LOS ANGELES — Glamour’s first Sex Toy Awards were rolled out in a published piece in the magazine’s October print and online editions, with picks from a handful of sexual influentials who offered their advice on picking the best vibrators and accessories to achieve orgasms.
The author-judges included Emily Morse, sex therapist, author, and host of the podcast “Sex With Emily”; sex journalists Sophie Saint Thomas and Gigi Engle; Bex Caputo, sex toy retailer and founder of the site BexTalksSex.com; comedian, writer and musician Lane Moore; and Glamour sex and relationships contributor Suzannah Weiss.
Each of the author-judges gave their choices for the best devices from the top manufacturers of sex toys and novelties.
Saint Thomas picked the Satisfyer Pro Penguin for “toys you won't have to explain to a TSA agent.” She called the Satisfyer “extremely cute and could pass as a little pore cleanser. It works by gently circulating air around your clitoris, like a tiny vacuum that gets you off.”
Also on her list were Fun Factory products, which include a travel lock, so there’s less worries about mid-flight vibrating.
The “least intimidating toy for couples' time” was Eva by Dame, “a teeny yet intensely orgasmic hands-free vibrator that you can wear during sex,” she said.
As for “toys that looks like an objet d'art,” Saint Thomas picked the Soraya by LELO.
“The best part about Soraya's sleek, modern look, though, is how you could totally leave it on a living room end table and play it off as modern art," she said.
Engle touted curated boxes as the next frontier of sex toy shopping.
“I love an adult subscription box,” Engle said. “They're like Blue Apron for your bedroom, and typically come chock full of toys and accessories specifically curated and delivered discreetly to your door.”
Engle liked the quarterly Unbound Box ($175 for three quarters of the year), the affordable ($18 a month) What's In Your Box and Nooky Box ($79 per quarter).
Caputo looked at the “best oldies but goodies,” including the Magic Wand by Vibratex (called the “Cadillac of Vibrators"; the Pocket Rocket by Doc Johnson (“a little vibrator with a dedicated following”) and the Vibratex Rabbit Habit vibrator (“basically a carnival ride for your bits”).
Sloan offered her take on the “best toys for you, him and anyone.” She recommended the MysteryVibe (“it can curl up to hit a G-spot, lay perfectly flat between two bodies during sex, or even wrap around a penis for a turbo-charged handjob"); Picobong's Transformer (“billed as the first truly gender-neutral sex toy, and it's not hard to see why; it bends into any shape for couples' play, solo fun, or anything you like”); and the njoy Pure Wand (“a heavy, C-shaped dildo that can also be used to tease the prostate).
Moore weighs in on “the first-time sex toy advice I wish I’d gotten” and picks the Iconic Bullet by Jimmyjane (“which is straightforward and not some major investment if it turns out that it's actually not the thing you're into after
Morse meanwhile names some of her favorites “right this moment” — the Amelia Lube Vial Necklace by Unbound (as best accessory); Naturalove (the best toy-friendly lube); and Uvee Home Play storage box (the best clean-up helper).
Weiss liked Lelo's Lily 2; JOPEN Aries and the We-Vibe Sync (“its bendable and can be controlled either through the buttons on the device, via a remote, or through the app, We-Connect. The latter lets you do all sorts of other fun things, like sync the vibrations with music and customize your own patterns").
As for best of high-tech, Weiss liked the Lioness smart vibrator, which contains sensors that detect your vaginal movements, temperature and pressure.
She also liked Lovense Teledildonics ("the set includes a rabbit vibrator called Nora and a sleeve called Max that move in response to each other's motions remotely” and the OhMiBod Club Vibe 3.Oh ("you'll never get bored at a concert or club with this music-responsive vibratorin your pants; the Club Vibe comes with a set of panties to tuck it into, and when in club mode, it'll buzz each time its accompanying remote detects a beat”).
Read the Glamour Sex Toy Awards story, here.
