The Femedic reviews: Vibease Esthesia vibrator

The first thing I ever learned about sex toys was that there was something called a Rabbit, that gave Charlotte from Sex and the City so much pleasure that she locked herself in her apartment with it for four days straight. While I wouldn’t pick up a sex toy myself until a few years later, the Rabbit vibrator remained a point of reference for what vulval and vaginal pleasure looked like.

The Rabbit vibrator, first released by Vibratex in 1983, is now a sex toy staple. The name comes from the company’s effort to get around obscenity laws in Japan, where the toy was originally made, by producing vibrators in bright colours and in the shapes of animals.

Vibease’s Esthesia is a remake of the classic Rabbit, with a modernised design and capability to sync to an app via Bluetooth.

The doing

Smooth and sleek, the Esthesia is super soft to the touch, and offers dual stimulation as per the original Rabbit design: a longer arm aimed at internal, G-spot stimulation, and a shorter arm for external clitoral stimulation. The Esthesia however differs in its curviness and pliability, with the longer shaft able to bend quite nicely as you guide it to your G-spot.

While the toy feels really great against the skin — thanks to its super soft body-safe silicone covering — it’s quite firm. This means that, depending on the shape and size of your genitals, the clitoral piece could rub up against you quite uncomfortably. Luckily for me, the tip of the piece did reach a nice spot on my clit, but I wish it had been a bit softer and squishier.

The Esthesia does what it says on the tin, and its curved design really shines in helping it do so

Vibrations are at a good level, giving a decisive buzz but not going so far as to venture into rumbling territory. They are available in five settings: four different pulse patterns and one continuous vibration.

I started by pressing the G-spot stimulator against my clit, taking advantage of the toy’s bendiness to use it almost like a wand. Because the tip of the G-spot stimulator is round and slightly wide, this actually worked quite well — the vibrations and shape were enough to give me a nice orgasm. Not Earth-shattering or explosive, but warming and lovely.

Then, onto dual stimulation. The Esthesia does what it says on the tin, and its curved design really shines in helping it do so. Its flexibility makes play smooth and easy, and its softness adds a nice level of sensuality. I came reasonably quickly, again with an orgasm that was more warming than explosive.
 
 
The Esthesia and the contents of its packaging

The context: remaking a classic

There are always risks inherent in remaking a product that everyone knows and loves. You’re under pressure to deliver what everyone knows and loves, while also needing to differentiate your take on it as something new and exciting.

Here, I think Vibease have been quite clever. They’ve kept the dual-action stimulation that Rabbit fans know and love but made changes to improve usability. The curved shape not only looks smart but feels sensual, and the pliability really does make play so much more fun and fluid.

The toy also would have differentiated itself through its capability to connect to an app, where you can control the toy’s vibrations and have it sync to audio porn within the app’s library. As my toy simply didn’t want to connect with the app the only thing I’ll say about it is this: if you are creating an app that is meant to be a part of a pleasure experience, it needs to be super easy to use and it needs to work every time. The more time I spend fidgeting with an app, the more my arousal dampens; if the app enhances the experience of the toy but doesn’t work, I’m only getting a portion of the pleasure promised to me.
 
 
Vibease Esthesia

The important details

The Esthesia is very quiet, which is always a plus. It comes in a plain, white box within a branded sleeve, which clearly aims to be as discrete as possible: the toy is referred to as “a massager” alongside a generic stock image sort of photo of a woman smiling. The box includes a user manual, storage pouch, and USB charging cable.

Before first use, it needs to be charged for three hours and lasts for up to three hours. The Vibease website notes that the toy is waterproof, but the user manual warns that it shouldn’t be submerged in water for more than 20 minutes, nor placed in water deeper than 30cm. That’s roughly the length of an adult forearm, so be careful if you were planning some bath play.

Be sure to only use water-based lube with this toy, and remember to wash it with warm, soapy water before and after use.

The verdict

As someone who prefers purely clitoral toys, I had fun with the Esthesia. It offers a tried-and-true combination of sensations but with an improved design that allows for smoother play. The toy is brilliantly designed and feels wonderfully silky to touch, although I wish that the tip of the clitoral stimulator had been softer.

If you’re someone who likes vaginal penetration, the Esthesia is definitely worth a look.

Featured image is a collage featuring three images of a hand holding up an Esthesia vibrator, with droplet-shaped illustrations around them

Page last updated November 2020