L'amour petal - contoured clitoral massager discontinued by Cal Exotics - review by mpfm

The L'amour petal is a bullet style vibrator with an attached controller. It is a pretty design. It is mostly purple, but with some contrasting pink. It's best used as a clitoral vibe, but could be inserted vaginally as well. It has strong vibrations although they are buzzy and loud. There are 8 settings each with an increasing intensity. The settings are all steady vibrations. There are no pulsating or escalating settings. It's a basic bullet, but does it's intended job well.

It can be used for either solo or couple play. The vibrations feel best on my clit, but can be used on any erogonous zone ie back, neck, vagina, feet, etc. My husband also liked it on his balls.

I did not use this anally. Since it has a wire attached it is probably safe to do so if desired.

The petal and controller have a satin finish. It does feel smooth and somewhat velvety. It glides real easily on my skin. I haven't felt the need to use any lube with this. Being plastic, it is rigid and doesn't have any give to it at all. It doesn't feel quite as nice as silicone, but it does have a pleasant feel to it. And it does not pick up any lint at all. It doesn't have any smell.

The L'Amour Petal is made out of PU coated plastic. That rates a 7 out of 10 on the safety scale. It is phthalate free. It can be washed with soap and water or a toy cleaner. Either a water based or silicone based lube is fine for this product.

The box states to not immerse in water. I wouldn't use it in the shower either. It would be easy for water to get into the battery compartment.

This toy has 2 main parts-the controller and the bullet. The controller looks like a narrow computer mouse. It's sleek and very pleasing to the eye. Most of it is purple, but it has a contrasting shade of pink on the top and another shade of purple where the control buttons are. There are seams in several places. If lube or other fluids got on it, it would need to be cleaned carefully. It has a slight curve that makes it very comfortable to hold. It's about 5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. The battery compartment is in it's back.

The bullet is in the shape of a leaf petal. At least judging from the name, that's what California Exotics has in mind. It sort of reminds me of a cadbury egg except it's a bit more pointy at one end. It's about 3 inches long and 2 inches at it's widest width. It curves down to a point at the bottom. Being plastic, it is hard and rigid. It doesn't have any give at all. The shape is different on the front and back. The front is the shape of a cadbury egg. From the back it looks like the egg was cut in half lenghwise. Then a smaller cadbury egg was put in the center. So the sides of the back are flat and the center has a smaller rounded part jutting out from it. There is a seam running around the edges of the back.

They are attached by a 2 feet silver wire. The wire is permanently attached. This is not a wireless system. The cord is long enough to play without trouble. You can not however have someone control it from across the room.

Overall I like this design. The purple/pink is pretty without getting too cutsey. The petal is a bit more unique than the standard cylinder-shaped bullets. It's not discreet looking. Anyone who has seen sex toys will know what it is.

The controls are very easy to use. It simply consists of two buttons on the controller. One is a + and the other is -. Pushing the + turns it on and controls the settings. There are 8 steady vibrations. Pushing the + button will start you at the lowest setting. Continue to push until you are at the level you like. The - button will bring the levels back down. If you're at level 5, push the - once to get to 4. The - button will also turn it off. You do have to go back down through all the settings to turn it off though. There's not a quick button to turn it off quickly. You have to scroll back down all the settings. That can be annoying if you need to turn it off in a hurry.

The vibrations are strong but more buzzy than rumbly. I usually prefer deep and rumbly, but I have to say I enjoyed this. It had plenty of power for me. I liked it best between levels 3-5. I didn't even miss the pulsating options.

Most of the vibrations are felt at the bottom of the petal.

The biggest drawback is that this is loud. It gets louder and louder at the higher intensities. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to use it at all when my kids were in the house. We found that as long as we were playing music in the room and kept it under covers, it could not be heard above the music. Without the music, it can be heard through closed doors. It wouldn't be a good choice for a dorm setting.

It is battery operated and requires 4 AAA batteries (not included.)

This is easy to take care of. You can use soap and water or toy cleaners to clean. Just take care to clean in the seam areas. It should not be submerged in water. I mostly use toy wipes on mine. I store it together in a drawer with my other plastic bullet toys.

The petal bullet arrived in clear plastic box. It's just throw away packaging. It is not suitable for storage. There are some instructions on the outside packaging, but not a separate user guide.

I wasn't sure if I would like this. I usually buy higher end vibrators. I was pleasantly surprised. It had the power I needed. I can overlook the noise level since it can be masked with music. I used it for solo sessions as well as during intercourse. Because of the cord, I didn't find it ideal for intercourse. I would much rather use a wireless vibe for that. However, it was effective.

L'amour Petal is a nice powerful vibe at an affordable price if you don't mind the noise.