Welcome to Elust 201

Cover image courtesy of Claire Rietveld.

If you’re sexy, kinky or just curious, I’m sure you’ll find multiple articles you’ll enjoy reading in the latest Elust.

Product Reviews

Lushense, Penis Extenders: The Complete Guide to Types, Benefits and the Best Brands in 2026

Quite an education! I knew about the traditional rod-style extenders, but not just how many alternatives are now available. A useful guide for anyone wondering what all these contraptions actually do.

Thoughts & Advice on Kink & Fetish

Carrie Young, Spanking 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Spanking & Impact Play

Spanking can look wonderfully simple, but there is a lot of technique behind doing it well. Carrie’s explanations of placement, intensity, different sensations and communication make this a good starting point for curious beginners.

Sex Toy DB, QUTOYS Dongkinger Replica Dildo Review: That’s a Lot of Dong

I laughed at the sheer scale of this one. When a dildo requires statistics about its weight as well as its length and girth, you know you’re dealing with a fairly serious piece of equipment!

Sex Work

Hellga, Fingerbang

Hellga makes an excellent point about fingers being capable of far more finesse than many toys. The ability to vary pressure, position and rhythm in response to your partner is rather difficult for a machine to replicate.

Sandra, My New PortaLite Massage Table

I love how excited Sandra is about what is ostensibly a sensible piece of professional equipment. Of course, when your work involves plenty of slippery close contact, weight capacity and stability become rather more exciting specifications!

Sex Worker Search, Courtesan Finder Interview

I enjoyed getting a glimpse behind the scenes of Courtesan Finder rather than simply seeing another new directory appear online. The questions about privacy, identity verification, AI and eventually monetising the site are particularly relevant to those of us whose livelihoods depend on these platforms.

Mx Valentina, The dominatrix as life coach

There is something intriguing about clients discovering that what they learn in a BDSM session follows them back into everyday life. Submission, accountability and being pushed beyond familiar habits can have consequences well beyond the dungeon.

Milady, Atsuko Kudo Latex Catsuit

My contribution this month, and unfortunately writing about this gorgeous Atsuko Kudo catsuit has done absolutely nothing to cure me of wanting one. Custom fitted, beautifully shiny and with that strategically placed zip, I think I’ve talked myself into it!

Teena Laurent, Six Hours with a Nerd

I enjoyed the warmth in Teena’s account of this date. There is something rather lovely about watching somebody relax enough to let their enthusiasm show, particularly when an appointment becomes six hours of genuinely enjoying one another’s company.

Yufi Saurus, Staying true to yourself even when you are a total weirdo

Being unapologetically peculiar is much more appealing than constructing a personality designed by committee. Yufi’s piece is a nice reminder that finding your people often starts with allowing them to see who you really are.

Lyra Bergman, What does “independent escort” mean? And why book independent escorts?

I liked Lyra’s explanation of independence as something more meaningful than simply not having an agency. Choosing our own boundaries, presentation, rates, schedule and clients gives each independent’s work its individual character.

Sierra Sorren, The Lost Art of Lingering

Sierra makes lingering sound wonderfully seductive. There is a particular intimacy in reaching the point where the planned part of an evening gives way to another glass, another story and no great enthusiasm from either person to bring things to an end.

Valerie Valtesse, On limerence & limoncello

I found Valerie’s reflections on limerence especially interesting because companionship deliberately creates many of the ingredients that can feed it: attention, intimacy, anticipation and a little distance. Navigating genuine affection without allowing fantasy to rewrite the relationship can be delicate.

Oz Bigdownunder, A Duo with Mistress Jessica and Mr and Mrs Habibi

Four personalities, several fantasies and plenty of negotiation make this rather more complicated than an ordinary duo. I enjoyed the way the evening seems to find its own direction once everyone becomes comfortable with one another.

Erotic Fiction

Simone Francis, Total Submission to the Riding Crop

A nicely compact piece that understands how much of submission happens in the mind. The crop becomes a symbol of what’s coming, so the waiting and uncertainty do much of the work before the next command arrives.

Erotic Non Fiction

Raffaello Palandri, The Erotic Threshold: Tantra, Sapiosexuality, and the Intelligence of Almost

“Almost” is an interesting place to locate eroticism. Raffaello explores the tension between curiosity and fulfilment, and why leaving something unresolved can sometimes keep desire alive longer than satisfying it immediately.

Thoughts & Advice on Sex & Relationships

Morgan Destera, Sex Toys – Anal Beads

Morgan manages to make this both informative and amusing. The practical details about sizing, lubrication, relaxation and careful removal are exactly the things a beginner needs to know before enthusiastically experimenting.

Femina Viva, Musings on Life, Work, Hypocrisy and the Toxic Sisterhood

A challenging piece about the gap that can exist between proclaiming solidarity and practising it. Femina’s frustration is very clear, particularly around selective support and how quickly principles can disappear when relationships and personal interests get involved.

Product Reviews

Liz Black X, Is This The Ultimate Heavy Duty Sleeve? QUTOYS Hole-y Cow Masturbator Review

“Hole-y Cow” is an appropriately ridiculous name for an appropriately ridiculous toy! I appreciate a review that gives you enough practical detail to decide whether something this substantial is genuinely appealing or simply terrifying.

Books and Movies

The History of BDSM, Le jeu avec le feu (Playing with Fire)(1975): The Celluloid Dungeon

I find these examinations of older BDSM cinema fascinating because they reveal as much about the era as the kink itself. Looking back at a 1975 film also raises interesting questions about humour, consent and whose perspective the audience was originally expected to share.

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