Blush Avant Lucky Dildo Review: Silicone Glitter Issues?

To glitter, or not to glitter? I love the Blush Avant “Lucky” D17 dildo in theory, and in appearance. This silicone dildo transitions from blue to pink, reminiscent of the bisexual pride flag. Indeed, Blush Novelties’s product images for Avant D17 include stylized unicorns in them: see below! (“Unicorn” meaning a single woman who will have sex with both men and other women). Released just in time for Pride month, June 2021, the Avant D17 “Lucky” is subtly but not directly tied to Blush Novelties’s LGBTQIA+ marketed dildos, the “P” line for Pride (like the P3). I get that: anyone can enjoy glitter, pastels, and rainbows; and the Avant D17 is one helluva pretty sex toy. Even better, I’ve enjoyed this same dildo mold’s smoothed-out phallic shape in previous Blush toys, the Avant D5 & D6.

In real use, though, the Avant D17 creates one issue that worries me. Maybe glitter isn’t such a hot selling point, after all! A sex toy maker should do some glitter research before throwing little sparkly bits into curing silicone, and Blush’s production team seems to have missed the well-known fact that chunks of other material embedded in silicone can delaminate. They work themselves out, if the other object is not ultra-fine and is too close to the silicone’s surface. In my list of “Things to Avoid in My Vagina,” free-range glitter is present, along with KY Jelly (and other glycerin lubes) and the Commando Cock.

So I’m torn… I’ll review the Avant D17 Lucky’s shape, silicone feel, and ponder glitter safety because it’s a nebulous topic!

Avant D17 Dildo Product Features

The Avant D17 Lucky offers: a pretty pastel color fade, a slightly realistic shape, and a suction cup base. It’s made of body-safe platinum silicone (with glitter added, discussed later). It’s a single-density toy, one layer of silicone; vs. the dual-density silicone composition of the Avant D7 through D12 (named “Ergo Mini,” “Ergo,” and “Suko”; toys carried over from the discontinued Real Nude dual-layer line).

D17 Lucky is the softer silicone that Blush Novelties began using in 2020, impressing me in the Avant pastel dildo releases of D14 through D17. Since I wrote a Silicone Dildo Firmness guide, I’ve encountered scores of readers who agree that softer silicone is more comfortable than the hard silicone densities that ruled the market 5 years ago. So in general, the Avant D17 Lucky’s softer feel is a good choice.

The Avant dildos have traditionally been given number designations, which get real confusing when you have so many Avant numbers: Avant D5, D14, D17, D2, R2… who knows if you’re remembering the number right. (Yeah, I’m joking about the D2, R2.) But I know I’m still having to look up the numbers for Avant D14 thru D16 when I’m trying to point someone to either the G-spotty / prostate one, or the tapered one. So an additional word was chosen for the Avant glitter unicorn dildo: D17 Lucky, fittingly. It’s officially the “Avant D17 Lucky by Blush Novelties.”

Avant D17 Lucky is the same shape as Avant D5 and the D6 (also as the discontinued Real Nude Rollo dual-density dildo). Read my Avant D5 review for my suction cup testing with that toy. In short, the Lucky dildo’s suction cup is good. Not perfect if you’re applying lots of force, but quite good.

The Lucky Dildo’s Feel

This is a semi-phallic design, meaning that it’s kind of like a dick, but not super-realistic. It’s smoothed out, it’s straight with no skin textures or balls; but it does have a few vertical lines that bring (randomly placed) veins to my mind. Similarly, the Avant Lucky has a definite head, but with a gentle bump for a ridge, not the crown (corona) of a penis head.

Through its center 4 inches, the D17 Lucky’s shaft is very rounded — barrel-like, almost — vs. the ovoid shape of most penises (slightly wider across the front than side-to-side). That makes the Avant Lucky feel bulkier inside me than the average realistic dildo with 1.5-inch max. diameter would. The bulk is a selling point for me, as I enjoy thick shafts.

I’ve always liked this shape first among Blush Novelties’s semi-realistic toys, because it’s bulky enough, and just firm enough without being hard, and ridgy enough to make me orgasm quickly (with a few minutes of steady thrusting). The subtle head ridge tugs on my G-spot just the right way: not too hard, not super-squishy (like the VixSkin Mustang‘s ridge, so soft I need it faster! to orgasm & want someone else to do the work for me).

So that’s all good, especially that the 10A Shore durometer is indeed the firmness of an erection, if you were to stick a durometer’s retractable prong into the 🍆shaft. The first batch of Avant dildos I got back in 2018 are in the 15A to 17A range, noticeably firmer. No pastel or striped Avant is squishy-squeezable like dual-density; and that’s fine, sometimes even I, a professional dildo-squisher, want a slightly firmer toy. (That said, the softer Luminous dildo is my favorite affordable & mid-sized realistic dildo.)

Going well, my first test run with the Avant D17 Lucky was. I loved the pale pink to sky blue color fade, meeting to create a lilac purple stripe in the middle. And finished by a pure white base, where the suction cup is! This silicone dildo was sticking well to my shower wall and all.

But I started noticing how it felt draggier. I put on more lube (thick but safe gel lube, for more longevity in the shower). Still a little rough, but I came nicely. I washed the Avant D17 off and started wondering. Dried it; felt the silicone. Blush’s 2020 Avant releases were an upgrade in the “smooth” department, feeling even silkier than the 2018 lineup marketed as “Satin Smooth.” See all my Blush Avant reviews here, from newest to oldest: D15 & D16, P3 & P1, D3/D4 & D5/D6. (You see what I mean about the names?!) Anyway, the newer Avant D15 is supple, almost. And the Avant D17 Lucky unicorn dildo here… well, it’s really trying for that extra-silky finish but the problem: all these glitter bits.

…And the Glitter Issue

Gritty. The glitter makes the Avant D17 Lucky’s newly soft silicone feel gritty, because of all the little glitter particles being so close to the surface.

As I was running my fingertips over the Avant D17’s surface, one chunk kinda leaped out at me. So then I ran my (very short; my nails are always trimmed) thumbnail over it. And the glitter fragment delaminated, came right out of the silicone. I wasn’t forcing this, it happened naturally with slight focused pressure.

It’s such a small piece; and undoubtedly other little bits of hair or lint, etc. enter anyone’s vagina who gets penetrated regularly. It’s a minimal risk for sure. Here’s an article on fiber loss in tampons, for example, that concludes that tiny pieces of cotton / fiber that tampons can leave inside the vagina will normally exit within 2 to 3 days, but “the risk of infection is … [higher] in women that already have issues such as endometriosis or pre-existing ulcers in the vagina.” I did have to run my nail over that chunk to get it to pop out, but I can’t guarantee that all Avant D17s will have the much-glitter fully encapsulated. And as anyone who’s seen glitter go everywhere knows, glitter sticks. It’s tough to remove from normal dry skin — and I can’t even imagine what might happen inside a moist mucous membrane, full of ridges (vaginal rugae) already.

Personally, I’m a discerning unicorn. You gotta treat me (& my vagina) right, or I’ll pass you over for the next lucky individuals (or sex toys). So I’m wary about the Avant D17 Lucky, and it’s one of my “display dildos” now [or it *was* until I cut it up for science, keep reading]. The kind you own if you’re a fantasy dong collector, and you have a box (or a UV light shelf, depending on how devoted you are) of silicone toys & you don’t have the energy to use ’em all regularly, you just admire how awesome they look. (It’s a fun hobby, I say.)

Speaking of fantasy dildos, glitter is commonly used in those. But it’s a fine micro-glitter. I’ve seen some small independent makers note a risk of delamination for embedded objects: like last month I saw the squishy-maker Wyvern’s Vault note that their silicone teeny critters were for external use only, given that the “glitter confetti” could delaminate if “handled roughly.” Like, you’re not going to get big glitter chunks in shiny insertable sex toys by Oxballs (“Blueballs” and Smoke Smoosh colors both are very be-glittered), or Uberrime, or Strange Bedfellas, etc., and they all use glitter all the time.

In contrast, I’m seeing all different-size glitter particles in the Blush Avant D17 Lucky. It’s “mixed glitter,” rather than an ultra-fine micro-glitter. Curious about how Blush was making this toy, I actually cut into the Avant D17 — a dildo dissection for science! — to determine whether the glitter was

1. mixed into the liquid silicone before the silicone was injected into molds¹ — much safer; or
2. simply coating the outside of the mold (along with the mold-release agent) and partly mixing into the silicone as it cured.

Turns out #1 is correct, the glitter is mixed in. Interestingly, it turns out that the Avant D17 Lucky’s silicone is injected in three batches,² presumably so that less glitter can be used to create more sparkle:

1. The innermost silicone has some (but not a lot) of glitter and is pale blue.
2. The outside silicone of the shaft is the two colors, pale pink to blue; and contains a lot more glitter. Concentrated outside for the ✨with less glitter required inside.
3. The suction cup base is cast / injected in pure white silicone, no glitter.

So really, the safety issue is the occasional larger glitter chunks that can work their way out should you scratch / rub hard against the silicone’s surface. The fact that larger glitter particles even exist in the D17 make me believe that Blush is a little out of their league here: Trying to incorporate cool selling points that American indie platinum silicone makers work into their toys (glitter, softer silicone, transition fades), which is admirable, Blush is staying up on the game there; but they need to make the toys more cheaply, on a large scale (mass production in China), so that the quality cannot be the same as in artisan handmade dildos. And so the occasional glitter particle may flake out of any Avant D17 Lucky.

Update: Blush Novelties’ Response

So after I published this review, Blush Novelties reached out to me, in mid-August 2021. They made the following statement about the Avant Lucky glitter dildo:

Blush wants to sincerely apologize for the experiences reported with our Avant Lucky dildo and the glitter scraping off. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention! We are always trying to improve our process and your concerns have been listened to. As part of the product development process, we perform Quality Assurance, which includes obtaining 3rd party lab testing reports on all of the materials used in our products, as well as the glitter for this style. The material and glitter used in the Avant Lucky is safe and non-toxic. We will be fixing this issue and are working hard to make overall improvements to the product development, production, and quality control procedures. We’ve addressed the issue with the factory and are working hard to create improvements to this innovative product! Thank you again for bringing this to our attention.

— @BlushLoveBrands via Twitter DM, August 17, 2021

A desire to remedy problematic issues is always admirable, and I hope the glitter can be made finer in the next Avant D17 production run. All current US inventory is certainly the older run with mixed glitter, so stay tuned for further updates!

Avant D17 Lucky Recap

Such a cute toy, the Avant D17 Lucky is; perfect to look at, and fitting in with the Avant pastel dildos. If you are seeking out a bisexual pride dildo / unicorn themed toy, I can see wanting one. I know I was glad for its semi-phallic shape — which has always satisfied me, with a thickly rounded shaft, subtle vein-like textures, and smooth ridge sliding up and down inside my vagina.

However, the smooth factor is cut down in the D17, unfortunately, vs. previous Avant toys. This “unicorn” dildo is a bit more draggy — possibly due to the sparkly silver glitter. There are a few patches of the D17’s body that are rougher than others. They detract from otherwise good qualities: (1) the silky matte finish and the (2) fairly-soft silicone of the Avant D17 Lucky “unicorn” silicone dildo. It’s a lot of sparkly glitter embedded very close to the surface of the silicone. I honestly don’t have the data to say whether Avant D17 is outright dangerous — but the glitter chunks, together with the extra drag, make the Avant D17 never to find its way into my vagina’s good graces ever again. And turn it into a toy I’m not happy to recommend, even though it appeared so promising.

Sometimes, there’s that one thing you can’t stand in a potential hookup partner, and you simply have to move on to the next candidate. 👋 Sorry, Avant D17: not so lucky, after all.

Find my favorite Avant dildo alternatives here.

Or see handmade-in-the-US silicone dildos here.

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NOTES

1. Or *maybe* hand-poured into the molds, that’s less likely, as human labor is more costly. Even in China.
2. It is a single-density toy, however. Because only one density (firmness) of silicone of silicone is used, and the layers don’t cure separately, this is not a dual-density dildo (much less a triple density one).