The Perfect Gift diamond princess - sensual kit by Evolved Novelties - review by Alan & Michele

This set has many uses, not limited only to couples or to a specific experience level or gender. In it, you'll find Evolved Novelties' Red Diamond Princess mini vibrator to tease the erogenous zones, 2 silk ties for light bondage or to drift across your lover's skin, 30 artificial rose petals and 4 battery-operated tea lights to help set the mood visually, and a 1 oz. bottle of System Jo H2O chocolate flavored lube. You could use everything together to quickly and easily set a scene for foreplay, or just use a few items here and there.

Couples would likely get more use out of the entire contents of the set than a single person, but there isn't any reason why you couldn't use most of it to set up your own private relaxation session, too.

The vibrator is made of hard ABS plastic with a coating that makes the surface feel silky enough to glide across the skin easily, and it can be inserted with nothing more than the body's natural lubricant. There are no phthalates or latex in the materials, and only a faint plastic smell that fades with washing. The plastic diamond decorations at the base are very easily felt as the rough faceted nubs that they are, so while they may be fine to hold, it wouldn't be a good idea to insert the toy to that point.

The lubricant is in a plastic bottle and has a nice, thin, gel-like consistency that allows you to spread it easily without having to rush to catch drips and runs. Its ingredients include both glycerin and parabens though, so people with sensitivities to those things will need to confine the lube to external use or skip it altogether.

The tea lights are made entirely of smooth hard plastic, with the "flame" tip being rounded for safety.

The silk ties feel different, depending on what side you touch: the shiny one or the dull one. The shiny side feels soft and smooth like satin. The dull side isn't quite as smooth, as the weave of the fabric is more noticeable, but is still comfortable against the skin. The edges have been conditioned with something invisible in lieu of stitches to prevent frays.

The rose petals feel scratchy and stiff, so would be best delegated to decorating purposes only. They are also rather poorly made, with many of them having permanent creases, nicks cut out of the sides, or perforation marks through them.

Everything in the kit is small, so it wouldn't be difficult to hide or travel with any of these pieces in a coat pocket, or even to pack the whole kit in a travel bag or purse.

The vibrator is a tiny little teaser, measuring 4.5" long (about 3.5" of that insertable) and 3/4" across at its widest insertable point. While this isn't likely to be enough to bring many ladies to orgasm when used internally, its small size is good for clitoral use and for all-over body caressing for any gender. The base is slightly wider-- closer to 1" --and the diamond bands make it easy to hold, even with slippery fingers.



The tea lights are 1.5" wide and 1.5" tall, making it easy to tuck one into any small space nearby.

The silk ties measure 4" wide by 38" long, which is plenty to wrap around even a large wrist, ankle, or head. You may find that they're easier to manage if you fold them over length-wise before trying to tie them to anything and, if you plan to use one as a blindfold, we wholeheartedly suggest that you do so. Otherwise not only might it cover too much of the face, but the wearer will be able to see right through it.

The rose petals are each 2.5" long x 1.75" wide.

The entire base of the vibrator, from the diamond band down, unscrews to reveal the battery compartment. It requires one AA, which is not included. Although there is a clear rubber seal inside to help keep water out, completely submerging the toy for a long period of time does allow some drops to get inside, so it's best to limit it to "dry land" and shower use only.
Its control dial, which is the entire base below the diamond bands, turns smoothly and is firm enough to not change speeds unintentionally during play. The vibrations range from a whispery light sensation to a buzzy tingle of average intensity. They can be felt more in the tip of the toy than the base and, even at its highest speed, the toy's high-pitched hum can't be heard from more than a few feet away outside of a blanket.

The tea lights each have a 3-volt watch battery already installed, and a small slider switch on the bottom to turn them on. They produce a little less light than real tea light candles do, yet spaced up to 2 feet apart, the warm yellow-orange glow from the "flames" creates a nice romantic setting in a small space. The great thing about these lights is you don't have to worry about finding a safe place to set them. Even after having them on for a considerable amount of time, they don't heat up enough to harm anything.

The lubricant is ideal for sensual play in many ways. Of course, you can use it as a regular sex lube-- it's quite slippery and lasts a good long while, but you may want to explore further with this lube. When applied to the skin, only a small amount is needed to achieve a silky glide, which can last for nearly 10 minutes in open air. It has a very nice dark chocolate scent, and a light chocolate flavor that leaves no aftertaste when you're licking it off your lover's... skin. It does not feel sticky or greasy at any time. It doesn't stain fabric and can be easily removed with a damp cloth. Best of all, if you're too sated to get up and wash off immediately afterward, this lube tends to soak into the skin and leave it feeling soft, rather than residue-coated.

The silk ties are easy to use if they're folded in half as suggested, and they do tend to stay tied well, so be careful not to make them too tight. When folded and used as a blindfold, the wearer can see light and shadows moving in front of them.

The vibrator is compatible with any kind of lubricant, and can be cleaned with soap and water or a commercial toy cleaner. If you get anything on the base area, you may find that a soft brush is the easiest way to clean between the diamonds.

Anything that gets on the tea lights can be wiped away with a damp cloth, a baby wipe, or a toy cleaning wipe. Don't put them under running water.

You should avoid getting fluid of any kind on the silk ties, but if absolutely necessary they can be hand washed and allowed to air dry. Washing them often may cause the edges to fray.

This kit comes in a small red cardboard box, with the product's info card held on the front by a red elastic band. The band has a bow on it, so you could remove the info card and slip the band back in place to use the box as a very discreet gift package, without having to wrap it.

Inside, the set of rose petals, the silk ties, and the vibrator are all sealed in individual plastic bags. The lube has a foil safety seal under the cap, which you have to remove before you can use it.

Alan says:
I was stuck for a couple of days trying to decide how to rate this set. The roses and ties didn't impress me as being good quality items. On the other hand, I know the cost of buying the lights, toy, and lube individually exceeds the price of this set, so I do believe that a lot of couples will come away feeling like they got their money's worth out of it. We've gone 4 sessions now with everything but the rose petals, and none of it shows any signs of quitting on us. We still have about half the bottle of lube, the batteries in both the lights and the toy are working fine, and even the sashes are still intact. Overall it's a good buy, especially for those of you who may be stuck in the rut of sexual routine.

Michele says:
It's been fun playing around with this kit. The vibe isn't as strong or rumbly as I prefer for clit play, but it's good to get started with and is a nice tease all over. Especially when it's used to paint a chocolate-scented trail that gets licked off afterward! The lube is one of the rare flavored ones that we both like enough to buy more of when it's gone. And the tea lights... I think they're adorable. The other items are ok, but in truth we have better silk ties here, and I don't really care for the feel of the rose petals. He had the petals scattered on the bed the first time we used the kit, and they were irritating to lie on. They look ok around the candles, though.

One thing I wanted to clarify: Alan said in the Cons that there was no blindfold. Well, that wasn't just us wishing for an extra item, that was him letting you know that there are no "silk blindfold and ties" like the box says. There are only the ties. We believe it's a misleading phrase since neither of us think we just got a "shorted" kit either-- there wasn't really any room in the box for anything else.