It’s a vibe: Are sex toys the new celebrity fragrance?

With taboos lifting around sex, the adult-toy market is exploding and some of your favourite famous faces are getting in on the act.

It wasn’t all that long ago that a celebrity wasn’t considered a bona-fide star until they had their own fragrance.

From Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears to David Beckham and Donald Trump, celebrities have cashed in on the fragrance market, making money not only for themselves but the brand behind them.

But the market is now flooded – Britney Spears alone has 30-plus fragrances to her name – and celebrities are increasingly aligning themselves with a new and somewhat surprising market: sex toys.

The stars who have a sex toy range

Model and actor Cara Delevingne is the co-owner and creative advisor of Lora DiCarlo, a company that “creates award-winning technology that empowers individuals to explore their sexuality”.

Singer Lily Allen has partnered with German sex toy company Womanizer and launched her own vibrator, the Liberty.

Fifty Shades of Grey actor Dakota Johnson has also got in on the act, as an investor and co-creative director of sexual-wellness brand Maude.

“To me, taking care of your body in a sexual way should be the same as taking care of your body in terms of nutrients, skincare, exercise, et cetera,” she told Vogue.

Closer to home, reality-TV star and influencer Abbie Chatfield has teamed up with Vush Australia to release her own sex toy, the Vush X Abbie.

Sex toy sales are exploding

Rob Godwin is the Australasian director of Lovehoney, Australia’s largest and leading adult toy retailer.

He established the brand here in 2013 and has watched the market grow at breakneck speed.

“Through the pandemic alone, we’ve grown from having 28 staff members to 64 and our brand awareness has increased by 333 per cent,” he says.

“We’re expecting sales of US$400 million this calendar year and the global market for sexual product is projected to hit US$108 billion by 2027, of which 40 per cent is sex toys.”

Why are sex toys now so popular?

Our newfound appreciation for adult toys lies largely in the lifting of old-school taboos, psycho-sexologist Chantelle Otten explains.

“We’re beginning to understand that devoting time to our sexual health is as important as any pillar of health,” she says.

“And we’re a lot more comfortable shopping for them because we no longer have to go browsing in sex shops.

“Toys are readily available online.”

What celebrities get out of sex products

Why have celebrities started aligning themselves with the adult toy market?

Rob says it’s hard not to touch on the “power of Gwyneth” – as in Gwyneth Paltrow, actor and founder of the Goop wellness and lifestyle brand.

“If you look at what she has done with Goop and now her new TV show, you see she’s passionate about making a difference in her fans’ lives; there’s an intrinsic desire to do good,” Rob says.

“This isn’t about famous people lending their names to a product to make money – although there’s certainly good money to be made in such a partnership – but they believe in a product and what a difference it can make in others’ lives.”

Chantelle agrees the partnership makes sense.

“Celebrities know they’re trusted voices, so if they’re out there saying, ‘I’m going to openly say this is great’, fans who see that particular person as someone to admire will trust their opinions and say to themselves, ‘Well, If Lily loves it, I want it for myself as well’.”

Are celebrity sex toys any good?

As for whether celebrity-endorsed products are going to be better than other products on the market, both Rob and Chantelle say yes, without a doubt.

Chantelle points out if you’re in the public eye, you can’t risk putting your name to something that is substandard.

“It’s too damaging,” she says.

“Fans are pretty vocal these days and if they don’t like a product a celebrity is spruiking, they’re going to vent on social (media) pretty quickly.”

Rob says the performance of the product is the No.1 consideration.

“These celebrities are extensive with their research and, at the end of the day, the product not only has to work, in this social-media world, it has to be one of the best.”

Need to do a little research of your own?

Consider starting with Lily Allen’s Liberty or Abbie Chatfield’s Vush X Abbie and take some time investing in your new, celebrity-sanctioned pillar of health.

Written by Dilvin Yasa.

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