The Avant D2 Purple Rain is a “lovingly crafted small batch artisanal dildo” made by Blush Novelties. It’s about 7.5 inches long (with 6 inches being insertable and the rest devoted to a deep-scoop suction cup), and 1.5 inches wide. It’s made of pliable silicone with a smooth, sleek finish that feels almost powdery soft to the touch.

Artisanal dildo. It sounds funny and random, the kind of phrase you throw out in self-parody when you’re making fun of how people perceive (and subsequently dismiss) millennials. “Yeah, Dad, I know, me and my damn cruelty-free fixed gear avacados and bisexual vegan bullet journaling!” The title sounds silly and maybe a little pretentious – but then again, I follow dozens of indie dildo-makers who make their wares by hand in small studios, producing pieces of fuckable art across a broad spectrum of colors and styles. Most dildos on my radar are artisanal.

And the Avant line certainly stands out as art. Bright colors and bold stripes define the set, setting them apart from each other almost as much as it sets them apart from their competitors. Some of the colors are a little too kitschy for me, but in an act of truly appreciated color-matching savvy, Blush Novelties sent me Avant D2 Purple Rain – the prettiest of the lot – to go along with the Aria Vibra. The Purple Rain Dildo starts with plum at the head and ends with pastel purple at the base, with complementary stripes of pink-hued purples ringing the shaft. I love it. And just like with the Avant Pride P2 True Blue, I’m in awe of how Blush managed to create such clean lines with their silicone stripes; most dildo crafters can only manage optimistic smears.

Like the rest of the line, the Avant Purple Rain follows a pretty traditional dildo shape (you know, kinda… dick like) but with a few visually enticing variations. I love the broad, smooth slope of the Purple Rain’s backside and the way the shaft tucks in a bit before flaring out again for the suction cup. Unlike most dildos I’ve encountered so far, this dildo isn’t cylindrical – its girth is partially flattened out by its sloped back.

In use, this unique shaping makes for excellent thrusting.

Buster – my partner and official ‘stunt cunt’ for penetration toy reviews – usually prefers to leave dildos still after insertion, but the Purple Rain is a notable exception. While this dildo isn’t as filling as Buster would like (and we’ll talk about that more in a moment), its design makes it uniquely adept at turning even my clumsy-handed jackhammering into a pleasurably sleek fuck. They especially enjoy having the Avant Purple Rain Dildo angled either up or down, focusing on dragging its textureless length against their vaginal walls.

The Avant D2 Purple Rain Dildo has a gentle curve to it, but otherwise it’s not structured for g-spotting – at least not the aggressive, targeted kind. Buster and their sensitive urethral sponge (the tissue surrounding the g-spot) appreciates the subtler approach, but folks looking for intense g-spot action won’t be pleased. The head is broad and flat on the top (or backside depending on perspective) and its nose is gently rounded, and this – combined with the shaft’s basically shapeless length – means my thrusting firmly pets Buster’s vaginal walls instead of forcibly stimulating them in a bumpy/angled quest for g-spot mastery.

Besides the mild shaping of the underside of the head for detail, the Avant D2 Purple Rain is pretty consistent in width. It also has a great deal of give – I can bend it in half without a struggle – but it still has enough structure to stand upright by itself. But it simply isn’t thick enough to satisfy Buster, who says clenching around it only leaves them wanting more, especially with its broad but non-cylindrical width. (Yes, the exact same traits that make it great for thrusting make it less great for filling.) If a satisfying stretch is important to you and its average 1.5 inch width isn’t inherently challenge enough, this isn’t the dildo for you.

Our ability to test suction cups is limited because our shower is small and we only have carpet and crappy wallpaper, but suctioned to our shelf the Avant Purple Rain Dildo holds its position incredibly well against hard tugs. The shape of the base also makes the Purple Rain Dildo harness compatible, and it actually does quite well as a strap-on. It droops with its own weight, but it looks pretty and unintimidating (perfect for folks looking for non-realistic phalluses for play.) And the flare of its head helps just a bit with keeping it in during use.

The silicone surface of Avant D2 Purple Rain Dildo can be draggy, and works best (and slickest) with the addition of non-silicone lube. (This is non-negotiable when it comes to anal, of course.) It does attract dust and lint, but not as aggressively as other dildos we own; we don’t own pets, though, so cat owners’ mileage may vary. A quick rinse in the sink with some mild soap frees it of any particles better than a rinse without, since it is draggy. Soap and water is also fine for post-use cleaning, unless you’re switching from anal to vaginal use, in which case boiling it for a few minutes is necessary for sterilizing.

This is a visually enticing, mildly stimulating dildo that’s ideal only for folks in search of a toy that doesn’t pummel their g/p-spot (or target it at all, really) or have too much clenchable girth. It can double as sex positive décor for your bedside table, or make an eye-catching addition to nudes or cam work. And it comes in stylishly minimalist packaging that forgoes any gendering or hypersexualized marketing.

This is the kind of dildo I wish had existed on the shelves of the sex shop I visited when I was younger. It’s incredibly cute, non-realistic, and its proportions aren’t daunting for most folks. It’s sold on its own merits, with the focus of the box being a plastic window in the front that displays the dildo itself. And it’s made of body safe materials! If this had been the dildo I had seen occupying those racks (instead of toxic, hulking jelly dongs plastered with raunchy depictions of white straight people going at it) I wouldn’t have just had a different shopping experience. I would have had a completely different perspective of sex toys. Maybe, all these years later, I wouldn’t initially smirk at the idea of a dildo being artisinal, because I would have known from the start that they’re works of art.

You can find the Avant D2 Purple Rain Dildo at SheVibe or Peepshow Toys.

Thank you to Blush Novelties for sending me the lovely Avant D2 Purple Rain Silicone Dildo With Suction Cup. The Avant D2 was sent to me by Blush with no strings attached (though of course I was going to review it.) Affiliate links have been used in this post.