Dr. Laura Berman Collette - traditional vibrator discontinued by Cal Exotics - review by indiglo

Dr. Laura Berman’s Collette is labeled as a traditional vibrator, meaning that it is for penetrative vaginal use. Its small stature, however, will make it best suited for clitoral stimulation for most users. For virginal or inexperienced toy users, or for those who just prefer a very small diameter, Collette will likely work for penetrative vaginal play. Keep in mind that it isn’t very long either, so it will be best at providing very shallow vaginal stimulation.

Ideally, its small size will make Collette a great clitoral vibrator. Very workable for dual stimulation, you’ll be free to couple your Collette with nearly any dildo or vibrator, or with your partner’s stimulation!

Good for beginners, Collette will also be a nice introduction to toy play for couples since it isn’t obtrusive or intimidating in size, shape or appearance. It can easily be used as a teaser toy for bodies of any gender, since it can stimulate nipples, clits, penises, perineums, or external anal areas. Just remember, the design of this toy is not suited for anal insertion. So if you choose to use it near your back door, keep it all external only.

The entire toy is completely smooth, except for a slight seam up one side and down the other. The seam isn’t noticed during use. There are three bulbs along the shaft of the toy. The texture of Collette is well suited to any user who prefers a smooth, non-textured toy, or who likes bulbed toys.

Dr. Laura Berman’s Collette is touted as pure silicone. Silicone gets a safety rating of 10 here at Eden Fantasys. The California Exotics website does clarify that they use several different grades of silicone to make their toys, but they don’t specify what grade the Collette was made with. They are very clear about it being phthalate-free, however.

The battery cap of the toy is made of PU coated plastic, with a silver coated ABS plastic ring around it. PU coated plastic receives a safety rating of 7, while ABS plastic receives a safety rating of 8 here at Eden. Both these materials are also phthalate-free.


Collette has a bit of a chemical smell to it, even after being out of the package for a few weeks. It also has a slight chemical taste when licked. If you are not extremely sensitive to smells, you will likely only notice it when you hold Collette up to your nose.

This toy seems to have a solid body, and is inflexible. The very tip of the toy up to the first bulb is flexible, as it seems to just be the silicone casing.

Collette is based on the classic design of a traditional vibrator. It is completely straight, save for the bulbs, and is small enough fit almost anywhere. This toy could easily be slipped into your handbag or suitcase, and as long as you take the battery out it will travel quite well. Its small size also makes it easy to store or hide while you’re at home.





While the Collette is small enough to hide, its design isn’t really all that discreet. If someone sees it, they will likely know exactly what it is.

Another notable aspect of Collette’s design is that the tip is pointed, but followed closely by a bulb. This design ensures that the user can get very pinpoint stimulation by using the tip. For some anatomies, the pinpointed tip of Collette may even slide right inside your clitoral hood!

If you prefer broader, more diffuse stimulation, Collette can be held at an angle, so the wider bulb is providing stimulation instead of the pointed tip. It’s a very well-thought out design that will allow Collette to please a wide variety of users.

The Collette is controlled by 1 push button on the bottom of the toy. Push and hold the button briefly to turn it on, and push and hold it at any time to turn the toy off. The control button is very easy to push to change the setting if you want to, but is not easily bumped during use. To cycle up through the different settings, push the button once briefly. Collette only cycles up through the settings, and when you turn it back on it will be on the next setting up from where it was when you turned it off. (If you turned it off while it was on setting 1, when you turn it on next time it will start at setting 2.)

There is a little ring around the control button that lights up when Collette is on. It will flash in conjunction with the vibrations, so it can help you know what setting you’re on.

This toy has 10 different settings. As a point of reference, I always use the Je Joue MiMi to standardize my ratings for vrooms and bees. Keep in mind that Collette is much buzzier than MiMi. On a scale of 1-10, where 1 is completely buzzy and 10 is completely rumbly, I would place the MiMi at about a 6 or 7. Collette would rate about a 3 or 4. The vibrations don’t penetrate into the flesh much, but rather stay on the surface. When pressure is applied, instead of traveling deeper into your body, Collette’s vibrations weaken a bit.



The vibrations from Collette are focused in the tip of the toy. This is a huge pro during use since it helps you get the stimulation right where you want it! While the vibrations can be slightly felt in the handle of Collette, they are cut in half. That helps prevent your hand from going numb, even with extended use.

Your Collette will be content with the most basic care. Simply wash it after each use with warm water and soap (or your favorite toy cleaner). Silicone can be sanitized as needed by soaking in a 10% bleach solution (that is 10 parts water to 1 part bleach). Do not boil your Collette or send it through the dishwasher, as the high heat will damage the motor.

For storage, be sure to remove the 1 AA battery Collette runs on and then store it in a cool, dark, dry place. Keep it safe from interacting with other toys by putting it in an old sock, an old pair of pantyhose or tights, in a toy pouch, wrapped in tissue paper, wrapped in a bandana, etc.

The manufacturer encourages users to stick to water-based lubricants only with this toy.

The packaging Collette comes in is best described as very basic. It arrives sealed in a plastic bag that must be cut open, inside a thin cardboard box. The box makes it clear that a sex toy is inside, but there aren’t any half naked models posing suggestively. Just a nice picture of Dr. Laura Berman’s smiling face!

First, let me explain what kind of stuff I usually like…

I’m going to keep it real here. I was ready to really dislike this toy. During testing, I did not like the way the settings worked. I felt like the toy should start on low, then go to medium, and then go to high, NOT the reverse. I also never like the patterned settings on any toys, and in my hand the Collette’s settings felt the same as any other patterned settings on any other toy. Knowing that, I felt pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to use any of the patterns, and since the steady vibration modes are the reverse of what I’d prefer, I was pretty much just writing this toy off before I even tried it. Let me tell you, I WAS WRONG!

Before I talk about how much I like this little toy, let me also explain that I am a MiMi girl. I love MiMi’s 4 vrooms, which are pretty rumbly for a toy in her class. I also am a BIG believer in the Eroscillator. I am definitely not in the clit-o-steel club, and I don’t like extremely buzzy or extremely rumbly vibrations externally. MiMi's middle of the road to slightly rumbly vibrations are perfect for me externally, and while my g-spot LOVES my Uma, it’s a bit too rumbly for me to use externally on a very high setting but I can use it on a lower setting or once I’m sufficiently warmed up.


Now let me tell you about Collette when used externally…

Even though Collette is significantly buzzier than MiMi (I’d say about twice as buzzy, as I explained earlier) I loved it externally. And my experience with the various settings was noteworthy. I found that when I turned Collette on “High” and stuck her down there, it was a bit too much to start off. But, when I turned her on “Medium” to warm up, it just wasn’t quite strong enough even for a warm up (so I knew “Low” would be way too low for me too). So now I was thinking “See? I knew I was right when I judged this book by its cover!”

Then I decided that the only option left was to try the patterns. This was the first time I’ve ever in my life enjoyed the patterned settings on any toy! Wait; let me say that more emphatically. I LOVE THE PATTERNED SETTINGS ON THIS TOY!!! There were 2 in particular that really worked well for me, and a third one that was not half bad. I liked “Revving” (setting number 4, the first pattern), “Fast High Pulsing” (setting number 7, the fourth pattern) and “Slow High Pulsing” (setting number 9, the sixth pattern). I liked these settings so much for my warm up because they all have 3 seemed to use the full power that Collette is capable of. So I got to have 3 vrooms for my warm up, but since it wasn’t constant it didn’t overstimulate or overwhelm my bits. I just kind of cycled through all of them repeatedly as I got warmed up, and then when I was getting close to my final destination, I was able to go on up to “High” and have 3 constant vrooms.

It was at that point when I realized why Dr. Berman put the steady vibration settings in “reverse” order. When you are getting very close to orgasm, or actually during your orgasm, you can easily cycle down to a lower steady vibration setting. In doing this, you can really maximize your orgasm experience. Cycling down to a lower setting will allow you to continue to receive stimulation throughout your entire orgasm, without overstimulating your clitoris. I found this delightful, and I quickly changed my mind about this little toy. It seems that Dr. Berman had good reasons for designing it the way she did, and she designed it with this woman’s needs in mind.


Here’s how Collette was for me internally…

This toy really didn’t work for me internally at all. It will stick to being a clitoral vibe in my arsenal. I prefer larger, rumblier toys internally. Uma is my dream g-spot vibrator, and Collette just isn’t the Uma. However, Collette will be great for those new to penetration, or who simply prefer smaller penetrative toys.


If I could change one thing about this toy…

The only thing missing from this toy, keeping it at 4 stars rather than 5 in my book is that it maxes out of 3 vrooms, and doesn’t smell like 100% high quality silicone. If it had 4 vrooms, and smelled like silicone (that is, if it had no smell at all) it would be a 5 star toy.

Even with those 2 issues, this is a fabulous little toy. If you need something to travel with, or even if you have a friend who is interested in toys but just feels intimidated, Collette is a wonderful little item. I expected to hate it, and I ended up really, really impressed with it! That rarely happens in the world of sex toys for me, and I found it really exciting.