Lovense has spent the better part of 15 years building app-controlled sex toys, and since 2010 its kit has been a default choice for long-distance couples wanting to stay connected sexually. Lovense’s products have also become the toys of choice for many cam performers and other online sex workers. This April, Lovense added the Velvo, a rolling-bead rabbit vibrator that provides both G-spot and clitoral stimulation, to its lineup.
As we noted when it launched, the Velvo had quietly vanished from the internet once before this release, a detail Lovense never fully explained. I received Velvo and took it for a spin.
Lovense Velvo: Design and features
The Velvo is the newest member of the Lovense rabbit vibrator family, which also includes the Nora and Osci. It is made of body-safe silicone in Lovense’s signature hot pink.
The Velvo has a rigid insertable shaft filled with rows of beads. When the toy is on, the head rotates and the beads spin in a 360-degree rolling, wave-like rotation that stimulates the entire vagina, including the opening. Lovense calls this NeoSpin Technology, but honestly, that’s just marketing fluff-speak for “they rotate.” It also claims the device is the “world’s first” rolling-bead rabbit vibrator, which is a superlative that is hard to verify. In addition, the Lovense Velvo has a flexible, vibrating clitoral stimulator powered by a separate motor.
Think “if those horrible bead-filled jelly rabbits from the ‘80s and ‘90s got a major upgrade,” and you’ve got the Lovense Velvo.
It has a total length of 9.72 inches, with an insertable length of 5.35 inches and a shaft diameter of 1.42 inches. It weighs 360 grams.
This toy is rechargeable using the included magnetic USB cable, with a full charge taking 110 minutes and giving up to 78 minutes of runtime. It is also IPX7 waterproof, meaning it’s submersible, making it suitable for use in water if that’s your thing. However, please note that its Bluetooth connectivity may not work in water (and bringing your phone into the bath probably isn’t a great idea.)
Lovense Velvo review: In use
I review a lot of rabbit vibrators, but I rarely find myself reaching for them outside of testing for reviews. The main reasons for this are that I don’t like internal vibrations and that rabbit vibrators tend to have terrible clitoral motors. So when I saw that the Velvo uses rotation and texture for internal stimulation rather than vibrations, and felt the intensity of its clitoral motor, I was eager to find out how it felt.
I had a mixed experience with this toy.
Let’s start with what I liked: The clitoral stimulator is great! Given how many rabbit vibrators treat the clitoris as a barely considered afterthought, that’s no small praise. The Velvo’s clitoral stimulator has a strong motor that’s also pretty rumbly and has enough flexibility that it will work for a variety of bodies. The flex also means that it keeps constant contact with the clit fairly well, even when you thrust with the toy.
I also liked the rotating head of the internal shaft, which somewhat mimics a slow fingering sensation.
Sadly, however, the Velvo’s main selling point didn’t work for me at all. The rotating beads provided an interesting and somewhat pleasurable sensation for about a minute, but they quickly became irritating and then painful. For me, the sensation was less “rolling” and more “scraping.” Ouch!
Lovense makes a big deal out of this being new and innovative technology, and it’s definitely a variation on the “beads” theme seen in older products. People who are bigger fans of texture than I am may enjoy it, but I didn’t.
I also don’t like the shape of the Velvo’s shaft. It is essentially straight and rigid, which makes it really hard to get much reliable G-spot stimulation without having to twist the toy into strange angles (which then messes up the clitoral stimulation). If I insert the toy at a more natural angle, the external arm can’t make contact with my clit without the shaft poking my cervix. Not fun. A curved or flexible shaft would have been a far better design choice.
The Lovense Velvo is heavy, which could be a problem for anyone who experiences hand or wrist pain. Its manual controls are basic, with one button to control the rotations and one to control the clitoral vibrator. For a toy at this price point, I would expect dual-directional controls for each motor as a minimum.
It also makes an absolutely horrendous noise when the internal shaft is switched on. I’m sensitive to sounds generally, but this high-pitched whine is almost viscerally painful to my ears.
Lovense Velvo app functionality
The Velvo can be controlled remotely through the Lovense app, which is free to download and use. It took just seconds to get my toy connected via Bluetooth. Once you’ve connected your toy, there are numerous options to explore.
At the most basic level, the Remote function lets you fine-tune the vibrations and rotation to your preferences with the swipe of a finger. In My Patterns, you can switch between the various inbuilt patterns or create and save your own. I particularly like the Patterns library, which allows you to browse and try out thousands of user-created settings.
Like many Lovense toys, the Velvo is a product that requires the app to enjoy its full functionality. And while I don’t necessarily mind using an app to control a toy sometimes, I prefer it to be an optional extra rather than an intrinsic part of the user experience.
I’ll give Lovense this: A lot of thought and creativity has clearly gone into designing its app functionality. From Control Roulette, which pairs you anonymously with another user for remote play, to Crystal Match, a Candy Crush-style game that triggers responses from the toy as you play, and much more, you’re unlikely to run out of inventive ways to enjoy your Lovense toy through the app.
Where Lovense products really come into their own is in handing over control to someone else. The long-distance mode allows you to connect with a partner from anywhere in the world (you’ll both need the app and a user account to do this). If you prefer to hand over control for a limited time, the Control Link function is a simple way to do so. This function is popular with cam performers.
I have consistently found Lovense’s long-distance options to be among the most responsive, reliable and fully featured of any app-controlled toys on the market.
Lovense Velvo review: Verdict
I wanted to love this toy far more than I did. While I applaud Lovense for taking an old sex toy concept and updating it with new technology and body-safe materials, I can’t say that I found the actual user experience very enjoyable.
I can’t fault the app functionality, but the manual options left a lot to be desired. While an app can be a nice extra, I don’t like to have to use it to access most of the toy’s features.
There is little to no chance this toy would ever give me an orgasm, and I spent more time saying “ouch” than “oooh” every time I tested it. It may be great for some users, but personally, I’m unlikely to use it again.
