This review of the CalExotics Mini Marvels Marvelous Flicker Tongue Vibrator is courtesy of fellow comic art connoisseur SheVibe.

I’m a sucker for good packaging, and CalExotics’ Mini Marvels line has some really great packaging. Various pop art styled femmes – including a Black woman, still a relative rarity in sex toy marketing – grace the front of every brightly colored magnetic box, each looking surprised and elated, presumably about the contents within. I love how young and fresh and friendly this line feels, offering a variety of vibrator shapes in such a lighthearted way that I feel like folks – especially first-time toy shoppers – will gravitate towards them and try things they might not otherwise give a second glance.

It certainly worked on me. “Anything shaped like a tongue” has always been towards the top of my never-ever-ever sex toy list… and yet here I am, talking about my experience with a disembodied tongue called the Silicone Marvelous Flicker. It was hard to resist feeling adventurous!

And what a funny little thing the Marvelous Flicker is. At just five inches long, the Flicker is comprised of a firm ball-shaped base with two raised buttons, and a flexible (but not floppy) tongue that’s the width of two fingers. The silicone is smooth with just a bit of drag; lube makes for sleeker use but I’ve enjoyed it without lube as well. There’s a pinprick hole on the bottom of the base where you insert the charging cord. The charge cord has a long metal prong that you literally stab into the toy and push until it clicks into place. I hate this style of cord. It allows the toy to be waterproof because it seals back up when you remove it, but stabbing through flesh-like silicone will never not creep me out.

It takes between two and three hours to fully charge, and gets under an hour of use when used on its highest setting (but lasts far longer on its lowest.) 30 to 40 minutes of run time is low for me personally, especially since the vibration strength noticeably wanes as time goes on. I always top off the charge after use and mostly bring out the Mini Marvels Marvelous Flicker for short solo sessions and foreplay/teasing during partnered sex. It just doesn’t last long enough to be a main eventer, which is a bummer! I think I’d enjoy this toy a lot more if it didn’t tap out so quickly.

When charging, dull pink light blinks behind the buttons, which is significantly less annoying than the cringey white light on so many other budget-friendlyish toys. The lights also turn on when you’re using the toy, expanding when the toy is on a higher setting and pulsating when you’re using a pattern.

The firm-yet-pliable tongue of the Marvelous Flicker offers some interesting stimulation possibilities. I’m not as keen on friction as my partner is, but they really enjoyed having the Flicker’s tongue slicked with lube and then dragged up and down in a broad licking motion. Across the vulva, over the clit, teased in and around the vagina or the ass (though make sure you sterilize it between anal and vulva use) in all the same ways you’d utilize your tongue except on a wider, more rigid scale. My partner found the tip too pokey, but the flat, slightly scooped length of the tongue itself was intensely pleasing. It’s not a replica of actual oral sex (though it’s incredibly soft on the surface), but for those who like rubbing sensations, it’s definitely worth trying out. Especially with the additive of vibration.

The CalExotics Marvelous Flicker Tongue has ten vibration settings: three steady power levels, and seven patterns. Patterns include a slow rev-up, a faster/blinkier rev-up, a series of hard vibration bursts followed by soft rumbles, and more. I’m not a fan of patterns, and none of these except the first (a slow rev-up cycle) appealed to me, but they seemed to suit the Flicker better than a traditional vibrator. As the toy vibrates, the tongue’s tip flutters in a blur; if you set it to different patterns and watch the tongue from the slide, you can clearly see how its movement varies with the patterns. My junk is not very discerning, so the nuances of the toy’s movements don’t translate as much to me as they do to my partner.

You control the Marvelous Flicker’s settings with its two buttons: one to turn the toy on and off, and one to cycle through its functions. The placement of the buttons on the bulbous base is actually quite clever, as the power button is below and thus less likely to get accidentally pressed when you’re just wanting to change speeds. What’s less clever to me is the fact that you still have to press and hold the power button to turn the toy on/off… why not also make that button able to control settings, so that users have a + and – option and don’t have to click through all ten settings to get back to where they were?

As it turns out my vulva is keyed in on vibration and doesn’t have much interest in other kinds of sensation, so my experiences with the Marvelous Flicker are a lot less exploratory than my partner’s. The most adventurous I get in regular use is holding the Flicker away from my body enough to let the vibrating tip rapidly flutter against my skin – it’s a stingy but enjoyable, especially on nipples. Mostly I just press it flat over my clit or on its side beside it and enjoy the rumbliness of its vibrations, which is a decidedly less exciting use of its shape. And the vibrations are definitely rumbly, buzzier on the highest steady setting (as is typical) but still not numbing or ineffectual. I was surprised the Flicker could produce such rippling rumbles, but it’s made the Mini Marvels Silicone Marvelous Flicker my favorite targeted massager, especially given its flexibility. Said flexibility may make it less appealing to those who like to firmly direct their vibrations, and I think it’s part of why the Marvelous Flicker fails to wow my junk into more than the occasional puny orgasm. It’s rumbly but doesn’t strum up the power or the pressure my clit is looking for from vibrations.

The vibrations definitely carry into the base, which is already a little awkward for me to hold because I have large hands and fingers that will cramp for literally any reason. I do imagine folks with limited grasping capabilities may find its bulb shape friendlier to their grip if it’s the right size for their palm. It also heats up far more noticeably than any other vibrator I own, mostly in the base of the neck, and while I find it unpleasant it may be soothing to others. You would think it would help with crampy fingers, but no such luck!

The Marvelous Flicker is pretty damn quiet too, though oddly this isn’t pitched as a major selling point on the packaging. Toys far noisier than the Flicker fall all over themselves to brag about how quiet they are.

Weird, waterproof, rumbly, and rechargeable – the Mini Marvels Marvelous Flicker is an interesting little gadget that I would have overlooked if not for the cute box indirectly daring me to be frisky in my toy choices. (A box that’s sturdy and completely reuseable if you don’t mind the open peephole in the front after discarding the plastic; I use mine to house all of my vibrator charge cords.) If you have a persistent interest in getting a stiff licking from a hot pink silicone tadpole, you won’t have to break the bank to try something new – the Marvelous Flicker is (currently) just $50 USD from SheVibe. If the packaging for the Marvelous Flicker is appealing to you, you’ll probably love superhero-themed SheVibe as much as I do. They have comics on nearly every page to make to make browsing through their huge inventory of sex toys twice as fun (or twice as tempting.)

Would I recommend the Marvelous Flicker? Yes, if you enjoy the soft rub of silky silicone on your junk, or rapid tapping/slapping; probably not if you’re more reliant on firmly pressed vibrations. Also, with its shorter use time it’s definitely not ideal for someone’s only toy, unless all of your sessions are short and sweet. For my partner and I, the Marvelous Flicker Tongue Vibrator is more of a fun sensation novelty for warming up to or enhancing sex; it’s just not suited to be the life of the party. And I’m fine with that.

Thank you, SheVibe, for sending me the Mini Marvels Marvelous Flicker in exchange for an honest review. Affiliate links were used in this post.