If you're like me, you are always looking for ways to enhance your sexual experiences and are ever eager to take pleasure for yourself and your partner to new heights. For months, I have been doing kegel exercises after reading testimony after testimony vouching for their effectiveness in keeping the pelvic floor muscles tight, and leading to more intense, easier to control orgasms. Who wouldn't want that?! Best of all, they are easy to do, can be done anywhere at any time, and only take a couple of minutes to complete one exercise routine. However, if you're like me, you also probably have trouble remembering to do them. Like any workout routine, you have to keep doing the exercises consistently in order see results. As busy as I am, I often just don't have the thought pop into my mind telling me, "Hey! You need to do your kegels today!" Thankfully, there are products available to help us ladies out for when we get forgetful, or are having trouble with doing kegels correctly.

The Luna pleasure bead system from Lelo is just such a product. Whether you are younger, older, a mother, or have never had kids, these simple beads can do wonders for strengthening your pelvic floor muscles. You get four beads; the lighter pink ones weigh 28 grams each and the heavier blue ones weigh 37 grams each. The different sized beads make them customizable to fit a variety of women, and are intended to be used in such a way that it is possible to start out with the lighter beads and then gradually work up to the heavier ones as your muscles strengthen. Easy to use, totally comfortable, and cute to boot, I have fallen in love with my Luna beads. Simply fit them into their silicone harness, add a bit of lube, insert them, and go about your day like normal--wear them during your exercise routine, while you clean house, go for a walk, go grocery shopping, or whatever you do, and let them work their magic. Each pair has one bead that comes with a handy retrieval cord, so they are just as simple to remove as they are to insert. What could be easier than that?

The Luna Beads are made of body safe PC ABS/silicone and what appears to be simple nylon retrieval cords. The beads themselves are smooth and glossy and are pretty pastel shades of pink and blue. The smooth material makes insertion and removal easy. Inside each bead is what sounds like a rubber ball, which moves as you do.

I love the look of the Luna beads. They are just pretty. When I first removed them from their package though, I was concerned about their size and thought perhaps I had made a mistake and should have purchased the mini version instead. Each bead is 4 1/2" in circumference, 1 3/8" in diameter, and the harness measures at about 3". I'm a 26 year old woman, I am petite and I have never given birth. I wondered if perhaps these beads would present a challenge for me, given my own anatomy, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are just about perfect for me. Once they were fit into their harness, I couldn't wait to try them out.

Inserting them is similar to that of inserting a tampon, though the second bead is always a little more challenging to get in. Once they were in though, I felt no discomfort at all. In fact, I forgot I was wearing them after a while, which made me pause and wonder if they weren't, in fact, heavy enough. After reading several reviews though, I think it's worthwhile to emphasize that the Luna beads, like any kegel exerciser, takes time to produce noticeable results. Be patient and wear them often--I promise they do work really well.

The only downside is that perhaps for some women they aren't heavy enough. Every woman's anatomy is a little different, and we all have different degrees of strength in our pelvic floor muscles. But since you have four beads to work with, if the 28 gram beads don't work for you, try a pink and a blue one, the blue one being 37 grams. On the flip side, if you need something smaller or lighter at first, insert one of the pink ones with the retrieval cord and see how that works for you. I have tried all combinations so far, and have had my beads for about a month and a half now. Using both blue beads seems to work well for me at this point, and I couldn't be happier with their size.

As a vaginal exerciser, the Luna beads definitely do the job. Some women might be annoyed, however, by the balls making bouncy sounds inside of the beads. The sound is hardly noticeable when they are inserted, though they can still be heard moving around as you do. No one would really notice in a situation where there is a bit of background noise, and I do mean just a bit. I wear my beads all over the place, around people, I jog while wearing them, I wear them to work and I have yet to be asked, "What's that bouncy ball noise? And where is it coming from?" Still, the beads are not silent.

As for what the use of the balls inside are, the instructions that the beads come with claim that they create "a subtle kinetic vibe stimulating the vaginal muscles." I believe that they are for added sensation during use, and some women might be more sensitive them than others. For me, they are hardly noticeable, although, I just generally enjoy the sensation of wearing these beads; how much the balls on the inside of them have to do with that, I'm not sure.

Since the Luna beads are made of silicone, they should only be used with a water based lubricant. The instruction booklet also warns against silicone lube, stating that it could cause the harness to become permanently tacky. Lelo provides one small package of 0.17 fluid ounces of a water based paraben free, glycerin free lube to help with insertion and it is a rather nice, natural feeling lubricant.

Cleaning the Luna beads is as easy as disassembling the beads from their harness, and cleaning each piece with a toy cleanser or antibacterial soap and hot water. Lelo also provides a nice, discreet little black pouch for storage, making them easy to tuck away somewhere for when you are not using them.

Ah, Lelo. You sure know how to make a girl feel special. The packaging that the Luna beads come in is very nice and emphasizes that you are using a luxury item. The beads come in a white box that looks like the kind that expensive jewelry comes in. The lid has simple silver lettering of Lelo stamped on it and each bead is stored in its own Styrofoam-like compartment. Underneath the compartments is the little black storage pouch, the small packet of lubricant, an instruction booklet that gives helpful tips for how to use the beads, complete with insertion diagrams, and a paper booklet stating Lelo's one year warranty and ten year quality guarantee. I haven't tossed the lovely box, despite the fact that I keep the beads stored in their pouch. It's just such nice packaging, that it would seem like a waste to throw it out. I keep my lube and warranty stored in it. I have to hand it to Lelo--they certainly know how to make an already enticing product look even better. I felt like I was opening a gift box when I received these in the mail.