Singing the Praises of Texture

The Allegro is a heavily textured glass dildo meant for vaginal use by female bodied individuals, and is best suited for those who like a lot of texture. It works best for slow, careful thrusting, and provides a sensation unlike anything else I've tried.

I would not recommend this toy to beginners, and the texture is extreme, the size is on the large side for a toy with such texture, and the experience is so different that it does not accurately represent what most glass feels like. As always, care should be used when thrusting glass toys, yet over-enthusiasm lead to bruising, and this toy should not be used anally, as it lacks a flared base and would likely end up in your local ER's butt box, also known as sex toy purgatory.

Glass is a fantastic material for sex toys, because it is non-porous, free from dangerous chemicals, and easy to clean. It's also firm and unyielding, and in this particular case, very heavily textured. Most glass toys require very little lubrication, while this particular requires more than even many silicone toys.

The texture will either feel amazing or hurt like hell, depending on whether you like texture, and more importantly, whether you apply enough lube.

If I had to limit my entire review to one word, that would be it: Lube.

So use lube. It's glass, so any kind will do.

Allegro is a rather average sized toy, and the dimensions given on the product page are correct. However, the texture makes it feel larger in use, making it unsuitable for beginners or anyone who doesn't truly love texture. The shape is very nice for slow thrusting, with the gentle bulges providing a satisfying fullness.

As for discretion, it's pretty obviously a sex toy, at least in the eyes of anyone who has seen one before, but feel free to pretend it's a back scratcher, it certainly functions well enough as one, with that texture. Traveling with this toy will depend less on the toy, and more on your willingness to let some stranger at TSA know you own a sex toy. They've seen enough dildos to recognize it as such.

Used at different times, this toy is both completely fantastic and utterly horrific. If your body isn't in the mood, it's just going to hurt. At other times, it's so damn good that you'll be tingling all over well after the main event. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground, at least in my experience. I fear this toy, but every once in a while crave it, and generally if I'm listening to my body, and not my mind that thinks it knows stuff it doesn't, I have a fantastic time with it.

Lube is an absolute must with this toy, as I've stressed before, The texture, which is a very tight pattern of small ridges, demands it. The lube will fill up the spaces between the ridges, and help create the very unique sensation that this toy provides. It's almost like suction, only it's not anything like suction at all. It's sort of a gentle pulling on the vaginal walls. Only with rubbing, and a full feeling.

Okay, I've described a lot of sex toys in my time as a reviewer. This one, while not the best toy I've used, is the one that leaves me without the words to describe it. It's a strange wonderful sensation, and I hope to find another toy like it, to see if it's possible to achieve it without a gallon of lube. But if this toy is unique in the world, that's okay too.

Glass toys can be hand washed with antibacterial soap and warm water, or run through the top rack of the dishwasher, or rinsed with a bleach solution, or wiped down with alcohol --rinse well, your body might disagree with that one -- or even cleaned with toy cleaner.

With this particular toy, you should take extra care to clean between the ridges.

Whenever rinsing glass toys in the sink, I recommend putting a towel down at the bottom of the sink in case a slippery, soapy toy falls onto the hard surface of the sink. Yes, it makes more laundry, but broken toys make me sad.

The Allegro can -- and should -- be used with any and all lubes. Your only limitation is what toy you might use next.

As for storage, Allegro comes with a delightful little purple velvet bag, which I like very much. It's easy to hide almost anywhere, just don't drop a pure wand on it knock it onto a concrete floor and it should last a lifetime.

This toy's a gamble. It absolutely should not be your only toy, or your first toy, or even your first glass toy. I'd recommend it only to people who like texture and are willing to take a gamble for the sake of a new experience. You'll either love it or hate it. Or, possibly, you'll love it and hate it, depending on astrology and the current price of pork futures or something.