The Liv by LELO is a gorgeous vibrator which works well both for insertion and external stimulation. Its shaft is made of lovely, silky, smooth silicone, with the control panel made up of ABS plastic. It’s around 7” with about 4.5” of that being insertable, with a reasonably slim circumference of 3.75”. The Liv’s gently curving shaft means it can be used to stimulate your G-Spot and as the vibrations are focused near the end of the shaft, you really get the full benefit of all that sensation and you can use the ergonomic shape to hit exactly the right spots with the vibrations! Used externally, the texture of the silicone feels lovely and the slightly pointed tip can be used to tease as well as hone in on particular spots, or the shaft can be nestled between your lips.

The control panel on the Liv is really user-friendly and consists of a set of plus and a minus button, as well as a set of up and down arrows. Pressing the plus button turns the Liv on and the plus and minus cycle through the power levels. The up and down arrows cycle through the four available patterns on each power level. Though the buttons are quite responsive to touch, I had no problems bumping them in use as my hand didn’t seem to be sitting in that area. However, for travel or if you’re concerned about the toy coming on at an inopportune moment, you can actually lock the Liv. All that’s required is to hold down all four buttons at once for about five seconds to lock it and the same to unlock it once you’re ready.

As far as I can discern there are seven or eight different steady vibration levels, which range from a light tickle, to a beautifully strong slightly rumbly top setting. There are also four vibration settings available at each level of power. The first is a slow interval pulsation, the second slightly faster pulses, the third quick pulses and finally the fourth, my favourite, a wave/escalating pattern. My only gripe with these patterns is they really aren't exciting - three pulsing ones and an escalating one, so I wish there was a little more variety. However, I find the power of the Liv to be plenty for me, especially impressive as it’s a rechargeable toy, but I know there are others who would ideally like more oomph from LELO toys in general. On the plus side, the Liv is wonderfully quiet and can’t be heard through a closed door or through covers.

Charging the Liv is really simple and it’s made easier by a red backlight that appears whenever it needs charging! Simply pull back the silicone plug on the bottom and click in the charger lead. Two hours of charging should result in about an hour and a half of play, but this will vary depending on what settings you’re using etc. I’d also like to note that I plug my charger into a transformer instead of a wall socket because I live in Australia and that works perfectly fine.

Similarly, cleanup is pretty easy for the Liv. Though it’s not waterproof in the submergible sense, you can easily wipe it down with a damp cloth and some soap or toy cleaner. However, do note that the instruction manual states that you should not use cleaners that contain alcohol, petrol or acetone, as these may damage the silicone. As the Liv has a motor inside, boiling is out of the question for sterilization, but you can wipe it down 10% bleach solution to get rid of most unwanted nasties. When it comes to lubes, make sure to steer clear of silicone based ones, as these could react with the silicone on the shaft, but water based ones are ideal.

Just as a final note, something I really like about LELO is their attention to detail when it comes to packaging, quality and guarantees The Liv comes packaged beautifully in a sturdy box, which includes instructions, a lovely storage bag and two gurantees. The guarantees are pretty neat as there is a full one year guarantee, as well as a 10 year quality guarantee that gives you 50% off your next LELO purchase if anything goes wrong with your toy in the next 10 years.