How-To

How to Tell Whether a Luxury Sex Toy is Worth the Money

Kate Sloan
Pictured: the Fucking Sculptures Double Trouble, the Désirables Dalia, and a Canadian $50 bill. Yes, our money really does look like that.

A lot of people ask me whether my pricier sex toys are worth the money. The answer depends vastly on what you’re looking for, and there are certainly many affordable toys that are perfectly decent (that’s a whole ‘nother blog post). But if you’ve got some cash burning a hole in your pocket and a high-end sex toy on the brain, here’s some advice on how to ensure it’s worth the dough.

 

Check the material first

For cost-cutting purposes, a lot of sex toy companies use materials that are porous, toxic, or both. This is made possible by the lack of regulation in the sex toy industry, and is one of the biggest hurdles sex toy shoppers face, especially first-time users who don’t know what to look for and what to avoid.

Unsafe materials, such as PVC and TPR, are usually found in toys that cost say, $40 or less – but there’s a surprising number of pricier toys that use these materials too. (For example, the phthalate-ridden jelly rabbit vibe that gave me a chemical burn inside my vagina when I was a teenager is still being made, and currently retails for $47.96. YIKES. They should have to pay you to use that thing, if just to cover your medical bills!)

Here’s a short version of my material safety shpiel: only buy toys that are made of 100% silicone, hard plastic, glass, metal, lucite/acrylic, sealed ceramic, or food-safe lacquered wood. (Some combination of these materials is okay too; for example, some toys have a 100% silicone shaft and a hard plastic handle.)

Some specialized types of toys are okay to buy in porous materials – for instance, many strokers, such as Fleshlights, are made of porous materials like TPR and TPE, but in that case it’s considered more acceptable because penises are less prone to the types of infections that vaginas can easily get from using porous toys. Phthalates are still a no-no for everybody, though. Unfortunately, sex toy companies aren’t always honest about what’s in their toys, which is why you should do the next thing on this list…

 

Read reviews from various different sources

There are many sex toy reviews in various places around the internet – including over 300 on this blog! – and it would behoove you to read several reviews of any toy you’re planning on purchasing, before you purchase it. I think it’s best to read a mix of sex toy bloggers’ reviews, reviews on mainstream sites like Self and Insider (both of which I’ve written for, FYI), and laypeople’s reviews on sites like Amazon. This’ll give you an overall picture of what people think of the toy.

For a vibrator, check to see whether reviews say it’s rumbly, powerful enough, and has variable speeds/settings (plus whatever other criteria you want to prioritize, like waterproofness or USB-rechargeability). For a non-vibrating toy, seek out reviewers’ thoughts on whether its shape and size are comfortable, how easy it is to use, and how well it hits whatever erogenous zone(s) you’re looking to target.

It’s especially useful if you can find, and follow the work of, sex toy critics whose tastes seem fairly close to your own. That way, you can more safely assume that their recommendations will work for you and your body. For example, if you and your favorite toy reviewer previously agreed on how great the Satisfyer Pro 2 felt, and the reviewer posts a glowing new review of the Lora DiCarlo Osé 2, it’s quite possible that you would like the Osé as well (or at least its clitoral portion).

 

Think about the “cost-per-use”

By far, clitoral vibrators are the type of toy I use most often, since I need clitoral stimulation to reach orgasm. So it makes sense that I’ve happily spent hundreds of dollars on great clitoral toys in the past: I use one nearly every time I masturbate or have sex. It’s easy to see how a $300 vibrator can be a good investment if you use it, say, 300 times in the first year that you own it. (In love with a vibrator?! Who, ME?!)

By contrast, something like the MotorBunny Buck Thrusting Sex Machine would be more of a “special occasion” toy for many people. That’s not to say you shouldn’t buy it, if you’ve got the funds – but it’s worth considering whether you’d rather spend that money on something you’d use regularly instead.

 

Touch it in-person

If you have the opportunity to see and touch a toy in real life, you can get a better idea of how well it’s constructed, how rumbly the vibrations are, how squishy the material is, etc., which is useful information when debating a purchase.

The most common way to do this is to visit a brick-and-mortar sex shop and check out their floor models, but if you happen to have a friend or partner who owns the sex toy you want, you could also ask them if you could come over to take a look and give it a squeeze. (Obviously it would be nice if they washed it first…)

 

Look for sales, deals, ‘n’ bundles

I really lucked out when I bought my Njoy Eleven. As of 2022, it retails for $360 in Canada – but when I bought it in 2015, it was selling for $200 and the retailer was having a “20% off everything” sale, so I ended up only paying $181 including tax. Not sure I’ll ever feel a rush quite like that again…

In addition to the periodic sales that many retailers run, you could also look for toy bundles, like the We-Vibe Date Night special edition kit, which contains my beloved We-Vibe Nova 2 along with one of We-Vibe’s super-rumbly vibrating cock rings. To buy these toys separately at full price would cost $288, whereas the bundle is only $217 right now. Wow!

If you see a toy bundle that contains some stuff you want and some stuff you don’t, you could ask a friend or partner if they want to chip in, in exchange for the toy(s) you’re not interested in. Teamwork makes the dream work!

 

Thanks to the folks at LuxuryVibrators.ca for sponsoring this post! As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

How to Discover Your New Favorite Sexy Roleplay

Kate Sloan
Photo from my Wednesday Addams photoshoot with Cadence Lee back in 2017

Ah, roleplay. For something that is literally just grown-up playtime, it sure can cause a lot of stress and confusion. Many people wonder (sometimes in my inbox) how to get started with roleplay, what their favorite roleplays mean about them, and what scenarios they should explore through roleplay.

That last question is what I’m focusing on today. Once you know you want to try “sexy improv” (as I affectionately refer to roleplay), how do you know who you want to roleplay as?! Here are some suggestions to help you brainstorm…

 

1. Examine the media that turns you on.

Do you reliably feel a little randy when you watch Gerri and Roman verbally spar in the humiliation scenes of Succession? Does your erotic imagination continually wander back to the hypnokink antics in The Jungle Book? Do you fantasize about being wanted as fervently as Joe wants his stalking victims in You? (Am I just listing my own kinks here? Who can say…)

Media is often one of the first places we encounter dynamics we’d later like to embody and act out ourselves. It’s worth paying attention to which characters, relationships, situations, and power dynamics get your motor running, so you can translate their hottest elements into a sexy scene with a partner someday.

 

2. Ponder the words you love to call people, or to be called.

If you’ve noticed your knees get weak when you call a partner “boss,” or when an authority figure calls you “young lady,” for example, that’s useful information.

If you like, try making a list of all the titles and honorifics you can think of – sir, madam, doctor, your honor, your majesty, captain, and so on. Go through the list and take a moment to imagine what it would be like to call an attractive person each title on the list, or how it would feel if an attractive person were to call you these names. Circle the ones that make your heart beat faster and file that info away for future roleplays!

 

3. Take a quiz.

The Cheztoon ‘How Kinky Are You?’ quiz, for example, can help you narrow down the kinky archetypes you’re most drawn to. Take it with a partner, share your results with one another, and discuss!

I could also see it being useful to take a silly online quiz that tells you which character from your favorite media property you’re most similar to. For instance, I just took a “What Mean Girls character are you?” quiz on Buzzfeed and it told me that I’m Janis Ian. Extremely into the idea of a Janis-and-Regina-inspired roleplay!

 

4. Ask yourself how you want to feel.

Different people are drawn to kinky roleplay for different reasons, and it’s useful to figure out your own motivations when devising new roleplay scenarios. Do you want to feel submissive? Dominant? Innocent? Powerful? Slutty? Evil? Ravaged? Indulged? Punished? Adored?

Write down all the emotions you like to feel, whether in kink or just in life, and use that list to extrapolate some roleplay situations you might enjoy.

 

5. Consider costuming.

While costumes are absolutely not a requirement for roleplay, they can make scenes feel more authentic and grounded in reality. But also, you can consider which clothing items make you feel sexiest, and devise a roleplay based on those choices.

For example, I’ve always felt super cute in short pleated skirts and kneesocks, so a schoolgirl/teacher roleplay is a natural fit for me. I’ve had partners who felt most “themselves” in an elegant suit, suggesting they might enjoy playing a powerful entrepreneur in a boss/secretary roleplay or somesuch. If a black latex catsuit sounds like the hottest possible thing you could wear, maybe you’re jonesing for a Catwoman/Batman roleplay. You get the idea!

 

What methods have you used to brainstorm future roleplay scenes?

 

This post was sponsored by Cheztoon Take the Kink Quiz. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

How to Have Sex in a Long-Distance Relationship

Kate Sloan

For a long time I maintained that I would never be in a long-distance relationship, because sex and other forms of physical affection mattered too much to me.

However, then I fell in love with a brilliant, beautiful, dominant-leaning switch who lives 500 miles away from me, so… that whole “never ever doing an LDR” thing kinda flew out the window.

Before we ever even had sex IRL, it became apparent to us – in the many many hours we spent falling in love over the phone – that we couldn’t be one of those long-distance couples who wait until they’re physically together to share any kind of sexual intimacy. There’s nothing wrong with that type of relationship, of course, and if it works for its participants then I wish them well! But this post is for people who aren’t happy with that being their status quo, and who want to explore alternate ways of building a satisfying sex life within a long-distance relationship. Here are some of the things that have worked for me and Matt…

 

Phone sex

This is the first way we ever really had sex, and is still, by far, the most common way we get each other off. Although it’s largely gone out of vogue in favor of sexting and other more “modern” forms of long-distance sex, I still think nothing really beats the phone. Sexting feels too abstracted for me a lot of the time, as if I’m having sex with my iPhone rather than with my partner, whereas Skype sex, Zoom sex, etc. make me too self-conscious about my own appearance to really focus on feeling good. Phone sex strikes a happy medium between the two, allowing for the intimate immediacy of hearing your partner’s thoughts and reactions in real-time, but without the hyper-scrutiny that can arise in video sex.

My top tips for phone sex:

  1. Don’t use the actual phone, if you can help it. Do an audio call on something like FaceTime or Skype (yes, these normally video-centric services allow for audio-only calls). The quality is much better and so your experience will be better too.
  2. Get the right equipment. You don’t want to be fumbling with your handset while you’re trying to, um, “fumble with your handset.” For years I’ve used a pair of standard wired Apple earbuds, which have a microphone built-in, leaving my hands free to do other things.
  3. Talk about what you would do if you were physically together. It’s that simple. Or, if you prefer, you can use your imaginations to craft a roleplay scenario that would only be possible on the phone.

 

Sexting

It’s not my preferred way of having long-distance sex, but many people enjoy it. Personally I find it too hard to juggle typing and touching myself at the same time. Many of the folks I know who are into sexting say that they don’t really masturbate during the sexting, but moreso after it, when they can scroll back through the messages to their heart’s content. I prefer the real-time aspect of phone sex.

However, sexting can be really fun, and may be especially useful as an avenue for communication if you struggle to tell your partner about your sexual desires and preferences. After all, sometimes it’s easier to type “I want you to [x]” into your phone than to say it out loud to your partner’s beautiful face. I suggest reading Tina Horn’s book Sexting if you’re looking for advice on how to sext like a pro.

Sexting can also involve the exchange of sexy photos or videos, both of which can be lovely to receive (consensually, at appropriate times) when you’re missing your partner’s body.

 

Long-distance sex toys

There was a time when virtual sex via high-tech toys – a field of products sometimes known as “teledildonics” – was an exotic, futuristic concept, something technology magazines wrote about with wonderment and awe. These days, though, that type of toy is pretty widely available, so “touching” your partner via Bluetooth is a beloved option for many long-distance couples.

My partner has a long-distance stroker and butt plug, both of which we frequently use not only when we’re apart but also when we’re together, because sometimes my chronic pain is such that it’s easier for me to control sliders on my iPad screen than to actually give sensation with my own two hands.

The folks at Honeysx recommend the Magic Motion brand of remotely-controllable sex toys for long-distance couples. I like their bright, punchy aesthetic and reasonable prices!

 

Video sex

If you or your partner have an exhibitionistic or voyeuristic streak, this is probably something you’d enjoy. Personally, performing in front of a webcam or phone camera feels too much like, well, performing for me, which makes it hard for me to relax into arousal – but I know lots of people feel the polar opposite!

Make sure you use a medium that’s totally secure (someone Zoom-bombing your private moment would be pretty awful). Consider having sex toys on hand to use on yourself, as proxies for your partner’s hands/mouth/genitals/whatever.

 

What’s your preferred method of having long-distance sex?

 

This post was sponsored by Honeysx, a site that has a great selection of long-distance sex toys. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

Can Demisexuals Have Casual Sex? (& If So, How?!)

Kate Sloan

Ever since I came out as demisexual 2 years ago, people have had a lot of questions for me about that identity. Some of these include:

Q. What is demisexuality?
A. It’s an identity on the asexual spectrum, characterized by developing sexual attraction only to people with whom one has an existing emotional connection. In other words, demisexuals don’t (and indeed, can’t) become sexually attracted to strangers, or people they have just met and know nothing about; it takes some amount of intimacy, mutual trust, and/or get-to-know-ya time before a demi person can develop a sexual attraction.

Q. How is that different from just preferring sex in relationships over hookups/one-night stands?
A. What you’re describing is a preference; what I’m describing is a sexual orientation. If you don’t like hookups but nonetheless find yourself regularly feeling sexually attracted to people you don’t know or have just met – such as thinking the stranger across the bar is hot, or wishing you could fuck the cute person who just walked past you on the street – then you aren’t demisexual. Also, it’s worth noting that sexual orientation and sexual behavior do not always “match,” so just because a demisexual may not feel sexual attraction toward a person they’ve just met doesn’t automatically mean that they won’t hook up with that person, or won’t enjoy hooking up with that person.

Q. Wait, what? Why would you hook up with someone you’re not sexually attracted to?
A. Oh, gosh. So many reasons. For me personally, the main reasons I do this tend to be 1) the desire for the fun, excitement, and pleasure of the hookup itself, which can exist independently of whether or not I’m attracted to the person I’m hooking up with, and 2) the desire to use sex to get to know someone, so an attraction may develop. (It’s important to remember, too, in trying to understand this concept, that “not attracted to” is not usually the same thing as “repulsed by.”)

 

I thought today would be a good day to dive a little deeper on a question that is related to these, which is: Can demisexuals have casual sex? Or, more to the point, can they enjoy it?

I have indeed jumped onto a free sex app looking for a carnal meet-cute from time to time. I have swept my eyes over the stranger chatting me up at a sex club and thought, “Sure.” I am not immune to these temptations, though for me they are not based on sexual attraction. They’re more based on a desire for pleasure, excitement, and adventure.

In some ways, I think of sex like dancing. Some people say dancing is the most romantic, the most intimate and fun, when you do it with someone you’re in love with, or even just someone you’re attracted to. It may give you that buzzy feeling of crackling energy flowing between you, the desire to lean in close for an impulsive kiss, the sense that everyone else in the room has faded away and it’s just you and your dance partner, whirling and gyrating. But at the same time, I’m sure you can think of instances when you’ve danced with (or near) someone you weren’t in love with, weren’t even attracted to, and still had a good time. Perhaps you didn’t even know their name. Maybe the music was good, or the athleticism of the dancing got your heart rate up in an invigorating way, or you just enjoyed the fun of getting to know someone from the way they move. It may not have even mattered if you ever saw the person again; your one shared dance was a self-contained encounter that was pleasing in and of itself, and required neither a deep emotional connection nor a later reunion for more dancing. It is likely that your dance partner, or you, simply disappeared into the night sometime after the song was over, and you both moved on with your lives, not feeling pulled to reunite and reconnect, but still happy to have shared that experience with someone who seemed cool.

That’s how I feel about casual sex as a demisexual. It’s not necessarily the best version of sex I can have, or the most emotionally resonant, but that’s not really the point. It’s about fun and frivolity and feeling alive.

 

I suppose this raises the ethical question of whether your “dance partners” – by which I mean sex partners – need to know you’re not attracted to them. After all, to visit site after site and use app after app searching for a hookup can be an exhausting process; if mutual attraction is what they’re after, don’t they deserve to know upfront that it’s not an option, so they can swipe left and move on to the next?

I actually don’t think so, and here’s why. Most people don’t know what demisexuality is. Hell, most people don’t even know what asexuality is. They have not probed the concepts of sexual orientation versus sexual behavior. They have not pondered the ways a person can enjoy sex without attraction. So all they’re gonna hear, when you try to explain, is “I find you repulsive, but I’ll still have sex with you, if you want, I guess,” even if that’s not at all what you feel you’re expressing.

Should an opportunity arise in conversation, I’ll sometimes disclose something like, “I generally take a while to warm up to people,” or “I enjoy sex more when it’s with someone I’ve already had sex with a few times.” These statements have the added benefit of planting the seed in the other person’s head that you’d be open to an ongoing friends-with-benefits arrangement or similar, rather than just a one-off encounter. But they’re also a way of telling your date the truth about yourself, hopefully without making them feel like a gross gargoyle being thrown a bone (so to speak).

 

I will say, my demisexuality works more like a dimmer switch than an on/off toggle. If a deep emotional connection gets me hot, a shallower-but-still-present emotional connection gets me… warm. This – among other, more practical reasons, like my physical safety – is why I prefer to go on a date that may or may not end in a hookup, rather than just going over to a stranger’s house (or inviting them over to mine) for immediate sex. You typically can’t develop profound intimacy in the timespan of just one date, but you can develop some intimacy. I like to ask people not only basic first-date questions (job, family, hobbies) but also slightly more probing questions, that may reveal something deeper about who they are, such as:

  • What’s your passion?
  • Read any good books lately?
  • Does the climate crisis worry you?
  • Overall, are you happy with your life?
  • What’s the best thing that’s happened to you today?
  • What’s the last thing that made you laugh really, really hard?

Beyond helping make attraction possible for me (even if it’s just a mild attraction), these types of questions are also just… fun to hear people answer, even people you’ve just met. One of my favorite things about dating and hooking up is getting to know new people. Even though I’m a huge introvert and can only handle it in small doses, I find it delightful and eye-opening to chat with people from different walks of life about their experiences, opinions, hopes, and fears. Getting to learn more about humanity and get laid in the same evening? What’s not to like?!

 

Lastly, I feel it’s important to add that you can always say no to sex, for any reason you want. You can say no to the idea of casual sex altogether, and just stay home reading a book. You can say no to the random person who asks you out via Tinder, if their vibe rubs you the wrong way or you just don’t feel like going out. You can say no to staying for another drink, if by the end of the first one you’re bored to tears or just wishing you were home watching Netflix instead. You can say no when your date asks you back to their place, whether it’s a “no, but maybe next time” or a permanent kind of no. You can say no when you’re back at their place (or yours), after a nightcap or after some kisses or after some touching or whenever the hell you want. You can say no to seeing them again. You can say no at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all, and anyone who makes you feel like you can’t is someone you should get away from as soon as you possibly can. (Block their number, too. You deserve better.)

As a demisexual, I’ve found that the most likely juncture of a date when I might need to say no is when we’re paying for our drinks/dinner/whatever and have to decide whether to move to a second location. If I don’t want to have sex with them, right then or perhaps ever, but they’ve made an invitation for me to do so, I can say:

  • “Thank you, but no.”
  • “I’m not really feelin’ it.”
  • “It was nice meeting you, but I need to get some rest.”
  • “I don’t think we’re a great fit, but thanks for your time.”
  • “I’ve had a lovely time, but I think I’m just gonna head home.”
  • “I’m not really feeling sexual chemistry here, but I hope you have a good rest of your night.”

I used to feel guilty about doing this, as if I had “wasted their time” by declining sex when there was an unspoken agreement that sex would (or could) happen. But frankly, anyone who believes sex is an obligation, in any context and for any reason, is not a safe person to have sex with. This is also why I prefer to pay for my own drinks/food/transport on all first dates; I need all the help I can get convincing myself that I never owe anyone anything and am free to say no at any time. There is always a chance that someone will get angry and/or aggressive when rebuffed in this way, however gently; this is one of the many reasons it’s best to have all first dates in public, well-lit places where there are plenty of other people around.

 

Are you a demisexual person who enjoys casual sex? What are your tips and tricks for having demi-friendly hookups?

 

This post was sponsored. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

5 Yummy Summer Cocktails

Kate Sloan

Summer is well and truly upon us, and my city is reopening after lockdown, meaning soon I’ll be able to return to my solo-date tradition of sitting on a cocktail bar patio with a good book and not a care in the world. Blissful!

To celebrate, here are the recipes for cocktails I love to sip in summer, incase you, too, are craving refreshing libations. (Be sure to also check out my previous post of cocktail recipes to learn about the Southside, possibly my all-time favorite summer drink.)

Margarita

As a white lady, I won’t claim to be any kind of margarita expert. Really, the thing to do is go to the best Mexican restaurant in your city/town and order their margarita – just the basic/traditional version, nothing fancy. (Try as I might, I can’t seem to make a margarita as delicious as the giant ones served at Toronto’s El Catrin.)

That said, this drink is so classically summery that I appreciate being able to make one at home if I feel like it. Here’s the specs I use…

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 oz tequila
  • 0.75 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • 0.75 oz Cointreau
  • 0.25 oz agave syrup (or simple syrup if you don’t have it)

Run the juicy part of a lemon slice around the rim of a glass to get it sticky, and then gently roll the lemony rim against a pile of salt on a plate until you get your glass as salt-rimmed as you want it. Then, combine all above ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake until well-chilled. Strain into glass over ice (or sans ice if you prefer).

Black Walnut

This is one of the house drinks at Northwood, a local bar I like very much. I have no idea what their actual recipe is, but this version was devised by my partner Matt when I told them I missed being able to sip this drink. They did a bunch of research on it and messaged with one of our bartender friends to try to figure out an approximation of the Black Walnut as served at Northwood, and I think it tastes very close to the real thing!

Ingredients:

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into glass over a big ice cube. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

*To make cinnamon demerara syrup: Bring 2 cups of water to a boil on the stovetop, then reduce heat to medium-low and add 1 cup of demerara sugar + a few crumbled cinnamon sticks. Stir continuously until all the sugar is dissolved. For maximum cinnamon flavor, let steep for anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. Then, strain mixture into a bottle.

**To make walnut tea-infused rum: Add ~2 tablespoons of black walnut tea to a bottle of white rum (I like Bacardi’s). Shake vigorously. Let infuse for at least 2 hours, then strain and return to bottle.

Daiquiri #2

This is a fruitier, even more summery take on the classic daiquiri, which traditionally contains just lime juice, rum, and a little sugar. I like this orange-centric version because it reminds me of tropical vacations.

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz white rum
  • 0.75 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • 0.5 oz simple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon curaçao

Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Double-strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Jungle Bird

My spouse introduced me to this formidable drink. It feels like a super grown-up cocktail due to the way it balances sweetness with bitterness so well, especially compared to other fruity drinks.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 oz dark rum
  • 1.5 oz pineapple juice
  • 0.75 oz Campari
  • 0.5 oz lime juice
  • 0.5 oz simple syrup

Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into an old-fashioned glass over a big ice cube. Garnish with a pineapple frond and/or orange slice.

Jasmine

This drink, too, is a nice interplay between sweetness and bitterness. I first had it when my partner and I decided to watch the movie Blue Jasmine together and wanted a thematically appropriate cocktail to sip during the film. Cate Blanchett’s character in that movie, Jasmine, probably would have liked this drink – it’s bright, refined, and a little quirky.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 oz gin (ideally a London dry gin like Tanqueray or Bombay Sapphire)
  • 0.75 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 oz Cointreau
  • 0.5 oz Campari

Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

What have you been sipping lately?