Cal Exotic inches toward integrity

Organza

I’m a freak. The moment I heard that California Exotic Novelties launched a new website, I flew on over there. The “new” site is underwhelming; it doesn’t seem much different from the old site. Products no longer open in new tabs, though, and there’s a cute-looking new blog.

But there is something else new at CE that caught my eye. And it’s called, hilariously, the Couture Collection. Yes — a sex toy product line called the Couture Collection. What could CE possibly mean by couture? You guessed it: silicone. “Medical grade Japanese silicone.” The same thing that Ophoria toys are made of, supposedly. Has anyone cracked the mystery of this “Japanese silicone”? Something tells me it’s not the same thing as glorious Tantus silicone. My Ophoria dildo has an odd texture to it that is not the same as the texture of my Tantus toys.

Nonetheless, it seems that CE is finally getting it. Getting that silicone is the way to go, and they can’t keep duping us. I may be wrong, and they may come out with a jelly collection tomorrow, but I’m hoping this line is indicative of a larger trend toward body-safe materials.

You will also notice that massive-boobed, bikini-clad chicks are absent from the boxes of the Couture Collection, replaced by a stream of water. It makes no sense, but I’ll take what I can get. Following the water theme, the ads for the Couture Collection are creepily reminiscent of LELO ads, with the vibrators speckled with water and lying on a bed of wet stones.

There is another new CE product that made me chuckle: boxes of “Toy Covers.” They come in “small” and “standard” sizes, are non-lubricated, and have non-reservoir tips. Do I really have tell you what they’re made out of?

After my giggling fit, I started to wonder if these Toy Covers also indicate a sea change within CE. A change in which they actually acknowledge that they have produced hazardous toys. A change in which they will cease to create hazardous toys. It’s a lot to hope for from them, I know, but they can’t keep pointing people to Toy Covers forever. Let us cross our fingers.