Pure Romance Is (Even More Of) A Scam!

October 31st, 2013

Nothing about Pure Romance is "pure"

Nothing about Pure Romance is “pure”

I’ve gone to my fair share of Pure Romance parties. The company seems to be the one that’s most prevalent in many places; although Passion Parties is another name that I know.

This isn’t the first time that I’ve written about sex toy parties. They can be a great deal of fun; although, that depends on who’s there and your consultant. The event might be right up your alley. I’ve had plenty of fun and made new friends at some of them, but others have been a little more lackluster.

However, my issue is with Pure Romance as a company, which doesn’t just sell you sex toys and bath and body items but sells you rebranded items that are marked up. I already knew this about the vibrators and such. As the rep went through the catalog, I recognized several pieces that I had tried by California Exotics. Marilyn was on the list, as well as a number of cheaper vibrators that were marked up 50 to 100 percent. Jaguar is a toy I wouldn’t recommend at $30 let alone $59.

The rep skipped right through the Diamond collection because “we didn’t have that much money,” but it was mostly Jopen products.   The Wingman, for example, costs $189 from Pure Romance but the original in the Jopen Ego line is $110. Various items from the Key line are marked up $20 or more.

But, like I said, this is old news. I mostly go for the bath and body products, and I was curious about the pink cupcake scent that’s new. I love my pink cupcake products from Classic Erotica. As it turns out, they smell exactly the same because..

Holiday Products makes both Classic Eroticag and Pure Romance.

Now, this could be convenient for some people, but the markup is ridiculous. Pure Romance brands both a shaving cream and a body mist, got $19 and $20, respectively. However, even sex toy vendors charge less than $9 for the body mist. Crazy Girl’s shave cream costs less than half the Coochy-branded cream and, yes, Coochy from either Classic Erotica or Pure Romance is essentially the same thing. The big different? The scents available and what products are there.

Both lines include Body Dew, but Pink Cupcake isn’t available from Classic Erotica. Similarly, not all of the Pure Romance products are available in the other brand. However, even if you can only get it from Pure Romance, you don’t have to buy it from a book party. You can usually hop onto Ebay and get it for much cheaper if you don’t mind waiting a few days for shipping.

However, that’s not the only issue I have with Pure Romance.

Consultants Are Not Given Enough Sexual Health Information and Some of That Information Is Plain Wrong

I don’t expect a sex toy party to be an eye-opening experience, but the last of information was pretty sad. For example, Pure Romance sells anal numbing and vaginal tightening creams, both of which are unhealthy. There’s no warning about them, of course. Plus, numbing creams actually negate you body’s natural response to pain (read more about this here). If it hurts, you’re doing something wrong. The consultant said as much.. right before she hawked the numbing products from the company.

And a warning about silicone lube and silicone toys? Nothing. Sure, she mentioned not to store your toys next to one another but not why. Pro tip: if you leave a jelly toy for long enough, it will leech mineral oil. No mention of using condoms and never using a porous toy that’s been used anally vaginally — ever again. She did mention that no silicone is ever clear, but I’ve seen some of the awesome stuff that Jollies made.

And when someone asked the difference between metal and silicone, she responded that silicone warms to body temperate and metal doesn’t. Actually, both can warm; although, metal feels quite cool if you haven’t prewarmed it, which you can do with warm water. Silicone is also available in a variety of firmness, which is what I wanted to say, but I knew it didn’t pay

Finally, I was absolutely appalled when the rep said that there was only one type of orgasm, and you’re stimulating the same party altogether. No, you are not. Mary Roach wrote a revealing article “The Immaculate Orgasm: Who Needs Genitals?” that’s in her own book and Best Sex Writing 2009. In it, she talks about research on women with spinal injuries who retain the ability to achieve one sort of orgasm but not the other because clitoral and G-spot orgasms trigger different nerves. Not only that, but saying that there’s only one type of orgasm negates all the experiences that women have had, the very women who are at a Pure Romance party to explore their sexuality. Negative comments can be permanently damaging to these women, and that’s just not cool.

Let’s not forget, once and for all, that..

Pure Romance is a pyramid scheme.

And it works only when you can guilt your friends into paying for products.

So let’s just be done with them. You can buy directly from manufacturers like LELO. Shop around online. PinkCherry always has amazing sales, and bloggers like myself are more than happy to write a review to set you on the right path.

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Categories: Advice, Shopping

Wanna Be Naked Intimate Shave Creme

February 29th, 2012

Wanna Be Naked Intimate Shave Creme

Wanna Be Naked Intimate Shave Creme
$9.81 from Store.OfSexAndLove.com

The last pink cupcake-scented product I received from Classic Erotica was their shaving cream. Classic Erotica also makes the famous Coochy cream, which I’ve used and liked so I expected a similar experience with this product. To begin, I love the smell. It smells the same as everything else in the line and makes me shower time very pleasant. It doesn’t really stick on my hands because I use a few lotions after the shower, but using the lotion after shaving with the cream definitely prolongs the smell.

Like the rest of the products, the labels explains that the shaving creaming is:

  • Paraben-Free
  • Sugar-Free
  • Sulfate-Free
  • Made in USA
  • Not Animal-Tested

The cream comes in a plastic pump bottle that has a cap and locks. Handy. The pump isn’t very high on these bottles and while it doesn’t impede function, it bothers me on some level. The height is just awkward enough that the shelf in my shower doesn’t allow me to pump it, so I have to pick it up and use both hands.

The texture of this shaving cream is quite thin and that’s not a good thing. I find that I wind up reapplying at least once when I use it, because the water of my shower rinses it away. I adjust the shower head so it doesn’t hit me directly when I shave; however, this is not good enough and the cream rinses down the drain. This is definitely annoying and a thicker formula would solve the problem.

The cream isn’t as slick as some that I’ve used. I don’t need super slick shaving cream for most areas and it can make it difficult to hold a razor. I do get a closer shave than the Pure Romance cream I was previously using. It doesn’t feel as good in the shower but after? After my shower, my skins feels pretty smooth and incredibly soft. I rather enjoy the feeling after I shave and it feels closer, once I dry my skin, than in the shower. I achieved a damned near perfect shave the other day and couldn’t stop feeling my legs.

I recently acquired a new Schick Hydro Silk, which I like quite a bit. Together, I am quite happy with the results but my legs are still itchy after I use this to shave. That was something I never experienced in the past but has been pretty common in the recent years. I always apply a layer of lotion after I shave, so it’s not a deal-breaker. I haven’t experienced any major irritation or bumps with this shaving cream. In fact, I tried my new razor without it and did wind up with some unfortunate razor burn. I do still apply a layer of Monistat chafe relieving cream to my super-sensitive inner thighs after I shave them.

I would use this product again, were the price right and it is cheaper than many of the shaving creams sold specifically for intimate areas.

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Categories: Non-Sex Toys, Reviews

Crazy Girl Soy Massage Candle Pink Cupcake

February 4th, 2012

Crazy Girl Soy Massage Candle Pink Cupcake
$15.99 from Store.OfSexAndLove.com

Right, so let me go ahead and say that this product is the one I liked the least even though it smells amazingly like the other products. Well, sort of. The cool wax does and the first time I burned it, it did but then the scent changed into something that smells a whole lot more like burning hair and wasn’t amazing. Initially, I thought I might just use this as an actual scented candle because it’s so awful as a massage candle but I guess that’s out too.

The problem with this as a massage candle is that the melted wax — which is soft and has a low melting point so it doesn’t get too hot — feels thick and sticky. It actually made it more difficult for my hands to move across skin and the tacky feeling remained on my skin so that I wanted to wash it off. I suspect that the melting point is actually too low and that this is solidifying prematurely but, whatever the case, it’s not thin and slick enough to work well as a massage product and that makes me sad.

Otherwise, this is a sulfate-free formula like the other pink cupcake products. It comes in a heart-shaped, metal tin with a cover which make it easy to store or travel with. The wax is supposed to contain soybean oil, coconut oil, hemp seed oil, Vitamin E and carotene and a million other natural oils — all of which are good but because I cannot stand this on my skin, it’s not going to moisturize or any of the other benefits. According to the product description, these ingredients are all awesome because..

combats wrinkles and uneven skin tone
healing properties
skin softening
reduces appearance of wrinkles
neutralizes effects of dehydration
protects against dry skin
anti-inflammatory.
soothing
relieves dry, itchy skin
improves skin surface
assists in scar and acne treatment
protects skin from itchiness and free radical damage
We can assume that this list is slightly exaggerated but, either way, I want a product to do what it says before offering all these extra perks and this soy massage candle just doesn’t. I wish I loved it but I can’t. Maybe some of Classic Erotica’s other candles work better.

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Categories: Massage, Reviews

Wanna Be Dazzling Sparkling Body Lotion

January 30th, 2012

Sparkling Body Lotion Pink Cupcake

Sparkling Body Lotion Pink Cupcake
$9.72 from Store.OfSexAndLove.com

So Classic Erotica sent me the matching body lotion scent to go with my snazzy new body mist because those folks are all a bunch of BAMFs. There’s a lot of the same stuff going on between these two products and that’s a good thing. They smell nearly identical and that’s important to me. I hate buying a product, falling in love with the scent, and buying another in the line up only to find out that it smells completely different. That’s so not the case with the body lotion; although, it might smell slightly more berry-like.

The body lotion is slightly longer lasting, too. I put it on one night and could smell it the next morning. It was a great product to smell as I slept but, even during my waking hours, I find myself always sniffing the lotion.

The packaging is almost the same for the lotion. Pink with a cap. The lotion bottle was locked when I first received it. This is a good feature but the height of the pump is slightly shorter than other pumps and I had a hell of a time turning it to get it unlocked. I definitely will be keeping it “open” from now on,

The lotion is thin enough to work well with a pump bottle but this also means it’s not thick enough to do heavy duty. It’s more cosmetic. It does make my hands feel softer and does last through at least one washing. It also doesn’t simply rub over/around the skin like some lotions. That bugs the crap out of me.

As the name suggest, this one contains little sparkles. They’re harder to notice in the dark but super easy to spot in bright light and outside. Because of this, I will mostly be saving this for a night-time product. I don’t usually wear a lot of glitter during the day. It’s not my thing. On the other hand, your arms and chest can bling out if you apply this there.

But while I like this lotion enough, I don’t love it and the price of nearly $10 for 6-ounces seems a bit outrageous. It’s not widely available yet, either. Perhaps if more retailers carry it — which I would recommend — the price might drop. It may be a slightly cheaper option if you’re a fan of Victoria’s Secret sweet lotions; however, Bodycology offers a pretty sweet smelling vanilla cupcake lotion for less than half the price at Target.

I better end this review, though. Juliettia is going to become HANGRY.

2 Comments

Categories: Reviews, Sexual Health and Beauty

Wanna Be Sexy Flirty Body Mist

January 30th, 2012

Wanna Be Sexy Flirty Body Mist

Wanna Be Sexy Flirty Body Mist
$9.53 from Amazon

Psst, wanna know how much I like this? It’s still my daily scent over six years later!

When I love a product, it gets a lot of use. I have used the Wanna Be Sexy Flirty Body Mist nearly every day since I received it. That is, to say, it kicks ass. Rather than give you a complete run-down — because we all know what body mist is — here’s the pros and cons you should know.

Pros

This body mist smells great. Classic Erotica has ditched the previous and, might I add, not very awesome “Seduction” in place of pink cupcake. It’s sweet and reminiscent of vanilla cake batter but pinker due to the berries. The body mist, however, is slightly more vanilla than berry-like. If you’re not a fan of feminine, young, sweet scents, this is not for you.

The smell lasts. When I first opened the bottle, I sprayed the air in front of me and the smell was powerful and long lasting enough to stay with me as I ran to the store. One pump. Pretty impressive form a body spray. Now that I’ve become more accustomed to it, it doesn’t smell quite so strong to me (others probably notice it more) but every time I enter a new room or environment, the smell wafts up to me and delights my nose. For some reason, it’s easy to smell outside!

A little goes a long way. The pump on this bottle creates a finer mist than others. It’s not as wet, which is a plus by itself, but this means that less sprays out at once. Because the spray is long-lasting, this isn’t a problem and it actually means that it one 6-ounce bottle will go further. In fact, even though I’ve used it almost every day and, most days, multiple times, you can barely tell I’ve opened the bottle!

The bottle clearly states that it is paraben-free, sugar-free and sulfate-free. It’s also made in the USA and not tested on animals. These are some pretty cool qualities because sometimes the sensual health and beauty companies don’t give a crap out chemicals that can possibly irritate or dry skin or ethical issues.

It’s affordable. The per-unit price per bottle is definitely slightly cheaper than body sprays from Bath and Body Works.

The overall design is improved. Classic Erotica has updated its product designs as well as its website, I believe. The new label is pink and girly with curly fonts and swirly hearts. It’s much cleaner and, in my opinion, looks better in person than in product images. The spray has been dyed slightly pink, which looks cute.

The bottle comes with a cap that makes it more — but not perfectly — travel-friendly. The cap can come off, however.

So what’s slightly less than awesome?

  • It smells a little syrupy at first. It passes, though! You only need to deal with it for a few seconds.
  • It doesn’t need to be pink.
  • It doesn’t last forever.
  • Some people won’t like cupcake scents.
  • I don’t believe in pheromones/think they’re overrated but no one’s complained that I smell like a wild animal or anything. Because I love the scent, I feel more attractive and that’s what counts!
  • The nozzle seems to gunk up after a while. This has happened two 3 out of 4 of the last bottles I purchased.

Really, though, if you know yourself to like sweet smells like this, give it a try!

2 Comments

Categories: Reviews, Sexual Health and Beauty

Crazy Girl Mist

June 21st, 2011

Crazy Girl Mist Plumeria

Crazy Girl Mist Plumeria
$11.72 from Amazon

For whatever reason, I’ve really been into the scented products lately. I suppose this is how I went from no sprays to six bottles in just a few months, eh? I wasn’t sure if I would love the Crazy Girl Mist with pheremones but I thought I’d give it a try. Crazy Girl is a line up of body sprays, lotions and shaving products from Classic Erotica. I opted for Plumeria because I generally like floral scents but perhaps I would have enjoyed Seduction–a mix of fruity and floral–better.

The initial spritz of this product smells very generic, a bit heavy and, well, old. I like my health and beauty products to smell young and fresh. There’s something in this heavy floral scent that just comes off as dated. Initially, there is a lot of perfume, as if to overwhelm the nose. I’m a fan of more sophisticated scents, generally. Although, after a few moments, it settles and becomes more pleasant (less unpleasant?), the product is still very forgettable. I wouldn’t remember this body spray from any other brand that makes plumeria scented products or even from most general floral products.

Of course, if I did love it, then I would want the scent to be long-lasting. Unfortunately, that’s not the case here. Even a generous four or five sprays isn’t going to last you more than a couple hours. I guess it’s a good thing that the body mist comes in a large eight ounce spray bottle. I’ve already used quite a bit and just for testing purposes. I was hoping it would grow on me but it really hasn’t.

The reason this product is sold by sex toy retailers is the supposed inclusion of pheremones. Now, I don’t really buy into the pheremone aspect too much; I think it’s mostly the power of suggestion and I’m not going to feel a whole lot sexier when I’m using a product that doesn’t necessarily smell good to me. I can’t say that anyone took particular interest in me because of Crazy Girl Mist–nor did anyone even compliment the fragrance. I have to say that the “sexy alert” on the back of the bottle is not only overstated but it’s ridiculously tacky, too.

I also must comment that the complete lack of ingredients to be interesting. I wonder if alcohol may be one of the components of this spray but the bottle doesn’t want me to know. The official website doesn’t list anything either so I guess I’m just SOL. The bottle does advertise that you can even use it upside down but.. who does that? Why is that even an advertising point? I guess I could say that it sprays well enough right-side-up and the cap is nice.

Oddly enough, Classic Erotica also made the ginger+pomegranate massage candle and the Silky Sheets spray that I didn’t like. I think, from here on out, I’ll be staying away from any of their scented products if I have not already had a chance to smell them. Really, that’s my advice to you. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of the passion flower/plumeria scent or you have the world’s least pickiest nose, I’d stay away, too.

4 Comments

Categories: Reviews, Sexual Health and Beauty

Image © MisterUnlucky; used with permission.