The Fairy is controlled by the single dial near the midpoint of its body. This gives you complete control over the intensity and you can go up and down at will. To turn it on, you just scroll the wheel downward until it clicks on. The dial is oriented so that if the toy's head is between your legs, you'll be turning the dial up to increase intensity, but it's a bit "upside-down" if held with the head upright. This makes it easy to not have to think about it during sexual play.
There are no patterns or pulses, but this toy is incredibly strong and does the job just fine without them.
The Fairy wand has a great range, as well. When first turned on, it starts off pretty mild, it's in the middle of the vibration strength of my strong rechargeable toys (MiMi, Tango, Leaf) but a quick scroll of the dial quickly surpasses them all. The top speed is incredibly powerful, more so than any other toy I've tried and I'm at a loss to compare.
The vibrations don't feel particularly buzzy to me, not in the way that I would say the Pocket Fairy or a watch-battery bullet would be, although, I wouldn't call them particularly rumbly, either. They're strong and create an intense zone of vibrations around the head as the intensity goes up. On higher levels, there's certainly the possibility for numbing, although, it hasn't stopped me from finding it pleasurable.
This is the one toy I can just place down there, increase speed and eventually orgasm. A little movement is nice and helps, but it's not necessary for me.
It's certainly not waterproof and not suitable for the bath or shower. That's not the kind of electro-play you want, trust me!
My main worry with this toy is how noisy it would be. I was surprised, but pleasantly so. This toy is amazingly not as loud as I expected it would be! You can hear it through the covers, sure, but I left it on high and can barely hear it outside my door. You can't hear the high-pitched noise it makes that far away, just a low hum. Walking a few feet from my door, I couldn't hear it at all. I am very pleasantly surprised by this!
If you're bothered by the sound during use is up to personal taste. For the power, I can easily put up with it, and you can drown it out with music if you'd like.
Thank you for your super detailed helpful review and pics!