This mascara vibe is a great concept: a discreet way to hide a vibrator by disguising it as a makeup item. We've seen it before with the lipstick vibes, and this is a nice addition to the family.

It's pretty discreet and easy to use at home or while traveling. It's waterproof, so you can use it in the shower or insert it into the vagina as well. Though it isn't marketed for it, it can be used anally as the base of it is much thicker than the wand portion. However, if used anally, it should be lubricated very well, as the tip is made of a jelly-like plastic and it should be cleaned extremely well since the spaces between the "bristles" can harbor bacteria. I don't recommend it for anal play, but it is a possibility for those interested.

Its best function is clitoral stimulation, and you can use the tip or the base, since the vibrations carry very well throughout the whole vibrator. I find myself preferring the base because the "bristles" can heighten sensitivity for me a little too much, so switching to the base is a nice way to keep stimulating myself without feeling like it's "too much." It's also nice for stimulating nipples because the tip is very pointed and the "bristles" provide extra stimulation.

The mascara vibe is made with flexible grey plastic at the tip and hard plastic throughout the rest of the body. The bristles, contrary to popular perception, are not rough at all! They're made of the same jelly-like plastic found in the tip and are extremely flexible. Seriously, they're not uncomfortable at all, but since they're so small, they give a surprising amount of added stimulation.

The rest of the wand is made of plastic, mostly black. The middle section is painted red and the bottom black part bears a silver stripe around the body. This stripe has begun to wear off after only three uses, so that paint is not long-lasting and can be scratched off very easily with a fingernail. That notwithstanding, the rest of the color on the wand seems to be holding up nicely and doesn't come off when I scratch it.

The tip bears a smell of plastic. It's not too strong, but it didn't fade after I washed the toy. I think it will eventually fade, though.

The wand comes with a black cover made of the same hard plastic as the rest of the shell. The cover slips on and snaps in place to protect the tip of the wand from dirt. This is a great storage feature, because how many times have you had to fine non-cloth storage for your plastic toys because they attract lint? Well, the mascara wand has got you covered (literally!). However, the plastic sleeve has the words "Screaming O" printed in red. This isn't very discreet at all, but guess what? That too comes off with a fingernail scratch, so it's immensely easy to remove those words from the outer cover. The words "Screaming O are also featured on the inside, on the red portion in the middle section of the wand that cannot be rubbed or scratched off. However, by the time any person sees this thing up close enough to read that, s/he has already discovered that this is not a real mascara wand!

For those who like pressure when using a vibe, this one is tricky. If I'm using the tip for clitoral stimulation, I find myself wanting to press it harder against myself. However, the middle of the wand (the stick joining the tip to the base) is not flexible at all, so I worry that I might break it if I try to bend it too much. Therefore, I find myself having to use extra fingers to support this middle stick so I don't snap the thing in half. Perhaps the vibe would be better if the middle portion had more "give" for those who like added or varied pressure.

The wand is 5.5 inches in length and while the insertable length is about half of that, you can actually successfully insert it much farther simply by leaving the cap on (no, really!). The cap is completely smooth so there isn't any texture of which to speak when you do it that way, but if you just want a smooth vibrator and don't need the fancy shape or texture, then leave the cover on and insert the whole dang thing! The controls are on the bottom of the wand, so you won't be blocking access to the speed functions.

Speaking of speed functions, let's talk about those: the vibe is pretty simple in that it only has 4 different vibration functions. In order, they are

1. Steady low
2. Steady medium
3. Steady high
4. Variable pulsating

When I tried the vibe for the first 5 or 6 times, the pulsating function always made the vibe shut itself off, likely because it consumed too much battery. Then I would immediately turn it back on again and it world work fine on the first three levels. It seems that every time I set it to pulse, it gradually fades out. However, I'm sure this could be corrected with a fresh set of batteries (which are included in the package).

The functions are controlled with one button, located at the bottom of the vibe. There is no light or indicator that the button has been pressed, and it looks like the button is covered by a very thick sticker, which I imagine could come off easily during washing with hot water or just being pulled off.

The vibrations are pretty strong for a little vibe, and they travel very well through the body of the vibe. It's also pretty quiet and not "buzzy" at all.

The wand's "bristles" aren't easy to clean between because of the texture of the plastic (things don't glide easily over it unless they're lubricated, plus they're close together). However, I just put the vibe tip-down in a cup of soapy water and turned it on, and it actually worked to clean the want nicely. Towel-drying isn't really advisable because the fibers will get stuck on the plastic tip.

Overall, it seems like a pretty easy toy to care for. Just don't bend it because the hard plastic center is not flexible, clean between the "bristles" very well if you insert the wand, and keep it in the case/cover.

The packaging wasn't discreet. The wand comes in a black box with plastic that allows the viewer to see the vibrator. The box reads in white print "chic and discreet MASCARA VIBE*" What's the asterisk, you ask? It's explained at the bottom of the front of the box: "*Your Secret Multi-Function Vibrator Discreetly Disguised as a Mascara Wand." So if there was any doubt about the contents of the box, it's done away with now! The back of the box gives a description of the functions and the product itself.