I have wanted a Lelo toy ever since I heard people begin to rave about them. I have longed for one of my very own so that I, too, would know the wonders of THE BEST TOYS EVER. I looked at pictures of them, ogled their beauty, and pined for a Lelo toy that I could call mine. And finally, VibeReview was nice enough to send me the Liv to try out.

The first thing that struck me was the beautiful packaging. Liv came in a hot pink box with a picture of the vibe in the actual size on the back. When I opened the pink box, I found a beautiful, substantial, sturdy black box inside.

The top of the box lifted off to reveal the Liv, packed safely and beautifully inside.

And removing the top level inside revealed more goodies underneath. A satin bag to store Liv in subtly, and that takes up much less room than the box does; the charger, as Liv is rechargable, like all other Lelo toys; a user’s manual; and a one-year warranty.

The user’s manual is fabulous. It comes with directions on charging it, how to use the controls, how to clean it, the material it is made from, and how to store it, as well as answering some FAQs. Liv is made from phthalate-free silicone, which means that it should only be used with water-based lube. The material is smooth and very silky feeling to the touch.

The Liv is multi-speed and has five different functions of vibration. The control dial has four buttons; a plus and minus sign on the right and left respectively, and an up and a down arrow on the top and the bottom. To turn the toy on as well as to increase the vibrations, press the plus sign on the right. To turn the vibrations down as well as to turn it off, hold the minus sign on the left. To cycle through the patterns of vibration, use the up arrow. To cycle back down, use the down arrow. The patterns of vibration are solid vibration, extended interval pulsation (buuuuzz, buuuuzz, buuuuzz), intermediate interval pulsation (buzz, buzz, buzz), short interval pulsation (buzzbuzzbuzz), and wave pulsation (low buzz to high buzz, low buzz to high buzz).

Liv has 4 1/2 inches of insertable length and has a diameter of 1 1/8 inches, so it is on the smaller side. It curves upward slightly, which is supposed to provide mild g-spot stimulation. You can see the Liv in my hand to get a better idea of the size of the toy:

I charged the Liv for the 2 hours that it said were necessary before using the toy. The charger gets plugged into a small hole that is located on the base end of the toy under the little white “Lelo” flag. It’s plugged by the flag when not in use. When it is plugged into the charger, the LED light surrounding the control dial will blink a white light to let you know the toy is charging; when it is fully charged, the light will remain on. When the battery is low, the LED light will glow red as opposed to white.

After Liv was done charging, I powered the toy on. I was immediately shocked by how quiet the toy was. Most vibes that I’ve used have been fairly loud, especially the ones that provide the kind of power that I like. But the Liv was whisper quiet. This is fantastic, because I use Skype to play with people often, and I never want to use any of my vibes because the noise is distracting and hinders my ability to hear the person on the other end of the camera, as well as their ability to hear me. Problem solved!

I was also shocked at the strength of the vibrations. For such a small, quiet vibe, Liv packs a fairly powerful punch! I first used Liv clitorally, and though it took a while, I was able to climax with it. This is most definitely saying something, as my clit prefers very powerful vibrations. I next inserted the Liv, and I’ll be honest and say that I was not looking forward to using it this way. I tend to not be a fan of internal vibrations AT ALL. However, I was VERY pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the vibrating sensation internally. These were nice, smooth vibrations and not jarring ones like many of the vibes I’d tried.

I angled the toy up towards my g-spot and could definitely feel the pressure and sensations, however the Liv was *just* too short to reach where I really wanted it to. My hand kept trying to force the toy further into my vagina, which would have caused the controls to be soaked. Not a good thing. I found myself wishing that the Liv was just a tiny bit longer (I have a feeling the Gigi will be perfect).

Another problem that I found myself having with the Liv involved the controls. I kept accidentally hitting the controls while using it, and changing the pattern of vibration or speed of vibration at the worst possible moment. The controls are pretty easy to hit at inopportune times. I also tend to get pretty wet, and I found myself getting juices all over the handle, making it hard to hold onto, and causing them to get into the little buttons on the control dial, which were hard to get out. This also worries me, as Liv is not waterproof and I don’t want my lubrication to cause the toy to short circuit.

I’m not really a big fan of patterns and functions of vibration, so those didn’t really do much for me. I did enjoy putting the Liv on one of the functions while inside me and then using my Hitachi on my clit. It provided a nice variation of subtle, patterned vibrations internally and intense, powerful vibrations externally.

As for cleaning Liv, warm antibacterial soap and water works just fine. Don’t get the control panel wet, and let it air dry or pat it dry with a paper towel. I don’t use towels because they can carry bacteria, as well as leave lint on most toys. To recharge Liv, just plug it back into the charger. Two hours of charge should last anywhere from 3 to 4 hours for play.

All in all, I absolutely loved Liv. I’d rate it 4 out of 5 stars, only because I wished it was a tad longer and because I had trouble with hitting the buttons on the controls. This toy is great for beginners or experts and really is a high quality toy that I am thrilled to own. I can’t wait to try out the rest of the Lelo products now! If you or someone you know would like to try one for yourself, you can buy one from VibeReview! I want to thank them for giving me the chance to try such a great toy!