A study carried out by Ifop in 2020 revealed that more than half of French people had already used a sex toy, compared to 16% in 2009, and 7% in 1992. Whether they are intended for the pleasure of women, men, or couples, sex toys are today now an integral part of our daily lives, having found their place in many homes around the world. Not content with having seen the taboos that surrounded them wither in recent years, sex toys have even managed to rise to the rank of ultra desirable toys, synonymous with pleasure, of course, but also with well-being. A bet which was however far from being won.
A bridge with holistic beauty
Don’t be shocked to discover a section dedicated to vibrators in your favorite cosmetics stores. While Sephora and Nocibé already offer a few models of vibrators, the American retailer Ulta Beauty has just struck a blow by launching an impressive range of sex toys and other items entirely dedicated to sexual pleasure. Products that are simply found in the “bath and body” category, then “personal care and well-being”, under the name “intimate well-being”.
A name that was not chosen at random, since sex toys are now considered one of the facets of holistic beauty, which continues to be emulated around the world. Kate Moss didn’t she just launch her own brand halfway between well-being and beauty? Taking care of yourself in 2022 no longer just means implementing an effective beauty routine. It’s regarding looking at beauty as a whole. Nutrition, sport, massages, and… sexual pleasure are among the components of this new kind of concept which captures sensations and emotions as much as external beauty. One thing that contributes to the popularization, if not the success, of adult toys.
Result, at Ulta Beauty, it is now possible to obtain vibrators, lubricants, and other intimate accessories, as well as a mascara, a foundation, a day cream, or a hair mask. The sex toy has indeed become an everyday object like any other.
An aesthetic that seduces
The very design of sex toys has greatly evolved over the past decades, helping to change its image. Exit the gloomy object, available in cold colors and materials, make way for curvaceous, ultra-colourful toys, which sometimes merge with decorative objects that can be found in any home. And if the vibrators are not yet exhibited in plain sight, many are the men and women who no longer hide them in the bottom of a drawer. And the recent enthusiasm of the fashion and design industries for these intimate accessories should confirm their presence in our homes.
Last January, during haute couture week in Paris, the house On Aura Tout Vu did not hesitate to present a collection of luxury sex toys, and their matching jewelry bags, in collaboration with LELO. A first, which was quick to give ideas to others. Less than three months later, it’s the ready-to-wear brand Diesel who indulged in intimate pleasure, offering an artistic interpretation of two of the cult products of the same LELO. Two initiatives that have participated in lifting the last taboos, if any remained, around these sex toys. And the revolution has only just begun.
For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Première Classe show, a true reference in terms of fashion and accessories, will highlight a brand of sex toys, Puissante, from September 30 to October 3, in the heart of the Jardin des Tuileries. In the meantime, it is the LELO brand, decidedly determined to make the sex toy essential to our lives, which communicates on its presence at the Maison & Objet fair, until September 12, to present its now famous intimate accessories to the 90,000 visitors expected. . Enough to propel the sex toy once and for all to the rank of cult and essential object.
