This bouquet of gentile and delicate red leather roses (in flogger format) is anything but. Flicks of the wrist leave sharp red trails of pain on unsuspecting skin; wide heavy *whomps* leaving quickly reddened behinds and tooth rattling smacks. This is no ordinary every day flogger - this bouquet is for special evenings when you have a lot of swinging room and a lot of arm-stamina going on, for it requires special care to be taken in strike to achieve a precise effect.

The bouquet, when swung such that the 'head' of roses lands as one solid mass the slap is heavy and thuddy and deep, like a loving spank with some serious follow through. When sprinkled lightly, the roses flail about a bit randomly, striking individually and with more sting but much less control and precision. Either way, however, the flogger is light enough in a beginners hand to suit even the most timid of bottoms, and the learning curve to get the thuddy strike down is a small one. In a more experienced flogging hand, the Roses flogger will feel natural and easy to use - although perhaps on the lighter (weight wise) side.

This is a leather flogger, and the leather is soft (but not garment quality soft)yet sturdy. The handle, which is about eight inches long, is a light wooden dowel (or something similar) covered in braided red leather. The ends of the handle are finished with a tighter woven black leather that leads into either the braid of the falls or the braid of the handle loop. The handle is long enough to get a solid grip, and the handle loop is long (five inches), so it can be placed on the wrist for back up control without being invasive. The handle is also quite light, so it won't fatigue the wrist, but it doesn't feel as *solid* in hand as an 'upscale' BDSM leather flogger would.

The falls are thin, rounded black leather braids - nine in total - that are topped with broad petaled red leather roses. The total length of the falls (flowers included) are around twenty three inches in length - which is quite long - so swinging requires a lot of space. The roses themselves are made of three "two petal" pieces of leather that are layered in a rosette, with three green leather "leaves" near the rosebud (as decoration, they do not add any texture of weight to the impact) on the braided falls. When the falls hit such that the bundle of roses wacks as a mass, the impact is a thud, as the roses are quite broad, and are significantly heavier than the rest of the fall. If flicked a bit looser, the falls will hit individually, and the leather braids might strike (sting! sting!) and the rosebuds will hit individually with less thud and more sting. It is very hard to target the impact when the flicks are loose, and very easy to hit precisely when applied as a bundle. A little practice will go a long way, and with very little effort anyone could wield this flogger with some serious pizazz.

The craftsmanship of this flogger is surprisingly solid, especially given the relatively low price tag on this impact toy. In fact, this is great value for a leather flogger - sure, it's a bit light, but the price is low and it packs a really solid thud. The braiding is well done and the attachment points are all woven into the design and show no evidence of unraveling. Good value is always a bonus with BDSM gear.

This flogger is a lot of fun - to throw and to receive. Its light weight makes it easy to fling around rapidly in a nice figure eight, which is the easiest way to give it enough speed and space to hit as a solid mass. To give a bit of extra *oomph* to the strike, give a small extra push 'through' right as the mass strikes. Perfection. If, however, you prefer a bit of sting with your thud, just strike on through with no extra push. Because the heads of the roses are most of the fall mass, when the flogger is used with a fast, consistent strike, the centripetal force keeps the head of roses together and the act a bit like a ball at then end of a string. The inertia of the figure eight will really be your best friend. And as mentioned, for a bit of stingy chaos to keep the strik-ee on their toes, throw the flogger with a bit of a loose wrist.

On the receiving end, this flogger is divine. When the heads of the flowers lump together and hit solid, the it feels like a lovely, caressing leather spanking. With that extra *oomph*, added, the head plows deep onto the flesh it strikes, impacting like a massage or a heavy handed spanking. Without that push, the mass falls as more of a slap, leather hitting wide and fast and bouncing off the skin it strikes. And when applied with a loose wrist - well, the flogger can be anything between a wake up call or a spray of stingy torment, depending on how hard it strikes. Its really a nice range of sensations, and as an added bonus, its weight means that the wielder won't have an aching wrist too quickly.

As a leather toy, this toy cannot be sanitized effectively if it comes into contact with bodily fluids. If it DOES come into contact with the bodily fluids (like, as in blood or sex juices) of someone with whom you are not fluid bonded, the toy can be left to rest for six months or so after being cleaned before being used again. Cleaning can be achieved with leather cleaner, which can be purchased from leather garment stores, tack shops, furniture stores and a variety of other places that deal in leather goods. Spot cleaning can be done in a pinch with a soft toothbrush and a very very mild cleanser (like cetaphil) if really necessary, but leather cleaner is advised.