Elevate Difference

Reviews tagged sex

Hard Candy

The great thing about following Madonna’s musical career is to see just exactly what sort of musical guise she’s going to adopt next. She’s always been heralded for her chameleon-like ability to change her image, but she’s equally restless with her musical style, letting her brand of dance-pop change along with her image. Her latest, her last for long-time label Warner Brothers, before her switch over to the record-breaking deal she inked with Live Nation, _Hard Candy _partners Madonna with some of the best urban-pop producers working today.

Bunny Love Kit

There’s something to be said for a sex toy that intimidates your boyfriend. Upon seeing the Rabbit Habit in the Bunny Love Kit, my partner looked at me and said, “Well, it’s finally happened. I’m officially outdated and have been replaced by technology. There’s no way I can do all of that.” Luckily for him, I don't expect him to. Technology has come a long way, indeed, and the Bunny Love Kit has all of the makings for a night (or day… or weekend… or…) of intense and mind-blowing self-satisfaction.

Blossom Sleeve

Billed as ‘The Personal Choice of The Wicked™ Girls’ (though what they would do with it is far from obvious), the Blossom Sleeve is a ‘deep penetrating’ four-inch, ribbed tunnel made of Senso® material. Remember those twenty-five cent rubberish spiders that stuck to the wall it was thrown against, and subsequently 'walked' down? That's the stuff this is made of. Who ever said squishy toy spiders don’t feel anything like vaginas? The Blossom Sleeve even has eight little petals standing in for labia minora. But I’m making this all sound less appealing than it actually is.

Whipped Edible Massage Cream

I was very happy to receive this product. This is a great way to spark a couple’s lackluster love life by giving each other a sensual massage. The product came in the flavor of strawberry cheesecake, which is definitely one of my favorite desserts. I loved the tube that the pink cream came in, as well as the black classy writing on the front. It definitely depicted romance. It has a flip top that makes it easy to use, even with creamy hands. It contains softening moisturizers, which is also a plus. When first trying this rich lotion, I was happily surprised by the smell.

Kiss Refreshing Body Splash

Kiss is a pheromone-based body splash, used to enhance a woman’s natural sexual scent. Pheromones are specific compounds within our body that can potentially affect the physiology and behavior of others. Infused with an erotic blend of green and white tea extracts these sprays are pure bliss in a bottle! Kiss from Pure Romance may have just become this woman’s favorite scent of all time. Sent the Plumeria for review, it is delicious and has turned more than one head!

Intimacy Kit

I LOVED THIS!!! But before I start raving about how great this product is, let me get a few perfunctory criticisms out of the way: The non-phallic (and, hence, non-threatening) vibrator should come with AAA batteries... or the package should sport verbiage about how batteries are required. The cardboard insert did not hold the pleasantly fruit-scented products in place. When I opened the box, I found all of the bottles had slid out of their respective places and were clustered into a messy jumble in right-hand corner of the box. 3.

"Screaming O" Vibrating Cock Ring

The "Screaming O" Vibrating Cock Ring seems like a great way to make safe sex fun. Disposable and designed to be used with a condom, the pink, jelly-like cock ring has a tiny vibrator that transmits decently powerful vibrations from the base of the phallus (penis or dildo—the packaging invites either option) to the vulva during penetration. While the vibe worked just fine, my partner found it too distracting to be much as much fun as it promised, claiming it detracted from the multiplicity of sensations he typically enjoys.

I Had an Abortion

This documentary cuts to the core of reproductive freedom—to the stories of women's lives as told by ten women themselves. Distributed by Women Make Movies, the film features detailed accounts from a number of women, ages twenty-one to eighty-five, from different socioeconomic and racial backgrounds who had abortions under different circumstances and at different points in their lives. Their stories are complicated and grounding - from a woman who had an abortion as a Mormon high school student in Utah, to a woman who had one at forty-four, married and with children.

Sweet Snow Sensual Body Powder

The Honey of the Nymph Sweet Snow Sensual Body Powder is from the Shunga Erotic Art line. The word “shunga” commonly refers to Japanese erotic paintings from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The company brochure says the collection was inspired by the sexual imagination and fantasy of such paintings.

Natural Contours' Superbe

Several years ago, when I first read that Candida Royalle was going to start making vibrators, I couldn’t wait to try one out for size. The price, however, kept me from making their acquaintance. With a list price now around $25, that problem has now been remedied, but a new one has taken its place. As with many a first time, I came away wishing it had been just a little bigger. Five inches long with a curve in the middle, the Superbe couldn’t reach both ends of my girly parts at the same time. This could have been sorted out, if I hadn’t been distracted by that NOISE!

Emerita Natural Lubricant

Anything that crosses my pantyline has to appeal to my senses and pass a rigorous background check. This lube scored an eight on appeal, and a ten on personality. The packaging is attractive: subtle, unique, neither boring nor racy, more hip and less incriminating than a bottle of other top brand lubes. The two-ounce bottle is discreet enough for a first date and ample enough for at least a third and fourth. The price, $8.99, seems right, comparable to what I’ve paid for other natural lubricants. I also like that it is practically odor-free, more than other ‘unscented’ lubricants.

Swinger's Pad

Available only through Womyn's Ware, a Vancouver-based company that promotes consumer advocacy and a focus on sexual products "for the celebration and empowerment of women's sexuality," the Swinger's Pad is a figure eight shaped pad with different sized tips arranged in two flower-like patterns for clit stimulation and a hole through which to place various sex toys. Depending on what position the owner of this pad is attempting, the pad can be used alone or in a harness for clit stimulation when thrusting with a dildo or butt plug, or around the shaft of the penis to create a clitoral pad o

Handbook of the Evolution of Human Sexuality

The style and content in a sentence: Professional enough for an academic, but thought provoking for the general public. If you’re reading this with thoughts that the “Evolution” part of this title might limit the diversity of coverage of “Human Sexuality,” read on. Most of what we might have learned about evolution and sex on public television, in high school biology, health class and even in psychology 101 leaves everything other than heterosexual, reproductive, cave-man sex in the archeological dust.

$pread Magazine

There is perhaps no profession as stereotyped, demonized, discriminated against, glamorized, unregulated and controversial as sex work. As a person who lives in a liberal bubble, I was shocked to hear a segment on a local radio station the other day that asked male listeners if they would ever date a stripper. The callers’ responses were appalling; one particularly vicious man called in and proclaimed he’d “rather date a murderer than a stripper.” This is why $pread Magazine is so important.

Lilac Woods Massage Oil Spray

Even the creators of sex toys have decided not to stick it to Mother Nature anymore. Getting it on has gone green. Kiss latex and chemicals good-bye. As Babeland’s witty press release summarily describes, its products are as eco-friendly as, say, fair trade coffee and organic vegetables. From rechargeable vibrators (no batteries in the landfill!) to organic, orgasm-inducing lubes, sensuality is trending decidedly au natural. Lilac Woods Massage Oil Spray has a lovely, soft scent, but it didn’t smell anything like lilacs or woods.

Just Like Me Unflavored Unscented Lubricant

Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!!! Those were my thoughts when I received a sample of Just Like Me Unflavored Unscented Lubricant. It did not take much coaxing for my husband to agree to help test this product. Just Like Me Lubricant definitely lived up to its name. This product provided the long-lasting sensation that is needed to ensure that sex is enjoyable for both partners. Packaged in a generous size bottle, Pure Romance provides enough lubricant to last throughout the night. Pureromance.com rates Just Like Me as one of the company’s top selling lubricants.

Dust Me Pink Sensual Body Powder

The Pure Romance website looks like a page out of Seventeen magazine with pictures of giggly, freckle-faced women and hearts and cursive, all splashed in shades of pink. And while the company’s mission is serious—empowering women to express and explore their sexuality—the products have the same playful feel the homepage reveals. Pure Romance products range from light lotions to bondage accessories to vibrators, available in seven collections at prices that span a few dollars through $150.

The Amputee's Guide to Sex

Posing as a handbook, The Amputee's Guide to Sex opens up a new world: not of cold lifeless prosthetics, but the raw, quivering beings that lie beyond them. Containing prose poems and free verse, the Guide is sharp and unapologetic, yet simultaneously contains yearning and heartbreak. This book strips our obsession with Being Different/Otherness down to what it feels like from the other side; it's the difference between empathizing and fetishizing.

Massage Oil Candle

When I received this product in the mail, I knew immediately what it was because even the box it was posted in smelled good. Once I opened the package, the candle it contained filled the room with a lovely scent—and I hadn't even lit it yet. But this isn't just aromatherapy; this is a massage oil candle, featuring “Seduction Scent.” Encased in what appears to be either Aladdin's lamp or a metal gravy boat, this candle is just too cute. As a person who likes to decorate her house with foo-foo candles, I would have bought this for the packaging alone. And I get a massage out of it, too?

Basic Instinct Sex Attractant

Pheromones: gimmick or aphrodisiac? Pure Romance would tell you the latter is definitely the case. “Next time you are headed out, dab a little Basic Instinct behind your ears, on your neck, and wrists and watch as people are drawn to you!” the company’s website exhorts. I decided to put Basic Instinct Sex Attractant to the test. I applied it liberally and headed to the mall, where I was immediately approached by a man in the food court. It’s actually working! I thought. Turned out he was just handing out teriyaki chicken samples. They were good. I had two.

Pretty Little Mistakes

Apparently back in the day, there was such a thing as a chose your own ending book. Until I picked up Heather McElhatton’s Pretty Little Mistakes, I had never read one. After reading the book, I am glad I hadn’t. I am fairly certain there was never the option to become a drug dealer in Europe or marry the abusive crystal meth addict doctor in Berkeley.

Kitty Spank-Her Paddle

The Kitty Spank-Her Paddle is a 13” paddle from Ruff Doggie Styles’ line of "sexy kitty" designs. The front is made from pink suede and has black stitching outlining the design and filling in the cat’s facial features. The back is pure black leather with no details. The cat’s tail is the paddle’s handle. At not quiet 1½ inch across, it’s a good fit for my small hand. I like the way my little finger or my thumb (depending on what side I’m using) fits in the curve of the tail. The Kitty Spank-Her is well made.

Shortbus

Raw. Overwhelming. Exposed. Hot. Emotionally messy. I'm describing the much lauded, controversial, and groundbreaking film Shortbus from John Cameron Mitchell, but I’m also telling you how I feel in this moment having just watched it for the first time. My friends have been telling me to see this film since its theatrical release in October 2006.

"Have You Ever" Game

The deck of card sized naughty or nice Have You Ever game is a ready-to-go version of the infamous drinking game “I’ve Never Ever.” Filled with witty rhymes and euphemisms for sex in all places and positions, Have You Ever is, per the instructions, best played with friends and cocktails, so I got together two friends, made dinner, bought some wine and set to work. Like a fortune cookie, Have You Ever’s unique phrases are sometimes better than others and, also like a fortune cookie, it’s not unusual to get the same question twice.

The Best American Erotica 2007

I was both hot and bothered reading this year’s edition of The Best American Erotica.

Mini Classic Personal Pleasure Tin

Absolutely adorable! Roughly about the size of an Altoid box, this tin has it all. Each container comes with three different types of lubricant, mints, condoms and a trash baggy for easy clean up (the original version comes with chocolate sauce). Each tin can be customized with the type of essentials that you prefer such as the condom brand, type of lubricant and even a few added toys designed for people on the go such as a flashlight mini vibrator that can go on your key chain.

Roar Softly and Carry a Great Lipstick: 28 Women Writers on Life, Sex and Survival

Roar Softly and Carry a Great Lipstick is what you get when you ask twenty-eight opinionated women to share their personal stories; there’s not a wishy-washy essay in the bunch.