The Royal Princess by California Exotics is a sex toy that, for me, took a little “courtship.” Despite my excitement upon receiving the package, the princess and I had to get to know each other a little before it became entirely comfortable and enjoyable.

The first thing that hit me, upon opening the package, was the smell: reportedly scented tangerine, any citrus-like scent was entirely overwhelmed by the pungent smell of TPR silicone. Still, I washed it up and inserted the two required double A batteries, then off I went; but not before noticing the cute little smiley face at the top of the vibrator.

Unfortunately, my first attempt with the Royal Princess didn’t involve very much getting off. It isn’t great for clitoral stimulation as the tip doesn’t vibrate enough for my taste, so I used a bullet to take care of that, along with a little imaginative thinking. The head of the princess slipped in easily, but after that I ran into trouble; the bulb in the middle of the shaft was highly uncomfortable! I wriggled, cycled through the seven speeds, switched positions twice and used some of my favorite water-based lubricant, but no such luck: my body refused to cooperate and the bulb got “stuck” on my pubic bone. I ended up using my trusty little bullet to finish the job and promised myself that I would try again later.

I enlisted my honey by phone that night. “Help me try out my new toy,” I invited, and he happily proceeded to do his very best. A little verbal foreplay turned out to be exactly what I needed, and in slipped the princess! The vibrations weren’t overly strong, but oh did that bulb feel nice filling me up. It felt amazing! Using just the curved head of the Princess to press against my g-spot resulted in, if not the fabled g-spot orgasm, one that left me gasping and shaking just a little!

In some sense, the Royal Princess is a little bit of a “mixed bag.” It has its strong points and its weaknesses. Its strong points are the bulb in the middle of the shaft, as well as its g-spot curve, the fact that it isn’t very loud, and of course the fact that it’s made of smooth, supple, phthalate-free TPR silicone. A word of warning, however: the lovely shape of this vibrator may be a little too challenging for beginners! The Princess’ weak points are its strong smell and, for me, its too-weak vibrations.