Bubbles is a wooden dildo.
Since I can feel your scepticism running down the broadband, I’ll start from what I usually end my reviews with: conclusions.
If you enjoy exploring your body and pursuing pleasure (also) by using sex toys; if your virtual shopping cart is filled with vibrating toys but you never proceeded to checkout; if this is the first time you hear about dildos and sex toys and you’re getting curious; if you don’t want to read the whole review but you trust me: go get a wooden sex toy. Better if it’s signed by Silvia Picari. Even better if it’s called Bubbles. Period.
Let’s start now.
In the post-rabbit world (20 years after Sex and The City put the eared vibrator under the spotlight), in a time when all the big sex toy brands are focused on the clit (finally!), looking for the perfect combo between design, material and technology that makes the female pleasure organ vibrate, shake and pulse, a wooden dildo sounds like a retro fetish tool for penetration nostalgics. Contrary to expectations, my encounter with Bubbles was one of the most unexpectedly pleasurable experiences since I started testing erotic toys to share my experiences on the blog.
This is Bubbles
Bubbles is a delicate sculpture for pleasure handcrafted and hand-painted by Silvia Picari, the Italian artist who designs beautiful wooden objects that are both pieces of art to admire and sex toys to use.
I knew Silvia some months ago when she (physically) bared herself to me to told me about her artistic and entrepreneurial adventure. We met up in the lab where her toys come to light, we sat down naked facing each other and we started talking like two old friends catching up after a long period apart do. That time she told me how she decided to start creating wooden dildos and handed me Bubbles, trusting that it was her favourite toy, looking forward to knowing how I would welcome her artwork [here’s the whole interview].
Two things about Silvia struck me: the sincere and passionate enthusiasm in talking about her objects; the fact that her first sex toy ever was one of hers (and that she chose it over a silicone dual stimulation vibrator).
When I came home with my Bubbles, no matter how convincing Silvia was, my scepticism wasn’t that different from yours. It wasn’t so much the material that left me doubtful: I never thought twice before inserting a piece of plastic into my body, why would I have to be afraid of a natural resource like wood?
I must say, I was hesitant as regards the material’s stiffness and strength, but what I wasn’t convinced about was the dildo itself. After all, everything I always looked for in a toy was everything that can offer an experience different from (or complementary to) penetration: a gentle but intense clitoral stimulation.
Instead, I ended up with an inanimate piece of wood that had nothing to say to my chirpy clitoral receptors and only waited to be inserted somewhere.
Obviously, I was proven wrong, and that was the day I called Silvia to confess to her that Bubbles had beat at least half of my sex toys.
The perfect shape: The Vitruvian dildo, the Golden Section of pleasure
If today someone asked me to picture the shape of my ideal penis, that would be the exact copy of Bubbles.
The 3 spheres with increasing diameter allow a progressive and complex penetration: the vaginal walls gradually adapt to the size of the toy; the vaginal muscles get constantly stimulated with growing intensity, dilating around the diameter of the beads and tightening around the grooves between them.
The flared and easy-to-hold base sets the mind free to travel down the never-ending roads of the imaginary world of fantasies without having to worry about losing Bubbles along the (finite) streets of the vaginal canal. When the going gets passionate, the hand can pilot the dildo boldly, pushing it safely forward into the hug of female intimacy.
At the end of your journey of pleasure, the beads (coming out in descending order) allow a delicate and discreet extraction that happens naturally, almost without having to pull the toy out with the hand.
A warm cuddle
One of the first things Silvia told me was that since the wood is a warm material, it feels really pleasurable when it gets in contact with the body. After using Bubbles, I perfectly understood what she meant. It’s not just about the thermal sensation (the wood, being an insulating material, extracts heat from the body slowly, feeling warm) but about the general tactile perception: using a wooden toy, you never have the feeling you’re introducing a foreign object into your body (as with a silicone sex toy) but rather something very natural.
Also, the surface of a wood dildo is so smooth and friction-free you only need a small amount of lube to make it slick and slippery. All the toys handmade by Silvia have a perfectly smooth and non-porous surface obtained through many sessions of sanding that smooth out any naturally-occurring rough spots and sharp edges. The clear gloss finish, which is also hypoallergenic, makes the toy waterproof and dust and lint free, easy to clean (just be sure to clean the grooves between the beads carefully).
Soft heart in a hard body
Using Bubbles, I’ve got to enjoy the wood stiffness. Being hard, it’s very disciplined, willing to faithfully follow the direction given by your hand.
While silicone is softer and more malleable when it’s pressed against your body, wood is non-deformable and allows you to guide the pressure towards an exact spot of your body with a direct control of the intensity (really appreciable when you’re approaching the orgasmic finish line!).
The ease of use (you don’t have to follow a preset vibration or chase the best intensity hoping you’re pressing the right button) allows more spontaneous and natural movements.
Using vibrators with tons of stimulation patterns, I often felt like I had to adapt the position of my body and hands to the sex toy in order to get a pleasurable sensation (or not to feel discomfort and chase pleasure).
With a wooden dildo it’s you driving and choosing the path oh your journey of pleasure, not a piece of silicone: to get the most out of a wooden toy you just have to follow your fantasy and to experiment with your body, trying different angles, pressures and moves, in search of the perfect (exquisitely human) combo.
The mood is served
If you ever tried or you usually use a vibrator, the first thing you’re going to appreciate is a perfect silence, the ideal ambience to get away from the noisy daily life and put on your favourite background music.
No buzzing, no humming, no rumbling, no noise emission except yours, coming from your free and candid pleasure, that generates sounds starting out prudent and faint and ending rogue and explosive.
No need to explain that the vibration of your smartphone is so strong and loud it shakes the bed, table, walls, the whole house.
Finally, the practicality: Bubbles is always ready to use, everywhere and every when. Nothing to be recharged, no cable to carry around, no flashing light that threatens to leave the job half done. It’s lightweight and easy to carry and store inside the soft velvet pouch handmade by Silvia’s parents with unconditional love.
Bubbles works in mysterious ways
Bubbles’ shape and size allow to both vaginal and anal penetration.
Just a reminder: for your own sake, if you want to switch from anal to vaginal play, be careful to clean the toy thoroughly in order to avoid transferring bacteria from the rectum to the vagina and to prevent infections.
If you are a frequent explorer of your body and you know exactly the size that better fits your pleasure, you can ask Silvia a customized dildo.
Really really really ridiculously beautiful
Bubbles, as well as all the toys designed by Silvia Picari, is also a unique beautiful and elegant piece of art that can stand on the bookcase, on the coffee table in the centre of your living room, on a bathroom shelf and every other spot of your home where you can admire it and display it.
Side note: the clit is on the guest list
Using a dildo doesn’t mean avoiding all the stimulations that differ from penetration. If the centre of your pleasure is in that tiny sensitive receptive part of the vulva called clitoris, don’t forget to ask it out to party. My most beautiful experience with Bubbles was when my hand was driving the toy and the one of my better half was taking care of my clit speeding up the pleasure machine.
Pictures by I’M
