Before we give the middle finger to 2018, please come along with me on a romp through the year in my life and sex toys! It was a year of low-key shenanigans: I pulled off a viscous yet glittery April Fools’ prank, attended a few sex parties, started keeping a journal again, took a cute romantic trip, read a lot of smutty fan fiction, watched a ton of CockyBoys, and went to amateur porn film festival HUMP! twice — once with my mom. (She loved it.) I said goodbye to my sweet 17-year-old kitty and healed my soul with some much-needed Melissa Etheridge. Most importantly, I started therapy — a milestone that feels like it will be relevant for years to come. . . . read more

Blink and you might pass right over them. They’re not terribly attractive, not revolutionary in function, not aggressively marketed. These vibrators have no celebrity endorsement or PR campaign behind them, and I’d bet serious money they’ve never been mentioned in any mainstream magazine. You can judge a lot about a sex toy without holding it in your hands, but there’s one thing you can’t predict, and it’s the thing that matters most: vibration quality. This is where the Smooth Operators pleasantly surprised me. The Toyfriend Smooth Operators — Snazzy, Choosy, and Classy — are made by a company named Tickler, and again, you could be forgiven for not knowing they even exist. The Swedish brand tends to lay pretty low . . . read more

WE-VIBE HAS A NEW TOY OUT AND I’M SCREAMING ABOUT IT. It’s a squishy, oversized bugger called Wish that’s packed with rumbly power. It’s not without flaws, but that’s all I’ll say for now. [Edit: here’s my review.] New flavors of Sliquid lubes are here! I have yet to get my tongue on them, but damn if they don’t sound delicious: Tangerine Peach and Blackberry Fig. Satisfyer, commonly known as “that company ripping off Womanizer,” has 5,000 different models of their suction toy these days. Incredibly, they sent all of them to me. My clit has some work to do. Tickler, whose forgettable battery-operated vibes I reviewed years ago, has a new line of rechargeable toys: Classy, Choosy, and Snazzy  [Update: I . . . read more

The PVC James Deen dildo was found to be 61% phthalates. Doc Johnson responded with some jibberish. ANME happened and many new toys were debuted there. Awesomely, the Redhead Bedhead went and took photos for us plebeians. Big thanks to her for the Tantus and OhMiBod photos below! So yes, Tantus is putting out a line of harnesses, as well as a handful of sci-fi toys in collaboration with SheVibe. Neither of these excites me beyond comprehension, but I still heart both companies beyond comprehension. Pipedream is faux-innovating with new ceramic and aluminum toys. According to the Redhead Bedhead, the reps at Pipedream were “so convinced that they were the first with the idea” to create ceramic toys. Of course they . . . read more

My standards for the Toyfriends were laughably low. I reviewed their predecessors, the Ticklers, and was astonished by with their lack of power. Although the Toyfriends are bigger and take AAA batteries rather than Ns, I was very skeptical. There are four different Toyfriends: Coney (black), Bubbly (pink), Nosy (yellow), and Seti (blue). And yes, Seti is named after the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence — the manual even says so! Each toy is 7-8″ long and comes with a clear plastic stand and batteries. Each toy takes 2 AAA batteries, inserted into the base side-by-side. The silicone on the Toyfriends is very silky to the touch. The shafts are completely rigid, and the heads don’t have much give (the necks bend, . . . read more

The Toyfriend Ticklers will fool you, with their neon colors and cute-ass shapes. But their adorableness is matched, even overtaken, by their failure. Is it really failure, though, if all they do is live up to their name? They… tickle. Well, I’m still disappointed. I received the Mystic Tickler and the Bunny Tickler. Both are made of 100% silicone. Each comes with an N battery and a transparent plastic stand (since obvs I want to display my little alien and bunny clit friends). Each has one speed, but the speeds are different: the Mystic’s vibration is exceedingly weak and doesn’t transfer to the antennae at all, while the Bunny has a stronger vibration that, well, still sucks. Neither one could . . . read more

I was delighted by the response to my Tickler giveaway. I received a boatload of comments! But of course, there can only be one winner… and that winner is… Aida! Who decided on a Sunny Tickler: Normally, I’d go for the Rebel or the Bunny, but the Sunny tickler looks so happy and bright! My friends usually refer to me as “The Happy Friend” and “The Well-Adjusted One,” so a beautiful, vibrant vibrator like this one would be a perfect addition to my sex-toy repertoire and it would go perfectly with my personality. Congrats, Aida! And thanks to everyone who entered.

Hey! If you’re new here, why don’t you subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe via email to make sure you’ll catch the next giveaway? Also, follow me on Twitter so we can chat! It’s a tickle extravaganza! The folks at Tickle are letting me give away a Tickler! Ticklers are adorable little silicone vibes designed by the former chief designer at LELO. They’re colorful, waterproof, and come “ready to tickle” (with batteries included). To enter to win, leave a comment on this post telling me which Tickler you’d want and why. I don’t blame you if you want the blue one just because it’s blue, or the Rebel just because it’s called the Rebel. I understand. You must live . . . read more