Sapphire Fairy’s Forget-Me-Knot line includes multiple v-plug models, each with its own unique insertable shape and grindable texture. When I first encountered them, I was excited to see more of this type of model on the market, since Xenocat Artifacts’ Cyerce Symbiote is one of my fave toys. I was curious: How would Sapphire Fairy’s toys stand up compared to that one, and as a new shop, what were their products like?
While the shop and their Forget-Me-Knot line sounded promising when I first reached out to them, Sapphire Fairy as a whole has not met my expectations.
About Sapphire Fairy
Sapphire Fairy markets themselves based on sexual empowerment through sex toys. Their Sapphire Fairy Difference promises quality designs, good customer service, and short production times (5-6 weeks per their website’s FAQ). They carry multiple hand-sculpted designs, including a full Forget-Me-Knot line.
Update April 2023: I have removed non-archive links to Sapphire Fairy’s website. Scroll to the bottom for more info, but please note the information may be upsetting.
Design & Specs
The Abyss 1.0 features a large decorative head, a smooth knot, and a moderately textured tongue. The black and purple pour I received is beautiful with a subtle shimmer.
After looking over the toy closely, my first impression was not a great one. While I anticipate some flaws given that all indie silicone dildos are handmade, especially from models that were originally sculpted from clay rather than 3D printed, the high amount of flaws on this one makes the production feel rushed. There are nicks and pockmarks on the body, but they’re a lot more obvious on the tongue and the stem. It looks rough at a glance and worse on close inspection.
I don’t know the exact cause of all of these flaws. Are they inherent in the original sculpt and present on all copies of this model? Was there an issue with the mold? Did the toy stick to the mold when it was removed, causing small tears?*
As far as I can tell, this Abyss is probably safe to use* and I don’t notice the flaws in use, only aesthetically. I don’t know yet if the toy will tear along these flawed parts with long-term use. The tongue and its details are thin enough that I worry about its long-term durability as a result of these flaws and I take care when washing and make sure to inspect it after every use.
Because of the way this model was made, it has an obvious seam line along the side. This is not unusual and not something I would consider a flaw.
In size large, this knot is hefty. It’s 2.5″ across, or 7.5″ circumference, and the head is only a little smaller. I tend towards medium-size fantasy toys and this is on the larger end of those. About 6″ of the toy is insertable. The tongue is 4.5″ long and up to 1.25″ wide. In soft silicone 00-30, it’s nice and squishy in hand.
* Update 11/6/22: Sapphire Fairy does not use mold release, therefore causing toys to stick to the molds and tear when pulled. Because this toy was torn, I do not believe it is safe to use on account of the risk of microtears that will harbor bacteria. (Scroll down to the Concerns section for more info on this shop’s safety concerns.)
Ordering
Sapphire Fairy sells their products through both Etsy and their own website. They offer both custom color options and preset color combinations. As of writing this article, the large Abyss 1.0 is no longer on their website.
Their site is difficult to navigate visually. On my PC, the header takes up at least a third of the screen and doesn’t collapse. All product images are cut off at the edges and can’t be zoomed in. The font is tiny. I found Etsy much more convenient to use when browsing their products.
At first glance, their Etsy appears to have both premade inventory and made-to-order listings. However, all their listings are made-to-order; the listings with a single toy image are for that specific colorway.
I initially ordered an Aurora-color Abyss. The pour was beautiful but I immediately noticed it contained craft glitter. The issue with craft glitter is that it’s made of metal and won’t bond to silicone, meaning that it can eventually slice its way out of a toy with enough friction. In this case, there were many pieces just under the surface, including one piece along the tongue that was already sticking out of the toy. It took very little friction for multiple other pieces of glitter to break the surface. Craft glitter in sex toys is dangerous—nobody wants metal or sharp plastic slicing their bits.
The smaller flakes, which I think are large-flake mica, also rubbed out from the surface. They may not be as damaging as the craft glitter, but still not something that I would want to risk.
I got in contact with Sapphire Fairy and they immediately poured a replacement, offering me the choice between the same colorway (but without glitter) or a different one. They informed me that they pulled the glitter from their production and now only use mica flakes. (Some listings on their Etsy and site display toys made with glitter, but they have assured me that these are just placeholder images that haven’t yet been replaced.)
While I appreciated the prompt replacement, I was informed by another collector that they had previously tried speaking with Sapphire Fairy about the craft glitter weeks before I ever got in touch with the shop. I’m concerned that, even after the issue had been raised by that collector, Sapphire Fairy still sent me a glitter-filled toy without disclosure and without adequate quality testing.
The initial toy and the replacement were both shipped in non-padded mailers.
In Use: Vaginal
Putting appearances aside, how does the Abyss hold up in use?
I’ll be honest: I’m not a big fan of the head. I love texture, but the intense texture combined with the girth of the head is a little too much. Even in soft, the ridges are uncomfortable at my entrance. Once inside, though, it sits comfortably and I don’t actively notice the texture.
The knot is where it’s at. It’s huge. The stem beneath it is comparably thin. It takes a bit of work and warming up to fit the knot, but once it’s in, oh man, it’s in. It ties extremely well. This toy is designed to stay put. The filled feeling of the thick knot without having to hold it there is fantastic.
And as a bonus? The knot presses against my G-spot.
The combination of being filled, the G-spot pressure, and the grinding pad is so intense in the best way. I lose myself for a few minutes because I need to ride out the wave of pleasure.
Most of Sapphire Fairy’s other Forget-Me-Knot models do not feature a stem beneath the knot. As a result, I suspect they do not tie as well as this model, but I haven’t tried any of them myself.
The model is advertised for walking around while wearing, but my preference for toys like this is to grind against them using something like a pillow for leverage. I worried for a while that the tongue was going to be too thin, not broad enough, or too wobbly and wouldn’t stay put. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was sufficient to stay in place while grinding against vigorously. I had to get it in position to start with, but once set, it stayed set.
I can’t say that I notice anything in particular about the grinding texture, only that there is texture and it’s pretty nice. A little less intense than I’d like, but I think that comes down to the direction and shape of the texture.
Lube gets on my underwear thanks to the tongue not being wide enough for my outer labia. I’m not surprised, but it’s inconvenient.
The toy goes in easier than it comes out. Being the size that it is and without any taper at the base of the knot, I struggle a bit to stretch enough to remove it. Lots of lube, relaxing my muscles, and a healthy bit of “just grab the knot and ease it out” gets it out alright.
Concerns Regarding Sapphire Fairy
Sapphire Fairy’s attitude towards the indie sex toy industry runs contrary to the ethic that many makers have. Without uplifting and supporting others, we wouldn’t have as many successful shops out there. We wouldn’t have freelance designers like myself. We wouldn’t have as much space for bloggers and the communities that we’ve grown in places like Twitter, Reddit, and Discord.
They have also made incorrect safety claims, such as that using mold release makes toys unsafe. Mold release is what makes it possible to remove a silicone toy from a silicone mold without them sticking (much like greasing a pan for baking). Using mold release may invalidate the skin-safe certification of a product by nature of introducing new materials, but it doesn’t make it unsafe, especially since mold release is washed off of the final toy and isn’t absorbed by it.
Since Sapphire Fairy does not use mold release, their toys stick to the mold, tearing the toys as they are pulled (causing microtears that will harbor bacteria) and leaving behind bits that will stick to the next toy (which could peel off of that next toy). Therefore, I do not believe their toys are safe to use.
Sapphire Fairy claimed that degassing silicone toys (the process of removing bubbles) isn’t a necessary safety measure. (They have since deleted the blog post from their site and I link the archived page here only to provide context.) I’m concerned that they accused other makers of using safety as an underhanded marketing tactic; treated the lack of official research as a reason to disregard safety measures explored by many makers, educators, and reviewers; and spread dangerous misinformation in an already unregulated industry.
Degassing silicone sex toys is necessary in order to create a safe sex toy. Platinum-cure silicone is a safe material when processed properly, but if microbubbles aren’t removed by degassing, they can trap bacteria the same as porous sex toys, which can be difficult or impossible to clean thoroughly.
Despite this article and despite accusations that Sapphire Fairy does not degas their silicone, I haven’t seen a single toy of theirs with microbubbles. I fully believe that they degas their silicone as they claim. However, given this erroneous safety claim (which they doubled down on in twitter comments) and the glitter situation, I’m concerned about their quality review process (if they have one) and their commitment to learning about and committing to sex toy safety (which I consider incredibly important when it comes to products that end up in or around people’s most intimate parts).
For more on sex toy material safety, check out the following links: The Definite Guide to Toxic Sex Toys by Dangerous Lilly, Body-Safe Sex Toys by Phallophile, and Your genitals deserve better: the case against toxic sex toys by Epiphora.
The plagiarism is a bad look, too. (It’s been altered by now, but you don’t get “Bad Dragon” in your privacy policy by writing it yourself.) Run the pages through a plagiarism checker and you’ll find that Sapphire Fairy’s current Privacy Policy, Terms of Sale, and Terms of Service are almost exactly the same as Bad Dragon’s but with the name changed, a few numbers changed, and a couple brief sections removed. I don’t think that’s legal and it’s certainly not ethical.
I also can’t say I’m a fan of them making dildos like their Stitch-themed model. Yes, I know there’s Rule 34 and all that, but I think it’s reasonable to have the expectation that a sex toy maker won’t base a model off of a young character from a kids’ movie. At best, it’s a big red flag for me.
Overall
I love v-plug/grinder combos like Sapphire Fairy’s Forget-Me-Knots, and the large Abyss 1.0 works pretty well for me. If it were a little smaller, had subtler head texture, and had a broader tongue, I think it would be almost perfect for me design-wise. The large Abyss 2.0, which is currently on their Etsy but not their site, looks like the knot and head would be more my style than the Abyss 1.0.
However, I feel let down by the quality, lack of safety knowledge and testing, and disrespect towards other shops and collectors in the indie sex toy community.
It’s a damn shame that Sapphire Fairy hasn’t prioritized safety, quality, or respect. They could have taken these rough models and refined the next iterations into something fantastic and safe that collectors would love to get their hands on, but instead they’ve alienated a significant number of their fellow indie shops and fantasy toy collectors. It’s possible they may yet grow the business and make high-quality, gorgeous models, but they’d be doing it without the community support they otherwise could have had.
Given the number of safety red flags, I would strongly advise against buying from Sapphire Fairy. I do not believe their toys meet minimum safety standards.
For anyone seeking a v-plug/grinder combo, I would instead recommend Xenocat Artifacts’ Cyerce Symbiote. Combining a v-plug with a grinder is another great way to explore this combo by mixing and matching different toys for the perfect experience.
Update April 2023: Sapphire Fairy’s website and social media pages have been taken down. Their Etsy page is still up, but I suspect they may not be able to fulfill orders. The shop was run by two people, known online as Odin and Sapphire. Odin has been arrested on charges of sex crimes involving children; I have verified the charges and his identity using the name on packages I received, public arrest records, and Facebook posts from people in his local community (where he was open about running this business). Sapphire has not been arrested or charged, to my knowledge. I do not plan to share Odin’s name publicly, but others within the fantasy toy community have verified the information that I found, and some have shared this same information regarding the arrest. In light of this information, I strongly hazard against purchasing from them due to the suspicion that the order will not be fulfilled, and for ethical reasons I strongly recommend against purchasing from them as long as Odin may potentially be involved with, or profit from, the business.
Update July 2023: Sapphire Fairy’s website is back up and Etsy is still running. According to this reddit post, Sapphire is running the shop alone and Odin will never be involved again. While I still have major quality concerns, I am hopeful that Odin will truly remain uninvolved moving forward.
This post does not contain any affiliate links. I received the toy in exchange for an honest review.
Really appreciate this post & the safety info, wanted to point out that some of their listings advocate for the use of silicone lube. So uh. Don’t do that either yikes 💀
Thank you so much for this complete review of Sapphire Fairy. It helped me to make my decision about where I will purchase my next toy. Your thoroughness, transparency, and honesty are greatly appreciated.