De la curve - traditional vibrator discontinued by Doc Johnson - review by Persephone Nightmare

I'll be honest, when I first saw this in my assignment box, I quickly brushed away my doubts about it, seeing as I've adopted a "Don't judge a toy by it's looks" mantra, I didn't focus on the somewhat gaudy "bling" this dild.... I mean, "vibe" features. "Besides, it's made by Doc Johnson, who also made The Kisses vibe (my favorite Traditional vibe thus far). What's the worst that can happen?"

..... Doc, I expected better of you.

Personally, I believe the best use for this vibrator is when used, surprisingly, *without* batteries and internally (meaning the vagina, of course, seeing as there's no flared base for anal use). And when taking the vibrating factor out of the equation, it just makes the De La Curve basically a dildo.

"Why are you taking the vibrations out of the equation, Persephone?"

Because, quite frankly, the vibrations are buzzy, weak, and therefore sub-par. This is not something I'd recommend to beginners, nor to anyone else. While I do like the feel and shape of this toy, it is not enough to recommend this product to others. Maybe I'm being overly cynical, but when someone receives a vibrator, becomes so disappointed with the vibrations that she only uses it as a dildo, there's something wrong with that picture. The fact that a clearly marketed Beginner vibe, The Kisses, from the same company, outperforms this product is kind of sad to be honest. Even my first toy, the Durex Allure, outperforms it.

I will admit, I do love the velvety feel of this vibe. It feels so smooth, and to me feels much better than just plain plastic. I didn't notice any smells or taste to this toy. It's such a shame, though, that these and the other pluses of this product aren't enough to redeem the De La Curve in my eyes.

The design of the toy, well, just doesn't suit me in all honesty. I'm mainly referring to the "blingy" look it has. The battery cap has two rows of evenly spaced little purple, red, and clear gems on it. However, I do realize that this is merely a preference that I have and that others may enjoy it far more than I. And the gems do seem to be glued securely, as I've not had any fall out. So that's a plus, I guess.

Despite the apparent "blingy-ness", I do my best to not "judge a toy by it's appearances", and in very few respects, I am glad I didn't.

As far as the shape and size, I love it. There is a bulge at the very tip of it and also about an inch down the shaft as well and I personally think that it is a great shape for use internally. Despite what the packaging says, it is just over 6 1/2 inches from end to end (with about 5 of those inches being insertable) and isn't quite the 7 inches that the box claims.

The main department where this product fell short was, in fact, the performance. The vibrations are very buzzy and don't really have any substance at all. They are concentrated towards the tip and does not travel well throughout the toy, as there is a *significantly* noticeable difference in the intensity as you move away from where the vibrations originate.

I am very disappointed in the weak, buzzy vibrations, and I had to revert to my "Old Faithful" vibrator, which is surprisingly another Doc Johnson product, The Kisses Vibe. Seeing as I absolutely adore the Kisses vibe, I honestly expected *alot* more from the De La Curve.

Something else that I didn't like, was the noise. For what it lacks in intensity, it is just so darned loud, it's even louder than some of my stronger toys. And not to mention I can hear it outside of my room (which has 4 inch thick walls, mind).

And then there are the controls. At first it honestly took me a minute to figure out how to turn it off after I put the batteries in. I thought that the part of the battery cap with the gems would turn, but that wasn't the case. It turns out that the bit of the battery cap *beneath* the little gems is the dial that changes the intensity. And boy, if it isn't finicky. It is very easy to accidentally turn on if the batteries are left in it. And even then, when you turn it off (especially if you had to in a hurry) it isn't difficult to accidentally make the battery cap loose. Because of that reason, I don't think I would use it in the tub. When the cap is screwed on right, it is truly waterproof, but with the ease in which it can be unscrewed from just turning the product off, there's a chance that if you tried to turn it off under water, it could get water inside it since the waterproof seal would be broken.

To clean this product, just hot water and soap will do the trick, as will using a cotton ball dipped in alcohol, or a toy cleaner. As far as storing is concerned, you can store it in a toy bag, box, drawer or even a ziploc bag to make sure it stays clean. Any lube will do, when it comes to this product, whether it be silicone or water-based.