‘Mindblowing’: Sellout sex toy for solo and partner Play
The new Aussie brand’s sex toys have left thousands of five-star customers “speechless” after just one use. WARNING: Adult content.
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WARNING: ADULT CONTENT.
Normal co-founders Lucy Wark and Georgia Grace have changed the sex lives of millions with modern lifestyle products, shoppable in a shame-free, educational online space.
Masturbation. No matter how many times you say and think of this word, its veil of shame never wears off.
It starts with the classroom curriculum, which teaches sex through a very narrow and traditional lens, completely ignoring the concept of sexual and emotional desires. Beyond school, purchasing and using toys conjures up images of seedy shops with flashing neon signages or giant hot pink dildos that rock up on your doorstep in discreet packaging. And then learning how to use these toys is a whole other untouched realm covered in shame.
It’s strange to think that for something so common, normal, healthy and quite frankly, enjoyable, there’s still an immense amount of censorship around sexual pleasure. So, what can be done to normalise it?
It was this exact mystery that business analyst and social scientist Lucy Wark, wanted to solve.
“I would walk into a store and feel overwhelmed by the ranges available and intimidated by the massive purple wobbling dildos,” Wark told news.com.au. “I was unsure of what was right for me and worried that I was going to drop $200 on something that I couldn’t use.”
This lack of sensitivity and access to free pleasure education was something she saw many of her friends experiencing, too.
“It was over a period of years that I realised many of us were going through the same sets of issues around sex, not knowing if we were having the most pleasurable, fun, enjoyable sex — everything from having your first orgasm to exploring what turns you on to exploring fantasy.”
Sex education in school was reserved for reproduction purposes with an emphasis on abstinence, unplanned pregnancies and unwanted STIs.
“Our sex education had focused more on preventing a small set of risks around sexual health,” Wark highlighted. “You can often feel very alone and not equipped with information.”
So, Wark enlisted the help of one of Australia’s leading sex practitioners Georgia Grace to co-launch a startup in February 2021 that normalised sexual pleasure.
Aptly, they named it Normal.
BECOMING THE HOUSEHOLD NAME FOR SHAME-FREE SEX TOYS
Wark and Grace understood their business endeavour wasn’t going to be a matter of simply educating people about sex; the tone, the energy, the delivery and the environment they needed to create around the education would be just as crucial.
They wanted to create a “shame-free, beautiful and modern” sex toy brand that carried the same essence as well-known labels such as Aesop or Everlane.
“Essentially, we wanted to normalise pleasure and great sex for everyone and we do that by making beautiful modern sex toys and essentials,” Wark explained. “Secondly, by incorporating lots of education into that whole process. And thirdly, by actually using the sales of our toys to fund making free digital sex education resources.”
The business entrepreneurs had the toys to sell and the accompanying resources — now, the only challenge was marketing Normal in an engaging way.
To do this, they decided to “lift people’s spirits” during a time of unfortunate Covid circumstances.
“It was the Bondi lockdowns and our team was joking around saying there was going to be a whole bunch of people trapped at home who were going to be really horny and they weren’t going to be dating or having sex,” Wark recalled. “Or, if they were in a couple, they’re probably going to be crammed together all the time and not feel particularly turned on.”
So, the Normal team strategically placed a truck plastered with a sex-positive campaign into the view of news cameras that were filming at the Covid testing location in Bondi Beach. “Bondi, improve your lockdown,” the campaign read. “Use ‘CumOnBondi’ for 50 per cent off all toys.”
With that campaign alone, Normal’s sales skyrocketed and three years later, the brand has become the household name for high-quality, shame-free sex toys and education.
UNLIKE ANY OTHER ADULT PRODUCTS ON THE MARKET
“We’ve sold tens of thousands of toys across the range,” Wark exposed.
The curated Normal range currently consists of eight high-quality sex toys that all feature a modern and beautiful design, a super-soft and body-safe silicone body (free from all nasties), a quiet motor and long-lasting battery life.
Each toy also serves a different purpose and caters to every gender and sexuality — a market differentiator Wark and Grace felt was essential, especially being members of the LGBTIQ+ community.
“We wanted to make sure that our range was more inclusive than just products that can be used externally or internally for vaginal stimulation,” Wark noted.
Throw in a genius ‘100 night stand’ returns policy - which lets customers return a toy within the first 100 days for store credit towards another toy that might be a better fit - and it’s clear as to why Normal has garnered thousands of five-star reviews, a loyal Instagram following of over 40k and “tens of millions” of people accessing the brand’s free sex education content.
MOST POPULAR NORMAL SEX TOYS
Normal’s original best-seller Quinn retails for $220 and is meant to feel like “amazing” oral sex, which has customers referring to it as a “mindblowing pocket rocket”. While petite in size, this two-in-one toy packs a punch by forming a soft seal around the clitoris and uses rhythmic pulses of air to bring its user to an intense climax. With seven modes and up to two hours of runtime per charge, there’s a clear reason why Quinn has maintained its popularity since its release.
“As a single woman living alone in lockdown I’m lacking many things but an orgasm isn’t one of them,” one person wrote back in 2021. “This is officially my emotional support vibrator.”
A more recent five-star user wrote: “The Quinn is a game changer! Our bedroom play has gone to a new level with the introduction of this toy. Not that it wasn’t great before but now it’s something else. Absolute winner. Lads, or ladies, get one of these for the better half, you will not regret it.”
If a rabbit vibrator is more your vibe, Piper ($220) combines clit and G-spot pleasure for a blended stimulation.
Those wanting to explore G-spot and external pleasure can opt for the versatile vibe Darcy ($220). This toy features a bulb for exploring the G-spot, a long arm for a feeling of full penetration and an overall sleek body that can be used for arousing all your favourite body parts. Or, if you’re someone with a penis looking for stronger longer-lasting erections, the silky-smooth cock ring Flynn ($160) will get you there in no time.
Beginners are obsessed with Frankie, the most affordable toy in the Normal range, which retails for $80. This subtle yet powerful beginner bullet vibe concentrates vibrations into the gently rounded point to help hit the spot, like your clit, vulva, nipples, perineum and so much more.
While all of Normal’s toys can be used for couples play, Billie ($160) - a curved toy designed to fit snugly in the palm of your hand - and Charlie ($220) - a classic wand toy - are the most popular picks among partners.
THE NEW SELLOUT SEX TOY
Most recently, Normal teamed up with reality TV star Abbie Chatfield on a butt plug package called Option A.
Suitable for beginners, experts and solo and partner play, this curated anal play kit comes complete with a small butt plug, a medium butt plug, a vibrating bullet, a remote and a charging cord. There are various ways the kit can be used — for example, the bullet can be used as a sex toy on its own, or it can be inserted into either of the included plugs for added stimulation. The toy is then accompanied by a plethora of free and easily accessible sex ed guides — resources that “none of us got in school”, according to Wark.
What surprised Wark and Grace was that despite the perceived stigma around anal play, Option A has already surpassed Quinn as the best-seller in a matter of months — proving just how widely accepted this form of self-pleasure is.
“We’ve seen really strong interest in people of all genders and sexualities because it’s the part of the body that all people can enjoy pleasure in, so it doesn’t mean if you’re a person with a penis or a person with a vulva,” Wark said.
“It speaks to the fact that we’ve seen these amazing waves of normalisation and people learning more about pleasure over the last decade.”
Normal’s range doesn’t just stop at meticulously crafted aesthetic and functional sex toys — you can also shop for essential accessories, like a high-quality silicone-based lube ($25), a water-based lube ($25), an all-natural massage oil ($40), a toy cleaning spray ($25) or a sex conversation starter kit ($40). Or, instead of gifting that special someone an ordinary bouquet of flowers, you can give them the gift of pleasure with a shame-free Normal gift card.
CREATE A SPACE OF COMFORT AND EMPOWERMENT
While sexual wellness content is still stringently censored and restricted on social media platforms and Google, it hasn’t stopped Wark and Grace from using other alternatives to have open and honest conversations around masturbation, pleasure and sexuality.
“Seeing this conversation happen more in the public eye has been amazing and we’re really pleased by our ability to push it into places that might not otherwise have been covering it before,” Wark noted.
In the few years since Normal’s inception, the co-founders have helped launch the ‘Sexual Wellness’ category at leading department store David Jones, featured in Vogue Codes and TEDx Talk events, debuted a 15-lesson e-course called ‘The Modern Guide to Sex’, conducted a 1,000-peer survey on sexual habits and preferences, and have recently expanded into the US and Canada market.
“Learning about what makes you turned on and what makes you feel orgasmic, and using toys as part of that, is a really important conversation,” Wark said. “We’ve seen so much progress in terms of understanding our bodies and feeling comfortable talking about that with partners in the last few years.”
While there’s still a lot of progress to be made around destigmatising sexual pleasure, there’s no doubt Normal’s shame-free, educational online space has helped everyone feel more comfortable owning it, talking about it and most importantly, normalising it.
More Coverage
Want to read more about sex toys? Check out our story on the best sex toys for couples to buy this year.
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