Darling Nikki is Rebellious Magazine’s resident sex toy reviewer. While she writes her reviews from the perspective of a cisgender woman, she wants to remind her readers that any sex toy can be for any body!
I have been interested in sexuality for as long as I can remember. I was a curious child who discovered a much more exciting second purpose for an old back massager I had, but I didn’t buy my first actual sex toy until I was in college.
There were no feminist sex toy stores in my small, rural Pennsylvania town, so I bought my first vibrator in a store that specializes in gag gifts – Spencer’s. I ducked in with the intention of buying a vibrator and picked the one that looked the cutest and least intimidating. It was shaped like a tube of lipstick and cost about $12. The angled tip was appealing and – good eye, young self – it did indeed rest nicely against my clit. It was a small, buzzy thing, but I was proud of myself for having bought it, and it got the job done. It was my only toy for about two years, and I hid it in my underwear drawer, buried underneath everything.
Sure, the lipstick design was gendered and overly feminine, but I’ve always been femme, before I knew femme was a thing. I thought it was cute and it also had a cap, so it was discreet – two things that many still love about lipstick lookalike toys. Which is why when German company epi24 released the Womanizer 2Go, a lipstick-shaped travel version of their original model, I felt a pang of nostalgia and knew I needed to try it.
Founded in 2014 by husband/wife duo Michael and Brigitte Lenke, epi24 released the Womanizer after years of research and development. This is worth mentioning because the Womanizer – yes, the name is terrible, and yes, almost every review of it has pointed this out –is the first of its kind. It utilizes epi24’s patented “PleasureAir Technology.” When the tip of the product creates a seal over the clitoris, the technology operates by creating a small chamber of air that pulsates, which, for many, results in amazing orgasms in a short amount of time. It feels like a sucking sensation at first, but it’s actually the pitter patter of air, creating a “touchless” orgasm — meaning, the toy doesn’t vibrate or pulsate directly on the clitoris itself.
Out of the three different versions of the Womanizer I’ve been able to try, the 2Go actually makes me orgasm the quickest. The sensation is stronger (possibly too strong for some), which may be a result of the angled, lipstick-shaped chamber, different from all other Womanizer models. Waterproof like some other models, and USB-rechargeable like all, the 2Go comes with two removable silicone tips of differing styles. One provides a thuddier tapping sensation, while the other feels a little more gentle, stimulating the area surrounding the clitoris rather than just the clit itself. Both sensations lead to orgasm for me, and I love having options, depending on my mood and how much time I have.
While I feel pretty in control as a I play with the varying levels of intensity, some have reported feeling too out of control of their orgasm while using a Womanizer. The technology, different from traditional vibrators, is so effective, it may induce orgasm suddenly and unexpectedly.
The Womanizer 2Go is the only model with one button, so you have to scroll through all of the levels (six) before looping back around to the lowest. It’s a smaller toy, so there’s no room for extra buttons. Speaking of it’s size, you’d think that a sex toy shaped like a tube of lipstick would be roughly the same size as one. The Womanizer 2Go is a comically-oversized tube of lipstick. But according to Ryan Poirier, vice president of epi24 USA, users loved it during market testing.
Because Womanizer products are new and look different from everything else on the market, he said, the lipstick-style design is one that “feels familiar.”
Far from the lipstick vibrator of my past, the Womanizer 2Go is a beautiful, luxury pleasure product. With it’s cap, it kind of looks like a nice bottle of perfume, so it’s discreet enough to leave out on your nightstand. My only complaint is that the cap doesn’t stay on, so you can’t just throw it in your bag and go. But it was nostalgia that drew me to Womanizer’s 2Go model. Until trying it, I hadn’t had a lipstick-induced orgasm in almost 10 years. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed it.
Many thanks to epi24 for the opportunity to try out the Womanizer 2Go.
You can purchase the Womanizer 2Go ($169) and/or other Womanizer models at online retailers such as Peepshow Toys, Shevibe, or LUVOQA, or Chicago’s own Early to Bed.
Columnist’s full disclosure: I wouldn’t be able to provide quite as many reviews without the occasional generosity of manufacturers and, sometimes, online retailers whose missions I can get behind [insert obligatory sex joke here]. However, my reviews are always honest and unbiased.
