Fun Factory Pearly Rechargeable Silicone Vibrator

This was the second vibrator I have bought from Lovehoney after my first one unexpectedly stopped working.

The Pearly is somewhat petite and elegantly designed, with a velvety kind of silicone which is of a higher quality than most other sex toys I've experienced so far. It's easy to grip and navigate, and the controls are simple enough. The speeds and intensities of the vibrations go from very low to very high, so there is something in it for everyone. The patterns are extremely fun as well and create an amazing build-up until climax.

It's a bit louder than my previous vibrator but that also means the vibrations resonate all over. The little light effects on the controls are a personal plus as well.

I'd say the only reservation I have about this toy is that once you've started browsing the vibrating patterns, you can't go back to simple vibration speeds without turning the vibrator off and then on again, but that is only a small detail.

Overall, I am absolutely in love with the Pearly and I also think it works well as a toy for couples.

Having been addicted to my G4 Elegance until I quite literally wore out the motor, and subsequently devastated that it had been discontinued, I was looking so something to take its place in my bedside drawer. Since the Fun Factory's newest offerings were either outside of my budget (I *will* get a Stronic, but have a little more saving to do first) or boringly similar to what I'd already had (minus the features I'd loved most, boo!), this stood out as just different enough to be interesting without ditching too much from my 'pro' column, and still affordable. My biggest concern was the rabbit element, as I have always found them to be too far out or too low or too high or just not where they're meant to be.

Visually, it's an odd combination of cute, classy, and chubby. It is quite petite - especially compared to my old G4 monster - but is curvy in all the right places. "Short and stout" is a good descriptor, but does not do justice to how utterly pretty the thing is! The head is bulbous and subtly curved, so it looks fairly unimpressive, but I know Fun Factory are singularly adept at hitting right where you need it without needing showy 90-degree angles to get there. The 'nub' is similarly an understated blob, but given how the usual precision-strike attempts fall short (or long, or a little to the left, etc.) that seems like a decent idea.

Right, so it's pretty, but the proof is in the prodding. One of the big wins for me with the Fun Factory stuff is the matte silicone. A great many people find this off-putting as there's a great deal of friction going on (I've seen the words "carpet burn" and "sandpaper silicone" bandied about!), but personally it's a major plus. It does need a generous helping of lube (unless the concept of internal carpet burns isn't making you clench your kegels and teeth simultaneously!), but it will not slither about like glass or even usual 'flat' silicone.

Assuming it's slickened up all good, I find it feels more like skin in terms of the friction - that organic level of pull 'n' drag, nothing painful unless you're sensitive enough to suffer during actual sex - and actually stimulates the vaginal walls in a similar way. The shaft, as predicted, is precision engineered for G-spot fun, that chunky tip pushing in all the right places. It is a small 'un, so if you're after a filled-up feeling, it's going to leave you wanting, but there's more than enough to get where it needs to and go to town. Outside, that wee nub is, for me, just slightly too short, but I have an exceptionally high-up clit. Still, because of the lumpiness of it, it's pressing the right area, and because it's squishy-but-solid instead of some delicate flappy thing, it forces those vibrations home.

Speaking of the vibrations, here's where I'm torn. It. Is. LOUD. Like, seriously noisy. Not going-to-keep-the-neighbours-up kind of noisy, but certainly a shock for someone who has been used to high-quality vibes having a rather demure burring sound. The benefit to these rather rakish rattles is that the vibrations travel deep. Every inch of it transmits perfectly. And another downside: when turning it on, it starts in the middle of the non-patterns strengths, which is already pretty heavy for beginning, plus you need to go up past the top-speed to hit the patterns, which means to go back to the flat speeds from a pattern, it's easier to turn it off and back on than to cycle.

It's a little counter-intuitive, and I've had far too many occasions where I've had to actually stop what I'm doing to work through to where I want it be. Having another button to toggle patterns on/off would be an amazing improvement. That said, I am perhaps a little spoiled with luxury vibes, and for the price I'm asking a touch too much to have it pretty, shapely, strong, AND one-touch perfect. Back to the vibes, it has a great range (probably why I find it so tempting to flick through them all at once, and why it has to be a little cumbersome to sort through them all). The flat vibrations - what they term "Meringue Mode" - vary from gentle-but-penetrating, and mild-bone-rattling, with four in-betweeny ones to suit whatever strength I'm after.

The six patterns are split into three "Aerobic Mode" patterns (basic 'waves' going from slow to medium to quick) and three "Razzle Dazzle Mode" patterns (a dit-dit-dah morse code style, a gentle wave with a sudden burst every couple of seconds, and a ramp-up-and-down). They are all fairly similar in base, being variations on the wave style with some pulse highlights thrown in for good measure. For me, that's good: I like pulsy patterns, but detest the 'dead zone' in between, so having a wave baseline to keep it flowing is my idea of heaven. If you're the kind who finds constant activity desensitising, the range of patterns might leave you wanting, as there's nothing that has that little relief-gap.

All in all, I love it. The couple of little niggles - the slightly-too-short nub and the slightly awkward speed toggle - are more than outweighed by the texture, the strength, and the very targeted range of patterns. And at this price, perfect might be asking a little much, but the wee thing gives it a valiant effort and more than earns its keep!

The Fun Factory Pearly is part of Fun Factory's range of silicone mini vibes that are touted as 'travel friendly' (perfect if you need to, er, relieve yourself on your lunch break I guess?), due to their diminutive size, travel lock function and USB rechargeability. Plus, it has a snazzy name - if I didn't know it was a vibrator I'd probably assume that a 'Pearly' was missing Pink Lady. Rizzo, Frenchy, Marty, Jan... and Pearly?

I know some people find this boring, but Fun Factory's controls bear mentioning as they're by far my favourite out of most manufacturers. With clacky buttons, a dedicated on/off switch and a travel lock function, it's simple to control even if you can't see what you're doing and really great for people who travel a lot or maybe people with wrist issues.

In case you hadn’t grasped it from the title, the Pearly is truly a mini vibe - the internal shaft measures 3 inches of insertable length and it has just shy of four inches in girth. I honestly don’t remember the last time I held an insertable toy this small.

It’s positively adorable, a pint sized pocket rocket with surprisingly powerful vibrations that aren't anything to turn your nose up at. Are they high frequency? Yes. Shallow, and prone to disappearing when you apply the slightest hint of pressure? No. They're impressive coming from a toy this petite, and unlike some other powerful-yet-small toys, it's not obnoxiously noisy either.

Does it hit my G-spot? Nope. There is absolutely no hope of sweet, darling Pearly contributing to a G-spot orgasm as it's just too small to reach it properly. Having said that, I’m not sure if it’s really designed for G-spot stimulation anyway - a slight upward curve does not a G-spot toy make - and it does what an internal vibrator is meant to do; it feels good.

I like having something to clench around, and the subtle texture paired with Fun Factory’s notoriously draggy silicone pulls ever-so-slightly in the best kind of way.

The Pearly comes so, so close to fitting my anatomy perfectly, but the ‘pearl’ for clit stimulation is just a few mm short of where I’d like it to be; it’s not that it’s not placed far enough up the shaft as the internal portion is short enough for me to insert comfortably, but it needs to be a little bigger, a little more oval maybe.

I can’t say I didn’t anticipate the all-too-common fitting problem though, being sceptical of rabbit vibrators in the first place. However, as the Pearly is so small, there’s enough room down there that I can push another clit vibe against the bits the external piece fails to hit, which leads to this incredible, achingly intense feeling.

For me, the Pearly was not a dual-stimulation wonder. It hasn’t changed my mind on rabbit vibrators. But it has grown on me; I’ve found myself using it often and it lives next to my bed for easy access.

I like how small it is, how I don’t need to warm up to use it, the vibrations are a nice mid-range buzz, and I don’t have to fiddle around for ages trying to get it to do that one thing I really like. If you're looking for a smaller insertable toy, this might just be the one!