This black leather blindfold from PHS International is a general-use blindfold with very good looks. First, the positive: It would look gorgeous in pretty much any bedroom or scene. It’s made of black leather and is stitched with red thread and features red leather hearts inlayed across the top of the front. Those who are into coordination should note the matching leather wrist restraints. The backside, which sits against your eyes is soft suede. The strap is elastic, but was a good fit for my on-the-big-side head. Unlike most fabric blindfolds with elastic straps, the material that covers this blindfold does not strain in the middle because it’s leather. (Sometimes fabric and elastic blindfolds press unpleasantly against my eyeballs, across the middle because the pull of the elastic strains the fabric.) Finally, it looks really hot on any wearer.

The negative part comes in when you try to adjust it so that it blocks completely the wearer’s vision. I tried it on both my and my partner’s face, with similar results. When the blindfold is positioned a little higher so that it sits comfortably across the bridge of my nose, some light makes its way into my field of vision from the part around the nose not sitting completely against my face. Depending on how it’s positioned, I can see either only slivers of light or I can squint and actually see parts of the room. When I fit it on my face so that I can’t see anything at all except maybe a faint hint of light, the part that sits on the nose is irritating. The edges of this blindfold are completely finished and don’t feel rough against the skin on the rest of my body, but they do bother the very delicate skin at the top of my nose when the blindfold is pulled further down on my nose. If only the leather piece facing inwards had a rounded edge, it wouldn’t bother me at all. Then again, it seems to have worn smoother with use and is more comfortable against the bridge of my nose now, after only wearing it only a couple of times.

All in all, I still highly recommend it because the discomfort only happens when it’s in certain positions, fades over time, and might not affect other wearers. This is not a total black-out blindfold, and most are not. It can be fun when the wearer can catch a glimpse of what’s happening—that’s totally something you can factor into your games. If you want to block their vision more completely, play with positioning it on your own face, so you have a good idea of how to position it on your partner’s face for maximum sight blockage. Also, positioning a silk scarf or any fabric around the wearer's head and putting the blindfold over it will create a total black-out effect for those who want to completely deprive their partner of sight.