Tentacles, Kongs, and Pin Cushions

I'm kind of a color fiend when it comes to sex toys. Give me a lime green or periwinkle toy instead of a mere black or white one and you'll make me a happy woman. This is why I was elated the day I looked into my assignment cart and saw that I had been offered the "Intimate Foreplay Kit" in orange. Orange in a sex toy? How amazing is that? It looked like a pretty good bullet kit from the pictures on Eden's and I was excited to receive it. When it arrived though I was a little leery about how well it would work. The battery compartment seemed to be cheaply made. I gave the toy the benefit of the doubt and decided not to judge this vibe based on its battery compartment. I pushed off the back of the battery compartment, placed two AA's into it, and slowly turned the dial from off to its highest setting. Saying that my first thoughts about this toy had been wrong is an understatement. This little bullet was powerful!

This vibe definitely didn’t disappoint me in the color category! It’s a bright almost blinding orange with a tiny little tint of red in it. The “Intimate Foreplay Kit” is listed as being made out of plastic on Edenfantasys, but the box states that it is “Velvet-cote,” so I decided to look up some information on this material. Basically I found that “Velvet-cote” was a kind of non porous velvety coating. It also happens to be hypoallergenic and phthalates-free! So, the vibe kit is plastic with a “Velvet-cote” coating. The “Velvet-cote” gives the vibe a nice smooth feeling, while the plastic ensures that the bullet and attachments are hard and inflexible. The plastic/ “Velvet-cote” material doesn’t have any noticeable odor.

The kit is composed of four separate pieces: two attachments for the bullet, the bullet and wire, and the control panel/ battery pack. The box states that the kit comes with 3 attachments for the bullet, but this is misleading as one of the so called “attachments” is the texture of the bullet itself. The box described the attachments as an attachment with “TPR pleasure nubs,” “an intense pinpoint stimulator,” and a “gradual curved tip” attachment, but these names aren’t any fun or easy to remember for that matter so I renamed them the “tentacle,” “the pin cushion,” and “the Kong.” The tentacle looks as it’s name implies, like a tentacle. One side has an oval area of TPR with nubs deposited all over it, the other side is smooth and the tip of the attachment is a rounded point. This attachment is nice because it gives you the option of using the nubs, using the tip for “pinpoint” stimulation, or using the back as a smooth surface. The “pin cushion” is the attachment that is built into the bullet. My boyfriend thinks I’m crazy for calling it a pin cushion, because he says it looks nothing like one, but with its round appearance and circular nubs that's what it reminds me of. This attachment is similar to the “tentacle,” but it only has 5 nubs which are larger in size and harder than the squishy tpr nubs of the “tentacle.” The “pin cushion” has a circular seam shaped in a circle that runs along the four outer nubs. This seam wasn’t all that noticeable when I ran my finger across it, and was even less noticeable in use. The “gradual curved tip” is an attachment with three circular bumps which sit on top of each other. This attachment resembles a dog toy called the “Kong.” The “Kong” has a seam that runs from one side of the base up to the tip and down the other side to the base. This seam wasn’t very noticeable during use, and I forgot that it was even there. The “tentacle” and the “Kong” can be used without the bullet by placing a finger in the hollow inside of the attachment. The “tentacle” and “Kong” can also be used for shallow vaginal and anal penetration. When I say shallow I don’t mean submerge the entire bullet into your privates. Even though it has a cord use discretion and be careful. Also, make sure you clean the attachments and the bullet very well if you plan on using this kit both vaginally and anally. All three “attachments” work well as clitoral and erogenous zone vibrators and provide a nice variety of textures.

As for the control panel/ battery compartment it is a little rectangle with a dial on the front, an led light which shows that the vibe is on, the battery slot on the back, and the adapter which the cord plugs into on top. The battery compartment is the cheapest looking portion of the toy. The little door that covers the batteries is held in place by two plastic pins on opposite sides. These pins allow the door to be pulled out and open. I’m worried that these pins may eventually break and because of this the door will no longer close securely, but up until this point they’ve held out. At the other end of the door is a snap which helps to keep the compartment closed securely. The door is actually pretty secure and you can't pull it off unless you push down first. It moves a little bit if you shake it without the batteries inside, but the snap keeps it in place. The dial has an indent which I assume is meant for your finger to be placed on. The edges of the dial have raised lines that I think are meant for gripping the dial. I was worried that the dial would be flimsy, but it’s held up very well considering the torment I've put it through. The cord for this kit is a little less than two feet long, and has been more than sufficient in length for all of my purposes.

One of my favorite features of this toy is the fact that the attachments screw onto the bullet. This makes sure that the attachments stay on tight and you don’t have to worry about them falling off or rattling while in use. Just make sure that if you were using the “pin cushion” without an attachment you clean it before you screw on another attachment over it. This will prevent anything from getting stuck in the hollow attachments.

The “Intimate Foreplay Kit” has a twist dial which controls the intensity of the vibrations. Although this vibrator has a dial it doesn’t really increase in intensity the way a dial vibe usually does. Instead of increasing gradually from low to high it has three different settings which can be found by turning the dial. The low setting is a nice hum that is gentle enough to please those sensitive to vibrations, but powerful enough to keep you from getting bored. I didn’t notice too much of a difference between the middle setting and the low setting besides the fact that the medium setting is slightly stronger. The high setting is not for the faint of heart as it is quite powerful. It was so strong that my hand started to tingle from the vibrations. Power is often accompanied by noise and this little vibe kit is no exception. The lowest setting could possibly be heard by someone sitting in the same room with you. In contrast the highest setting is loud and proud! I had my TV at a louder than normal volume, the door was closed, I was under the blankets and I was still afraid my roommates would be able to hear the buzzing in the hallway. If you’re looking for a discreet vibe than this one is definitely not for you, not unless you don’t plan on using the highest setting.

The vibrations can be felt strongest in the “pin cushion” as it is attached to the bullet itself, but the other attachments also channel the vibrations quite nicely.

“Velvet-cote” toys can be cleaned with antibacterial soap and warm water, toy cleaner, or can even be wiped down with isopropyl alcohol. This toy is not waterproof, so you should be careful of the bullet and wire when cleaning it. As it is not waterproof, do not under any circumstances submerge the bullet underwater. The only issue I really had when cleaning it was that I noticed the TPR on the “tentacle” was picking up lint from the towel as I was drying it off. You may want to keep this in mind when storing it, as there is nothing worse than a toy covered in all sorts of little particles. The attachments on this vibe kit are oddly shaped with tons of little nooks and crannies, so make sure you wash them well during cleaning. This vibe can be used with water-based and silicone lubricants. The box states that you should “always use a rubber compatible lubricant with this product for maximum pleasure" I assume this is because “Velvet-cote” has a little bit of rubber in its composition?

This is a nice little vibe that is easy to store and in turn easy to travel with. I keep my kit in the little plastic bag that was in its box as it fits it perfectly and keeps everything together. Although this vibe can easily be thrown in a purse or suitcase for travel, the color and design scream "LOOK AT ME I'M A SEX TOY!" So keep this in mind before you accidentally pull it out in public.

The box this kit came in was nothing special. It just had the Cal Exotics label plastered all over it, a picture of a couple on the front and back, and a picture of the kit on three of the six sides. It also has a website on it that you can go to and register your product. The box isn’t anything to hold onto, but as I said before you may want to hang onto the bag for storage at least until you find a permanent case or bag to store this kit in.