a new member of the Magic Wand family: the Magic Wand Mini. And it’s fucking ADORABLE.

Before we get into pros and cons, let’s briefly go over the basic differences between the Mini and the other versions, so we know what we’re talking about here.

  • The Magic Wand Mini is rechargeable, like the Magic Wand Rechargeable. It does not plug into the wall like the Magic Wand Original or Magic Wand Plus (except when it’s charging, obviously).
  • The original wand is around 12″ long; the Mini is only 9.6″ long.
  • Of course, it’s also lighter – 9.7 oz, which is less than half of what the other wands weigh.
  • The Magic Wand Mini’s head is made of silicone, like that of the Magic Wand Rechargeable and Magic Wand Plus – as opposed to being made of porous vinyl (which is a health hazard and also just gross), like that of the Magic Wand Original.
  • The Mini uses a different charger than the Magic Wand Rechargeable.
  • The Mini does not have vibration patterns, as the Magic Wand Rechargeable does – it only has steady speeds.
  • The Mini has 3 different vibration speeds, as opposed to the Original which has 2, and the Rechargeable and Plus, which both have 4.
  • Unlike the Rechargeable, the Mini cannot be used while it’s charging – so if your wand dies mid-session, you’re out of luck. It has battery life indicators though.

Okay, now let’s talk about what I actually think of this vibrator, shall we?

 

Things I like about this vibrator

  • First of all, I have to commend Vibratex for keeping the exact same aesthetic and basic proportions as the original wand, just in miniaturized form. I truly cannot overstate how cute this toy is. It’s like if someone made a Magic Wand for a doll. (Uhhh, that actually sounds like a very kinky dollification scene I need to do, like, yesterday.) It might not have quite the same appeal if you’ve never seen an original Magic Wand in person, but every sex toy nerd to whom I’ve showed this toy has shouted “IT’S SO CUUUUUTE!!” because it really fucking is.
  • The first speed of this toy rules. Vibratex should be very proud of this speed; as far as vibration speeds go, it is primo. It’s got a lot of rumble to it, and is strong enough to get me off easily on an average day, provided I use it in ways that work for me (more on that below). There are very few vibrators that can comfortably make me come on their lowest speed; one of the only other ones is the Magic Wand Rechargeable. So, at least on this one speed, Vibratex has succeeded in evoking a full-size wand experience in a smaller package. The rumbliness is such that I can definitely feel it in my internal clit, whether I’m holding it on the external part or even just my outer labia. This leads to orgasms every bit as intense – and almost as reliable and easy to achieve – as those I expect from other Magic Wands. I should note here, though, that I’m not a person who commonly uses wildly strong vibrators on high settings to get off. I think diehard fans of true power would be vastly disappointed by this toy (more on that in the “things I dislike” section).
  • One of my fundamental problems with full-size Magic Wands is that they cause some temporary numbness if I leave them in one place for a while. I prefer to move them around my vulva, staying in one spot for a minute or two and then packing up and moving on like a circus runaway. Granted, this is true of most vibrators, but it becomes more obvious with big wands because they’re so heavy that moving them around becomes a chore. But the Magic Wand Mini is much more nimble, and it makes a noticeable difference: I can move it around my inner and outer labia, come at my clit from various different angles, use it to stimulate my vaginal opening or perineum, etc. and my arm doesn’t get tired. As a person with chronic pain and strength issues in my hands/arms, I really appreciate that the wand is less than half the weight of the original.
  • When I use a regular-size Magic Wand, I usually tilt it so that only the corner/edge of the head is against my bits. This is because I like more pinpointed clit stimulation than the full width of the head can offer. The Magic Wand Mini is sufficiently small that I don’t really have to do this, and can target specific areas of my vulva as needed.
  • The smaller form factor would also make this toy better for using during PIV, I suspect. (Tragically, I cannot find out at the moment because my partner is 500 miles away from me.) I do notice that the vibrations are slightly dampened when pressure is applied to the head of the toy – which, incidentally, may also be an issue for people who like to push vibrators very firmly against their body – but it’s not so much as to cause problems for me. I’d still be likelier to use this in rear-entry positions, though, because wands – however petite and adorable – are just not well-suited for missionary.
  • Speaking of my partner being 500 miles away from me – I do a fair amount of travel (or did, when there wasn’t a pandemic happening), so I appreciate a wand I can comfortably fit in a purse or small suitcase. I think this would be a terrific vibe for hotel sex.
  • The buttons are super intuitive. There’s a power button and “plus” and “minus” buttons, which all do what you’d expect them to do. They make a satisfying click when pressed, but require just enough force to do so that I never press one accidentally. Kudos, Vibratex.
  • There’s some flexibility in the neck, similar to the amount offered by the Rechargeable. I’d still be worried I’d break it if I bent it too far, but it flexes enough to be comfortable when you’re applying pressure. This isn’t super important to me because I don’t apply much pressure when I use vibrators, but I know a lot of people feel strongly about this.

Things I don’t like about this vibrator

  • It has to be said: the vibrations are not as powerful or as rumbly as you may be used to if you’re a Magic Wand fan. The first setting is excellent, but the other two are pretty disappointingly buzzy – so, even though they supposedly have the same RPM (revolutions per minute) as the original wand, they just don’t feel as impactful and can cause temporary numbness. I think this probably has a lot to do with the smaller size of the toy, not just the motor.
  • Like all the Magic Wands, it’s kind of loud. It’s certainly quieter than the high settings of any other Magic Wand, but it has a shrillness to its tone that makes the noise seem louder somehow, even if, decibels-wise, it’s not. I don’t like using this vibe late at night, for example, lest it disturb my roommate… through a wall. (I have anxiety and some past trauma around being punished for being disruptively noisy, though, so take this with a big ol’ grain of salt.)
  • This wand won’t work with most classic Magic Wand accessories/attachments, because of its smaller size. Some companies do make attachments for smaller wands, though. Those made for the Le Wand Petite or the Mystic Wand, for example, should fit the Magic Wand Mini, albeit maybe slightly tightly or loosely.
  • I miss being able to use the toy while it’s charging, like you can with the Magic Wand Rechargeable.

 

Final thoughts

I’ve tried a bunch of smaller wands – including the buzzy-AF Le Wand Petite and the gorgeous Bodywand Midnight – and the Magic Wand Mini certainly ranks as one of the best. Vibratex and Hitachi clearly both care about vibration quality and have tried to make a smaller toy that still does the Magic Wand name proud, by prioritizing motor quality and strength above any extraneous bells and whistles.

It just seems that the smaller size and lighter weight of the Mini make its vibrations feel too buzzy on the higher end of the speed spectrum. I might use one of those two higher speeds as a “finisher” – there are times when it takes a dash of buzz to push me over the edge – but the first speed is really the only one that satisfies me in the way that Magic Wands usually do. It’s a damn good speed, but it wouldn’t be strong enough for true power aficionados, who’d be better off sticking with full-size wands.

I would pick up the Magic Wand Mini instead of a larger wand if I was having a pain flare-up or just feeling lazy, because it’s much easier to maneuver around my vulva. I’d also reach for it if I wanted a wand to use during penetrative sex. I would not, however, use it if I was craving a lot of power or a lot of rumble – the Magic Wand Rechargeable is still king for that. But, I mean, look at this cute little wand. It’s doing its best. And I think its best is pretty decent.

 

Thanks to LuxuryVibrators.ca for sending me this product to review! This post was sponsored, meaning I was paid to write a fair and honest review of this product. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.