My Black rose Rosie Restraint came in cardboard packaging with a naked woman on the front with a strategically placed tape X over her nipple. It's not subtle if left out, and it isn't any good for storage, so I'll recycle mine after I write this review. The restraint itself comes folded over a stiff paper bookmark-like slip and that is then inside a clear plastic sleeve. The box says it's "Soft, luxurious silk wrist or ankle restraints." It is soft, but after further research on the DocJohnson.com website, I found out it's not actual silk (which made me happy for animal cruelty reasons). The website says it's, "Silky fabric" rather than actual silk. There is a small rosette detail in the center of the strip of material that the box advertises as a "Beautiful black rose detail" and the website says it's made of "leather-like material." Personally, I think it looks flimsy and chintzy so I will probably try to remove it from mine since it doesn't affect the function of the restraints.

When I opened the plastic sleeve, there was no smell and the material does, indeed, feel very silk and smooth which is nice because I have very sensitive skin and the material slides easily over my skin without causing irritation or marks.

One claim the box made that I found fault with, though, was this: "Easy to use" and, maybe, it's just me being dense, but it didn't come with instructions and it took me a while to figure out how to make the strip of material into the cuffs for restraint. When looking at the restraint, it appears to be a plain strip of material and each end is folded back on itself and sewn to form a little loop (like at the top of curtains where you slide the curtain rod through). It lays flat and you can't see them if you just look at it. After a while I figured out that you have to slip your thumb and pointer finger through the loop like when you tie your shoes and you make the 2 loops and then stick your thumb and pointer through at the end to grasp the other side of the shoelace and pull it through. you have to do that here, too. You stick your thumb and pointer through the loop and grasp the strap down below where the loop is sewn to it. Pull that material through the loop and it creates a circle that you can stick your wrist or ankle through. You do the same thing at the other end for the other wrist or ankle. I'll tell you, that was a rather humbling moment. That's the place where my dad usually interjects, "College educated..." and lets it fade off for effect. Thanks, Dad.

I explored a bit with the straps to see how they feel compared to my leather cuffs. The Rosie Restraints are infinitely easier to put on. I don't even know if I could get my leather cuffs on by myself. They could probably hold just as tight, but the material bunches into a smaller area so I would be afraid of pulling it extremely taut because it could cut off circulation more easily than a wider, stiffer material would. Also, when I wrapped it around the top bar of my headboard, my hands started to tingle and go slightly blue after a while, because my hands were elevated above my head; however, when I moved the restraints to the lower bar of my headboard, that problem was eliminated and my hands didn't go tingly or numb. I made sure not to pull the restraints extremely tight to help avoid that.

Both the box and the docjohnson.com website instruct that the restraints are hand wash only so keep that in mind. The good news is, restraints are usually far enough away from the action that they don't get very dirty. The better news is, if your restraints still get dirty that far away from the action... baby, you're doing something exciting!