LELO Insignia Alia

The LELO Insignia Alia is a vibrator intended for all over body massage, with an easy to grip design. This ovoid ring is perfect for gliding over the body and vulva. The broad shape and sturdy construction of the toy allows you to easily apply the desired pressure, whilst your hand can guide the luxurious silicone surface without the worry of cramping or becoming fatigued from vibrations.  Not only is the Alia a fairly powerful vibrator, but it is also rechargeable and waterproof. Unlike some waterproof toys on the market, its shape makes it perfect for use in wet and slippery environments too. 

The Alia is found packaged within multiple boxes; an outer box made from thin cardboard has product images and information stylishly arranged on it, and once this is discarded you are left with a sturdy black box resembling a jewellery gift case. The plain black box has LELO softly engraved into its lid. Other than this it offers no indication that, within its vault, it contains a luxury intimate object with sensual, sexual possibilities. Inside the box, the Alia rests snugly in a decadent velvet lined insert, with a golden brooch positioned beside it. The brooch is of the Insignia logo, which looks like an extended infinity symbol. The box has a secretive subterranean section filled with an instruction manual, a 1-year warranty, 10-year guarantee, a sachet of lubricant, charger, and a satin travel pouch. The drawstring satin pouch is very discreet, and the perfect size for placing into a handbag or drawer; you could use the brooch to pin the top closed for extra security.

The toy will need charging for two hours prior to its first use. To do this, use the AC adaptor provided. At the base of the Alia you will find a dip in the silicone, push the AC jack pin through this dip, thus punching a hole into the silicone. Don’t worry, the toy is still waterproof as the silicone acts as a vacuum seal, but doing this is necessary to gain access to the DC charging port. While the Alia is charging, a white LED light will flash around the control interface; once fully charged the LED light will glow steadily.

The toy’s shape is a hollowed ellipse; the gap is perfect for threading one or two fingers through. The rigid body is coated in silky smooth silicone, which feels divine to stroke, and the inner ring is set with a glossy golden metallicised plastic. There is a slight gap between the silicone and plastic inlay; dirt can reside here. The plastic inlay is in two parts, leaving another crevice running round the inner edge of the ring. The Alia’s construction is aesthetically appealing, making it a great introductory product for those new to sex toys. The shape also makes it ideal for adventurous couples and playful entrepreneurs.

To one side of the silicone ring you will find a textured button interface consisting of three buttons, lined up to form the Insignia logo. One button acts as the on button, ‘+’, as well as being responsible for increasing the vibration’s intensity. A ‘-’ button reduces the vibrations, and if held down switches the toy off. The last button, ‘()’, allows you to switch between the 6 vibration modes, comprising of continuous, escalation, and pulsation settings. You are able to increase and decrease the strength of vibration in each mode via the ‘+’ and ‘-’ buttons. When the product is active a bright LED will glow around its interface as you circle through its settings. The Alia’s travel lock can be activated and deactivated by holding both the ‘+’ and ‘-’ buttons simultaneously for a few seconds. Engraved into the opposite side from the controls you will find the brand name, ‘LELO’.  The toy’s vibrations are impressively strong, and surprisingly quiet. The vibrations given off are a mid-pitch growl, starting as more of a rumble, and, as you increase the intensity, giving off a steadily more constant, strong, buzz.

When using the Alia for clitoral stimulation, I found I needed a lick of water-based lubrication to make its tip glide comfortably between my labia. The toy’s conical tip wasn’t tapered enough to offer pinpoint clitoral stimulation, but with the vibration resonating through the toy and transmitting powerfully into my body, I was still able to achieve climax rapidly. The toy’s design allowed me to manipulate its motions and control the pressure at my whim, meaning I could glide the toy effortlessly or hold its power on one area. I also liked how I could grip the toy comfortably without needing to rest my fingers over the buttons; this meant that I was less likely to accidentally change the vibration settings.

The Alia worked well stimulating other erogenous zones, but its broad tip wasn’t the best when I desired more intimate play focused on my nipples. For general massage, the grip meant that I could comfortably use the product on those hard to reach areas, and the vibrations helped ease away any aches I may’ve been experiencing, but the Alia’s lightness meant that it wasn’t the best for massaging tight muscular knots, which often require heavier pressure.

The toy is the perfect bath and shower companion. Although silicone normally causes extra drag when submerged under water, the Alia’s extra smooth surface and rounded tip worked exceptionally well during aquatic play, even without the addition of extra lubrication.

When cleaning Alia, make sure you pay extra attention to the gaps between the inlay and silicone. Dirt can also occasionally reside within the logo’s grooves and interface’s indentations. As the Alia is waterproof, you can easily clean it in warm water with your standard antibacterial soap. Grime simply washes away from the smooth silicone and plastic.

I only have one problem with the Alia. It doesn’t seem to have a very long battery life, meaning that I’m having to charge it more frequently than I would like. When the Alia runs out of battery power, the motor just stops dead, without any prior warning.

Overall, I really like the Alia’s shape. I wasn’t expecting overly much from this product, as normally I prefer pinpoint clitoral stimulation, but the vibrations produced by the Alia’s motor echo quality. The ovoid ring design makes this exceptionally easy to control, and I’d recommend this toy to anyone who normally has trouble holding small massage vibrators (such as dainty bullets)for extended periods. The Alia is also the perfect toy to use in the bath and shower. I’m certain I’ll be using the Alia regularly; it’s just a shame it doesn’t have a longer battery life.

Thank you to Desire & Pleasure for sending me this item for my review.  You can find out more about the LELO Alia here.