Like many people, grinding was my entry point into the world of masturbation. Whether it meant rubbing at my vulva by hand or going on top of my pillows at night, I was doing it long before I even knew what a vibrator was. But now, after seven years of testing hundreds of sex toys, it’s not often I find myself resorting to this kind of “acoustic” play anymore. After all, I have all kinds of gadgets that can achieve the same thing for far less effort, and thus grinding had become but a distant memory. So, you can imagine my surprise when in 2021 a new toy trend seemingly emerged out of nowhere: grinders. From indie makers releasing a wave of textured non-insertables, to retailers relabelling old favourites like the We-Vibe Touch and Tenga Iroha+ Kushi as grindable toys, clearly something was going on, and I wanted in. Which is why I sought out six of the best for today’s very special grinder review round-up!
Review: Womanizer Starlet 3
I’ve been on a hunt lately to find good quality suction on a budget. It saw me review the viral Sohimi ROSE, try out the infamous OSUGA Cuddly Bird (also known as the Biird Obii), and even take a second look at the toy that started it all, the Satisfyer Pro 2. But I would be remiss if I didn’t bother trying the beginner’s option from my favourite suction brand, WOW Tech’s Womanizer. Now, I must warn you, while the Womanizer Starlet is the cheapest option in the luxury German brand’s current catalogue, at $120 AUD it is still quite a hefty sum. Plus, with a favourite like the Womanizer Liberty coming in at only $30 more, it had me a little unsure of where this product could possibly fit in with the rest of my toys. But, with a recent rerelease taking it from the Starlet 2 to the Starlet 3, alongside the updated Premium 2 and Classic 2, I just couldn’t resist giving it a go when Lovehoney reached out about a review.
Review: Magic Wand Mini
As with all things in life, it can often be hard to recognise change and progress when it’s part of your day-to-day. But every now and then something comes along that gives you that moment of realisation of just how far things have come, and that’s what today’s review item did for me. You see, when I first turned eighteen and decided to buy a sex toy, I scoured the interwebs for the perfect product. I wanted something with power, but at the same time didn’t have much money and needed it to be discreet. Being fond of clitoral stimulation, a wand massager was the ideal choice, but the options available were… less than ideal. After many failed attempts with mini versions, whose smaller size better suited my privacy needs at the time, I was eventually able to fork out for a Magic Wand Rechargeable, which clearly worked since it remains my favourite sex toy to this day. Still, I can only imagine how much easier things would have been for myself and others if a toy like the Magic Wand Mini had existed back then.
Review: Satisfyer Pro 2 Next Generation
Welcome to Princess Previews 2.0! If you’re a regular here, you might notice things look a little different. That’s because for the last few weeks I’ve been slowly redesigning my blog to better represent myself and what I do here, and this is my first post since making the switch! Part of this update meant taking a photo of myself that I could use both on my sidebar and as a profile picture on social media, and for such an image I knew I wanted to include a sex toy. The question was: which toy did I choose? I’ve now reviewed over two hundred items at the blog, and that’s only one portion of my actual collection. But I knew that whatever I chose had to be both loved by me (it is quite a endorsement, after all!) and easily identifiable. So when I was scrolling through real estate TikTok (don’t judge me) and saw the iconic Satisfyer Pro 2 briefly appear unnamed in a video, yet all the comments were talking about it, I knew I had my toy. Interestingly, though, while my review of the original Pro 2 remains one of my most popular ever, I never actually reviewed any of its later iterations, commonly dubbed the “Next Generation”. So, six years later, I figured it was finally time!
Review: Womanizer Premium 2
Unlike most other major toy manufacturers, luxury clitoral stimulator brand Womanizer only offers a small catalogue of products. The five core designs, whose differences mostly relate to their increasing price tags, are the Starlet, Liberty, Classic, Premium and DUO, and while I have tried all of them, I have reviewed only three so far. Without a doubt, however, my favourite is the Womanizer Premium. In fact, it’s not just my favourite Womanizer, but my favourite suction toy in general, and my second favourite toy of all time (just behind the Magic Wand Rechargeable). So when I heard the German brand was upgrading three of their designs and the Premium was one of them, I was all in. Keeping it simple with the addition of a quick version number, the new models are the Starlet 3, Classic 2, and Premium 2, with their older versions since being discontinued (although there is still plenty around to buy and with most stores offering them at a discount!). As for the differences, in addition to new colours and updated branding (including more sustainable packaging!), Womanizer have also up the ante with their suction levels, which suggests updates for the Liberty and DUO might not be far away either.
Review: Closetplay Speedster
In October 2021 the sex toy world suffered a huge loss. Geeky Sex Toys, Australia’s first (and, for a long time, only) independent maker of silicone toys, closed their virtual doors. Pioneers of the fantasy genre, they introduced the idea of mixing pop culture with sex toys for all us “naughty nerds” out there, and as it turned out, there were a lot of us. But while they might have been the first to bring us the lightsaber dildo and Pikachu butt plug, they certainly won’t be the last. Many retailers, from other indie makers such as Deep N’ Geek to big brands like The Realm by Blush Novelties, have taken inspiration from Geeky Sex Toys over the years. However, I don’t think any have quite captured their almost chaotic creativity quite like newcomer Closetplay Sex Toys.