Fresh Gift Idea for the Bride!

I was talking to Elizabeth Gronert of Private Quarters recently, and she showed me the freshest bridal shower gift idea I've seen in years - a wedding-dress-inspired spa sarong for the bride to wear as she does her wedding day prep.

The best thing about this gift is that it's not a one-day-only thing.  The bride can wear it for years, and every time she does, she'll get to relive the excitement of that special day!

Contact Elizabeth Gronert at comfort4life@comcast.net or (847)502-8394 or visit her website at www.privatequarters.net/elizabeth.  Look for the Our Products tab - the sarong is on p. 36.

Sex: How To Do Everything - Book Review

First of all, I have to confess that I adore Em & Lo, the co-authors of this book. I was a huge fan of their last book (The Big Bang), and I've been eager to get my hands on this new one.

If this book doesn't get your motor running, then you need to check your pulse!

Sex: How To Do Everything is exactly what the title implies - a handbook that tells the story in words and images of how to do anything and everything sexual. In an improvement on The Big Bang, the pictures are more relevant to the text and highly illustrative of the positions and techniques being discussed. While the pictures are beautifully graphic, they aren't explicit i.e. there are no photos of penetration. This is an instructional book, not porn!

The one thing that's missing from this book is: Gays and Lesbians! What the heck, Em & Lo? While I don't have my copy of The Big Bang handy (it's been loaned out - AGAIN), I believe that there were at least a couple of gay- or lesbian-friendly images. There are none in this book. It's exclusively hetero-focused.  For good or bad, Em & Lo have a target audience, and they have narrowed in on it.

Why would you need or want a sex book? Sex is simple and you know it all, right?

This book is a great icebreaker!

At the beginning of a relationship, it can be challenging to get your new partner to open up and talk about what s/he likes or dislikes. You're still self-conscious and unable to honest express yourself. Props and pictures can help to unlock secret fantasies or difficult-to-convey thoughts and ideas. A glass of wine helps, too.

Alternatively, if you and your longtime partner are searching for fresh inspiration, Sex: How To Do Everything is chock full of ideas. It won't take many photos to get you both thinking, "Maybe we could try that ... or that ... or that!" You'll soon be tossing the book (carefully) to the floor to try something new!

Em & Lo have a unique voice together. They're smart, witty and no-nonsense. They expect you to have hang-ups and to occasionally make a gross-out face, but they won't indulge you in it. Here is an excerpt from the Introduction to the book:

If it ruins sex for you to be told which sex toys might move the earth for you and which will just irritate your sensitive bits, then go ahead and leave this book on the shelf. We're sure there's something interesting in the gardening aisle for you. But as for the real mystery of sex - how an orgasm can make you forget your own name, how the best sex can feel like two souls merging, how sex with a complete stranger can sometimes free you to be yourself, how bumping uglies can feel like anything but - well, we promise this book won't spoil any of that.

If I could write a sex book, this is what I would write!  It should be tucked underneath every (heterosexual) bed in every English-speaking nation!

My First YouTube Video

For a general overview of what Primrose Path is and what kind of products are offered, check out this peachy-keen video:

Blog + Microphone = Podcasting!

Busy times call for rapid-fire blogging!

There was the website re-launch party on April 10th - have you seen the new and improved website?  Kristen at Sublime Design did a fabulous job.

There was a Spa Day to benefit Guardian Angel Home and end violence against women and children this past Sunday, April 18.

The next big, public event is Saturday, May 8 - Sex Toys and Sexier Martinis at the Martini Room in Elgin, IL.  Guys are welcome to join in the fun!  There'll be a crowd of horny women - what more do you need to know?


And now, I've got a new microphone, and I'm ready to take this blog audio!  Who reads these days, anyway?  You can listen to me talk about Primrose Path - easy, peasy!



The podcasts are being integrated into the website, and you can also find them on AudioBoo.com under ThePrimrosePath.

Have a question that you want me to answer?  Fire it off to me at info@primrosepathtoys.com, and maybe it will be the next subject that I tackle!

Before I forget - there's a contest to win a free Bullet!  Three easy steps:
1) Go to the website and choose a Login name
2) Write a review for a product you purchased from Primrose Path
3) Cross your fingers!

Each review will get you one entry in the contest for the FREE bullet.  The winner will be chosen at random on Friday, May 14, 2010 and notified by email.

On Contemplating an Arranged Marriage

Or, I Became a Spinster at Age 20

In my work as a sex toy educator, I do a lot of networking and meet dozens of new people each week. 

This week, I met a man who was a Muslim and had emigrated to America from the Middle East.  I assumed that, based on his religious faith, he would be uncomfortable talking to me, so I didn't make an effort to socialize with him.  However, we ended up leaving the event together, and we struck up a very meaningful conversation in which we covered The Rules of Muslim Sex (my caps) as well as how to target sex education for Muslim youth. 

It was an extremely enlightening and interesting discussion, and I've revisited the memory all week.  When I get some time, I'd like to find some reading materials to fill in the blanks for me.

However, one of the things that really jumped out at me is that there is an assumption (an assumption that is shared by many major religions) that youth are saving themselves sexually for marriage and practicing abstinence because they expect to be married in a timely fashion.  To me, timely means around age 18-24 for women, and perhaps a little older than that for men.

Now, what happens if you go to graduate school or you're a late-bloomer or you simply don't find your mate in the marriage game during those years and somehow end up single in your mid-30s (like me!)?  Is a lifetime of sexual frustration and loneliness your reward for abstinence?  As an added bonus, you will probably also get to spend the prime of your life caring for your aging parents because you're the family spinster/bachelor. 

Arranged marriages are the safety net in this equation, I think.  Surprisingly, I'm not against arranged marriages - I've read the research that shows that they can last longer and be "more sucessful" than love matches.  When I was 18, I would've gone kicking and screaming bloody murder to the altar, but now?  Sign me up.  I have a bunch of home repairs that need doing, and I could really use a second income around here. 

Back to the thought that's really been entertaining me today:

Who would my parents have arranged for me to marry back when they were still in control of my fate?  Who would they pick now?

Think about it - if your parents would have arranged your marriage when you were 18, who would they have chosen?  How do you think that marriage would have been?  Could you have made it work or would you have been sleeping in separate bedrooms within the first year?

I'd love to hear your stories!

Sharon, Sex Toy Educator
Owner, Primrose Path
www.primrosepathtoys.com

Hair Club for Men

Ah, Craigslist.  You provide all of us with hours and hours of entertainment.  This guy is looking for advice on what he should do with his body hair to make him more attractive to women.  Obviously, he hasn't heard that women are into intangibles (i.e. money, status, and a sense of humor), not hair maintenance. 

Part of me wants to respond to his questions and help him out.  Honestly, I admire his frankness.  The rest of me is laughing at his ability to describe his armpit hair.  What advice would you give him about hair maintenance for men?

If you ladies of Craigslist could answer some basic questions about body hair maintenance you will not only have my eternal gratitude, but who knows, maybe I'll get my shit together one of these days and you're good deed will be rewarded by a well quaffed body and junk. I assume the rules are not universal, so I'll describe myself briefly. I'm about 6' tall and 185 pounds. Roughly that translates to solid man body. I've got muscles and can fill up a space but I'm not super ripped, nor am I slender enough to be lithe. If I were a narcissistic schmo with body issues I'd be telling myself I look like Russell Crow. To be clear, I'm not saying I have Russell Crow's body, I'm saying that if dropped everything else and dedicated myself to adding fifteen or twenty pounds of lean muscle to my body, that would be the body I would be shooting for.


I don't want to mess with my chest hair, it has a really nice shape, it's thick enough but soft and tapers off well before it gets to the shoulder. Stomach hair I can take or leave though. As it is, there's a pretty well pronounced happy trail plus about a four inch diameter ploom of thin dark hair radiating from the belly button. Arm hair is really no problem, I've got enough to not look like a child but I singed and re-singed my arms every day for two years at a factory job in highschool, so arms aren't really an issue. I'm also pretty happy my level of leg hair, though I do get hair on my toes. Is that a problem? I'd be perfectly comfortable getting rid of that. My back, thank God, is hairless and I can pluck the occaisonal spider hair from my shoulders. Armpit hair, a bit unruly and tends to want to always stick straight out. This means that when I fold my arms their are often hairs sticking out straight forward as if they are aiming in front of me.


Finally, the junk/butt region. I got no hair on my ass cheeks, but things get pretty dense in between. I shaved in between there once on a lark and spent a very sad week with a stubbly butt. When I was a teenger my friends told me it was real important to shave one's pubes so that the business looks bigger. I was both pretty well naturally endowed such that making it appear bigger wasn't a concern, and, frankly I wasn't getting laid anyway so I never got in the habit of tidying up.


Now that you know more than anyone could possibily want to about my body and its hair than you could possibily want or need please, if it's not too much trouble could you please answer the following with an eye towards making a girl enjoy seeing me naked.


I'll start easy:
1) Toe hair, issue or no?
2) If I'm not gonna shave my chest is it best to just leave the stomach be as well? If no, what shoud be trinned and what, if anything should stay.
3) Is hair btween my butt cheeks a problem? If yes, can you recommend a strategy other than a safety razor?
4) I'd feel rediculous shaving my armpits, but the hair does poke out in a less than Fred Astaire manner. Can I trim it? Will it look like I trimmed it, i.e. would that be noticeable, and if it were to be noticed, would that be a problem at all?
5) Finally, the junk. I know it's gotta be trimmed, it's a damn jungle down there, but how. Should it be uniform throughout. Is there a good length to go with, I was thinking like a number 2 or 3 guard. Anything fancy I should consider? Are there parts that really ought to be totally hairless. That kinda thing.

What's HOT this Valentine's Day?

And this year's Best Seller for Valentine's Day is...

InnerVibe Vibrating Penis Ring!  

Were you surprised? 

Forget about "Penis Envy" - the fact is that men are jealous of women and their sex toys.  A penis ring, or cock ring, like the one from InnerVibe, makes them feel like they finally get their chance to play.  Turn on the vibrations, and women have something to to get excited about, too. 

At Primrose Path, we know how much men like gadgets. 

Cock rings are a mystery to many women (and men, too).  Thus, Primrose Path presents a lesson in the Why and How of cock rings.  (Disclaimer: The following information applies safely only to the cock rings that Primrose Path offers.  Keep in mind that a cock ring should not be worn for more than 20-30 minutes at a time.)


What does a cock ring do?  The main function of a cock ring is to restrict bloodflow from the penis back into the body, thus prolonging an erection.


The longer version goes like this: When a man gets an erection, the penile tissues become engorged with blood.  Over time, if there is sexual activity without orgasm, the blood gradually drains back into the body, and the penis becomes flaccid again.  Certain positions, such as ones that feature the Woman on Top, speed up this process.  Gravity works against a man who is flat on his back.  The constriction provided by a cock ring prevents the blood from flowing back into the body, thus maintaining an erection for a longer period of time.

Frequently, vibrating bullets are added to cock rings, giving them more functionality and flexibility for partner use.


How is a cock ring worn?  There are two ways to wear a cock ring.  


In the first method, it is worn simply around the base of the penis.  With vibrations on, this will add clitoral stimulation to the penis shaft for the enjoyment of a female partner.


In the second method, the ring is stretched to encircle the scrotum, and then the semi-rigid penis is pushed/pulled through the ring.  This method is the surest way to prolong an erection and prevent the penis from becoming flaccid too quickly.


Wow, I swear I just heard a chorus of men saying, "What?!!  My SCROTUM?!!"   Remember - the goal of a cock ring is to restrict blood from flowing back into your body.   The Vibrating Penis Rings shown in both pictures are made of silicone, and are stretchy enough to slide easily over a fist and be worn as a wrist corsage, if you're in the mood to flaunt your evening plans.

Don't believe me?  Here's a video to prove it.  A big thank you to the staff at Babeland for demonstrating five ways to use a vibrating cock ring.


The Innervibe Vibrating Penis Ring is the perfect item for a first-time user who wants to try a new gadget because it's inexpensive and disposable.  You get about 30-45 minutes of vibrations - it's great for weekend getaways!  

For more experienced cock ring users, Primrose Path offers the Bo from LELO - a rechargeable silicone cock ring that will provide years of enjoyment and experimentation (see the photo on the right).  LELO is the Hyundai of the adult novelty industry - they provide a one-year warranty on all of their motors.

Both products are available at www.primrosepathtoys.com.  It might be too late now for Valentine's Day delivery, but it's never too late to try something new and

Be Led Astray!