Silky sensual handcuffs - restraints discontinued by Bijoux Indiscrets - review by Dame Saphir

When I first saw these, I thought they were very pretty. My idea of bondage leans more toward pretty and sexy as opposed to leathery, so I thought these would be perfect for some play. Upon receiving them, however, I was disappointed for many reasons.

DESIGN:

Upon first receiving these "cuffs," I was first downtrodden by the realization that they're simply ribbon, a bit of a stiff ribbon. The material is less than silky and is made of a more stiff and crinkly ribbon.

There are traditionally sexy words written on the ends of the ribbon is a velour-type transfer which adds to the aesthetics of the item, but not as a plus to use. The slit in the one end of the cuff (into which you insert the latter end to form a loop for your wrist) is reinforced which, admittedly, is a plus. This lowers the chance of them ripping at that point during play or unraveling.

I was also disappointed by their packaging. When I opened the good-sized box, I pulled out a wallet-sized box. When I opened that wallet-sized box, I pulled out two, tightly packaged ribbons, packaged so tightly that they already had kinks in them. This was already a mood-killer for me even before the mood had been set, as I bought these mostly for how pretty they looked. I also noticed how short they were. Once you put them on, you only have about a foot or so to work with which isn't a great deal.

USE:
These are definitely for light play only. If you've never dipped into bondage and you may be nervous, go ahead, a safe and comforting way to dip your toes may be worth the money. But for those who have more than dipped your toes into bondage, disappointment is likely to ensue. They are simply too light of a material for rough play, and they are too easy to slip out of.

Because the velour words are at the end of the ribbon, they tend to get caught up in the tying action, especially with how short the ribbons are. Whether you tie them to bed posts/headboard or to each other, the words often become a part of that knot and, in turn, receive wear and tear and begin to peel off. This gives it a knock on the aesthetics scale. Also, as they get used more, the material shows use. Because the material is a "crinkly" ribbon, when any "crinkles" get in it, they stay there. By the end of a night, your pretty cuffs become littered with fold lines and wrinkles from where they were tied. A second knock on the aesthetic scale, aesthetics being what attracted me to the item in the first place.

Another reason why these cuffs restrict themselves to light play is that they can only tie. So not only do you mess with the looks of the item by tying, but also the effectiveness. You can either tie them really tight and make it difficult for them to be taken off what you tie them to when the time comes (also only creating more kinks), or you can tie them more loosely and have them slip off the posts.

CARE:

The indicated care is hand-wash, no dryer, no bleach. This gives little room for saving the aesthetics. While drying them flat, or flattened under weights at either end may help a little to flatten out the kinks, there's not much more you can do. I have tried once or twice to iron them on the back side with a very low heat, but honestly am afraid of turning the heat up high enough to get out the major kinks from the knot-tying for fear of burning the things.