silicone rubber/jelly glass stainless steel Here are some pros and cons to each: SILICONE Most modern sex toys are made of silicone, and that’s a good thing. It has a soft, skin-like feel and provides flexibility – making it a suitable material for intimate toys. It’s generally safe (make sure you stick to 100% silicone, though), easy to clean, and not porous – so it won’t absorb any chemicals or bacteria over time. While silicone is an excellent material to look out for when buying toys, remember that high-quality silicone products are costly. Also, make sure to use, clean, and store your silicone toys properly – as they’re fairly easy to disfigure. Silicone lubes will cause them to melt, and storing them with other silicone toys will result in the same issue. Keep them out of the dishwasher and boiling water, as silicone toys will also melt at high temperatures.
RUBBER / PLASTIC JELLY Rubber and plastic jelly toys are often what inexpensive dildos are made of. Rubber can produce a massive variety of textured feels, colors, and shapes –making it an easy choice for dildos. However, even though you save some cash, rubber and plastic jelly toys do have quite a few downsides. They’re often made of a mix of plastics and chemicals, meaning they can easily irritate the skin. Rubber is also a porous material, making it more susceptible to bacterial biofilms, and more likely to absorb harmful chemicals or unpleasant odors. You should try to use condoms with rubber toys for this very reason. Because they are porous, rubber toys often have a much shorter shelf life, so it might be better to invest in a high-quality material for the long term. GLASS Glass toys, while fragile, a bit heavier, and less discreet, are great for penetrative play. They retain heat, making them pleasurable to use over time, or for use with temperature play specifically.
Glass is, of course, non-porous, making it more hygienic, long-lasting, and easy to sanitize. Glass can be used with any type of lube, but keep in mind that using silicone lube with glass results in an oil slick of a situation – but hey, whatever floats your boat. Keep glass toys out of the dishwasher, and extremely hot water, as high temperatures can disfigure them.
Also, keep in mind that exposing your glass to extremes of cold, then hot, can result in fractures. As soon as your glass toy has a fracture, it is no longer safe to use. STAINLESS STEEL Stainless steel can make any toy feel futuristic, and to be honest – quite kinky. Nonporous, durable, and temperature-sensitive, stainless steel is a choice material for penetrative or massaging toys. Try cooling your stainless steel toys in the fridge for an exciting sensation! While stainless steel toys are almost impossible to break, they are expensive and can be a bit too heavy to lug around for a weekend getaway. Special Considerations Are you going to be traveling with your toy? Will you be storing your toy in a home with nosey family members or roommates? Do you have any wrist issues or arthritis that might make it difficult to hold and manipulate a toy for minutes (or perhaps, hours) on end? How easy does your toy need to be to operate? These are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself before committing to any sex toy purchase.
Best Penis StretcherWant to be discreet? Go for small toys that you can carry around in your purse or pocket. Bullet vibes, for example, are effective at clitoral stimulation, incredibly mobile, and most importantly – won’t raise any eyebrows if spotted. Something else to consider down the line is how you clean and store your toy (if you’d like to keep things under the radar), but we’ll cover that further down. Need something accessible? If full wrist motion, and using your hands for long periods of time will be uncomfortable, or inaccessible to you, try using toys with more ergonomic handles or hands-free toys. Some toys, like rubber dildos, can be incredibly taxing on the wrist and arm as they require more control. However, something like a wand, with an extended handle, will be much easier to use. If you’ve got impaired eyesight, as well, you may want to make sure that your desired toy has obvious operating buttons, lights, etc – or better yet, an easy-to-use smartphone app! Our Favorite Sex Toys Still not sure on which toy will work best for you? Luckily, the adult toy industry is as booming as ever – and there are all types of toys to recommend. Here are some of our favorites for everybody.
The Magic Wand Great for: customizable clitoral stimulation This massager turned clitoral vibrator is a classic favorite. With a long handle and a vibrating silicone head with full rotation, the Magic Wand delivers clitoral pleasure you’ve never imagined. It’s also quite ergonomic, with an extended handle that allows you to manipulate the head without having to reach and stretch. The vibrating, soft silicone head, has a full range of motion, always finding exactly the right spot without much effort. If you’re looking for direct clitoral stimulation, the Magic Wand is the way to go. We haven’t come across a dissenter yet. vibrating magic wand toy Womanizer Great for: indirect clitoral stimulation
Are you looking for clitoral stimulation that’s gentle, indirect, and building? Try the Womanizer, the only toy on the market using a feature called ‘PleasureAir.’ The Womanizer gently sucks the clitoris into a soft silicone tip, where it’s exposed to gentle pressure waves. Delivering indirect, mind-blowing pleasure. Never be uncomfortable, or over-stimulated again with this unique technology! If you know the discomfort of an oversensitive clitoris all too well, then the Womanizer is definitely for you. clitoral suction toy Nova by WeVibe Great for: dual stimulation If you’re looking for dual stimulation; both clitoral, and vaginal, then look no further than the Nova by WeVibe. Nova stimulates the G-spot while the external clitoral stimulator flexes to gently vibrate against you no matter how you move. Hook your smartphone up with the Nova app to choose from 10 different vibration modes to find the one that works for you, and your body. Mio Ring by Je Joue Great for: enhancing partnered sex The Mio Ring is a fun, shareable, discreet, and small vibe. It’s perfect for bringing on trips or carrying around daily – just in case the mood for fun strikes you.
Best Penis SleeveThe Mio Ring is a wearable vibe made of soft silicone. You can use it on any body part, wherever a bit of stimulation might feel great at the moment. Because it’s so versatile, it’s perfect for playing with others. Just make sure to wipe it down between swaps! sex toy ring B-Vibe Rimming Plug Great for: anal stimulation The B-Vibe is the first plug engineered to create a rimming sensation using rotating beads beneath its surface. With a soft silicone body and six levels of vibration intensity, the B-Vibe Rimming Plug is a one-of-a-kind anal stimulator, perfect for anyone who loves a rimming sensation. butt plug Helix SYN by Aneros Great for: prostate massaging Massage your prostate and experience an explosion of pleasure with the Helix SYN. Covered in velvet-touch silicone, and embodied by a rigid frame, the Helix SYN is designed specifically to hit the right spot in just the right way. A perfect anatomical fit for most, the Helix SYN is a prostate godsend for beginners and the advanced. This toy is a no fuss, hands-free way to experience the insurmountable pleasure that is prostate stimulation. prostate vibrator How to Keep and Clean Your Toys Not necessarily the sexiest part of using sex toys – but inarguably, the most critical part – is hygiene.
Sex toys get exposed to some very sensitive places and can quicklyspread disease, and bacteria, if not cared for correctly. There is a right kind of dirty in the bedroom, and then there’s the wrong kind of dirty. Sex toys that don’t get washed or stored can form a biofilm of nasty bacteria that can cause all sorts of discomfort, and worse, serious health complications. Learning the right way to keep your sex toy or dildo clean is imperative! Effectively storing your toys can also save you face if you share a household with family, kids, or roommates. When you know how to store your toy, depending on what it’s made of, you can also avoid breaking it, which is probably important to you if you’ve spent quite a bit of cash. If you’re welcoming a sex toy into your life, like a pet, it needs to be bathed, and put to bed. Let’s cover some of your cleaning and storage options!
Handwash A simple method of sanitizing your sex toys is to give them a good scrub in the kitchen sink. Alcohols and strong disinfecting detergents might be tempting when you’re thinking of that potential biofilm – but step away from the harsh chemicals! Remember that your sex toy is used on sensitive, intimate areas and shouldn’t be exposed to any chemicals that might cause you issues. Use fragrance-free gentle soaps, or better yet, get a cleanser specific for use with sex toys. Dishwasher Some toys can be washed in the dishwasher! Nothing’s as easy as throwing your dildo into a dishwasher and grabbing it after a cycle. The shortcoming of a dishwasher is that it very easily ruins certain toys. If your toy is made of a silicone or glass, for example, the heat of the dishwasher may warp it. Check the fine print of your sex toy before throwing it in with the bowls and utensils.
Dildo Ah, the dildo. This is perhaps one of the most iconic sex toys, because you’ve probably seen a realistic “jelly” silicone dildo such as this one at some point in your life. One of the more traditional toys, dildos are basic penetrative toys that can come in many shapes and styles, but are almost always somewhat phallic or elongated; sometimes they’ll be made of silicone, but they can also be made out of metal and glass, such as Gem, the best-selling double-duty dildo by Unbound Babes. As with most dildos, Gem can be used for vaginal and anal penetration. Just be sure to clean your toy before and after use in any hole—and to keep your sex toys prepped and clean in general. UNBOUND BABES Gem Dual-Ended Glass Dildo $34 at Amazon Buy Now $35 at Unbound Babes Bullet Vibrator Bullet vibrators are a popular first sex toy, because they’re affordable vibrators that are about the size of their namesake, making them a discreet sex toy travel companion. Bullet vibes can be used during foreplay on the nipples and around (but NEVER in) the anus—don’t wanna take an embarrassing trip to the ER when you lose one up there—and they give direct stimulation to the clitoris or anywhere else on the body that gives you or your partner(s) pleasure. Many bullet vibrators run on batteries, so keep an eye out for those such as the Zee by Dame, which is fully rechargeable. DAME Zee Bullet Vibrator $30 at Amazon Buy Now $30 at Dame
Buy Now Wand Vibrator One of the best first-time sex toys for people who want direct clitoral contact is a wand vibrator, which traditionally consists of a long handle with a vibrating, bulbous tip. The most iconic wand vibrator is hands down the Magic Wand (formerly known as the Hitachi Magic Wand), because it gained widespread popularity in the 1970s by being marketed as nothing more than a general body massager, despite it’s clear talent for moonlighting as a sex toy, making it an embarrassment-free purchase. It helped pave the way for so many of the sex toys we love today (the Magic Wand walked so that Dame’s “Com” wand could run). If you’d like a sex toy that can also legit work as a massager for your back or other parts of your body, this is the one for you—but folks with more sensi clits might want to steer towards clitoral suction toys. MAGIC WAND Rechargeable Magic Wand $124 at Amazon Buy Now $1395 at Babeland Buy Now ADVERTISEMENT Clitoral Suction Vibrator A clitoral suction vibrator is a sex toy that uses gentle sonic technology to mimic the sensation of receiving really good head, the most popular of which is the cult-fave Satisfyer Pro The toy is a best-seller on Amazon with a 5-star rating from over 50,000 reviews, because it does what a top-notch suction vibe should by providing a fluttering, consistent air suction pressure to your clitoris to stimulate it—without ever touching it directly. Pretty cool, right?
SATISFYER Pro 2 Clitoral Stimulator $495 at Amazon Buy Now $595 at Satisfyer Buy Now Direct Contact Clitoral Vibrator Many sex toys can become a direct contact clitoral vibrator if you simply apply their vibrating components to the clitoris. However, there are also vibrators such as the Zumio that are designed to go the extra mile to bring you targeted, fast-paced clitoral stimulation through direct contact. We gave the alien-probe-like sex toy an honest review, and really enjoyed how deftly the antenna works to gently tap your clit until orgasm. ZUMIO High Frequency Direct Contact Clitoral Vibrator $108 at Amazon Buy Now $135 $108 at Zumio Buy Now Rabbit Vibrator Rabbit vibrators' foundational features always include a vibrating shaft or dildo and a smaller attachment that sits atop the clitoris. Sometimes, that attachment will be split in two, resembling bunny ears, to provide even more sensation—thus the name—and the overall effect is dual clitoral and internal stimulation. This style of vibrator first gained fame on that episode of Sex and the City in 1998, and has since evolved to take on many exciting forms, from futuristic luxury vibrators by brands such as LELO, to new takes on the classic form by the Fifty Shades of Grey sex toy line (which is suprisingly… amazing?).
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY Greedy Girl G-Spot Rabbit Vibrator $58 at Amazon Buy Now $999 at Lovehoney Buy Now ADVERTISEMENT Cock Rings Ah, the cock ring. How many times have we been gifted you in a bachelor/bachelorette gift party bag? Not unlike its cousin, the bullet vibrator, this sex toy is often one of the more affordable of the lot, and also one of the most discreet travel companions. The OG purpose of a cock ring is to lightly constrict blood flow around the penis, allowing for a firmer and longer lasting erection (all your questions on guillotine-ing a peen can be answered here). Some C-rings can have vibrational textured attachments for simultaneous clitoral stimulation for a partner during penetrative sex, as well as multiple loops for hugging balls—there are even penis rings made out of jelly, metal, and with as many flourishes as you can dream up.
Vibrator HarnessLOVEHONEY Bed Ringer Rechargeable Double Cock Ring $499 at Lovehoney Buy Now Male Masturbators Here’s the truth, jabroni: When most sexual wellness websites refer to “male masturbators” and “penis sleeves,” they’re often talking about toys that resemble the most iconic of the lot, the Fleshlight, which is a masturbator tool (often encased in a canister) that contains a textured tube or artificial mouth/anus/vagina. Some masturbators will allow for you to go hands-free, others vibrate, and many designs range from realistic-looking “Pocket Pussies” to Tron-inspired sleeves such as the Fleshlight Torque Ice.
FLESHLIGHT Go Torque Ice Clear Male Masturbator $595 at Amazon Buy Now $595 at Fleshlight Buy Now Butt Plug New to butt stuff? Take things slow by exploring yourself or your partner’s backdoor with a well-lubed finger, or a set of anal training plugs (and more lube). The bottom line for butt plugs is that they can provide a sense of fullness and stimulation that a lot of people love, whether they vibrate or they’re made of temperature play-ready materials such as stainless steel. Just make sure you’re purchasing a toy with a flared plug, such as the Shimmy vibrating plug by Unbound Babes, because your sphincter has naturally powerful suction powers. Not only does this toy have a great handle, but we’re pretty sure Prince would have loved it.
UNBOUND BABES Shimmy Vibrating Plug $61 at Unbound Babes Buy Now ADVERTISEMENT Couples' Sex Toys The better question might be, “What isn’t a couples' sex toy?” Common sense tells us that if you use a toy with a partner, well, then that makes it a couples' toy. That being said, many couples' toys are designed for wearing during sex or for helping partners control the timing of their orgasms, and there are many remote and app-controlled toys by brands including Lovense and We-Vibe that are specifically designed to be enjoyed by couples for a little kinky edging and dom-sub play, such as this Lush 3, which is designed to provide direct G-spot stimulation. LOVENSE Lush 3 App Controlled Rechargeable Love Egg Vibrator $129 at Amazon
Public VibratorBuy Now $1399 at Lovehoney Buy Now Prostate Massager As with their cousin, butt plugs, many prostate massagers will vibrate, but their overall purpose is to bring a little back-door pleasure by stimulating the male prostate gland. “Internal prostate stimulation takes a softer touch,” explains Anna Pulley in the VICE guide to prostate play, “and involves more precise movements and smaller implements, such as fingers or small toys, rather than dildos or penises.” The Hugo is a popular remote-controlled prostate vibe by the luxury sex toy company LELO, and it’s equipped with one motor for the prostate and one in the base for the perineum (read: taint) for providing ~loads~ of pleasure. LELO Hugo Male Prostate Massager $2199 at Amazon Buy Now $219 $1625 at LELO Buy Now Penis Pump Penis pumps ROCK. These toys remind us of those high-powered suction tubes at the bank, and they can temporarily enlarge the penis as well as help folks with erectile dysfunction (ED) to maintain an erection by creating a suction effect around the penis, typically in a plastic tube, courtesy of a battery or hand-powered pump and a band that fits, and increases blood flow to the penis. Edge makes a highly rated, hand-fueled pump in a clear, latex- and phthalate-free tube so that you can see all your… business.
EDGE Tracey Cox Ultimate Performance Stamina Penis Pump $499 at Lovehoney Buy Now ADVERTISEMENT Strap-On Dildos Strap-on dildos are dildos designed to be worn, often with a harness, during sex. “Pegging can totally happen between folks of any and all genders,” explains Archie Bongiovanni in their pegging how-to guide for VICE. “After all, it’s essentially just anal sex with a strap on.” These days, there are even companies such as Fun Factory making harness-free dildos for going down to Peg City, USA, and one-and-done harness and dildo bundles such as this Unisex Strap-On by Lovehoney, so you can smash that order button and know you’re getting everything you need to start pegging.
LOVEHONEY Advanced Unisex Strap-On Harness Kit with 7 Inch G-Spot Dildo $399 at Lovehoney Buy Now Thrusters These sex toys are often dildos or rabbit vibes that are specifically designed to mimic the thrusting power of a penis, and tend to be on the more expensive side (that kind of engineering costs money!) because they provide even more sensation to the penetrative experience. You know how that animatronic Abe Lincoln was the peak of technology at Disneyland for so many years? That’s thrusters, only for sex toy nerds. This highly rated Fun Factory toy would be a great first-time thruster, because it has a straightforward phallic design and seven speeds that are easy to control with its three buttons.
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