This is an archived review of a discontinued toy.
By now, most of you have heard of the Vida vibrators, a new line of silicone+metal sex toys with fancy designs and an impressive site to boot. They’re working hard at PR, too, with a mysterious Twitter account and appearances with celebrities. They really want you to believe that these vibrators–Lussuria, Vanta, Zara, and Urja–are the new “it” thing, and I admit, I was drawn in, and in case you are too, here’s the low down.
Vida vibrators are made of silicone and anodized aluminum. The metal part does have a sort of plastic-y look, even in person, but a tap with a fingernail proves otherwise. It looks particularly rigid up close. In addition to this, my Vida Lussuria is quite the hefty piece, but I wouldn’t call it unwieldy because the weight is compacted into a 7″ frame, which isn’t bulky in the least.
Lussuria’s design is one that curves gently outward from a thin (.79″ diameter), straight shaft in the center to produce two bulbous ends. While the ends are thicker than the center point of the shaft, they are flat-ish. The side on which the control is positioned is significantly wider (just over 2″) than the other side, the head (which is about 1.5″ wide). The head itself is somewhat spoon or scoop-shaped; one side is convex while the other has a little “dimple.” The head angles slightly upward from the thinner part of the shaft while the base curves slightly downward for an extremely loose “S” shape.
On the convex side of the head, there are four silicone ridges. The ridges are mostly firm but not quite as rigid as the metal parts of the vibrator. These work well for G-spot stimulation, while the spoon side can cradle the clitoris. I don’t think I’ve seen any pictures yet that depict the dimple on the head, so I was pleasantly surprised when I opened Lussuria and wondered whether it would work well for clitoral stimulation.
It does. Lussuria has a functional design, which I really like. The ridges easily caused me to squirt, and I was surprised at the orgasms produced via the clit dimple. The overall design is easy to manipulate comfortably and with precision, too.
The shaft, head and last inch or so of the base are coated in silicone (the shinier, kinda “grabby” style) while the anodized aluminum surrounds the single button. There is also a pink stripe/lighted area, which follows the contours of the metal. This area has a lot of edges and seams, which are not very smooth or neat. I can see it collecting debris and the imperfections reduce the impression of quality IMO. There are especially some imperfections in the pink border which detract from an otherwise awesome colour scheme. At the very end, a small flap is cut out of the silicone; this flap plugs the charging port when Lussuria is not charging. While Lussuria is purportedly waterproof, this flap is not seamless, and I would not submerge it.
To turn on the vibrator, simply press the button once. A pale pink light around the button and the pink “border” part both light up. Pressing the button pages through 5 settings of steady vibrations and then back to the lowest. These vibrations are fairly strong but become much too buzzy as you increase strength. The button must be pressed and held to turn off Lussuria, but this will also turn it up 1 level higher, which is kind of annoying. If, for some reason, I needed to turn it off quickly, it would get louder before turning off.
Even if the vibrations didn’t become buzzier as they increased, I would never use this beyond the second or third setting because Lussuria is damned loud. I guess it’s because of the metal, but I think Vida should have come up with some noise solution before releasing these vibrators, and calling it “quiet” is simply a lie. The sound does not aid in discretion at all, and I am not fond of toys that hurt my ears.
I was a bit disappointed that Lussuria did not come with more information. More pages of the manual are dedicated to advertising other products than anything else. The instructions do say that the first full charge will take 3 hours, and subsequent charges will take 1 hour. I haven’t had to recharge my Lussuria yet, which is awesome, but I have no idea how long it will last, and I guess Vida doesn’t want customers to know, either.
Lussuria does come with a few interesting accessories. First and foremost, it has its own storage case, which Vida describes as a “faux leather vanity tote.” It looks a bit like a small train case with a handle on the top and a zipper around the front and sides. Vida sides into a foam cutout inside, and there is room to toss in the charger beneath the foam. If you remove the cutout, you could use the case to store a few more toys, too; it measures 4.5″ x 8.” x 3.” The Vida logo is embossed in black and red on the front, but I have to warn you, this “faux leather” stinks! I mean, the smell of it gives me a headache, and I don’t want that on my toy.
Luckily, Vida also provides a cushy, storage envelope made from microfiber. The design is unique: a rectangular cloth that folds in thirds and ties with a ribbon. Inside is an opening to tuck your Vida vibrator, but it’s not actually deep enough to hold Lussuria; it will stick out at the end of the envelope. I suspect Vida made a one-size-fits-all storage pouch and failed. You don’t have to place the vibrator in the pouch, of course. You can simply fold it into the cloth and tie it up; it just fits.
The whole thing comes with a black gift-style bag, but mine was just folded and empty with the Vida box. I suspect that would work much better for in-person purchases. d=
Lussuria actually worked pretty well for me, but Vida needs to work out more kinks before they can call these toys “luxurious” and charge as much as they are for them. The idea of aluminum + silicone is neat, but a pure silicone vibrator wouldn’t be any worse. It also would have reduced the number of seams in the toy and, hopefully, the volume level. The train case and storage pouch are cute but do not offer the perfect storage option. I say skip the frills and lower the price; then we’ll talk.
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Categories: Reviews, Vibrators
