As our seemingly never-ending lockdown continues here in Melbourne, I find myself thinking about how to support small and local businesses more than ever. Whether it’s a brick-and-mortar store that has been forced to close its doors, or an online retailer faced with demands for refunds due to delays out of their control, it’s a tough time to be in business. So in addition to my own financial support, I’ve been working to find new ways to promote and highlight small businesses on my social media over the last few months, and it was through this that I first learned of Montréal-based manufacturer Désirables. An independent maker of some of the most beautiful hand-made products I’ve ever seen, Désirables immediately stood out to me through their use of porcelain as a medium for their toys, which is something I haven’t seen before. So you can imagine my excitement when I recently found out that one of my favourite local retailers, Nikki Darling, was not only about to become the first Australian stockist of their exquisite and unique toys, but that they also wanted me to review them!
Review: Deeper Blue Ceramics Lilac Matte
It was at a sex convention that I first fell in love with adult products all those years ago, but while so much has changed in this industry since then, it seems conventions, sadly, have not. Walking into a sex con, such as Sexpo, today, looks much like it did seven years ago, and if anything things have gone backwards. With the vast majority of products being non-body-safe, barely any representation from quality brands or retailers, and questionable guest stars, I find myself struggling more and more each year to attend. But the thing that keeps me going is the thought of finding a diamond in the rough, and by that I mean the opportunity to scout out new local businesses that I might not have found out about otherwise, and then share them with you all. In previous years this has led me to finds such as the MiaMaxx Hand-Held Thruster and Cloudnine Hummingbird, and it’s even where I first met Geeky Sex Toys, who I now work for. But it was at the most recent convention that I first came into contact with a small business who I believe represents everything this industry needs right now, and that business was Deeper Blue Ceramics.
Review: Uberrime Tentare Tentacle
It’s finally time for the last review of 2019 (and the decade!), and I’ve made sure to save the best till last. The Uberrime Tentare Tentacle is a product I’ve been dying to try all year, so I’m super excited to finally have my hands on it and be sharing my thoughts with you all today. Now, I’ve got to admit, the first time I saw this toy I thought it was a dildo. So despite how amazing it looked, my mind instantly assumed that due to its stubby dimensions it must be quite large, which probably wouldn’t work for my body. But I couldn’t get its unique design out of my head, so after I successfully tested the Uberrime Ripley Alien earlier this year I went back to it and actually read the product listing. Turns out it’s not a dildo at all (although it can still be used as one), but actually a sleeve for bullet vibrators such as the We-Vibe Tango. Well, as soon as I read that I knew I had to have one, but with so many other beautiful Uberrime toys to choose from it still took me awhile to get round to requesting it. When it was time to choose a product to wrap up the year with however, I knew exactly what I wanted it to be.
Review: Funkit Toys NoFrillDo R
It’s not too often I get really excited about being sent a product these days. But when Nikki Darling recently announced they would be bringing the NoFrillDo by Funkit Toys to Australia, I knew I had to get one. I’ve been interested in the creations of Funkit Toys for a few years now, and even wrote about their Signet, a silicone ring designed to help further stimulate the clitoris when masturbating with your hand, early last year in my Top New Sex Toys I Want in 2017 post. Unfortunately, the Signet was part of a crowd-funding campaign which didn’t make its goal, and so I never ended up testing it out. But then late last year Funkit decided to try their luck at crowdfunding once more, this time for the NoFrillDo, and it was an astounding success, raising 465% of its goal. Obviously this caught my eye, and so I was over the moon when I heard they would soon be available to purchase in my own country. Nikki Darling must have read my mind, because soon after they asked me whether I wanted to review one!
Review: Geeky Sex Toys Laser Sword
I don’t get the chance to talk about it much on this blog, but I am a huuugee geek. When I’m not working or cooking (my other passion) you can guarantee I’m doing something nerdy, from playing video games and weekly 12 hour games of Dungeons and Dragons, to reading manga and drawing fan art of my favourite comic book characters. To bring in the new year my partner and I watched a marathon of Lord of the Rings, and we even met on geeky terms. One of my earliest signs of geekdom was being shown Star Wars when I was 10 and becoming obsessed. This hasn’t ever stopped, and in more recent years I have been throughly enjoying the franchise’s revival and have attended both The Force Awakens and Rogue One’s midnight screenings, buying tickets for both almost a month in advance out of excitement and to ensure I get the best seats in the house. So, you can imagine my excitement last year at Sexpo when I found out two of my favourite things, Star Wars and sex toys, had been combined! If you’ve read my Sexpo wrap-up you’ll probably remember my huge rambling about the amazing new independent Australian store I had found while I was there: Geeky Sex Toys. After the event I contacted them to let them know how much I adored everything they are doing, and they were wonderful enough to send me their Star Toys Laser Sword and R2-V2 Wand Massager for review.
Review: BS Atelier Alex
I have a huge thing for hand-made dildos by small studios. It just makes it so much more personal and I always love the idea that the product you own could differ slightly from what someone else might own, making each one unique. BS Atelier’s products are no exception to this, with all their toys being carefully hand crafted in their studio in Spain. I have had their Alex dildo on my wishlist for as long as I have been blogging due to other blogger’s great reviews and its beautiful designs, first in its Light Blue Noise colouring, and later in its Blue Rainbow version. I hadn’t really taken any steps to getting this dildo however, until earlier this year in June, with the tragic events that took place in the US, I had a huge need to get my hands on anything Pride related, and this was of course on the top of my list. BS Atelier were very easy and lovely to contact and agreed to send me the toy for review.