Sex Toy Reviews

Review: Vixen Creations Raquel

Kate Sloan

Pictures of the Vixen Raquel don’t do it justice. Its shape is deceptively simple: a somewhat skinny 7 ½" shaft, topped off by a slightly bulbous head that’s 1 5/8" thick. It doesn’t look fancy or fabulous, but that’s because all the magic is in the material.

See, the Raquel is made of VixSkin, a deliciously squishy dual-density silicone formulation. There’s a firm, barely yielding core, encased inside a very plushy softer silicone. So while Raquel looks more like a tentacle than a penis, it actually feels quite penis-like in use.

If you’re looking for jaw-droppingly intense G-spot stimulation, keep looking: what Raquel does is subtler, gentler. It can certainly be felt, but its presence in my vagina is cloudlike, ethereal. And my G-spot can only be satisfied by the Raquel when it’s in motion, usually being thrust pretty quickly.

But oh, does it satisfy. That bulging head rubs over my G-spot with the dexterity and sweetness of an adoring lover. This is not the kind of dildo that makes me scream, “Oh fuck yes!” like the Pure Wand does, but it can make me want to moan, “Oh yeah. Just like that.”

It has some other nice features, too. A beautiful, iridescent white base. A moderately successful suction cup on the bottom. But really, it’s all about that big juicy head. It’s a total G-spot seductress.

I don’t know what else to tell ya, bro. If your G-spot is into soft, squishy, but pussy-meltingly spot-on stimulation, get the Raquel. There’s a reason why VixSkin is one of the most lusted-after materials in the sex toy kingdom.

My Love Affair with the VixSkin Mustang

Kate Sloan

The Mustang dildo by Vixen Creations has a formidable following. People rave about it. As one of the only Vixen dildos with manageably average measurements, it’s a very popular choice. After deciding I needed to own something made of VixSkin, it wasn’t long before I set my sights on the Mustang.

But for the first month or so after I got it, I wasn’t that impressed with it. “The VixSkin Mustang is too squishy and floppy to rub my G-spot the way I like,” I wrote in my initial review. And it was true – up until that point, my G-spot had only really been exposed to firm silicone, glass, steel, and hard plastic. To use a metaphor: if you’ve been blasting Led Zeppelin all your life, you’re unlikely to be too impressed by Vivaldi when you first start listening to his delicate compositions. But give it a while, and you might come around.

That’s what happened to me. I kept trying and trying to make the Mustang work for me, because it’s an expensive toy and I didn’t want it to go to waste… and after some time, I grew to like it. And then I grew to love it.

As far as realistic dildos go, it’s hard to find one more perfect than the Mustang. It’s non-porous and body-safe, has a killer G-spot curve and ultra-stimulating coronal ridge, flares comfortably in diameter to its widest spot at the bottom of the shaft, and isn’t so realistic as to look creepy. (Well, it creeps my boyfriend out a little, but that’s okay, he’s not the one shoving it inside of him.)

The VixSkin Mustang has surprised me by becoming one of my go-to dildos – so much that I find myself lusting after it in the new “fluoro-green” color even though I already have one. When you wish you owned more than one of the same toy, that’s a pretty dependable sign that it’s a keeper.

Review: Njoy Fun Wand

Kate Sloan

It’s been said before, but… the Njoy Fun Wand is no match for its older sister, the Pure Wand.

Don’t get me wrong. Njoy makes gorgeous, flawless, luxurious, top-tier toys that I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone. But unless you have very specific needs that the Pure Wand cannot meet, that’s the toy I would recommend over any other Njoy product.

The Fun Wand is a versatile piece of steel. One end has a 1″ tapered bulb which can massage the G-spot; the other end, consisting of 3 smaller graduated bulbs, can also be used for G-spotting but is most effective when you put it in your butt. There is no denying that the Fun Wand feels good anally, but it’s not “oh my god, how did I live without you” good – more like “hmm, that feels nice – what’s next?”

The G-spot end is lovely too, but likewise, I find it only satisfies me for the first little while of any masturbation session, after which point I crave something bigger and with a more extreme curve. The Fun Wand’s “S” shape is beautiful to look at, but it’s not enough for my G-spot and it’s also not very ergonomic; it curves away from the body when inserted, making it slightly uncomfortable to grasp and thrust with.

The one satisfying use I’ve found for the Fun Wand is for G-spot stimulation when my vagina is sore (I think I’m coming down with another case of BV, ugh). Because it’s thin and naturally cold, it strikes a balance between soothing and pleasurable when my vag can’t handle something girthier.

I’d only recommend the Fun Wand to you if you have an extremely tight vagina or if you’re looking for a very luxurious ripply anal toy. Otherwise, save yourself the disappointment and pick up a Pure Wand from the get-go – it truly is the Cadillac of penetrative toys.

Ask Girly Juice: A Non-Tickly Clitoral Vibe

Kate Sloan

Captain Placeholder asked: Hello, I love your blog and was hoping I could pick your brains. I’m planning to get a small clitoral vibrator for my girlfriend and I to use together (I’m male). She finds she all-too-easily flips from “nice” to “suddenly too tickly,“ meaning anything with a buzzy feel’s going to be a no-no. Is there anything you can recommend?

Certainly!

First of all, the rumbliest (i.e. non-buzziest) clitoral vibe I can think of is the We-Vibe Tango and its very similar sisters, the Salsa and Touch. They have a much lower-pitched vibration than most other clitoral vibes, meaning that the vibrations penetrate more deeply into the body, which can alleviate feelings of "tickliness.”

The only thing that makes me worry about recommending those is that they only have four speeds. I sometimes find that the jump between speeds is too broad and it’ll make me want to back off a little. If that sounds like it would be true of your girlfriend too, the Lelo Siri would be a good option. It’s fairly rumbly (not quite as rumbly as the We-Vibe toys, but not bad) and has 10 different speeds, so you can fine-tune your choice of vibration strength much more.

I recently got my hands on a Fun Factory vibe which, though it isn’t made for clitoral use, has amazingly rumbly vibrations that could certainly be used for clitoral purposes.

Finally, if you have the funds and the willingness to spend ‘em, you really can’t go past the Eroscillator for a fantastic clitoral toy. Though I will warn you that it needs to be plugged in and it’s not exactly portable nor attractive.

Hope that helps! Let us know how it goes!

Review: Lelo Siri

Kate Sloan

I’m a Lelo fangirl. (What sex toy reviewer isn’t, though?) My first-ever luxury sex toy was the Nea; it served me well until I discovered stronger, rumblier vibes and decided to give my unsatisfying Nea away to a friend. I also own the Mia, Mona, Tiani, and Ella, all of which are, if not great, then at least beautiful and luxurious.

My latest Lelo acquisition is the Siri, and it is – dare I say it? – maybe my favorite of the bunch.

When Lelo first launched Siri, they marketed it as the strongest vibrator they had ever made. They’re not exactly known for the power of their toys, but this was still an intriguing claim. Could there finally be a toy that truly possessed the holy duality of power and glamor?

Yes. It exists. And it’s spectacular.

The Siri comes in three colors: red, pink, and purple. I picked red, because there are enough pink and purple vibrators out there, dammit. It’s really sweet-looking; it’s often been said that Lelo’s products look like what would happen if Apple tried to take on the sex toy market (funny, given the whole “Siri” thing), and this is certainly true of Siri. It’s made of smooth, shiny ABS plastic, and the part that’ll be touching your vulva is covered in a layer of silky silicone.

As with most Lelo toys, it has four buttons: two of them control the intensity of the vibrations, and the other two control the modes, which range from standard pulses and waves to a really weird song-like pattern that goes all over the place. I like the modes, but it’s annoying that they don’t loop around once you get to the last one – you have to scroll back through them if you want to get to the first one again.

All the times that I’ve picked up a Siri in a sex shop and felt its vibrations, I’ve thought, “Yeah, this is strong, but it’s not that strong.” It didn’t seem likely to rock my world. But the shape of the Siri, and the way the vibrations are located at the surface rather than being buried inside, make all the difference. This is how efficiently these vibrations are placed: I’ve never needed to use the highest setting of this toy. I seem to always get off around setting 6 or 7, rather than going all the way up to 10. Amazing.

When testing the Siri, I spent a lot of time mentally comparing it to the We-Vibe Tango, my other favorite clitoral vibe. The Tango is definitely much stronger and rumblier, but all that power is concentrated into only four possible speeds. Many times, I’ve moved up to the next speed on the Tango and found that it felt too strong. I got overstimulated and needed to back off. The Siri’s settings move up much more gradually, so I can get exactly as much power as I need at any given moment; no more, no less. (The Tango is absolutely the better choice if you’re a Hitachi girl, though.)

The only real downside to the Siri is that it’s not waterproof. It’s not even splashproof. This is a tragedy. Lelo recently re-designed some of their line to be completely waterproof, and I’m really hoping that Siri gets a similar overhaul. It’s disappointing that a toy so expensive would be so lacking in this way.

But overall? I’m in love with Siri. It has charmed the hell out of my clit. It’s small, strong, quiet, intuitive, ergonomic, beautiful, reliable, and portable. I wish I could kiss the Lelo design team, because they really know what’s up.