Provided by our excellent friends at Babeland.

Tristan’s Anniversy Edition Plug

*Product has no arms and does not speak*

Joseph:

I feel like I have to preface this review with a few qualifiers:

I did not personally use the plug.

We did not have anal sex after She used the plug.

So with my limited interaction with this product in mind, here are my thoughts.

The plug looks to me like something that would be incredibly painful to try and insert into one’s anus. After seeing Her ever-so-slowly do just that, I have to say that it seems like my first impressions were correct. The total process took maybe half an hour and a lot of lube. She paused frequently and made many faces that made me think She was in quite a lot of pain.

When it was finally inserted, we had vaginal intercourse that was somewhat awkward. For me, it was almost uncomfortably tight as it is quite a large plug. It was not unpleasant and it may be something that is rather enjoyable for both of us once we become more comfortable with it.

So from my perception, it looks and feels well constructed, seems to clean up easily (rather important with this kind of toy) and the swirlies in it make me think of a bowling ball. Because my perception of this product is somewhat limited, I’ll let her give you the details on the rest.

Mimi:

Warning – This post is rather personal because I feel strongly about anal play in that it can feel really amazing, but it can also go terribly wrong. There’s a lot of misconception surrounding it, which I too have been a “victim” of in the past, and if I can be of any help to someone else through my own experiences, I would certainly wish to do so.

We had wanted to try anal sex together for a while, but since warming up with fingers used to gross me out, we were waiting for the right toy to come along. Given the opportunity to try Tristan’s Anniversary Edition Plug, we eagerly sought it, thinking this might be the toy to finally open up a whole other part of our sexual exploration.

I have much more experience with anal play than He does, but I am still very new to plugs; in fact, this is only the second of two plugs I have used. The first one was clear glass, smaller, and a bit slimmer in shape. As you can guess, the experience was quite different. My only complaint about that plug is that it would not stay inside of me without being held constantly. I was hoping for better luck this time.

My first impressions of Tristan’s Anniversary Edition Plug was that I liked the weight of it, the soft feel of the silicone, and its dark blue swirl design. No tender flesh irritating seam. No awkwardness in handling it because of the large base. And you can sanitize the toy by putting it in boiling water or in your dishwasher’s top rack without soap. (Just because it’s going in your butt, doesn’t mean it should lack sophistication.) I also observed its size. Larger than I had visualized in my mind.

When He was watching me insert the plug the very first night we received it, much like other occasions in which I used it (or tried to), I could tell that he was thinking things like, ‘She really likes this?’ and ‘Why on earth would anyone do this?’. My suspicions were confirmed when he suggested that I stop, gently and kindly, to let me know he wasn’t disappointed, only concerned.

It’s this kind of environment that makes experimentation and pushing boundaries feel really good, even when it doesn’t go according to plan, even when no one has an orgasm. It’s okay. Really. However, I am very stubborn – perhaps to a fault – and I push myself harder. This plug is an excellent toy for a lot of reasons, but perhaps not the best one for someone relatively new to anal toys. It’s certainly not a “warm up” toy. This toy is the whole fucking shebang. This toy is ready to own your ass, literally.

We had sex with it inside me once, which I enjoyed, but I was still rather uncomfortable. He didn’t seem particularly jazzed about it either. We did not think it reflected badly on the plug – or on anything, really – and simply resigned ourselves to trying again and again.

Well, we didn’t. After that time, the plug became increasingly more painful for me to attempt inserting, and since I do not believe (anymore) that a lot of pain is necessary for anal play, I stopped. We have since had anal sex, but it was completely without the inclusion of this plug. In one evening of determination, I told Him to give me some space while I try to make friends with the plug.

For an hour or so, I made a lubricated mess in bed as I experimented – first using a condom over my finger(s); then a condom over our Babeland Showerbabe, which does not have a base so it’s not ideal, but it has a handle, so I felt pretty safe with it; then my Hitachi Wand while also using the Showerbabe; and finally, ever so slowly, Tristan’s Anniversary Edition Plug. It was still difficult, but the whole experience was pretty painless. I learned that I am comfortable with fingers as long as they are covered with a condom or glove. And I had an orgasm. Not a bad night.

I also learned that I can crawl around on all fours with the plug inside of me, and that it will stay in place pretty well, which gave me ideas…

In sum, that last statement really represents how I think of this toy. I see it as a toy that you grow into, something you expand with. (No pun intended, but it’s sure as hell there.) It is, after all, a toy made to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the Tristan Plug, a butt plug designed by “Anal Sex Queen” Tristan Taormino, and changes are definitely in order after a while. If you have a smaller plug or one with a slimmer shape and you find yourself thinking you’d like to try more, then this plug would probably meet your needs perfectly. I am excited about the future evenings of determination and pleasure to come with this plug.

Note to our readers:

We will post an updated review once we have had some more fun with this product.

The Naked Truth:

Intensity:

Volume: N/A (unless you whimper)

Design:

Ease of cleaning:

Overall:

Getting Undressed is better when you tell everyone on the internet!

Astrea II

Provided by our generous friends at Babeland

Mimi

My partner and I have wanted to try a sex toy like the Astrea II: Remote Vibrating Thong for a long time, for probably the usual reasons people want to use such toys: an interest in discreet public play, control dynamics, and the plain ol’ glory that is a vibrator. We were pretty excited when the package arrived, even though the diamond shaped purple box looks like it could equally house a product for yeast infection or bikini hair removal. A little too Lifetime, for me, but it could be a lot worse. They were obviously trying to make it tasteful, for which a little bit of credit is deserved.

A consideration for tastefulness is also apparent in the thong itself – sexy and comfortable, despite a big honkin’ piece of vibrating plastic that is strangely reminiscent of the early menstruation days when I wore pads big enough to smuggle Haitian immigrants. After a while, the vibrator is… still ridiculous, but it feels less awkward and the peculiarity of the experience is overcome by the thrill of being in public, anticipating the moment when my partner turns it on.

The vibrator’s volume is barely audible, which is impressive given the intensity of the vibration. It’d be perfect – if I was in the right place. The little pocket meant to hold the vibrator in the thong is slightly too low for it to actually vibrate my clit. Maybe it’s not supposed to do that? Seems odd. If I was going to have a truly magnificent, possibly orgasmic outing with my partner, there would definitely be some stimulation of my clit involved. Instead, I spent most of the time joking with him about trying to adjust the way I was sitting or standing (hunched over) so that it would stimulate my clit more and my labia less.

It feels pretty decent and there is a lot of potential in this product; however, a significant design flaw is still enough to lead to disappointment. And I was.

Oh, and speaking of flaws – the thong will fit “most sizes” according to the box, but unless you purchase this toy from Babeland or some other self-respecting online source, you may not know that the thong only fits up to a 38” waist.

Joseph

The first one that Babeland shipped to us happened to be defective. While that was unfortunate and caused a delay in our testing of the product, these things are bound to happen, but Babeland quickly set it right, and in the end, it afforded us a very interesting insight into the product. But more on that later.

The Astrea II is one of many of California Exotic Novelties and the Berman Center’s offerings into the sex toy realm. The box makes me think of the word “Monistat” every time that I see it. I’m not sure of why this word comes to mind, and the association that implies is a bit odd too, but I can only chalk it up to my deep seated emotional problems or expert package design.

The product itself is a remarkably simple design and a great idea. Just like Communism. It is a relatively small vibrating square that is inserted into a pouch in the crotch of lace panties. The on/off functionality of the vibrator is controlled by a “compact wireless mini remote control” intended to be in the hands of your partner. That way you can play with power dynamics and radio waves at the same time!

Also like Communism, this device fails miserably in practice and application. One major flaw prevents this product from being worth while. It is in the wrong place for clitoral stimulation. Obviously I can’t comment on this firsthand, but I am told by Her that because of this flaw, the product does not do that much for her. And that doesn’t do anything for me.

The appeal for the person holding the superfluously large remote control (almost 4 inches) is being able to make the person wearing the vibe squirm and writhe with the flip of a switch. Ideally this could be done in situations that She would have to strive to control herself in. Instead, it made her giggle and jump a little the first few times I did it and then She barely responded at all. So what I end up with is a large piece of plastic with a little red light that I can turn on and off instead of the remote control to Her pleasure.

Ok, you get the idea of why I dislike this product. Instead of continuing to beat a dead horse, I’ll move on to the interesting (and hilarious) thing that we learned about this product by ending up with two of them.

The malfunction in the first one was in the remote. The vibe worked fine, which we learned when we got the second one. When I activated the second vibe with the remote, the first one came on too. That’s right. They all work on the same frequency.

Take a moment to think about the implications of this.

For me, it means one of two things; The manufacturer of this product either thought that they would never actually sell enough of them that there would be two in close range of one another, or they were just so short sighted that they honestly didn’t think to worry about it.

I like to think the first.

Ratings:

Intensity:

Volume:

Design: [rating1]

Ease of cleaning:

Overall:

Getting Undressed is better when you tell everyone on the internet!

*Update* This product seems to no longer exist at Babeland.

Today we are reviewing the Showerbabe which is available exclusively at Babeland

Joseph

I was pretty excited about this product because due to height difference and a small shower, we can’t have intercourse in the shower without the inclusion of a stool (which is awkward) so this product meant new ways to play in the shower.

Overall I am very pleased with the Showerbabe. It has two intensity settings which have not been enough to get her off by itself, but have been a great companion to my fingers or tounge. The settings are activated by a button on the bottom of the handle which can be somewhat awkward to use while the Showerbabe is inside of her. However, the handle itself is great because things do tend to get slippery in the shower.

(more…)

Getting Undressed is better when you tell everyone on the internet!