The Tingle

As a budding BDSM enthusiast it was important to find the right starter flogger. Luckily I had a wonderful way to narrow down my options; I had in my possession a coupon for 15% off at Smitten Kitten. Smitten Kitten is this great sex toy shop based in Minneapolis; they’re sex-positive, staffed by sex educators and they run the CATT, Coalition Against Toxic Toys. When he took a trip there, Andreas said they have a jar with a sign saying Do Not Open that contained toys made from unsafe material that had been left there to decompose in a horrific mess of cunt-cringing terror. Not pretty but uber-informative. Not only are they a body-positive, health conscious company but they’re also great to work with. When I couldn’t get my coupon code to work I emailed about it and was promptly emailed back and told to try it again and if it didn’t work the discount would be applied manually. I was very pleased and tickled by this. But anyway, on to the choice of toy. I wanted something that wasn’t too hardcore or harsh but also wasn’t some wussy, fluffy thing that you couldn’t actually get good, hard sensation out of if you wanted it; I wanted to find good middle ground and I did in The Tingle:

Other than almost sharing a name with a William Castle film starring Vincent Price (which just adds to the awesomeness), it’s very pretty, is made of mildly textured suede and comes in four colors. And also, it was under $30 (plus I had a coupon, score!).

Now, I bought this back in March and it was my first sex toy purchase EVER.  I was giddy and excited and even a little nervous about receiving it. When it came in its little padded envelope I took it in my room and tore it open. I usually don’t get really excited about packaging choices and stuff like that but how could I not love a toy that’s attached tag has this on it:

An image from a Weird Tales magazine and on the tag the women were neon blue and green no less! How many seemingly random references to weird horror things from decades past can I make in one sex toy review? Well, we shall see. So anyway, I took it out and immediately set about seeing how it felt in my hands. It’s lightweight and not very big but has a substantial amount of length to the suede strips (18 inches) and a convenient strap at the end you can wrap around your wrist. It’s very easy to just wrap it up and put it in a bedside drawer until you next need it. I was giddy about having the toy but sad that I couldn’t actually try it out yet. I managed to get a few unlucky (or lucky depending on their mentality) friends to let me slap them with it but other than that and me taking it out occasionally to practice hitting things with it, the poor thing had to lie in wait in my nightstand for several months.

Finaaallly, the chance came to use it and I was fucking excited. There’s a certain kind of pleasure that surges through you when you hit your partner in a way that you know they’re really enjoying and you hear that lovely resounding snap; the whole experience further solidified my love of BDSM and being dominant. My partner said that he enjoyed the flexibility of the toy in terms of how painful it could be. Which I enjoyed as well; any toy that can go from being a soft tease against someone’s chest to a more biting whip against the back is a winner as far as I’m concerned. I love this flogger and am very happy that I chose it as my first; it’s a perfect starter for people who want to experiment with BDSM that can carry you over to more intense arenas of sensation. If you want one, head over to Smitten Kitten and check it out.