Turns out, the Ella has spoiled me. I know -- the Ella's about half
the price of the Gigi and it doesn't even vibrate; how could it surpass
the Gigi? Well, vibration isn't everything. And that's a big statement
for me to be making, but in this context, I'm willing to make it.

Don't stop breathing, over there. Hear me out. There is plenty to
love about the Gigi. It's made by Lelo, so it comes in the most
exquisite packaging ever: a lovely black box, with a white satin
drawstring pouch and a one-year warranty. It's a beautiful piece of
erotic art in and of itself -- a lovely deep magenta shaft, a ribbon of
silver, and a white plastic handle with controls that light up. The
jack for the charger is concealed by a blip of silicone, to keep
liquids and lubes out. There is no aesthetic element of the Gigi that isn't elegant.

The Gigi is one of those toys that I have always seen reviews for
and pictures of, so I had my own assumptions about it. I always
imagined that the entire shaft of the Gigi was made of silicone, so I
was surprised to find that the shaft is hard. Its texture is soft, of
course, as it's covered in 100% silicone... but underneath, it is hard
as a rock. Unlike some other vibrating silicone toys I've used, it will
not flex in any way. I assume this has to do with the mechanical inner
workings of the toy, and allows the vibrations to be stronger than if
they were traveling down a flexible silicone shaft.

Unfortunately, the Gigi emits a subtle high-pitched whine on some of
its lower settings. I'm very sensitive to sound -- I will delete mp3s
if they have the slightest hint of distortion -- so I can't stand to
use those settings. The Gigi has four steady vibration levels, but I
always skip the first two. Then it has three pulsation speeds and one
rollercoaster vibration level, and each of these can be strengthened or
weakened via the circular control panel. On the panel, the + and -
stand for vibration strength, while the up and down arrows cycle
through the different functions. Overall, the vibrations are
sufficiently strong and fairly quiet. As with other vibrating Lelo
toys, the Gigi can be locked for travel by holding down the middle of
the control panel for five seconds.

The Gigi feels nice on my clit, but let's not kid ourselves -- this
is a G-spot toy. And my G-spot requires an extreme amount of
stimulation. I have to thrust like a mofo to finally squirt. I'm not
sure the Gigi was built for people like me. When I thrust quickly with
it, the hard shaft sometimes gets caught on my pubic bone (an issue I
do not have with the Ella, as it is pliable), and the silver ribbon
occasionally irritates my vaginal walls. To make matters worse,
thrusting like a mofo requires grasping, and I found the Gigi's plastic
handle very troublesome. Firstly, this toy is just really short -- only
a little over six inches in length -- so it's easy to lose the shaft in
my pussy and have very little to hold. Secondly, the handle is plastic,
which does not play well with lube and squirt. Using the Gigi, I have
to wipe the handle and my hand off periodically, or I won't be able to
thrust. This has the unfortunate side effect of momentarily ruining my
momentum.

And while the location of the control panel makes for a sexy,
streamlined toy, it is in the exact spot where my thumb needs to rest.
You can infer the issues that inevitably arise from that dilemma.
Although I was definitely aware of the moments when I accidentally
changed the vibration function or intensity, I did not find the
vibrations to make much of a difference when I was thrusting. They
didn't greatly enhance the experience. Actually, I became neurotic when
the Gigi was on a pulsation mode and I was thrusting out of sync with
it.

In the end, the Gigi did make me squirt, but with a lot of effort
and worry expelled in the process. While the Gigi is a wonderfully
unique and elegant high-end vibrator, I find more G-spot satisfaction
with the flexible, all-silicone Ella. I think personal preference will
dictate whether someone prefers the Gigi or Ella; if your G-spot
requires less thrusting, more vibration, and/or a hard toy, I definitely recommend the Gigi. But I need pliability and a bit more length, so I will be
returning to the Ella.