Salsa - discreet massager discontinued by We-vibe - review by Eucaly

The Salsa is a specialty toy, designed very much around the idea of vibrating the clitoris in every way that you might want it vibrated. The Salsa is not really for anything else, though you can improvise. Yes, you can use it to sensually stroke the labia or stimulate the nipples, and it works well for these uses, but it's rather obvious that its entire design is based on the clit alone and on what the clit wants.

Since it is finger-sized, in both width and length, it's far from an ideal insertable. It's simply too small. If you place just the tip inside the vagina, that's basically just another way to vibrate your labia -- nice-feeling if not ideal -- but insert it any further in and it's just useless.

It has no flared base, so of course it is not for the anus at all. It would be easily lost up in there.

The material is listed as plastic, an "8" on Eden's material safety scale, but to me it feels much higher-quality than any of my other plastic toys. It is very hard and smooth and shiny. It feels like metal with some sort of enamel coating. I get the impression that it will truly endure. Furthermore, since I'm writing this review after having the toy for nearly two years, I have the experience to back that impression up. It has not been scratched, nicked, or visibly affected in any way.

The flat back end is a very soft rubbery surface, just large enough for the single control button (under the rubbery surface) and the two metal contacts for the recharging (low in profile and rounded, not sharp or obtrusive in any way). I'm sure this rubbery surface is not latex, since it is listed as being latex-free, and since I've had no reaction to it.

Before I got the Salsa, it looked like something that would be hard to hold onto and would easily slip out of my grip. I was very wrong! It is ergonomic, and my hand tends to grip it like a pen. Just like holding and writing with a pen, I can effortlessly change the placement of the tip and the amount of pressure I'm using.

The gentle point of the tip is perfect for apply subtle changes in pressure and angle while you're playing. There's no texture at all to interfere with that process, so if you strongly prefer texture rather than pressure/angle changes, you're out of luck, but otherwise you should be very satisfied. The extremely light weight and small size, combined with the surprisingly ergonomic grip, make it easy and fast to make any little adjustment in pressure or angle that you want.

If you don't want to do things such as circling your clitoris or pressing on it from different sides and angles, you can just put the tip where you want it and leave it that way, letting any of the pulsation patterns do the job for you. It's remarkably easy to place it where you want to during intercourse, especially because it's very small. It doesn't really get in my way.

The only thing I really don't like about the size/shape is that it can easily roll away. It is a nice little cylinder that will happily roll right off a table or bed. If it is on, it will jump vigorously in whatever random direction! If it wasn't expensive, it would make a great cat toy, better than any motorized mouse.

There is only one control: a single button on the flat end. My thumb comes to naturally rest there when I'm using it, so I only have to press down to either turn it off, turn it on, or cycle through the patterns. Holding it down for several seconds makes it turn off if it is on (or turn on if it is off) while a brief press of my thumb moves to the next pattern and/or intensity.

The cycle of patterns goes like this:

1) Mild steady vibration pattern
2) Slightly stronger steady vibration pattern
3) Very strong steady vibration pattern
4) Intensely strong steady vibration pattern
5) Endless on-off cycle of nine intensely strong pulses, then a flurry of quick, mild fluttering pulses
6) Endless "rollercoaster" cycle of gradually increasing/decreasing vibration strength
7) Endless on-off cycle of strong, fluttering pulses
8) Endless on-off cycle of two long pulses and three short pulses, all of them intensely strong
9) Off

In other words, the first four settings are steady vibrations, and the last four are patterns, of which only number 6 is continually on, the others being pulse patterns.

Having only one button makes operating the Salsa very simple. You don't have to look at it or fumble in the dark. If you did have to look at it, each pattern has its own unique "code" of flashing lights, so that could help you recognize which pattern you've got, but I've frankly had no problem doing it by feel alone.

It's waterproof, so cleaning it is no hassle at all. There aren't any crevices or problem areas to clean. Just a bit of soap and a rub and a rinse, that's it! I'd do more if I was sharing it with a partner who wasn't fluid-bonded, but I'm not.

All lubes are suitable for plastic, but since there is a rubbery back end, I would caution you against using silicone-based lube, since that's likely a silicone surface, which would be incompatible. I have so many silicone toys that I basically never use silicone lube, so I don't have any relevant experience. I've only used water-based lube on the Salsa, but it really doesn't seem to need any lube, since it's a clit toy that is very, very smooth. I rarely feel even the slightest hint of drag on my skin when using it without lube.

It's so tiny that I can hide it almost anywhere. I can slip it into a drawer for storage, or in a sock, or under nick-knacks. Even when it's in the process of recharging I can simply throw a T-shirt over the entire toy, recharger and cord, which hides the assembly completely.

I've had the Salsa for nearly two years, and it has satisfied me a lot in that time period. It has nearly all the features I want in a clit vibe, and the vibrations are great. Just like with so many others, it quickly became my most-used standard favorite vibe.