If you’re across the latest in the world of beauty, chances are you’ve heard of a little (major) brand by the name of Foreo.
And if you’re not remotely fussed about the beauty industry, chances are you’ve at least seen these funny-looking silicone devices in the pharmacist and the feeds of those former Bachie contestants you’ve forgotten to unfollow on Insta.
If you fall into the second category, allow me to give you a brief introduction.
Foreo is a beauty brand that has been made famous by its fancy Luna face massagers.
These guys:
Essentially, the Luna is a silicone brush that has been fitted with a battery, so it can massage cleansers deeper into your skin and exfoliate that mug of yours.
That’s all well and good. Yay for taking care of your face!
But there’s a tiny issue at hand… well, perhaps not so much an issue as a point of confusion. You see, the uninitiated kinda, sorta, definitely tend to think these colourful devices are vibrators.
The reason I know this is because I was one of these people. (Yes, I recognise this probably makes me look like a moron and I fully anticipate some of you will tell me so in the comments.)
When I first noticed Foreo products lining shelves in Sephora I’d never heard of battery-operated face massagers.
So, I spotted the collection of silicone pieces that were shaped either like a dome or a kind of warped rectangle and thought, “Guess Sephora has a sex toy section now. Good on ’em”. And, to be frank, the name Luna Play didn’t exactly scream otherwise.
Over time I learnt (through a little Googling and a lot of Instagram posts by influencers raving about their new toys) that those funky-shaped thingos were actually skin and oral care devices.
Now, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a little sceptical at first. A “face” massager, hey? Sure. That’s what people are using those things for.
I’ve seen Sex and the City, people. I remember the episode where Samantha wants to replace her vibrator and the sales dude refuses to refer to it as anything but a “neck massager”.
But, as it turns out…This isn’t an episode of SATC. Face massagers are a thing – they just happen to look a lot like sex toys.
And the internet has certainly noticed.
Real question: Is a @FOREO just a vibrator your mum can gift wrap and put under the tree?
— Kate (@katerothschild) August 7, 2018
My mom thought my FOREO LUNA was a vibrator lmao
— vanessa (@veesanti) July 10, 2018
when my bf picked up a Foreo in Sephora and turned it on, he honestly thought it was a vibrator and was very confused as to why it was being sold in a makeup store
— Angel (@angel_banika) January 21, 2018
when my bf picked up a Foreo in Sephora and turned it on, he honestly thought it was a vibrator and was very confused as to why it was being sold in a makeup store
— Angel (@angel_banika) January 21, 2018
Those Foreo things some people apparently use to clean their faces look like expensive vibrators. There. I said it.
— Sarah Orsborn (@erniebufflo) August 4, 2017
Before you roll your eyes and reduce the comparison to dirty minds giggling at anything that vibrates, hear me out.
As the New York Times has recently highlighted, there’s a new wave of vibrators, er, penetrating the market at the moment – and they’re a far cry from the phallic, horrifyingly veiny, flesh-coloured pieces made from nasty materials that previously dominated the industry.
Modern sex toys, many of which are being designed by women (yas sex tech kweens), are often made of silicone and come in a whole host of shapes and colours.
…Sound familiar?
I mean, just look at this luxury option by Je Joue. Pop some brush bristles on her and she’s basically the Luna massager.
The parallels have been drawn so often, in fact, that Refinery29 went so far as to do a deep dive into a potential link between Foreo and fellow Swedish company (and designer of “objects of desire”) Lelo.
That…..is definitely a vibrator
— bob lamington (@boblamington) December 30, 2017
Turns out that the two companies were founded by brothers Filip Sedic and Pavle Sedic. According to Refinery29, a brand rep confirmed that Palve, who went on to launch Foreo, was actually once the president and chairman of Lelo.
So, while Foreo has technically only confirmed that the companies have stakeholders in common, I can’t help but wonder if the transition into beauty was a matter of shifting the device downwards and testing out the results? (Okay, that’s probably not how it went down, but you get what I mean.)
In any case, I’m just glad to see that there’s such a broad range of safe, well-engineered options for folks looking for massage devices (of all sorts) these days.
Perhaps just be aware that it’s a little tricky to tell the difference between the toys that are intended for beauty and those that are designed for the boudoir before you go popping your Luna in your sharehouse shower caddy.