All Reviews

Review: Tantus Ripple (small)

Kate Sloan

When PinkCherry.ca told me they were going to send me a small Tantus Ripple, I knew I was in for an adventure. I’ve done some anal play before, but the two anal toys I already have – a small tapered beginners’ piece, and the Ryder – are both plugs, designed to be worn for periods of time. This is quite different from the Ripple, which is a probe – it’s not meant to be worn, it’s meant to be used.

I was sent the Ripple in black, and it’s a great black – deep, badass, sexy. It looks like something a dominatrix would brandish at a client as a “punishment” – one part menacing, two parts delicious.

The Ripple boasts four beads, graduated in size from ¼" to 1". The two smallest beads are flimsy, due to their size, and like to flop around, which can pose a problem during insertion. It takes some finagling, but it’s never a problem getting the Ripple to slide in. Its size is perfect for a beginner – the smallest bead is about the size of a little finger, and the largest bead is closer to two of my fingers. This makes it great for warming up to a larger anal toy, if that’s what you want to do.

As I said, my other experiences with anal toys have been with plugs, so my first inclination with the Ripple was to leave it stationary inside me while masturbating… but that’s really not the best use of this toy. Its 5" length makes it feel slightly uncomfortable for me when it’s slid all the way in (am I hitting an inner sphincter?), so I don’t leave it there for long. Slowly sliding it in and out, however, is bliss. The beads create a satisfying, smooth “pop” without any pain or discomfort; it feels like my anus is being massaged, manipulated, in a wonderful way. It’s a great accompaniment to clitoral stimulation – I love holding my Eroscillator (review coming soon!) on my clit while stroking the Ripple in and out of my ass.

One thing that’s slightly sad about the Ripple is how quickly it makes me want something larger. I don’t know if it’s the graduated beads working their magic, or if this size of the Ripple really is very small, but I almost always crave a bigger toy after only a few minutes of playing with this one. Of course, I can always switch over to my Ryder, but the jump in size is still pretty wide. I wonder if the Ripple’s large size might be the next logical step for me, since it’s only a half-inch wider than the small one.

I also find it slightly annoying that I can’t leave the Ripple inside me without touching it or it’ll generally slide out. This is in part due to its slender shape, and in part due to its circular base (clearly not made to nestle between buttcheeks). I can’t fault the Ripple for not doing something it’s not made to do, but it would be cool to have a truly dual-purpose probe/plug.

Even though this toy hasn’t been a perfect match with my anatomy, I still believe Tantus reigns as the best source for high-quality silicone sex toys, both anal and vaginal. This experience has made me curious to try out some of Tantus’s other anal toys, like the Little Flirt, the small Silk, or the B-bomb.

Thanks so much, PinkCherry.ca, for putting a spring in my step and a Ripple in my butt!

Review: Tantus Flurry O2

Kate Sloan

When PinkCherry asked me to send them a list of toys I’d be interested in reviewing, I took my time with it. I combed through their site and noted down all sorts of items, from Pipedream to Lelo. But when I sat back and looked at the completed list, I noticed, to my surprise, an overwhelming amount of Tantus. It seemed strange to me because I already own the two Tantus toys I’d coveted the most, the Adam O2 and the Ryder – but I guess Tantus is just more covetable than a lot of other companies for me. Their toys are made of 100% platinum silicone (yay, sanitizability!), are always intelligently designed, come in a variety of colors, and are just overall fantastic.

So I was pretty excited when PinkCherry.ca sent me a Flurry O2 dildo. It’s from Tantus’s O2 line, which consists of all dual-density dildos – they have a core of firm silicone, and an outer layer of softer, squishier silicone, giving them a very real penis-like feeling. Oddly enough, my boyfriend and I both agreed that the Flurry is closer in feeling to his actual penis than the more realistic-looking Adam is – it feels a bit squishier, and the finish seems less sticky.

I was sent the Flurry in the color “twilight,” which is a beautiful pale lavender. The core layer is dark purple, while the soft outer layer is white; this gives the toy a lovely gradient throughout its body, an elegant touch I haven’t seen from anyone but Tantus.

I think of the Flurry as being like the cock of a vampire, or an alien. It’s not made to look realistic, with its two stacked heads and completely smooth shaft. It’s from the more martian-like branch of Tantus’s O2 line, so it doesn’t have veins, balls, a frenulum, or anything else that would make it similar to a penis – except for its obviously phallic shape and that doubled head.

This is the girthiest dildo I’ve ever used, at 1 ½” in circumference (though, admittedly, I am just starting out in the world of reviewing dildos – I’ve been more of a vibrator girl up til now). It takes plenty of warm-up and plenty of lube before I’m ready to let this thing impale me. But when I do, it is deliciously filling in the same way that my boyfriend’s dick is – comforting me with its width, rather than stretching me.

There are two major things to know about potential discomfort with the Flurry. The first is that it is silicone, so it eats lube, and has a bit of drag to it, more than something made of glass or steel would – and therefore, you may need more lube with it than you’d think.

The second thing is, of course, the bulbous ridges, designed to stimulate the G-spot. They do their job, but they are very intense. If you’re texture-sensitive, I wouldn’t recommend this one. Even drizzled in lube, I find these ridges somewhat uncomfortable on entry – though, that discomfort changes to pleasure pretty shortly.

The design of this dildo is a little odd in that it has no texture after the two ridges – so if you want that G-spot stimulation, you have to thrust the toy pretty shallowly. I’m okay with that, especially since I can’t even fit the toy’s whole 7″ inside me (I can get up to about 5 ½” before nudging my cervix), but it makes it a questionable choice for your partner to use on you during oral sex, since it might get in the way if thrusted that shallowly. Its girth does make it fabulous for clenching down on during orgasm, however.

Speaking of nudging my cervix… The Flurry is much softer and squishier at the tip than it is in the shaft, so if it does make contact with my cervix, it’s not a big deal, the way it is with glass. It doesn’t give me that “oh please god no” kind of pain that my cervix usually shoots out when clinked against pyrex. And that is definitely a blessing, especially with a toy as long as this one.

The wide, round base of the Flurry makes it harness-compatible and safe for anal (I didn’t tackle that challenge, because I am a total novice in the world of anal play). There’s a little raised “Tantus” logo at the base of the toy, parallel with the G-spot ridges, which I really appreciated because I have an issue with losing track of how dildos are oriented inside me.

I’d recommend this toy to someone who wants a stellar-quality, non-representational dildo with a bit of girth to it. You might not like it if you like intense G-spot stimulation and deep penetration at the same time, but if you like only one of those at once, the Flurry has got you covered.

Thanks so much, PinkCherry.ca, for bringing a bit of vampire dick into my life (and my vagina)! Check out their sex toy blog and enter their contest to win $100 in sex toys!

Pocket-Sized Porn Reviews: Anchorman XXX, Sex and Submission

Kate Sloan

The boyfriend and I sat down to watch the first disc of Anchorman XXX together because we’re both huge Anchorman fans. We’re those annoying folks who will quote Anchorman whenever any of its many well-known lines are even slightly relevant. I thought we would find the XXX version highly amusing; my boyfriend thought we would hate it – and we were both right.

Anchorman itself has a mood and voice that translate easily to porn, making this film seem oddly in tune with the original. The actors are porn stars, so even calling them “actors” is generous – but, to their credit, they mostly stay in character (I loved Jack Lawrence’s highly affected moaning as Ron Burgundy, ever sleazy and charismatic even right after ejaculating).

What killed this movie for us was the women. They’re overly bouncy, blonde, and chipper. They’re too young to be playing these roles (Christina Applegate was 33 when she played Veronica Corningstone; Tasha Reign was 22 when portraying the same character). And they don’t seem to have any real orgasms, just letting out never-ending repetitive shrieks and moans. My man and I agreed that we didn’t find the sex scenes arousing at all, just occasionally funny.

Not too long ago, I was scrolling through my porn folder, trying to find something to get me hot so I could test out a dildo to review, and I noticed this episode of Sex and Submission. It stars James Deen and Megan Murray. I’ve actually never seen any Sex and Submission stuff before this, nor have I really seen much super-kinky porn, so it was cool to delve into it with something so high-quality.

Deen is terrific, as always. I’m used to seeing him adoring women, treating them right, and giving them what they want, but he’s just as hot when he’s flogging his “personal whore” and shouting at her to keep her mouth open wide. Despite his reputation as a very female-friendly porn star, he also makes an incredibly convincing and sexy dom.

I’m not terribly into the pain stuff, but the bondage was hot, and so was Megan’s complete and utter submission. I appreciated that there are little interviews, one at the beginning and one at the end, in which James asks Megan questions about what kind of rough sex she likes, what kind of pain she’s up for, and (after the scene) why the flogging made her cry. These interviews added an element of “yes, this is definitely 100% consensual” which set my feminist heart at ease and allowed me to enjoy the action.

Review: SSA Glass Amethyst

Kate Sloan

The Amethyst has been on my wishlist for a long time. I could tell you I wanted it because it’s made of smooth, nonporous pyrex glass, or because of its G-spotting abilities… but honestly, the reason I wanted it is that it comes in a gorgeous, rich shade of royal blue – my favorite color in the world.

Okay, maybe that’s not the best justification for buying sex toys – but that’s okay, because this dildo turned out to be wonderful, despite the lack of sound reasoning that went into me requesting it.

Confession time: I’m something of a G-spotting beginner. Sure, I’ve tried the Ella, and doggie-style is my favorite position because of what it does to my insides, and I’ve had my boyfriend reduce me to a puddle of moaning bliss by forcefully rubbing my spot with his lube-drenched fingers… but somehow, I still feel like a total novice in this area. I can’t always accurately locate my own spot, and even with a partner, I find it very difficult to relax into the weird, new, sometimes uncomfortably intense sensations of G-spot play. Sometimes it feels like I’m approaching an orgasmic breakthrough, but then I get nervous that I’m going to pee on the sheets, so I freak out and tense up. Bummer.

Everyone tells me that I just need to relax, and put those worries out of my mind. And I figure the best way to do that is to do it alone. I’m certainly not going to judge me if I pee all over myself.

But back to the Amethyst… It’s gorgeous. Initially I thought it looked remarkably small, but of course, it’s not meant to be a filling fuck. It comes packaged in a red velvet pouch, perfect for storage.

The Amethyst is a dead ringer for the much-lauded Don Wands Bent Graduate – same shape, roughly the same size. Its G-spotting end, which I thought looked too curved and pointy-headed to possibly be comfortable (let alone pleasurable), actually slides right into me and locates my spot immediately. It’s disarmingly good at homing in on where it’s supposed to go.

The other end, just a series of ripples, feels very nice too, but I already have a dildo that’s almost identical to this side, so I didn’t find it especially exciting. It’s just enough yummy texture to be good for warm-up, but it can’t provide the G-spot pressure I crave when I get into the higher stages of arousal.

For me, at least, glass is a perfect material for a G-spotting toy. It’s firm and unyielding, so it can really press hard, unlike Ella. It’s completely nonporous, so any lube you use on it (water- or silicone-based) is going to work like a charm and make it ultra-slippery. It’s easy to sanitize, via boiling, antibacterial soap and water, or a 10% bleach rubdown. Plus, glass is just beautiful in a way that other toys can’t replicate.

I was definitely tempted to try out this toy anally, but the fact is, it’s not made for that. It doesn’t have a flared base, and because it’s so slippery, it would be easy to get it lost up there. But when even my ass is lusting for something, you know it’s a pretty hot toy.

I still haven’t been able to have G-spot orgasms or squirt, but this is the toy that’s brought me closest. It cups my spot, presses hard, is easy to thrust… It’s a G-spotter’s wet dream. I’ve had a few clitoral orgasms while using the Amethyst to squeeze and tease my G-spot, and it adds an extra layer of intensity to the experience.

I’d definitely recommend the Amethyst to someone who, like me, sometimes has trouble locating their G-spot, and/or just wants to apply a decent amount of pressure to it. It’s a toy that’s easy to care for, does its job well, looks great, and leaves me satisfied.

Review: Lelo Ella

Kate Sloan

Prior to buying Ella, my sex toy collection contained only one dildo. One. It’s rippled and made of glass, and while it’s not terribly exciting, I’ve never really wanted for more until recently.

It was Epiphora’s review that made me want Ella with a rabid, raging lust. ‘Piph tells a tale of G-spot glory, of her first non-clitoral orgasm, and ultimately of squirting. As someone who has only ever been able to come clitorally, and without waterworks, I knew I needed to try this toy.

Lelo’s packaging is, as always, a triumph. My all-white Ella came in a matching white slip-box, which contained Lelo’s signature thick black monogrammed cardboard box. I have five Lelos now (I know, I know, somebody stop me) and those boxes sure look gorgeous when they’re all stacked up. They’re like the sex toy equivalent of a set of elegant encyclopedias on the shelf.

My first impression, upon opening said box, was that the Ella is smaller than I expected. It’s made for G-spotting enthusiasts, not size queens – so if you crave fullness, this is not the toy for you.

Now, onto the good stuff… Jacking off with Ella is a joy. With a dollop of water-based lube (don’t use silicone on silicone!), even that awkward-looking G-spotting end slides right in. And once it’s in, it goes right for its goal: the G-spot. Depending on your anatomy, you may find that you need to push the toy in a little deeper or pull it out a little bit to help it find your spot – but mine can be found by Ella right away, like magic.

I like this toy a lot, but even as the G-spotting novice that I am, I can tell that it doesn’t do its job perfectly, although it does do it quite well. Ella’s made of 100% silicone – a blessing in terms of safety and hygiene, but not so great if you want something firm. The toy’s body is hard and practically unyielding, but the neck has some give to it, which makes it difficult to put a lot of pressure on the G-spot. It’s certainly easier to apply pressure with Ella than it was with my fingers, or my curveless glass dildo, but it’s not as easy as it would be with a completely rigid toy.

Still, there are other times when the silicone feels too hard. Ella hits my G-spot so nicely that it makes me want to thrust much faster, and when I do that, the toy’s pointy end sometimes jabs into my cervix, momentarily killing the mood. This is okay – I’ve learned to avoid thrusting Ella too deeply – but it does give the toy a learning curve and a risk of pain that some may not like.

But overall, the silicone formulation is pretty awesome. I’ve used the Ella several times while on my period, with it ending up covered in reddish-brownish stains, and all of the blood washed right off with soap and hot water. No stains. No discoloration. Nada. Bravo, Lelo!

So while Ella certainly does the trick, and can add some decent G-spot pressure to my clitoral orgasms, I don’t think it has the power to make me come all by itself. I’ll keep trying, but I think I’ll have to wait until I get my hands on a Pure Wand before I’ll be able to fairly judge my own orgasmic capacity.