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 Erotica 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.
I wonder if you might take the time to view and review a new up and coming company called Intimate Tickles.
“but sells you rebranded items that are marked up.” – Intimate Tickles is proud to offer female safe, quality, brand name items. We are against the rebranding practice that so many other companies partake.
“Consultants Are Not Given Enough Sexual Health Information and Some of That Information Is Plain Wrong”
Again, unlike other companies, we do not let you simply fill out an application and order a kit. All of our consultants go through an interview process before coming on board. They then go through a training process to learn subjects such as, the difference between water and silicone based lubes, the difference in care of the different material toys – just to name a few subjects that we have witness other “romance consultants” flounder on.
I realize that there is no possible way to run a adult romance home party company and push out the same prices that you can get at the stores, but there is a place in our society for the at home parties.
It bring people together for education and a good time. It allow those who may be too timid to walk into a sex store and ask the questions they want to ask. It may even be difficult for some people to drop a vibrator on the counter at their local Walgreens, where they have started selling some of the more intimate products.
The at home parties brings friends together, which creates an environment that may be more condusive to the type of conversation that might bring that butterfly out of it’s cocoon.
It’s not always about the price, but the price should be as low as possible, and the consultant should be education.
As for them being a pyramid scheme. I get so tired of having to explain and point out that our entire countries business system is a “pyramid scheme”.
A “Scheme” is when the only money being made, or the bulk of the money being made, is from me recruiting someone who buys product, and them recruiting someone who buys product. in other words – putting the emphasis anywhere else but on the consumer.
There will always be a ceo making money off their managers, making money off their group leaders, making money off their team leaders, making money off their workers.
It’s the flowchart of business no matter how you look at it.
Anyway. I hope you will take a look at Intimate Tickles, our products and our business plan. We have placed a LOT of differences in our overall company plan and we hope to create a change in the industry. http://www.IntimateTickles.com