Tag Archives: silicone toys

Review: Pipedream Mini Wanachi Massager

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Penny

Reply

My pink Mini Wanachi has been one of my favorite toys for over a year now. The Mini Wanachi is a small 8″ by 1″ cordless wand style vibrator with a flexible silicone head and plastic handle. The toy operates with a twist on control at the base that gradually increases the strength of its vibrations from moderate to strong. At its lowest speed the vibration sound is pretty quiet but gets louder when you turn it all the way up, but it is still relatively quiet compared to a lot of other wand style vibes. The Mini Wanachi runs on 2 AA batteries, and if you take them out in between uses they last a very long time. The toy is also waterproof, and although many toys that claim to be waterproof actually aren’t, I would consider this one truly waterproof because I actually put it through my dishwasher (without soap) and it survived and has still worked over a year later. I wouldn’t recommend trying that though because I can’t vouch that it will always work (plus it isn’t necessary.) This toy comes in a variety of colors including black, white, blue, pink, and purple. The price varies depending on where you purchase it, mine was $24.99 at a toy boutique (it is cheaper online), but I would still consider that a steal considering how long it has lasted.

This toy is marketed as a “body massager”, but considering its small size it is actually more ideal as a clitoral vibrator. I like that it is strong enough that I can use it over my panties if I don’t have a lot of time or want to avoid getting messy, but it isn’t so strong that I feel like orgasming immediately (like with the Hitachi.) The toy doesn’t come with any programmed functions or pulsations, but I easily create my own by twisting the control back and forth from low to high rapidly or slowly.  This toy is also easily used during sex because of its long handle and flexible head.

Cleaning this toy is easy; I use soap and water, but you can use toy cleaner if you want (just make sure it doesn’t contain alcohol.) The package and toy details online both say the head is silicone, but it doesn’t feel the same as the high quality silicone on some of my other toys (such as Lelos). This doesn’t really bother me though me considering I only use this toy externally. Both of the Wanachi’s materials (silicone and ABS plastic) are phthalate free, body safe, and non porous.                    

I would definitely recommend the Mini Wanachi for a clitoral toy because it is inexpensive yet powerful and long-lasting. The petite toy is great for travel, and its hygienic materials make it low maintenance and easy to clean. As with any other toy, I recommend taking the batteries out in between uses to increase the life of the toy and the batteries. Since the toy’s head is made of silicone, only use water based lubes with it. Also, if you are going to use it in water, make sure the battery compartment is screwed on tightly. Most importantly, relax and enjoy!

Review: California Exotics Silicone Vibrating Pleasure Beads

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Penny

Reply

I want to start by admitting that I have only recently started anal play. I am a little bit of a germ freak (at least when it comes to my vagina), and I have always had some qualms about butt play because of the germ aspect. I’d tried anal sex of couple of times, and it didn’t hurt or anything, but I really did it more for Jake than for myself, which is pretty lame (and why we didn’t really do it anymore.) Luckily I have Rachel Venning and Claire Cavanah, founders of Toys in Babeland, to thank for my real curiosity and interest in anal pleasure. I was recently reading their book Sex Toys 101: A Playfully Uninhibited Guide, and the anal section particularly caught my attention because although I have worked at a sex store for over 2 years, I felt alienated by the subject. Their description of anal play and encouragement to give your booty some much needed attention made me rethink my rejection of my ass. They explained that people actually hold a lot of tension and stress in their assholes, and basically that if you aren’t playing with your butt, you’re missing out. In the book, they suggest starting by playing around externally in the shower (where you can easily clean up) and inserting a finger. I took their advice and was surprised at how good it felt and not long after I decided to invest in my first set of anal beads and go for it.

When I told Jake I wanted a new butt toy he was definitely excited. We went to the shop together, and I didn’t know exactly what toy I wanted, but I did know what materials would be acceptable for my first anal toy. The only materials I want to put in my butt are glass or silicone, because they are both nonporous (meaning they don’t hold trapped germs and can be sterilized.) I was leaning towards a glass toy, but the glass selection where I was wasn’t great, and I ended up deciding on the California Exotics Silicone Vibrating Pleasure Beads.

This anal toy consists of a silicone beaded probe that is firm yet flexible and starts with a small bead that is attached to increasingly larger beads, with a curved handle at the end for easy use (and safety.)  At the end near the handle, a small waterproof bullet vibrator made of ABS plastic slips into the silicone probe, providing 3 speeds of vibration throughout the toy. The vibration is what I would call high frequency, which for vaginal play only tickles me and would not be strong enough, but for anal play it was sufficient even on the lowest speed. We started with finger play and then moved onto the beads, using Jo water based lube (remember to only use water based lube with silicone toys unless you know for sure the products are compatible.) I really enjoyed the feeling of each bead entering (and later exiting) me, and I ended up getting so excited that I wanted to try anal sex again, this time for me. During that same trip to the store, I also purchased the much coveted Hitachi Magic Wand, and we whipped that sucker out for even more fun/aid to the process. The vibration on the Hitachi is extremely, extremely powerful, and with it positioned in front/underneath me and Jake behind, I finally had my first extremely pleasurable anal experience!

As an anal beginner, I was happy with this product and would recommend it for other anal newbies like me. Although some “novelty” products such as this one are not pure silicone even though they are labeled as such, this probe did feel like high quality silicone. I also like that the probe is separate from the bullet, so you can boil the probe as well as replace the bullet if you desire or choose not to use it. I would recommend choosing the black version of this toy (it also comes in pink and purple,) especially if you have any anxiety about butt germs.  The only real drawback of this product I can think of is that it runs on LR44 batteries, which have a short lifespan, but at least it comes with an extra set. Shame on me though because I didn’t take the batteries out of the toy after play like I always tell my customers to, and I was annoyed as hell the next time I was ready to use my beads and had to search for the extra set.

Meant for Each Other: For Silicone Lovers

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Penny

2

          Lots of people are die hard silicone fans and for good reason. Silicone is a kick ass material for toys because it is extremely hygienic because it’s nonporous (meaning germs etc. can’t build up inside the material), and it’s soft and smooth yet firm and flexible. It can also endure extreme temperatures (so you can boil it to kill germs if it doesn’t have an attached motor) and it warms quickly to your body temperature. Silicone lube has quite a following as well because it never loses its’ slick, slippery feel. It doesn’t get sticky and tacky like water based lube, you only need a small amount, and you don’t have to keep reapplying it, so it’s an awesome aid to water play and anal play among other things. So instinctively you’d think, well I’ll just use silicone lube with silicone toys then because of their super awesomeness, but if you do you’ll be sorely disappointed. Unfortunately if you use silicone lube with your favorite silicone toy, chances are the toy/lube will start to sort of melt and mesh together, creating a big mess and a ruined toy (and silicone toys are expensive!)         

          However, I recently learned an awesome tip at a product knowledge seminar: you can use certain silicone toys with certain silicone lubes. In particular, you can use Evolved brand silicone toys with Jo brand silicone lubes (it has something to do with the quality of the silicone in the materials.) I decided to test out this claim at home with some of the free sample products I received and was delighted to find it true. I used the Evolved Lucky 13 Roulette vibe with Jo Premium Cool silicone lube, and they are definitely a match made in heaven. Both products were great for shower play because the Lucky 13 is waterproof (as are all Evolved toys), the silicone lube never lost the slippery feel even under water, and the cooling effect felt great in contrast to the warm water. The only disadvantage to using these toys together was that the cleanup afterwards took a few minutes longer than normal. At first I tried just using soap and warm water like I usually do, but the silicone did not come off this way, so I squirted Jo foaming toy cleaner on a towel and wiped down the toy a few times and then used the soap and water as well, and that worked just fine.

So, for all you silicone lovers out there, I hope this little tip helps; it sure helped me!

+             = Meant for Each Other