Vibrators aren’t just for “back massages” anymore! University of Alberta professor David Ley has been using Lelo‘s ultra-powerful external vibe SIRI (pictured above) to help Canada’s performing artists sing and speak with clearer, stronger voices. The SIRI massages vocal cords to reduce vocal tension — it works because the frequency emitted by SIRI, which is between 110 and 120 hertz, matches that of the human voice. The massage is not too hard, not too soft, but just right for relaxing the delicate vocal muscles that give us our voice. Now laryngitis is the perfect excuse to invest in a nice, new sex toy!

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LELO is celebrating their tenth anniversary this year, which seems as good a time as any to count the ways we love them. They are this site’s major underwriter — which is reason enough to love them! — but we also consider them friends, and it is honestly a pleasure doing business with them. We’d shout from the rooftops about their awesome products even if they didn’t pay us to do so! And so, under no obligation today, we present our top ten reasons to love LELO.

1. Innovation
The sex toy industry has changed immeasurably over the last decade, and LELO has always been out front of the pack, setting a shining example. Remember when most sex toys were mostly cheap, plastic, gimmicky things that worked well as funny bachelorette party gags but never actually got the job done? No, neither do we — and LELO is one of the companies responsible for that.

2. Packaging
It sounds like a small thing, but tasteful, elegant, gorgeous packaging of sex toys was kind of ground-breaking when it first began. Presentation makes a huge difference — it means you feel good about giving your partner/best friend/sister/booty call a pleasure object… and they can feel good about receiving. Sex toys can suddenly make sensual, romantic gifts — and LELO is first and foremost in the industry when it comes to luxurious packaging.

3. Operating Instructions Included
In the bad old days of sex toys (see #1), they were considered “novelty items” and therefore couldn’t include instructions for use. Instead you’d find a tiny printed warning message along the lines of “not intended for actual use” or “for novelty use only.” LELO was one of the first companies to design products that were actually intended for use — shocking, we know! And they weren’t shy about including instructions telling you how to enjoy and care for your products, either.

4. No “Realistically Veined” Penis Substitutes
And yes, that is an actual term in the sex toy world! We love the way that LELO pleasure objects are not afraid to be themselves — they’re not trying to imitate anything else (i.e. most of them don’t even come close to phallic). In fact, if a nosy houseguest or a visiting aunt came across a LELO item in your house, they might just mistake it for coffee table art! (See #4)

5. They’re Rechargeable
Just about all of LELO’s products are rechargeable, meaning they’re good for your body and for the environment.

6. The Nea
You know those perfectly smooth little pebbles that you find on the beach and have to take home because they feel so wonderful in the palm of your hand? Well the gorgeously floral Nea vibrator is like that, except it feels so wonderful in many different places, including between two bodies. It’s powerful, quiet, smooth, strong, and barely larger than a pebble.

7. Technology
LELO is constantly refining their products to take advantage of the latest in technology — like the SenseMotion technology employed in the award-winning couples’ massager the Tiani 2.

8. Luna Beads
LELO is the maker of the world’s bestselling Kegel weights system, available in two sizes to ensure that every woman finds the perfect fit for the most effective pelvic floor workout. You know it’s true love when a company doesn’t just care about your orgasms — they care about your pelvic floor health, too.

9. Objects of Beauty
Sure, some sex toys can get the job done without winning any beauty contests — but why shouldn’t they do both? LELO’s pleasure objects are works of art, to admire both visually and sensually .

10. We Like Them, We Really Like Them!
LELO pleasure objects are designed with pleasure in mind, and they get the job done. What more can you ask for in life, really?

sponsored post
Are you as passionate about design as you are about passion? Have you always wanted to invent your own pleasure object? Do you dream at night of wonderful and gorgeous new ways to turn on the world? Then do we have a contest for you! As part of their ten-year anniversary celebration, LELO is launching its first ever pleasure objects design contest.

Here’s the deal: LELO has always prided itself on products that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are erotically pleasing — in other words, toys that please your sense of touch and your sense of sight. But now LELO wants contestants to focus on the other three senses: sound, taste, and smell, using at least one of these senses as a launching point of inspiration. You can submit ideas in two different categories: 1) Fashion Accessories, and 2) Products & Spaces.

Here’s more straight from LELO, with specifics after the video:

Applicants are asked to give a personal interpretation of pleasure that pushes sensory boundaries of all kinds. You should create objects, accessories and experiences to enhance the possibility of pleasure in everyday life. It’s time to make creative use of neglected or overlooked ideas of pleasure – positive design for positive experiences!

1. FASHION & ACCESSORIES
In what way can the clothes and accessories we wear become tools for pleasure and entertainment?
What playful and unexpected functions could they incorporate? Make fashion fun and explore new possibilities for pleasure!

2. PRODUCTS & SPACES
Micro-technologies, augmented reality, responsive and smart materials are already changing the ways we interact with objects and spaces. Do something different and think about how interaction can deliver new forms of pleasure.

JUDGING CRITERIA
1. Innovation in delivering pleasure
2. Uniqueness and originality of design
3. Ability to involve multiple senses
4. Functionality

Applications will be accepted until August 1^st, 2013, and 5 finalists will have their works exhibited at this year’s London Design Week and showcased on the LELO homepage (and the winner in each category will get a thousand Euros to boot). Check out the official LELO Design Award 2013 website for more details on how to enter the contest.

The following is from our very own naughty dictionary, 150 SHADES OF PLAY: A Beginner’s Guide to Kink. Bolded words signify individual entries that appear elsewhere in the A-to-Z section of the book. Anything with a tie icon  indicates an activity or prop mentioned in the Fifty Shades series (symbolic of the famous woven tie Christian Grey uses to restrain Anastasia Steele…and oh how we wished there’d been a gimp suit in Fifty!). The idea being: look up something you’re interested in and, from there, make it a choose-your-own-adventure book by following any bolded words that pique your interest to their own dedicated entry. Or just start at A and don’t stop ‘til you get to Z—or ‘til you’re compelled to try something out with your partner, whichever comes first!:

C

costumes

If it’s a uniform of some sort that’s tight, revealing, and made of latex, there’s a 99.99% chance it’s a fetish outfit. However, you can certainly go for more realistic costumes by using things lying around the house (D.I.Y.-style), renting one from a non-fetish costume shop, or getting your hands on an authentic uniform (try eBay or industry supply shops). The idea is to get into character and find your motivation for a littlerole-playing, or at least for feeling like someone you’re not: There’s nothing like a naughty nurse’s outfit to give you the confidence to finally poke your boyfriend with a lubed, latex-gloved, index finger.

Other popular costumes (most of which come in handy latex versions) include: doctor, patient, priest, nun, military personnel, interrogator, vampire, Victorian, school marm, (Catholic) school girl/boy, cheerleader, governess, little kid/baby, police officer, Canadian mountie—basically anything that helps create or emphasize a certain sexual power dynamic.

If you’re feeling less than adventurous, know that wearing something just a little more sensuous than usual can help get you in the right mood for play (remember, Ana swapped her big T-shirts for some nice silk numbers). See also wigs.

For more on roleplaying, BDSM, and other kinky endeavors, pick up a copy 150 SHADES OF PLAY, on sale now at Amazon!

Our contributor Jewely Hoxie studies Human Sexuality at the University of California Santa Cruz (read her blog here). She has this to say about the sex toys she wishes were a part of her collection…

1. Whipsmart’s Pleasure Swing
A sex swing sounds like a combination of two of the greatest pleasures in life: playing on the swings and playing with your partner. A full-body, couples’ sex toy seems like a fantastic place to begin opening up to more possibilities for sex.

2. Cobra Libre
I know what you’re thinking, it’s a sex toy for men, but just look at it! It is so sleek and powerful. If I could be a man for one day, this is definitely one of the many things I would experiment with that day. But even as a women with a little bit of imagination, I could figure out how to make this toy just as enjoyable.

3. Knead Me Massage Stones and Candle from Jimmyjane
I’ve often heard that smell is the best aphrodisiac out of all our senses, which is why perfume and deodorant are always advertised in such a sexual manner. I also think that the massage part of a couples’ spa retreat is almost universally known as the pre-jump-my-bones part of the spa retreat. This combo has it all.

4. We-Vibe III
I’ve tried multiple cock rings to get that vibrating stimulation I love so much while I’m with my partner, but the We-Vibe has a whole new take on that sensation. The internal and external stimulation makes it the dual rabbit vibrator of the couples’ sex toy world.

5. Lelo’s Lyla 2 Vibrator with SenseMotion Technology
The trailer (see above) was enough to show me that my ultimate sex fantasy is to have my partner surprise me with orgasms while we have a dance party together. (Read more about Lelo’s SenseMotion technology here.)

6. Jimmyjane’s Eternity
It’s a 24K gold vibrator with 28 round-cut diamonds around it. I’m not much for jewelry — but on a vibrator? That is what I call a girl’s best friend. I don’t know how you could not get off from something that luxe.

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We’ll hand it to our sponsor LELO: they came up with a pretty subtle April Fool’s joke in the GÄSM. We mean, who wouldn’t want a cool looking, eco-friendly vibe with excellent customer service and anywhere recharge-ability? Maybe the “fact” that it’s made out of compressed wood pulp and old tires was a bit of a giveaway. But who could blame you for being hopeful?

Congratulations to our GÄSM Contest winner Ana! She may not get the fictional GÄSM, but she does get her choice of one of the following fabulous LELO pleasure objects:

BUT EVERYONE ELSE STILL HAS THE CHANCE TO WIN! 

Here’s how:

• Mention and link (http://tinyurl.com/cgjr5qe) to LELO’s awesome April 1st joke between now and this Friday, April 5th at midnight EST. (And it’s not like you’re promoting your favorite toy to all your friends and family, you’re just appreciating a good joke!)
• Let us know you’ve done so by mailing us a screenshot of each FB post/Tweet (on a Mac, Command+Shiftshift+4 lets you drag and capture an area of the screen; click here for instructions on taking screenshots on either a PC or a Mac).
• The more you share, the greater your chances of winning! One lucky winner randomly drawn will get their choice of one of the following fabulous LELO accessories!:

Billy, LELO’s male massager

Get Personal Advice Publicly on EMandLO.comTry Our New
*PRIVATE* Advice Service!

Hello Ladies,

I am a married guy who occasionally reads your site for some ideas to share with my wife.  It seems like anal play both for him and her is a popular topic. My wife enjoys some occasional backside attention, and I’ve been trying to get her to give me some too. One time she used a butt plug on me while giving me a handjob. This resulted in the most intense orgasm I had ever experienced!  After that, I secretly used her dildo on myself just to see if it would fit, and it did. Now, I’ve asked her to use it on me, but she’s afraid of hurting me.  I don’t want her to freak out knowing I’ve already done it. Do you have any advice as to how to get her to play along?

Thanks!
Swimdad

Dear Dad (no wait, that’s all wrong…),

Have you heard of those urban legends of people getting their vacation camera film developed only to find pictures of their toothbrushes stuck up strangers’ butts? Well, this is practically the same thing… Read the rest of this entry »

You know how major celebrities like Brad Pitt and George Clooney stoop to appear in advertisements overseas — especially in Asia — on the promise that the ads never show in the U.S.? They shill for everything from cars to booze in ads that look impossibly fake because we are shielded from them.

Well, it turns out that the latest trend in secret international endorsement campaigns is sex toys!* Yes, some seriously A-list types have signed up to promote sex toys… but only overseas. In fact, many of the below campaigns appear only on foreign radio — in various foreign languages other than English — so there are no incriminating images to get forwarded around the Internet. The print and TV ads usually come with seriously restrictive “secrecy clauses” and huge potential damages rewards if the content makes it online.

Here are ten of our favorite super-secret celeb-sex toy couplings:

1. Justin Bieber and the V-Bomb Vibrating Silicone Butt Plug in South Korea.
2. Angelina Jolie and the Luna Beads Noir (post-birth kegel exercising with a Fifty Shades twist!) in China.
3. Seth Rogen and the Heavenly Heart Vibrating Cock Ring in Lithuania.
4. Katy Perry and the Sweet Cakes Cupcake Vibrator in Japan.
5. Ben Affleck and the Happy Rabbit Vibrator in Estonia.
6. Taylor Swift and the Rechargeable Lipstick Vibrator in Japan.
7. Jennifer Lawrence and the Couture Strap-On Harness in the Czech Republic.
8. Lindsay Lohan and the Under the Bed Restraint System in Turkey.
9. Ashton Kutcher and the Bound to Please Nipple Clamps in Venezuela.
10. Miley Cyrus and Liquid Silk Lube in Turkey.

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What do you get when you combine luxury with DIY innovation? You get a GÄSM! The world’s first and only IKEA-style vibe, brought to you by our friends at LELO. Just as Swedish brand IKEA revolutionized the furniture industry with its DIY products, LELO has tapped into its Swedish roots and applied the same creativity and expertise to create GÄSM:

• 100% eco-friendly: Crafted from 100% recycled materials, its frame is made of durable compressed wood pulp, and a silky-smooth sheathe made entirely of re-purposed rubber.
• Manual hand-crank rechargeable battery: The long-lasting battery integrates manual, rotation, hand-crank technology (Allen key included) for 100% environmental-friendly recharging
• Revolutionary presentation for lower costs: GӒSM’s DIY assembly makes possible LELO’s new flat-pack boxes – traditionally use for self-assemble furniture – passing the packaging and shipping costs saved directly to consumers.
•  Easy-to-assemble: GӒSM can be put together in as little as 1 minute, according to consumer testing respondents who claimed they are “not very good” at completing puzzles (see assembly .

In honor of the launch and LELO’s Tenth Anniversary, LELO’s GIVING AWAY A GӒSM TO ONE LUCKY EMandLO.com READER! Here’s how to enter:

• Mention and link (http://tinyurl.com/cgjr5qe) to the world’s first DIY pleasure object  on Facebook and/or Twitter.
• Let us know you’ve done so by mailing us a screenshot of each FB post/Tweet (on a Mac, Command+Shiftshift+4 lets you drag and capture an area of the screen; click here for instructions on taking screenshots on either a PC or a Mac).
• The more you share, the greater your chances of winning! Deadline for entries is midnight on this Monday, April 1st, Pacific Time.
• We’ll announce the winner of the new $150 LELO toy soon thereafter!

Uberlube is for sale on Amazon

A few weeks back, our contributor Jewely Hoxie wrote a post for us titled Top 6 Reasons to Love Lube. This week, our favorite lube cheerleader is back with some specific recommendations. Jewely studies Human Sexuality at the University of California Santa Cruz; you can read her blog here.

The best embarrassing story I can tell to emphasize the importance of lubrication is the first time I gave a hand job. I kept running back and forth from the sink to the bed pouring water on my hand so the process would go more smoothly. That method involved an excessive amount of wasted energy for an orgasm. Thankfully I learned from my young sexual naivety and found myself loving lube. I will now pass on my knowledge to you. Here are the six best lubricants I know:

1. Pjur Cream Glide
This lubricant offers the best of both worlds because it is a mixture of silicone- and water-based lubricant: It is smooth and long-lasting like silicone, but there isn’t enough silicone to damage your silicone toys. On top of already being perfect, it is soft and creamy for the sensitive types.

2. Swiss Navy Passion Fruit Water-Based Lubricant
I find most flavored lubes to be awfully unappetizing, but Swiss Navy did something right with their passion fruit flavor. It doesn’t have that too sweet and sugary taste to it. I once saw Midori, sex educator and bondage expert, drink it straight from the bottle. (Even better, all their flavored lubes are paraben-free and sugar-free, which is excellent news for sensitive veegees.)

3. Yes
This lubricant has my favorite texture out of all the lubricants I’ve tried. It is clear, smooth, silky and has a very natural feel to it. Yes is also one of the least sticky and messy lubes I’ve had the pleasure of using. Lube is my best friend in the bedroom because I often need help with moisture and Yes is ultra-moisturizing and very wet. So if you are older and coping with dryness, or similar to me in basically requiring lubricant for sex, you’ll love this product.

4. Sliquid Organics Silk
This is probably the only Sliquid product worth getting. The other ones I’ve tried last less time than your 15-year-old boyfriend did when you lost your virginity to him. This is a similar concept as the Pjur Cream Glide in that it is a silicone- and water-based hybrid, but this lubricant is not as thick and creamy. The most amazing part about it is it has absolutely no taste. And for you vegan types out there: 100% Vegan/No animal testing/Organic/Natural/Hypoallergenic/Glycerine, paraben, petroleum free/etc.

5. Uberlube
For all the silicone lubricant lovers out there, this is my absolute favorite! I don’t usually explore the silicone lubricants often because I like to take my silicone toys with me where ever I go, but I’m willing to change it up for this lube. It also makes for a great hair product! Plus, the packaging is simply gorgeous.

6. Liquid Silk
This is one of the top rated lubricants out there. Super smooth and long lasting, especially for a water-based lubricant (although it does have a tiny bit of silicone in it, though not enough to make it unsafe to use with silicone toys). It has a very natural quality to it, which I find to be kind of hot (yes, thaaaat kind of natural). One warning though is that it does contain parabens, which can cause allergic reactions in some people, yikes!

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