Manufactured in Hong Kong, this uniquely designed mushroom vibrator offers a creative introduction to self-pleasure. The Sunset Mushroom by PinkPunch costs $99 (coupon code SEXTECHGUIDE will get you 20% off) and is marketed to “girls” who have “no experience” of using a vibrator, with the aim that this toy will encourage them to “explore themselves courageously and go for pleasure.”
Using a neon cyberpunk theme, this smart sex toy has a compatible app with an exciting user interface or “amusement park” designed for wireless interactive fun. As far as novelty toys go, I was curious to see if this mushroom would be a the ideal ‘first toy’ for people to test out.
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PinkPunch Sunset Mushroom Design & FeaturesFor the Instagram generation
The PinkPunch team is quite clear with the purpose of producing a mushroom vibrator as a way of “subverting the traditional vulgar and boring design” you find in sex toys. They claim the Sunset Mushroom proposes a “completely new aesthetic and emotional appeal.”
While few mainstream toys sit on the “vulgar” side—having moved away from phallic pink dildos to more ergonomic and Instagrammable vibes—I do agree that the majority of manufacturers rarely seek to reinvent the wheel, sticking with traditional shapes and colors.
Aside from the tip mimicking a mini-version of a Wand (akin to Demi Levato’s), the closest concept this toy reminds me of is the the euphemistic fruit and veg vibrators by Emojibator which also offers a refreshing take on sex toy design, encouraging the always-online audience to engage in self-pleasure.
The toy comes in a playful pink box, with cute graphics, and inside you’ll find the charging case (which is also fun and discreet) along with the USB charging cable. The case looks like it could be a compact mirror, or a mini gaming device.
Inside the case, as well as the toy, you get a “safety strap” which is inherently a string to attach to the toy if you want to use it for internal use. There are also some additional treats, which made the unboxing all the more exciting.
The user also receives a black envelope in which is the instruction manual, which looks more like a map to a cyberpunk game than a manual. As well as stickers and a pin. Great marketing gimmick if you ask me (I’m a sucker for this stuff).
The charging station is said to take two hours to charge to full, which offers three battery lives for the Sunset Mushroom. When inside the case, the toy takes thirty minutes to charge, which allows for one hour of continuous use.
As aforementioned, the toy is shaped like a mushroom. Its size is 3.7-inches by 1.7-inches by 1.4-inches. It is mostly pink with various colored patterns and is made of food grade translucent silicone and polycarbonate, making it 100% waterproof—great for shower or bath use, and easy cleaning.
On the tip of the toy (or the head of the mushroom), there is a textured imprint. A cross making four protruding triangular points.
On the base of the toy (the bottom of the mushroom stalk), you’ll find a button. This is held down to turn on and connect via Bluetooth to your smart device, as well as for manually flicking through its 5 patterns. However, you’ll need the app to adjust the intensity. At full volume it reaches a max of <50db which is as loud as a quiet conversation (safe enough for a discreet use so as not to arouse suspicion from housemates or family members—quite an important factor for a vibrator novice.
The app is a whole other experience that complements the Sunset Mushroom adventure. And it is an adventure (as I’ll go into in this next section). It has a neon cyberpunk layout, and is used for local control as well as long distance remote control.
The PinkPunch app can download the app on iOS and Android.
The Sunset Mushroom In UseOne false start, then oh so simple
I was thrilled to receive my device for review, however, the first one didn’t turn on. Thankfully, the team at PinkPunch sent a new one that worked as intended. It’s worth noting here that this isn’t any sort of ‘special service’: any customer gets free replacements on toys with quality issues up to one year.
A Sweet Solo Adventure
Setting up the toy was incredibly easy. I’ve had toys that take a frustrating amount of time to connect to the phone, with regular connectivity issues. Nope! PinkPunch got something right. I switched it on, and it showed up on the app.
The app onboarding, might I add, was a fun initiation. Where you enter your date of birth, select your sex, choose your neon cyberpunk avatar, and give yourself a username. Unfortunately, the app only allows you to select male or female, making it rather non inclusive for intersex and non-binary folk.
Upon profile completion you enter ‘The Planet of PinkPunch’ where you can follow super easy to follow instructions on how to connect your device.
Once you’re connected, you have the choice of five vibration patterns, all complete with their own graphics. You are told to swipe up and down for the volume intensity, and left and right to flick through patterns.
In regards to the vibration itself, I found the toy on the more buzzy side of the spectrum, whereas I am more partial to deeper rumblier sensations. However, I still found it pleasurable as I could easily control the intensity.
Though it does say on the instruction manual that “external use is highly recommended,” with the safety strap attached to the base of the stalk, I explored the Sunset Mushroom internally. I found the buzzy vibrations equally average, but it wasn’t entirely non-pleasurable. So best to follow the manual in this instance. The string was handy here in removing the mushroom head from my vagina.
Overall, the toy was cute to play with, easy to hold and manoeuvre by rolling the head over my vulva. I also found the textured tip a nice design touch creating a distinct sensation that my clit did enjoy.
Long-distance Partner Play
I’ve tested many remote controlled wireless toys, and this has to be the one that I’ve had the least issues with initial connectivity with my partner. The set up was simple enough, I made sure my partner was available and willing, sent him a link to the app and my special code, and before I knew it we were connected. This is not always the case with remote or long-distance toys!
The toy was vibrating in a variety of ways (clearly he was having fun messing around with the settings). There was a chat function where I started messaging some words of encouragement “oooh!” etc, before I quickly realized there was an audio voice chat feature. This made the interactive process much easier, whereby I could share my pleasure in real time while he decided on which patterns and volume.
Despite the smooth onboarding, two major issues arose. First of all we both found our voices too quiet and thereby had to hold the phones very close to our ears and mouths to communicate. Not ideal when you’re trying to control the sensations on the screen.
There was an additional lightning bolt feature that allowed for my partner to “attack” as he so romantically put it, which was a series of fast paced intense vibrations. However, this is where we discovered the second bump in the road. There was a significant delay.
While I was experiencing settings he had put in a minute earlier, he was frustrated that I wasn’t receiving the patterns simultaneously. The lightning bolt “attacks” weren’t as fun anymore.
Nevertheless, it was nice to connect, and if the sound and timing was not an issue then I can see a lot more promise for remote play.
For me the point of this was not necessarily to orgasm, but to enjoy long distance stimulation and connection. So once we ended our online session, I used the Sunset Mushroom solo again to enjoy a climax. Unfortunately, due to the buzzy style of vibrations, it was a fairly average orgasm.
Afterwards, I took a moment to continue to explore the app, and discovered an area of my “Planet” called “My Space” where I found “records” and “achievements” that tracked my duration, frequency, and the awards that I’ve won so far, such as “Working hour buzz” (I’m assuming because I did this during my working day—buzz off, this is my job!), and “He’s in”, referring to my partner having controlled the toy.
Other achievements I’m now striving to reach for (as it’s getting to my competitive side) include “Party Animal”, “She’s in”, and “Official Pink Puncher”.
PinkPunk Sunset Mushroom Review VerdictPlease sir, can I have some spore?
As far as mushrooms go, this Sunset Mushroom ticked a few of my boxes in terms of aesthetics, user experience, and making me as a consumer feel special. I do believe that this could be a good first toy for people. The onboarding is simple enough, making it a decent vibrator for beginners.
However, what would improve this vibrator—I mean more favorable to my body— would be a lower frequency vibration. However, the toy would need to be larger to house this, so for its size I’ll let it off.
With a few tweaks to the remote app, and more gender inclusivity, Pink Punch might have hit the nail on the mushroom head with this unique toy.
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