The Gigi is designed as a g-spot stimulator, but it works for external stimulation as well. It's not the best choice for clitoral stimulation, if you prefer pinpointed vibration. The head is pretty flat. Because it has no flared base, it isn't safe for anal play, so don't try it! The soft, but non-grippy texture, plus the flat tip, makes it really good for using it on the rest of your body too! I find it particularly good to use on nipples. It is a very quiet toy. I've used it with my door open, by accident, and none of my roommates heard anything. While I don't think you'd want to use it with someone else in the room, it's a great choice if you live with people.

The girth is on the smaller side and the shape is non-threatening, so I think this could be a good choice for beginners, provided they want to shell out the cash and are able to deal with a hard toy.

The coloured, insertable section of the Gigi is silicone, so make sure to stick with a water-based lubricant. The handle and controls are plastic. The entire toy is very hard, even the silicone section doesn't have any give to it. The silicone section has a really nice velvety texture, that's soft without being "grabby", the way silicone can be sometimes. The texture shouldn't be challenging for anyone, but some beginners might find the unforgiving hardness of the toy a challenge.

There was no smell at all coming out of the packaging, and it hasn't picked up any smells in the month I've had it.

The Gigi is a total of 6.5 inches long, but only 4.5 inches are insertable. You probably could insert more, but you won't be able to hit the buttons, and cleaning might get a little more difficult because the buttons aren't waterproof. The insertable portion is about the same width for the entire shaft, but it widens slightly at the head and base, to a maximum diameter of just over 1 inch. This is definitely not a toy to go with if you're a size queen, horizontally or vertically. Personally, I found it a bit thin, but not unbearably so.

Gigi is curved with a flattened head to target g-spots. For me, this toy just wasn't long enough to hit my g-spot. I needed at least another half inch in length. I think if it was that much longer, it would work really well. The shape of the toy seems like it would be great if my g-spot wasn't as far inside me.

The controls lock, so this would be a good one to take traveling. Just hold both the left (-) and right (+) buttons for about 5 seconds to lock/unlock it.

The controls are a set of four connected buttons in the middle of the plastic handle section. There's an up, down, left (-) and right (+), and a light around the outside of the buttons that goes on when you push a button. You hold the (+) button to turn the toy on, and the (-) button to turn it off. The up and down buttons change the vibration pattern and the (-) and (+) buttons change the intensity. The buttons have to be pushed slightly longer than you'd expect. You have to click and hold for a fraction of a second. This is a good feature because it makes it more difficult to hit them accidentally.

There are 5 vibration patterns: steady vibration, slow pulse, medium pulse, fast pulse, and "rollercoaster"(steady waves of increasing and decreasing vibration). There are 7 intensity levels (I think...it's kind of hard to tell), from barely there to quite intense. The rollercoaster setting is my favorite. The vibration increases and decreases incredibly smoothly. It's really great! The vibrations are focused at the head of the toy, but they can be felt all the way along the insertable portion. They can be felt in the handle section, but just enough to know that the toy is on. They definitely won't make your hand go numb. The vibrations are very smooth and pretty deep, and though the higher intensities can get a bit intense, they aren't the numbing kind of vibration that can happen with smaller or cheaper toys.

One of the best things about this toy is how quiet it is, even on the highest settings. I can hardly hear it at all when it's under the blankets. Another awesome thing is that it's rechargeable! I love rechargeable toys. It's one of my favorite features. The light around the control buttons will glow red when it needs charging, flashes white while it's charging, and glows a steady white when the charge is full.

The only strong downside of this toy is that it isn't waterproof.

Because Gigi isn't waterproof, it can be a bit tricky to clean. You need to be really careful not to get water around the buttons in particular. The texture isn't difficult to clean at all, because it's so smooth. I think toy wipes would be a really good choice to use with this toy, because using water and soap to clean it is a bit stressful.

The insertable section of Gigi is silicone, so make sure you stick with a water-based lube. If you really, really want to use a different lube, make sure to at least do a patch test first.

As anyone who's ordered a LELO toy knows, their packaging is absolutely gorgeous. There is an outer cardboard box that's the colour you chose (mine was turquoise), with "LELO" on the top, some brief information on the side ("body-safe materials, deceptively powerful," etc), and a picture of the toy on the bottom. It almost looks like a Tiffany's box - it's super classy! If you're giving it as a gift, you might want to take this outer layer off (it would give away what's inside!), because the next layer of packaging is just as gorgeous. It's a sturdy black cardboard box with "LELO" on the top. It looks expensive, like it could have jewelery or some fancy electronic thing inside.

Inside the box, there's a black plastic form that the Gigi sits in, with a piece of shaped, transparent plastic on top. Again, this looks super classy, and this would be an awesome way to store it if you have the space. If not, under the plastic section there's a white satin drawstring bag. There's also a user manual with a guide to the toy, including descriptions of the vibrations, how to recharge, how to care for the Gigi, etc, in multiple languages. There's a "10 year quality guarantee" booklet that shows other LELO toys, and a "1 year warranty" booklet. I'm not really sure what's up with that.

Personally, the Gigi isn't my favourite toy. I'm so disappointed because I was super excited about getting it! The length just isn't long enough to hit my g-spot, and the diameter isn't large enough to make it work well for me as a non-G-Spot insertable toy.

I use it as a clitoral toy sometimes, but the flat head isn't great for targeted stimulation, so I often end up just leaving it in the drawer. It is really well designed though, and I think if it worked with my anatomy better, it would become a favourite. Oh well...