Allegro - vibrator by Close2You - review by Penguin

When I saw this, I didn't think female clitoral vibrator. I thought, relaxing muscle tension reliever. Both my partner and I have jobs where we are on our feet a lot which usually ends up equaling tense shoulders, backs legs, etc. at some point during the work week. While we do love to give each other hand massages, sometimes we are both exhausted at the same time and that's easier said than done. This product works well for relieving that soreness. It does work well at its intended function too. It's not the best clitoral vibrator my partner has used, but she likes it just the same. I appreciate that the design is discreet and not totally obvious. Sex toys sometimes get left out and I prefer designs that I don't have to worry about if I have the guys over and I have not searched the apartment for for stragglers that didn't make it to the toy chests. The noise level is not discreet, but it isn't high enough to be too annoying. Being rechargeable is also a plus, no batteries to deal with.

Allegro is made of ABS rated plastic which is free of chemicals and allergens. Other parts like the buttons and charging cap are made of silicone. The Bass Clef design is not raised, but rather part of the seamless design. All the plastic is velvety except for the massage ball underneath. This plastic is silky smooth instead. The toy has no smell or taste and doesn't pick up hair and lint. The materials are nonporous but cannot be sterilized.

This toy comes in two color schemes, a blue and white one which is more guy friendly (why I chose it), and the purple and white one.

The Allegro looks like a decorative pebble or remote to me. With all the weird technology out there now a days, it is discreet enough to pass as one. I would even feel comfortable leaving it on a bedside table or out in the open in the living room. It is about 5 1/4" long and 3" wide at the biggest part. It fits in my hand like a computer mouse would - the bottom is a bit wider than the top allowing me to palm it. The thickness varies but is about 2" tall at most points.

On the underside is the "massage ball". It is about the size of a ping-pong ball and creates a surface for clitoral stimulation by sticking out about 3/4", or in my case, sore muscle contact point. The underside is also concave so it can mold around the curves of the body if you turn it sideways. The design is best for pinpoint stimulation.

There are two buttons on the top. If you hold the Allegro correctly, they should fall right underneath your fingers - like where a roller ball would be on a mouse. The rest of the fingers should curl around the toy. This is where I have my first of only a few criticisms of the Allegro. The buttons are very hard to push. They sometimes require two hands, especially when the toy is vibrating or you have been holding it awhile.

The top button is the power button. It needs to be held down for a few seconds and then let go of to start the vibration. Even in those few required seconds, it can cause a finger cramp. The button below this is a little larger and has a raised nub for distinction during use. It is a little easier to push and controls which pattern you are on.

I think the Allegro is designed with clitoral stimulation in mind first, but I didn't see that. I saw a massage tool. It works well as one. You can use it anywhere and pretty much any one can use it. It has eight different "program modes".

1-3 are all steady and increase in power with each press
4 is a roller coaster up and then stops, repeats
5 Pulse
6 is a stair step pattern then pulses like in mode 5
7 is fast pulses then a long one
8 Long pulses followed by fast ones

All of the levels are pretty loud, but they don't rattle or anything. I'm not concerned about the noise level because this toy looks like a massager. The first three modes are best for muscles while the others are better for more sexual stimulation. The vibrations are stronger in the massage ball, but they do go to the other parts of the toy too.

The toy is powered by an integrated rechargeable battery. It plugs into the wall and the toy through the hole on the underside. There is a silicone plug covering it that has to be removed first. I like that it is attached by a thin silicone string. It would likely get lost if it didn't have that. The instruction say to charge it for 6 hours are you will get 2-3 hours of battery time.

The ball works so well for getting out sore muscles around my neck and shoulders. However, I didn't like when the toy made contact with bones, like around my spine. The feeling there was unsettling. It didn't require anything if used over clothing and didn't require lubricant or oil if used in small areas on my partner or my body. The best way to use it as a massage tool is to make small circles while applying pressure. As a clitoral toy, my partner liked this but said it wasn't her favorite. For some reason, she wasn't always able to pin point the vibrations on her clit. This might be because you have to press down and plastic is not a good material to do that with. Since the vibration are so strong, I expected them to hurt my penis and balls. I was surprised that it didn't. We couldn't ask for more from a couple friendly toy. I think every couple can enjoy the Allegro.

The plastic is safe to use with all types of lubricant. The product page says it is waterproof, but I don't trust the silicone plug covering the charge hole. It seems like water could get in there. I wouldn't dunk this toy in water. When washing it, which is easy, I would keep it away from the faucet too. It's best to just use a wipe or something that isn't very saturated. Half the time, we didn't need to wash this anyways.

The Allegro comes in very nice packaging in the form of a sturdy box with drawers. It also comes with a lot of freebies- a pouch, sample of a toy wipe, small tube of lube, a cock ring, and a nice manual. The box is discreet if you stand it up like a book.