Guest Review: Lovense Gush

Note from Kate: Here’s a guest review from my spouse, of a toy we use together pretty often these days! Enjoy.


For many years, I have been obsessed with the idea of the “hands-free orgasm,” a climax that occurs without direct manual stimulation or penetration of the genitals. I’ve even been lucky enough to achieve it in my own sex life numerous times, mostly through hypnokink, where I first became aware of how hot the concept is. There are countless erotic hypnosis audio files traded and sold online that promise to put you in a trance and make you come with words alone, and uh, they can and do work for a lot of folks after sufficient practice. Usually, these tracks are about an hour long, because building up the requisite mental arousal needed to make someone orgasm usually takes much longer than doing the same thing physically. Sometimes I just don’t have the time to drift away for that long with my headphones on and my dick out, but I still want the feeling of coming without using my hands or sliding a toy up and down my shaft.

That’s where the Lovense Gush comes into play (so to speak). The Gush is a small Bluetooth “glans massager,” i.e. a penis vibrator designed to focus on the tip of the dick. It’s shaped similarly to the Fun Factory Manta, minus the handle, and comes in a similarly beautiful sea-blue silicone. The 3.4-inch-long and 2-inch-wide cylinder is open at the top, and flexible wings allow it to fit around even the girthiest heads. Because it’s open on both ends and not meant for full penetration, it can also be used on penises of nearly any length, as long as the glans extends far enough to reach its vibration. While many users hold the toy still during play, subtle ridges on the inside provide additional stimulation if you prefer to stroke.

The toy has all the things you’d expect from a toy of its caliber and price point ($119.00 USD): strong, rumbly vibrations in four speeds and four built-in patterns, a magnetically rechargeable battery that can last for up to 2 hours of continuous use, IPX7 waterproofing for luxurious bath or shower wanks, and a one-year warranty from the manufacturer. It comes with a black storage bag, a USB cable for charging, and a manual.

But what makes the Gush special and particularly suited to hands-free orgasms is the inclusion of a color-matched silicone band, which wraps around both the toy and your shaft, holding it in place on your body as long as you’re sitting or lying relatively still. This simple-but-brilliant addition frees up your hands to touch a partner, stimulate other body parts, or be restrained for kinkier “milking” or “forced orgasm”-type scenes. The band is easy to slip on and works well to keep the vibrator focused on the most sensitive part of your dick – but if you’re not using your hands, how do you control it?

The app! As discussed in many of the other Lovense reviews here, the Lovense Remote app for iOS and Android is best-in-class. It allows you to control the toy locally over Bluetooth, hand over control to a long-distance partner over the internet, share custom patterns with the community, and even sync the vibrations to music or use the Gush as an alarm clock. Cock-a-doodle-do! Sure, if your phone is dead or you’re without it, you can use the single button on the toy itself to control the speed and flip through the patterns, but where’s the fun in that?

I’ve used the Lovense Gush with Kate many times since we got it for review last May. It’s perfect for us as a long-distance couple, especially because, while Kate enjoys domming from time to time, it’s easier for her to top me on the phone if she’s doing something in addition to just talking dirty. Our sessions usually involve me getting her off with dirty talk while she fucks herself first, so by the time I take out the Gush, I’m already very aroused. I then turn on the toy, open the Lovense app, lube it up, and strap it on. From that moment, Kate has control. Sometimes she’ll instruct me to rub the toy up and down my shaft (which you can do with the band still attached). Other times, she’ll tell me to keep my hands by my side or in a set of cuffs while she uses the sliders in the app to control the vibration, listens closely to my reactions, and guides me slowly (or quickly 😳) toward a satisfying and often surprising hands-free orgasm.

As we played with chastity more, she realized it doesn’t just work on my bare cock – because of the shape and flexibility of the design, it can just as easily be strapped onto my chastity cage when I’m locked up for her. Even with a full stainless steel sheath surrounding my cock, the rumbly vibrations translate extremely well. She can decide whether to tease and deny me with sporadic light vibrations or crank up the intensity and force me to come in my cage, even when I’m not allowed or able to touch myself at all.

But can everyone gush hands-free with the Gush? Certainly not. When it comes to sex, nothing is universal. But it’s not at all an uncommon occurrence. A search for the Lovense Gush on PornHub returns dozens of videos of penis-havers strapping it on and coming within minutes, no stroking required.

Look, I know I’m gushing over it. But the Lovense Gush really is the perfect compact vibe to buy if you’re interested in coming hands-free, if you have a long-distance lover who wants to stimulate your dick from afar, or if you want to experiment with setting up custom patterns and kick back while a toy does all the work. It’s also great because it doesn’t require an erection to use (or to reach orgasm with). It’s also been affirming for nonbinary, transfeminine, and intersex reviewers, who often appreciate its genderless marketing and de-emphasis of penetration.

I’ll leave you with a final piece of advice: the first time you have a hands-free orgasm with the Gush, do not shout, “Look Ma, no hands!” – unless you’re alone or you know your partner’s into that kinda thing.

What to Get Your Sweetheart for Valentine’s Day: My Top Picks

Pictured: the Standard Glass S-Curve, Dame Kip, and CalExotics Glam Bullet. (All are favorites of mine but none are otherwise mentioned in this post.)

It’s that time of year again: my inbox is overrun with even more press releases than usual about stuff like aphrodisiac mushroom gummies and panties that protect you from STIs. Happy almost-Valentine’s Day, friends!

If you’re anything like me, you might be scrambling right now to buy Valentine’s gifts for loved ones. As is tradition, I’m helping you out by compiling a list of some of my top picks, in terms of sex toys and other sex accoutrements. I have tested and reviewed literally hundreds of toys, and these are the ones that stand out to me right now as being the nicest, most pleasurable gifts you could get for people whose pleasure you value (including yourself!). Hope you and your babe(s) love these.

 

Clitoral Pleasure

• The We-Vibe Tango X ($75 at SheVibe, $79 on Amazon) absolutely rules. Rumbly, strong, waterproof, quiet, and equally useful for masturbation and partnered sex. I’m a huge fan.

• The Satisfyer Curvy 2+ ($55 at SheVibe, $43 on Amazon) is a good pressure-wave toy at a great price point. If your partner has only ever tried vibrators before and never ventured into the land of pressure-wave toys, this one’s worth trying.

• The Lovense Exomoon ($99 at SheVibe, $79 on Amazon) is one of my fave clitoral vibes at the moment. It’s powerful, rumbly, petite, quiet, waterproof, and travel-friendly. And it’s particularly on-point for Valentine’s Day because it looks like a pretty tube of red lipstick!

 

Vaginal Pleasure

• The Njoy Pure Wand ($115 at SheVibe) is probably the best G-spot toy that’s ever been made. It is the tool to have if you want to (potentially) learn to squirt. It also works excellently for prostate stimulation. Relevantly for Valentine’s Day gifting, it comes in a gorgeous black wooden box with a pink satin lining.

• The Fun Factory Stronic Petite ($149 at SheVibe) is a self-thrusting toy that provides gently textured stimulation against the vaginal walls. I’ve been hoping for ages that Fun Factory would put out a smaller Stronic toy, and they finally did – this one tops out at 1.3 inches in diameter, so I find it comfy any time in my arousal cycle.

• The Hole Punch Toys Fluke ($67 at SheVibe) can be used as a vaginal plug or as a butt plug. My favorite way to use it is wearing it vaginally while my partner goes down on me – it intensifies sensations and orgasms a lot, giving me passive G-spot stimulation at all times.

 

Penis Pleasure

• I absolutely adore the Lovense Max ($119 at SheVibe, $129 on Amazon) for long-distance play with my partner. It allows me to squeeze/vibrate/stimulate their dick from 500 miles away. But it also functions well when used solo.

• The Fleshlight Quickshot Vantage ($35 at SheVibe, $35 on Amazon) is a cheaper and more portable alternative to a full-size Fleshlight. The open-ended design allows you to use it as part of a blowjob or in combination with various other toys and sex acts if you want to. It’s also easier to clean than a standard Fleshlight, and great for exhibitionists and voyeurs because of its translucency.

• Look, I could have put the Magic Wand Rechargeable ($130 at SheVibe, $125 on Amazon) in any one of these categories, frankly, when you consider all the ways it can be used and different attachments you can get. But using it on penises is particularly underrated. When it comes to Valentine’s gifts, it’s nice to get one that both/all of you can use, together or separately, regardless of gender or anatomy.

 

Anal Pleasure

• If you have a prostate, I strongly endorse the Lovense Edge 2 ($129 on Amazon), a vibrating butt plug. It’s got a prostate-targeting curve, and you can adjust the angle depending on how much pressure you want. It also works long-distance, if you’re into that.

• The Njoy medium Pure Plug ($70 at SheVibe) is my favorite butt plug ever, and is pretty much perfect. Stainless steel is an impressively luxurious-feeling material for a butt plug. This one turns me on easily and quickly, whether I’m combining it with various sex acts or just wearing it around the house.

• If you’re looking for a realistic and/or harness-compatible dildo, the Vixen Creations Mustang ($116 at SheVibe, $129 on Amazon) is one of my all-time favorites. It’s incredibly realistic and hits the prostate (or G-spot) with very little effort, in my experience.

 

Kink, Etc.

• Shameless self-promotion ahead: My first book, 101 Kinky Things Even You Can Do ($20 at SheVibe, $20 on Amazon) is a top-tier Valentine’s gift for anyone you want to get kinky with. You can flip through it together, talk about the kinks you’re interested in trying, and get some useful ideas from the book about how to incorporate each kink in a safe and satisfying way. This, plus some page flags for highlighting parts you want to talk about or revisit, would be a lovely Valentine’s gift!

Image via SheVibe

• I don’t think there is a sexier harness in the world than the Aslan Leather Jaguar harness ($105 at SheVibe). The leather is buttery and soft, the fit is highly adjustable, and the stability is terrific.

• The Sportsheets Under-the-Bed Restraints System ($46 at SheVibe, $45 on Amazon) is the easiest way to start incorporating bondage into your sex life (or to start doing so more often than you currently are). Installing it under your mattress is quick and easy, and gives you a built-in way to cuff your partner (or have them cuff you) to the bed whenever you want.

• I love the Unicorn Collaborators hand harness ($55 at SheVibe) for times when I want my partner to pound me with a dildo using their full arm strength. It’s also a cool life hack for people who like using dildos on themselves but don’t always have the grip strength needed to do so.

 

What’s on your Valentine’s Day wishlist this year?

Review: Bestvibe Seven Rolling Licking Rabbit Vibrator

All images via Bestvibe

I like vibrators. I like tongues. I like being fucked. Why not combine all those things into one toy?!

That’s exactly what the Bestvibe Seven Rolling Licking Rabbit Vibrator aims to do. Let’s find out how it performs!

 

What is the Bestvibe Seven Rolling Licking Rabbit Vibrator?

This is a dual-stim vibrator that has three different functions: vibration in the external part (though this is falsely advertised as “licking” – more on that below), vibration in the internal part, and the back-and-forth rolling of some small balls under the surface of the toy’s shaft.

Things I like about this toy

  • There are three buttons on this toy and each corresponds to one of its three functions, so you can control them independently from each other. You still have to cycle through each function’s 7 settings by pressing its one button, which can be annoying, but is probably less annoying than it would be to have an “up” and “down” button for each of the three functions.
  • The “rolling” function is easily my favorite, because it’s the most unique: little balls or beads move in tandem under the surface of the shaft, but instead of rotating around the shaft like they do on many standard rabbits, these ones move up and down the shaft. This creates a sensation that feels surprisingly like thrusting when it’s inside me, despite the fact that the shaft itself is staying still. This is an interesting way of approaching the “it’s hard to thrust with rabbit vibes without losing clit contact” problem.
  • Furthermore, amongst the rolling function’s 7 settings are some that focus more toward the base of the shaft, some that stay closer to the head, and several that traverse more length than that. This makes for an interesting variety of sensations and is something I don’t often see implemented in toys for vulvas (some “blowjob simulator”-type toys do similar things for penises, allowing you to focus on specific parts of the shaft at any given time).
  • While the marketing copy for this toy claims that its internal portion targets the G-spot, I actually find it to be more A-spotty, which I love. The long shaft and very slight curve at the tip are classic features of an A-spot toy. When I push this one deep enough, the rolling balls on the shaft can get pretty close to my A-spot while still rolling across my G-spot, which feels awesome and unlike any other toy I can think of.
  • It’s waterproof!

Things I don’t like about this toy

  • I feel it’s misleading for Bestvibe to call the clit-stimulation function of this toy “licking,” because – while that part of the toy is made out of little silicone “tongues” – the tongues just vibrate, and don’t actually move/flap/lick, the way something like a Sqweel does. Moreover, because the tongues’ vibrations are so overwhelmingly buzzy, they don’t tremble up and down to any significant degree while vibrating, the way a rumblier motor might cause them to. In fact, focusing these wildly buzzy vibrations into such small, pointed shapes is downright uncomfortable at times, at least for my relatively sensitive clit.
  • On that note, the vibrations – both internally and externally – are so buzzy as to be basically useless for me. Any body part that stays in contact with them for more than about 30 seconds starts to feel numb and itchy. Not my cup of tea at all, but if you like buzzy vibrations, you might enjoy this toy.
  • Each of the vibration settings only has 3 steady speeds followed by 4 patterns. Generally I need a wider range of steady speeds to be able to get off with a vibrator. There’s not even that much of a discernible difference between the speeds on this toy, possibly because my bits are so numb by that point that I can’t tell when the vibrations get stronger.
  • The clitoral arm is too short for me. If I get it into a position that actually feels okay for my clit, then the internal arm loses contact with the spots that feel good inside, and vice-versa. For similar reasons, you can’t manually thrust this toy in and out, at least not if you want the clit arm to stay in contact with your body.
  • As often happens in multi-function toys with less-than-stellar engineering, each of this toy’s functions noticeably loses power when you turn on another one of the functions. This often has the effect of ruining orgasms because (for example) if I’ve been using the rolling + clit vibration functions and need a little more power to get me there, turning on the internal vibrations would just weaken all three at that crucial moment.
  • The rolling function is pretty loud, and mechanical whirring isn’t exactly a turn-on, but what can ya do.

Final thoughts

I can’t stand aggressively buzzy vibrations so I really didn’t get along well with the Bestvibe Seven Rolling Licking Rabbit Vibrator. I wish its motor was way rumblier, largely so that the tongues on its clitoral arm would flutter pleasantly, rather than just aiming a concentrated beam of discomfort at my clit.

However, I really like the toy’s rolling balls function and wish more dual-stim toys made use of technologies like this, to create sensations that are more interesting and unique than just G-spot vibration. I also dig the length and shape of the toy for A-spot stimulation; it’s hard to find dual-stim vibes that do this well.

Overall though, I can’t really recommend this toy, especially since it costs £52.99 (about $65 USD or $86 CAD). That’s too much to pay just to have your genitals numbed out.

 

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 Thrusting Rotating Vibrating Heating Realistic Dildo

What is the Bestvibe Thrusting Rotating Vibrating Heating Realistic Dildo?

This toy is a realistic silicone dildo, with a longer-than-usual handle to help with holding it and thrusting it. It vibrates and also thrusts.

 

Things I like about this toy

  • While it’s a bit of an eyesore to have a big plastic handle attached to the bottom of your otherwise-realistic dildo, and might take some people out of the moment fantasy-wise, I found it good for accessibility reasons. As someone whose hands get sore sometimes due to my fibromyalgia, I appreciated having an easier way to hold onto this toy than the claw-hand position I usually have to adopt with handleless realistic dildos.
  • The vibrations are actually pretty good (except for the fact that there’s only 2 steady speeds, as mentioned below). They’re on the rumblier side of what I was expecting, albeit still buzzier than rumbly classics like the We-Vibe Tango and Swan Wand.
  • I like the dimensions a lot. The insertable length ranges from 5.1″ to 6.3″ (it expands and contracts when its thrusting function is engaged) and the diameter is 1.6 inches. For me, that’s filling and satisfying but still comfortable, which is ideal.
  • I like the realistic appearance of this dildo, and am glad that more body-safe realistic dildos are available at lower price points now than those offered by, say, Vixen Creations or Tantus.
  • You can control the vibration and the thrusting separately! Hooray!
  • Unlike some other thrusters of this type, this one never pinches my skin awkwardly when it’s thrusting.
  • It’s waterproof!

Things I don’t like about this toy

  • When used the way I assume you’re meant to use it (balls facing down, rather than blocking my clit), the buttons are on the side of the toy that’s facing away from me, so I can’t see them during use. This is incredibly inconvenient and distracting.
  • The thrusting tends to slow down/weaken as soon as the toy’s inside me, and especially when I clench my vag muscles around it. This should not happen and can really mess with my build toward orgasm.
  • This toy has no curve whatsoever, which noticeably reduces the pleasure it could otherwise give me. I have to tilt it in pretty specific ways to get it to rub over my G-spot and/or A-spot.
  • The vibration function only has 2 steady speeds. That is not enough steady speeds.
  • The thrusting function sounds like a witch cackling. I don’t know how to explain that further. It just does. It’s very loud, erratic and distracting.
  • Apparently there is a heating function (there’s even a heating button on the toy), but it just didn’t work for me at all, no matter what I tried.
  • Bestvibe also advertises this toy as “rotating 360 degrees” but this is misleading, as there’s no rotation function. I think they mean that the handle makes it easier to manually rotate the dildo inside you if you want to, but 1) why would you want to? and 2) that’s not what people are gonna assume it means when you say that your product rotates.

Final thoughts

I’d definitely consider using this Bestvibe toy if I wanted to jerk off with a realistic dildo but was lacking the hand strength that day to thrust it myself. Its thrusting function is good and its handle also makes it easier to thrust manually even when my hands are feeling weak/sore.

But it has so many functional problems – especially its button placement, noise level, and the thrusts’ tendency to slow down as soon as any pressure is applied to the toy – that I find it hard to justify recommending this to anyone. Another Bestvibe toy I reviewed recently is a way better realistic thruster and can get me off much more easily and enjoyably, so go check that one out if you’re interested in this type of toy.

 

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

Review: Tantaly Britney sex doll

All images courtesy of Tantaly

Well, it happened again: I was offered a sex doll to review, and had to figure out who in my life was both 1) willing to receive and test the doll and 2) reliable enough to give me useful feedback on it so I could write a review.

This is one of those weird logistical problems that people never think about when they ponder the realities of being a sex toy reviewer. See, I don’t have a dick (except for the kind you can strap on), so I’m not a member of most sex dolls’ target demographic – and while my lovely and dependable partner does have a dick, they already reviewed a sex doll for me and were disinclined to make more room in their small New York City apartment for a new member of the family. Likewise, a friend who also reviewed a sex doll for me previously was (I assumed) not up to doing so again, having given away his doll to a friend (!) for reasons I can’t quite recall but that may have had to do with moving house and not wanting to lug a 68-pound torso onto a U-Haul truck.

So this time I asked another friend, someone I knew would give the doll a fair shot and tell me his uncensored thoughts on the experience. After he’d had a few weeks to test out the toy, I took him aside in his kitchen and we chatted about the finer points of the Tantaly Britney over prosecco and beer. It was yet another delightfully weird day in my career as a sex toy reviewer, although frankly, I’ve had weirder.

Choosing the Tantaly Britney

It might seem like it’d be exciting to receive a message saying, “Which doll would you like from this website?” but I imagine the decision can actually be somewhat daunting. Tantaly carries a wide array of dolls in varying sizes; the one my partner reviewed was a petite 14 pounds, but the more lifelike models can reach weights of nearly 70 pounds.

This time around, I asked my appointed tester why he’d chosen the Britney model, and he said, “It was the lightest, while still being the most of a person.” In other words, he wanted the realism of having a full torso-size doll, so as to more closely replicate the experience of having sex with an actual human – as opposed to just being a butt or whatever – but he didn’t want masturbation to turn into a deadlift workout. The Britney weighs in at a reasonable 28.6 pounds.

Interestingly, he also asked his partner for her opinion on which doll he should choose. I think this is brilliant, having seen – both in my own friend group and in hotbeds of online sex discourse like Reddit – the havoc that can be wreaked on a relationship if one partner buys a sex doll or another “big commitment”-type sex toy without their partner’s knowledge or approval. Your solo sex life is your own, certainly, and I’m suspicious of anyone who thinks they get to non-consensually control your masturbation habits – but at the same time, I can imagine feeling a bit blindsided and hurt if a full-size sex doll showed up on my partner’s doorstep one day and they hadn’t even asked me how I’d feel about them owning one, y’know?

Although he had already looked through the options and thought Britney seemed like the best pick, my friend showed his partner the site and asked which one she thought he should go with – and she actually liked the Britney best, too, because its breast size was more average than that of some of the cartoonishly busty models on offer. I’ve gotta say, when it comes to measures of compatibility, I can think of worse ones than “similar taste in sex dolls.”

Using the Tantaly Britney

Mr. Tester was, for the most part, quite happy with the Britney. He’d never tried a sex doll before, but had used strokers like the Tenga Flip Zero. He said that the dick sensations were pretty similar between the two, but the overall experience of using the doll felt “less clinical” and made it easier to imagine that the toy was a real person. This fantasy aspect is probably the main reason to consider getting a sex doll rather than a stroker, plus the fact that you can get on top of a sex doll and thrust into it in a way that can be hard to achieve with a stroker. (Something like a Fleshlight mount can make this easier to do with some strokers, however.)

The Britney doll has two “tunnels” – a vagina and a butt – and my friend didn’t observe much difference in sensation between the two. The main factor as to why he might pick one over the other for any given session was related to positioning: certain positions work better for one hole or the other, such as standing at the edge of a bed.

Having a squeezable pair of boobs right in front of you is also a strong selling point, and something that my friend enjoyed. I mean, I get it. Boobs are great. If you’re into them, they’re definitely a major benefit of having a doll rather than a stroker or a disembodied butt or pussy.

The main issue with the Britney – and with seemingly every sex doll – is the cleaning. All three of the people I’ve asked to review sex dolls for me have described the post-session cleaning process as “a production” – you have to wash the toy’s orifice(s) out right away, resisting the urge to bask in the pleasant afterglow of orgasm, because any jizz or lube you leave in there can eventually get moldy and ruin your very expensive sex toy. (Hot, huh?)

Smaller dolls like the Scarlett can be washed out in a sink (depending on the size of your sink, natch), but dolls with more lifelike proportions like the Britney will need to be dragged into a shower or bathtub for their ritualistic post-fuck ablutions. The physical effort of doing this, and of carefully rinsing out all the cum, can be annoying enough to deter you from using the doll as often as you otherwise might. My friend said he’d be likeliest to use this doll at times when he had at least an hour free – not because he lasts that long (he said jokingly), but because realistically that’s about how long the full process takes, from dragging the doll out of her storage spot and setting her up on the bed to washing her out and drying her off after using her.

Another problem is that these dolls are prone to leaching dye onto your sheets – but fortunately my friend had read the user manual before fucking the doll for the first time (always a good idea when you get a new sex toy of any kind!) so he was prepared for this eventuality and laid down a towel under the doll.

Final thoughts

My friend thinks the Tantaly Britney is a high-quality product for its $329.99 price point, and that if you’re in the market for a sex doll, this one is definitely worth considering. Its soft curves and pleasurable orifices make for a masturbation experience that feels much closer to partnered sex than using a stroker. Unlike some of the other pals I’ve asked to review sex dolls for me, this friend thinks he will actually use this toy on a semi-regular basis even now that the review is done, because in many ways it’s a significant step up from simpler/smaller/cheaper toys like those by Tenga.

But with great pleasure comes great responsibility, and when it comes to sex dolls, mainly that means cleaning. If you can contend with the aggravating need to wash out the doll immediately after using it – and if your living situation and physical strength are such that you can transport the doll back and forth to the bathroom or kitchen as needed without too much trouble – then you might be a good candidate to own a sex doll.

Real-life sexual partners may not require you to clean them after sex, and may not stain your sheets with their skin like a sex doll can, but there’s still something comforting and exciting about the near-realism of a doll like the Britney.

 

This post was sponsored, meaning I was paid to write a fair and honest review of this product. As always, everything I’ve written here is something I actually believe to be true.