Toro! Toro! El Matador!

The Matador from CalExotics.

My partner and I are toy-fiends and will readily admit it! We love sex toys and are like little kids on Christmas morning as we tear into our packages from the mail.


We look at the thing and typically give it a critical once-over, gauging its best application and usage like a diamond-monger with a new jewel under his magnetic glass. Part of the fun is in thinking about what to do with the new toy and why.



When the Matador (or I should say El Matador) came in the mail we were just as excited, but a little distracted due to the ridiculousness of the holidays, which seemed to pull our attention in every direction.

I'm happy to say that we've finally given El Matador a turn about the arena and can confidently say that we'd like to keep him in our toy chest.



The Matador is made of Thermoplastic Rubber (TPR) that many cock rings are made of these days. Typically, the stretchy, but firmly supportive, material is used with the vibrating variety. This vibrating cock ring from CalExotics stands out from most for a few reasons: it's extended, meaning that it has a double ring for extra support; there's a bullet vibe tucked in between the bull's head for extra sensation; and it's got stainless steel semi-circle braces at the base ring, while stainless steel nodules adorn the second ring. These features make for a rather fun and interesting ride for both parties involved!

The stretchy TPR is easy to slip on and snugly fits a guy. The vibration of the wire-less micro-bullet reverberates through the stainless steel braces and nodules, while the back of the bull's head that touches the male gives even more sensation. I love this!!! Most men have a paltry amount of toys to choose from. When I asked my partner if he liked the sensory amplification or if it even made a difference, he said YES!

For my part, the bull's head has horns and a snout that are supposed to be vibrated with the micro-bullet and then vibrate me in turn. The mirco-bullet, once again, lacks enough motor-power to be left without guidance. This bull, though he had no ring through his nose, had to contend with the jewelery that I wear, which I think may have interfered with his performance.

So, on our scale, the Matador receives 3.5 (OOOo) for great material, additional design conception with the stainless steel supports & nodules, and mostly for allowing partners a mutually pleasurable experience!

My partner initially gave the Matador 3 O's(OOO), but I am tossing in the extra half O because most vibrating cock rings don't DO anything for us. The fact that my partner said this one was a keeper and that he enjoyed the extra sensations was extremely pleasing to me as I am always on the hunt for toys that the guys will appreciate and also be able to enjoy.

The Matador loses in points because of lack of vibrational strength and jewelery interference, which is, I admit, a bias. However, there are more and more women that have piercings down below, it's a consideration for future toys and toy manufacturers since this is an increasing trend.

You can check out the Matador and other cock-rings here.

Buy one today and maybe tomorrow you'll have roosters crowing, or perhaps bull's braying! Whatever you do, have fun and go get that Wet-Noodle O!

oh-OOOOO Rating System
oh- it's not just a little "o" it's the really sad, pathetic whimper of something that could have been an orgasm.
O- Orgasm Like Chinese Food, you know what they say about Chinese food? You eat it then an hour later you're wanting more because you weren't satisfied by the last go round.
OO- Elbow Grease Orgasm, when you REALLY have to work on getting there.
OOO- Oh yeah Baby, that's going in the Arsenal! Meaning, this toy is pretty darn good, didn't have to multi-task too much to get my little piece of bliss!
OOOO- Whoa Mamma! Grin from ear-to-ear lasting for the next week...Well, that's just self-explanatory!
OOOOO- Orgasmic Rapture resulting in WNS (Wet Noodle Syndrome) Few things have the power to do this, but damn it's good when it does happen!

NSTAD: New Sex Toy Anxiety Disorder

No matter what you decide to call it, sex toys, romance toys, intimacy toys...fuck toys, the reputation of the "thing" precedes itself.

Before an introduction to the toy's charms or foibles can be made too often our misconceptions, prejudices, and biases inform how we react to the "idea" of being presented to each other.

Odd that. It's sort of the same with people. At least with me it is!



People react back. They're variables and so, are necessarily scarier to me. Toys, on the other hand, just "are" and it's our choice to utilize them for our pleasure or not, no matter if we are introduced to them by our friends, lovers, or even by ourselves.

It's taken me years to overcome my shyness of meeting new people. The prospect of failing to be charming, to be witty, to be of some sort of import in the general conversation, to be useful, to be liked has, in years past, paralyzed me.


I liken an intro to a toy to that of a person because what I have come to find is that the fear of just getting to know a toy or what it is about is just as silly as the fear of meeting new people.

Fear. So worrisome about what has yet to be. So irrational. So untrue. Why waste energy on something that has not come to pass? Why not, instead, be open to the idea of the opportunity of what may yet be? Of possibility? Of growth? This is so much less exhausting! And, so much more fun!

I many times feared social plans. A few hours before any given engagement, I would turn into a naggy bitch. I became a little negative ball of hate and it showed in all my actions. My fear was driving me. My partner would look at me puzzled and exasperated as he would bear the brunt of my ire. After becoming engaged in some sort of terrible argument, we'd both finally figure out that my outward irritation was just a manifestation of my social anxiety. Graciously, or at times angrily, he'd offer to call off whatever engagement it was were getting ready for and I'd, more often than not, calm my nerves enough to just plow on through with it.


Ok, so not the best setting to go out and meet new peeps to make a good first impression with. But, hey, that's what I USED to do!

Arriving at our party, dinner, or drink-at-a-bar date I engaged new people because they were there in front of me. During the course of forcing myself to interact, I started to relax and about 99% of the time I'd begin to feel really silly because I began making friends and a lot of the mental hives that I previously experienced were unfounded.

So, these days, I've reprogrammed myself and have begun to look forward to new encounters because they often times mean good, new experiences and good new friends.

The key to this transformation, besides some good experiences to positively reinforce the new programming, is choice. Choice to let go of the fear. Choice to embrace that this new thing, new experience, new friendship is within my hands, my control. I can choose to see the possibility and make something of it, or I can choose to fear it and not give myself the opportunity to learn something new, grow a relationship, grow myself.



Whether or not it's true for everyone, for me fear is about the insane idea that something is being taken away from me, that I'll be lessened in some way, or that I'll be found to be lacking somehow. Confronting my fears or accidentally finding them to be false, I find that new people, experiences, places, situations...none of these EVER take away from, reduce, or strip me. In fact they add to me, give me depth, joy, pleasure, knowledge, development, and so much more.

In a parallel way toys or the introduction to one is just the same.

I count myself very fortunate to have cultivated a large group of friends with many different points of view, but all of them open and liberal to the wares that I promote and the business that I love. But in their eyes, even they that love me and are open to my ideas, sometimes have a frisson of fear behind their expressions when I talk about a new product.

Why? In the quest to be a little more sympathetic, and really to not scare the hell out of my friends from talking shop with me, I started to ask myself about what was behind the fear? It was thus when I made the parallel connection about my own anxiety in social situations.

In most of these exchanges, I am customarily given an obvious answer: they feared being replaced, a rather insidious variation of my own phobia of being reduced or having my worth taken away. This trepidation about an object, I found, often preempted most of my friends from seriously considering introducing a toy to their significant-others or to themselves.

Sure, some toys can be used in solo play during the absence of a partner, but even in this it is only an enhancer. The toy, then, enhances alone-time, but doesn't add nor take away from a person. And, much like toys can heighten a sole user's experience, so too can they intensify the pleasure experience of a couple. No toy can replace a person. No toy can replace a relationship. No toy can replace the imagination and creativity that a person applies to it or to another. What it can do is add, ameliorate, enrich, amplify the situation and the experience. Any person seeking to utilize a toy as a stand in for a person is generally disappointed, however, any person seeking to utilize a toy to magnify their pleasure with or without a partner usually has better results.

Toys are simply vehicles, and again we have the choice to fear them or see them for what they are--tools that are brokers of opportunity to better our sex lives if we allow ourselves the opportunity to see them as such. Consequently, people and new situations are the same, they neither add nor take away from a person's essence, but that person can choose to use the interaction with toy, person, or situation as a means of broadening their horizons.



Now, there is no one perfect tool. Nor is there a perfect toy for everything, though some of you might argue with me. Everyone's got a favorite. But, we will all be faced with the prospect of a new toy, person, or situation, one that dares us to go beyond our comfort zone. But before we allow that frisson of fear to color our reaction to being introduced to this new-fangled gadget or person, remember that you're not being replaced, you might just be adding to your repertoire of pleasure or treasure trove of friends if you so decide.

You, me, we, can be the largest contributors to our fear, but we can also be the bravest in embracing them and the most instrumental in our own growth.

So, intrepidly seize the idea of a new toy, friend fearlessly, and open the door to possibility!

7x Twist by Topco

Most toys are either battery operated or plugged-in, so we as users are often left with the choice between power or portability.

vs.


What is wonderful about the 7x Twist is that not only is it powerful, it is also re-chargeable, as well as detachable!

This is important for a number of reasons:
1) Re-chargeability makes for a greener, more environmentally friendly product.
2) Items that are powered by an external power source, like your wall socket, provide a much greater range of potency.
3) Detacheability makes this toy more portable, and therefore more versatile. Unlike some toys that rely on being plugged in, this toy allows the user, or users, more motility.
4) The 7x Twist not only has 7 levels of pulsation and vibration on it’s dual ends (one being a specially designed G-Spot shape), but it twists to 90 degrees for comfort and creative uses!




The 7x Twist gets OOOo (3.5 out of 5) for portability, re-chargeability, power, and innovative design. It does not get full marks because though it is covered in velvety coating, the ridges on both ends make it difficult to insert without catching some skin and is therefore somewhat limited for some internal useage.

And, while the 7x Twist does have a special G-spot tip on one end, it’s hard to take advantage of as it is a little too pointy for my taste!

Plug in text time for more product reviews!