If you think bigger is better, that fancy buttons means it's higher class, or that a cord is required for pleasurable sensations, then ladies, gentlemen, and gender-queers, I'd like you to meet my little secret - the Couture Collection "Amante" by California Exotic.

It's a wireless, vibrating egg made of silicone. And I must confess I underestimated its ability to perform in the bedroom when I first received this assignment. After all, it's downright adorable and very simple in design. But I was blown away with all this little thing could do! So let me take you on a tour of the Amante. Shall we?

How to Use

The Amante is an egg meant to insert vaginally for internal pleasure. But it's also possible to use it to stimulate external erogenous zones like the nipples, perineum, or clitoris.

That's not saying you couldn't use it anally but I would caution people to think it through before doing because it very, very easily can be lost in the anal canal. There is no flared base to save you from having to push it out in the toilet or go to the E.R. with a very embarrassing story.

The Material

The egg portion of this toy is silicone with only the little strip of color around the battery compartment to reveal the inner plastic. It's soft and luxurious feeling with a matte coating that, unfortunately, also makes it a lint and hair magnet. But on the positive side, the silicone carries no discernable smell or taste, can be sterilized because it's non-porous, and is phthalate-free. To take care of this toy, just make sure to clean it only when it's completely closed to prevent water damaging the internal battery compartment. You can use mild soap and warm water, a toy cleaning spray or wipe, or even a 10% bleach solution.

And for any who don't already know – don't use silicone-based lubes with this egg (or any other silicone toy). They will interact in ways that will degrade the material and ruin your new toy.

The remote portion of the toy is plastic and probably won't require the intensive cleaning the egg will because it won't attract all the lint the egg will (and it obviously won't be inserted into the body). But again, just make sure the battery compartment is completely closed and only use a paper towel or clothe. I discourage submerging or running the remote under water in any way for any length of time.

The Design

The design of the Amante is excellent and should not go unappreciated. The stretchy, silicone "tail" serves as a retrieval string not unlike that of a tampon braid. (Sorry guys out there. You may not have the expert skill we women do with such activity.) What makes this so great is not only that it's easy to take the egg out when you're all done with play time but also serves as an excellent handhold for a partner when using this toy together.

It's secured to the egg very well and even when I stretched mine out fairly taut, it never showed signs of breaking off. It should also be known that it's very squishy and soft so if you choose to “wear” your Amante out in public, the string won't hurt or get in the way in your underwear. Lastly, what makes this tail different than, say, the Emigi tail is that the very end of it has two small bulges that accommodate two fingers to pinch it for pulling and no chance of your grip slipping.

The egg part is also not actually egg-shaped. It's more a very pill-shape, in my opinion. So depending on what works best for your body, this could be great or not quite right. For me personally it worked great. It maximized surface area touching my vaginal walls for pressure as well as vibration and didn't poke any one particular spot uncomfortably. And it was really easy to slide in as well with no odd shape or texture to work around. Yes, this would make a great beginner's toy for its ease of use.

Have I not already mentioned that this little jewel is waterproof? No? Well take this little toy into the bathtub, shower, or pool with you because it is! The cute little stripe of purple on my Amante outlines the battery compartment but also connects with the silicone that folds in from the external layer creating a water-tight seal.

And the remote is cute and ergonomically shaped and fits in the palm of my hand beautifully. It was neither lost nor obstructive to hold during play. I also love the matching stripe of purple around the remote so that it matches the egg.

The Controls and Functions
There are two buttons on the remote. One is a dedicated on/off button and the other is the vibration control. Both light up when powered on with a soft blue light and are very easy to press when in the heat of the moment.

Unfortunately there is no locking the buttons for travel so I suggest removing the batteries in such an event because it's very easy to accidentally turn the egg on in the box or a bag! Also, no matter what setting you last were on when the egg was turned off, it will always pick up from the first default setting.

The vibration settings are as follows:
1. Low
2. Medium
3. High
4. A rumbly, pulsation that increases in strength before returning to low
5. Steady pulse at high
6. Faster steady pulse at high
7. A Morse code type pulse with three short and one long pulsation repeating

The strength of the vibration was impressive for such a cute little egg with little batteries. I particularly loved the rumbling sensation of the fourth setting internally. It was a delicious feeling for foreplay. And the sound level is very comparable to a cell phone's vibration. So if you secretly wear your egg in public and you (or your lover) give it a little vibration every once in a while, if people hear it at all, they'll merely think it's a cell phone. But honestly, what little noise this thing creates is almost completely (but not 100%) muffled when inserted into the vagina, which makes it my own personal little sexy secret.

Lastly, what is very important to note is that this little sneaky egg can be controlled with the remote up to about 16 feet (5 meters) away!

The Packaging

The Amante comes in a typical Couture Collection box with a cardboard insert where the egg and remote sit securely inside for aesthetically pleasing display. There is plenty of information printed on the outside as well tasteful art and picture of the toy. It would make a great gift box to wrap or just stick a bow on for a lover or friend.

Under the insert is a little plastic bag with the product information and, guess what, batteries! The batteries, thank goodness, are included! If they weren't, I'd be searching for quite some time for these rare little guys and I wouldn't have been able to use the Amante right away. And that would have been a shame, for sure. So now I'm already keeping an eye out for these unusual N and 12V batteries because the Amante has not left my bedside yet!

I still adore my Amante as much as I did when I first got it. It's in great shape with no distortion or staining. But now my batteries are dead and I have yet to locate the correct sizes to replace them. It's been a pain in the butt. It definitely changes my perspective on the convenience of this egg vibrator and leaves me wondering if that new rechargeable version is worth purchasing... You'll always be my first egg vibrator, Amante, but sometimes I just need some other love on the side.