Ella by LELO

I received this sleek, sexy toy for Valentine's Day. Though I'm usually the kind of girl who would like something sweet and romantic (like a box of my favorite chocolates or a book of love poems), the styling of the Ella and its packaging were stylish and classy. The toy comes in a long, thin box that could easily be mistaken to hold a beautiful piece of jewelry. Inside, the Ella fits nicely into a plastic tray molded to fit her shape. The toy also comes with a small satin bag for storage. This packaging choice solves a common problem for sex toys—discreet storage. Furthermore, the toy is tastefully designed to make you feel more like a discriminating customer and less like a porn star.

The all-silicone design of this toy creates a super-smooth finish that is easy to clean (it can be both boiled and bleached) and delightful to use. There is, however, a small imprint of the brand name on the side that requires a little more scrubbing. But as long as you are being careful to clean the toy thoroughly, this shouldn't be a problem.

Since the Ella is my first “dildo,” I was not sure how I would feel about a non-vibrating toy. Somehow, the title of the dildo has connotations of a toy that is far less beautiful and tasteful than the Ella. Nevertheless, the toy has two usable, non-vibrating ends. While both ends are very enjoyable, the picture makes it seem as if the short, wide end is much smaller than the longer end. In reality, the two ends are of comparable size, but function much differently. The long, gently-tapering end is great for thrusting, but the shorter end is perfect for G-spot stimulation. Though the Lelo's Ella may seem somewhat small, I found the size to be perfectly adequate—what it may lack in size is made up for in expert engineering.