For those that like a realistic feel but a non-realisic look, Vixen presents the Raquel. Raquel is done in VixSkin, a high quality silicone that simulates the real thing. Unlike most VixSkin dildos, Raquel is colored bright pink and shaped in a simple bulbed head cylindrical fashion.

Raquel is smaller in size and can be used by beginners or advanced users that prefer less diameter to their toys. It has a flared base, making it anal safe and harness compatible. You can, of course, also use Raquel vaginally.

This is a great toy for partner or solo play. It can be used during foreplay or with a harness for partner use. It can even be used as part of a double penetration scenario. For solo use, it can be used by itself or with an external vibrator.

Raquel is made of VixSkin, placing at a ten on the safety scale due to it's non-porous nature. VixSkin is Vixen's premium silicone line. It has all the benefits of silicone with a more realistic feel. Vixen's website says that it is made with premium silicone lubricant suspended between the molecules to give it that feel. It warms quickly and retains body heat, adding even more to the realistic feel of the material.

It has a firm inner core that's wrapped with a softer, squishy outer layer. This allows for dual density, or what my husband has dubbed the "hard but soft" feel. The head is made entirely of the softer material and can be squished in on itself. The shaft has the hard inner layer to it and can only be pushed in up until you hit the core.



The inner core is firm, but not rigid. Raquel has a somewhat floppy quality to it. When moved around, the toy will sway with the movements. It's not the most floppy, but those who need something with a very rigid core may not like the range of movement available. I can bend down a good bit, though it will bounce quickly back up to its original stature.



The material has a light tacky feel to it and thus a decent amount of drag. It doesn't feel sticky, just perhaps gummy. Lube is recommended when inserting. This gummy quality makes Raquel a hair, lint, dirt, dust, and otherwise magnet. I've actually watched hair in the air go directly for Raquel as if something in the material drew it in. Heaven forbid you drop it on the ground (my husband did, by the way), because it will take ten minutes to get all the things that collect on it off again.

There is no texture to Raquel. A perfectly smooth surface is what you will find here, so texture loves will want to look elsewhere. There is a medium amount of silicone smell to Raquel, which is only evident when held up to my nose. There is no taste.

Before Raquel, my only dabbling in dual density was with the O2 Flurry. When I got my Flurry, I was blown away by how realistic it felt. So, how does Raquel's VixSkin compare? Suffice it to say that my Flurry feels less realistic and more like silicone these days. Raquel feels realistic to the touch, for sure. When used, the realistic feel seems to heighten and I could swear the only thing it's missing is the pulse. If the size was bigger, I could probably easily confuse this for my husband (which I'm sure would really get under his skin). It's just...heaven in silicone.

The product page and I have some major disagreements on Raquel. It lists the total length at 8.5" while I only got 7.5". This puts their insertable length at 7.5" and mine at 6.25" (or 6.5" depending on how close to the base you measure). The bulbed part of the head is 1 5/8" in diameter, which we agree on. The diameter of the shaft is 1.25".



Here you can see Raquel in my hand for size reference:



I try to keep my toys at 1.5" diameter or smaller. I was slightly concerned when I saw 1 5/8" since I've had some toys at that size that have caused issues for me. Luckily, only the head of Raquel is that size and the super squishy quality of the head means it doesn't feel like more than 1.5" of a harder material. So Raquel worked out to be pretty much the perfect amount of girth for me. Length wise, Raquel is a bit longer than what I need. However, I'd rather something be too long than too short since I can always just not insert what I don't want to.

Raquel's size makes it beginner friendly. Advanced users who like smaller sizes should also be pleased with the size. Those who prefer a lot of girth or a more full feeling will probably not be satisfied.

Raquel's shape is nice and simple. It is a cylindrical shaft with a larger, bulbed head. It is phallic in nature, but not realistic like the other toys in the VixSkin line. I don't personally like realistic looking toys, so Raquel's appearance is perfect to me. The color is beautiful and the shape is just phallic enough to be effective but not visually off-putting. Your opinion will depend on how you feel about realistic design or lack thereof.

While not realistic, Raquel is still not discreet. It may not look like a real penis, but it does look like a real dildo. There's no mistaking what the use of this is. If you don't want someone knowing what you have, hiding this will be your best bet. The size is not so large to make it easy to store away or to travel with.

There's a few areas I'd like to touch on in terms of Raquel's performance. The first thing is the material, which I've mostly covered in the Material section. I do think it bears mentioning again that this is very realistic material. In use, both the outer and inner core can be felt simultaneously. I wish I could find words to accurately describe exactly how this felt, but it's kind of like trying to describe how actual sex feels. Well, good. Soft and hard at the same time. Squishy and firm. Lots of things all at once that are hard to really explain.

The second is the actual shape. I hear stories that some women can stimulate their G spot with these bulbed head designs. Sadly, I am not one of those women and my G spot reacts only to very extreme curves. I cannot say if this design will work for those of you who can normally get stimulation from that type of design. I can say that if you need something very firm, it won't work.

While my G spot doesn't react to Raquel, the rest of me did. The bulbed head may not be able to hit my G spot, but certainly felt amazing. It is noticeable the entire time during use, but especially so if you are one to fully remove a toy and insert it back in when thrusting (I did this a few times to test). The shape really seems unassuming a simple, but there's something about it that just seemed to work on all the right levels. The head was exactly the right amount of size larger than the shaft to make it noticeable. It was a large enough head to produce stimulation but not to feel like it went on forever. Like the material, the design was executed perfectly.

I did put this in my harness, but did not actually use it in a harness (because I refuse to share). The weight is comfortable to wear when in and I didn't have to readjust everything on my harness to get it to sit in the right place.

To clean Raquel, you can use soap and water or toy cleaner. Silicone can also be boiled for full sterilization, which should be done if sharing the toy. There are no ridges or other texture that will collect fluids, so care is very easy. Hair, dirt, or anything else in the air or areas this touches will stick to this like it was made of glue, so you may be washing it frequently. At the very least, you should wash before and after use.

Only water based lubes should be used with Raquel. Silicone lubes can potentially damage silicone materials, and this material is just too lovely to ruin.

You can store Raquel in the original packaging or a toy pouch or bag. The packaging works well, but does take up a good amount of space.

Raquel comes in a see through tube that has black end caps. The front says "VixSkin - Worth Every Inch." The back has details about the VixSkin material and contact information for Vixen.





The package makes for great, albeit bulky, storage. The only issue I have had is that the top is a little difficult to get back on since it is cut to fit the tube down to the last millimeter or something.

It is not discreet packaging as it is see through and has information about how lifelike the material is.

If the size sounds good to you and the shape looks like it may work, do yourself a favor and get Raquel. I think there are probably people this won't work for, but if you've read the information on it and think it might, it is well worth the try. If you need a lot of size or a very rigid feel, Raquel is probably a pass. If size is the issue, there are many larger dildos in the VixSkin line.

For those who want something dual density but want something a little more fun and colorful, Raquel fills that much needed gap in the dildo world.

After falling in love with the Flurry, I was complaining about how there were no non-realistic, small dildos made of dual density material. Luckily, Antipova quickly pointed me in the direction of Raquel. I had never tried VixSkin before and had previously thought Raquel was just plain silicone. When I realized this was not the case, Raquel quickly shot to the front of my wish list.

In case you somehow missed it from the review text, I think this is pretty much the best dildo in the world. Now, take that with a grain of salt because I mostly buy vibrators and don't have a ton of dildos to compare it to. To put it in perspective, I may have softened my "no realistic dildo" shell a little simply because I lust for more VixSkin. To put another spin on it, my husband tried to steal Raquel from me after he felt it. I actually had to order him his own VixSkin (which I then tried to steal from him) so he would stop trying to use my Raquel (I don't share toys).

Raquel has put my poor Flurry out of commission, for the most part. I still like my Flurry and use it, but Raquel feels a lot better and has become my go-to dildo very quickly. The size is much more suitable for me and allows me to thrust easily and quickly. Overall, it just works better for my body and feels much more realistic.