Support Dildology.org

May 16, 2013 · By · 6 Comments

Last week, I posted a link to Dildology.org, along with a simple explanation of what they do. Today, I want to get deeper into that, since I’m proud to be part of the Dildology.org Blog Carnival!

So what is Dildology?

In their own words… “The sex toy industry is on the rise, yet it remains largely unregulated. Dildology.org intends to provide material verification services and maintain a public database of the results, adding transparency and oversight to the industry while educating the public about the science behind pleasure products. We stand on our own, unaffiliated and uninfluenced, and we are dedicated to protecting the health and well-being of the dildo-loving population at large through education (and maybe a little entertainment).”

Crista, Lilly, and Crista’s partner V want to know what the hell is in our sex toys, and they’re tired of relying on faulty manufacturer information to find out. Did you know that absolutely nothing – no one – stops manufacturers from claiming “phthalate free”, even if their product is actually 30-50% phthalates? Are you as angry as we are now? You should be!

The goal of Dildology.org is to provide 100% comprehensive, independent testing, which is very expensive. Testing for each toy is $200-$450, which is quite a chunk.They are purchasing toys directly from locations around the US, and are refusing toys offered by manufacturers so as to remain 100% objective. (They are, however, taking product donations from third-party retailers – if you run a store and want to help, hit them up.)

At this time, they need $20,000 to start this amazing project, and you can help. They’re offering some awesome rewards to get started, including a 15% off SheVibe coupon when you donate $15 or more and a baller Dildologist t-shirt when you donate $50!

In addition to their donation perks, if you are a blogger and donate more than $15 to Dildology, I will give you a code for a free 1 month advertising slot, which you can use now or for the month of June (or, if a ton of you donate, I’ll queue you up and let you know when your month will come). Shoot me an email after you donate, and once I confirm your donation, we’ll get you set up through PassionFruit.

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Leaving Adult Retail

May 4, 2013 · By · Leave a Comment

After almost exactly a year, I’m leaving adult retail (for now).  I’m not really sure if or when I’ll get back into it.  Obviously, I’m not done with the industry.  I have a lot of reviews to catch up on, and I don’t plan to quit reviewing any time soon.  But I could not be more burnt out from answering the same questions and having the same sales frustrations, day after day.

I’ve learned that I’m just not someone who thinks in sales dollars.  I will not ever lie to you to get you to purchase something, and if I think a product is shit, I will tell you that (nicely).  A lot of products in the adult industry are absolute shit.  Phthalates, parabens, porous rubber…  It gets to be exhausting trying to wade through the sea of utter crap to help someone find a toy that’s well made and body safe.  In a mainstream sex shop, that’s fucking difficult.  (To clarify: I was never, ever asked to lie.  But saying anything good about a jelly rabbit is impossible for me, I can’t just gloss over the toxicity issue.)

I’m so, so thankful for shops that are paving the way toward a higher standard of quality products and sex education.  There are a lot of people standing on the shoulders of folks at Babeland and Good Vibrations, and if Catalyst Con was any indication, things will  get better.  I would absolutely love to work for any of the amazing sex-positive retailers, like SheVibe or Tantus, that I’ve met during this journey.  And yes, maybe I am name-dropping to plant the seeds for someone awesome to throw my name in the ring.

But, I digress.  What does this mean for you?  It means I have time and motivation to do shit like write reviews!  And spend the required time with myself to formulate opinions, to write those reviews!  Also, I’m going to try to bring back Lazy Sunday links, which I didn’t know was a Lonely Island song until someone thought I was clever.  In hindsight, I bet they were being sarcastic.  Hm.

I will be back for tomorrow’s resurrection of Lazy Sunday linkfest!

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If you don’t have anything nice to say, at least you’ll have nice lips.

May 1, 2013 · By · Leave a Comment

Those of you who follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram might have seen this already:

Lush Lip Products

 

These are a few of my favorite lip products from Lush.  Full disclosure: I work at Lush, but was not provided these products for free to review, nor am I being compensated for this post.  I don’t even work for commission.  I just actually like them.

Now that that’s out of the way…  Everyone knows that it sucks to have crusty lips.  It also sucks to have to slather on petroleum-based lip products ever night in order to avoid crusty lips.  Petroleum doesn’t sink into your skin, it merely coats it, and a lot of people take issue with how it’s processed.  (This is also part of why petroleum doesn’t belong in vaginal lube.)

I’d been wanting to try a lip scrub for a while, but I wasn’t really into going to Sephora and paying $20 for one, nor did I particularly love any of my homemade concoctions.  Possibly because I never bothered to find a nice oil to use.  Now that I think about it, I bet I could make a coconut oil sugar scrub…  Regardless, the Mint Julips Lip Scrub is one of my favorite products!  It smells like a peppermint patty, it sloughs dead skin off my lips, and it’s safe to lick off afterwards.  That part really freaks my boyfriend out, which is a bonus.  I use it every night before bed.

At bedtime, it’s time for my vaseline replacement, Ultrabalm.  It’s vegan and made with only 3 ingredients: rose wax, candellila wax, and jojoba oil.  This actually makes an awesome balm for healing scrapes, burns (if appropriate), and cuticles.  I also really like to use it to set my eyebrow hairs in place, because they’re wild like that.

My newest acquisition, but already a staple, is Honey Trap lip balm.  It’s pretty classic, not vegan because of the honey, but amazing.  I’m a big fan of the texture, which is light but has amazing staying power.  You can definitely feel it on your lips for a couple of hours after applying, and the moisture really plumps them.  I can definitely see a difference in the moisturizing ability of this guy and my former favorite, Sugar lip balm in Rose.  (Also, Sugar is $22 a tube and Honey Trap is $7.25.  No, I never paid $22 for lip balm – it was the Sephora Beauty Insider birthday gift for 2012.  Get on that list, yo.)

Soon, I’ll be following up with either some hair care favorites or my new facial routine.  But don’t worry, there will still be more vibrators, OKCupid, and general sexcetera.

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Friday Link Roundup

April 5, 2013 · By · 1 Comment

My week off actually turned into a full work week, since one of my coworkers came down with mono.  I had grand plans of doing a lot of writing this week, but that fell by the wayside with the introduction of extra shifts and then having to take the dog to the vet.  Long story short, I’ve worked a lot and my dog doesn’t have diabetes (but I am $250 poorer, thankyouverymuch).

It’s been a really long time since I’ve done a link roundup post…

& Kaelah is giving away a Nikon D3100, and since selling my camera body in December, I’m positively drooling at the possibility of winning!  You should go enter, too, even though I passed statistics with flying colors so I know that decreases my odds.

& I’m about 99% sure I’ve linked to Marissa A. Ross’s Tangent & The Times web series before, but THERE’S A NEW EPISODE AND MY LOVE IS REIGNITED.  Spoiler: She talks hilariously about disappointing oral sex, so obviously I ate this shit up with a spoon.

& As someone who spends a truly disconcerting number of her waking hours telling people what they can and cannot put in their butts, I really appreciate this guide to beginners bum toys from Sexational.

& Epiphora has long been known for her April Fools pranks, but this year Lorax got in on the action and it was superb.

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Always Make Back-ups // A re-introduction to Marvelous-Darling.com

March 26, 2013 · By · 2 Comments

If you’ve newly found my blog, from meeting me at CatalystCon or Googling things like “slut” or meeting me in real life, I want you to have some kind of introduction to this blog.

First of all, I didn’t take a giant break from November 2012 to March 2013 – I switched servers and lost all of my content. I’m still kicking myself for not backing up my files. Always back up your shit. That was some of the best stuff I’ve put out on this blog, and I grew my traffic so much during those months. I’m definitely afraid of hitting a standstill. In the next couple of weeks, I’m hoping to find a way to recover some of my old content. Unfortunately, I couldn’t access any of the caches that I was linked to, but I’m not ready to give up on my content yet.

In the mean time, I’m working on new content. You’ve already seen my two newest reviews: for the Vixen Mustang and the Vibratex Mystic Wand. (I feel like RuPaul, plugging my own stuff. …That came out wrong.) I still have 7 more to write. I think only 7. So far. Bring it on.

The good news is that I started blogging last February, so if you want to read a bunch of old posts, you now have fewer to wade through. That’s good news, right? Kind of?

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