Looking to make things more exciting in the bedroom during lockdown? Sex toys are in theory the ideal solution – but for years the devices on offer often failed to live up to their promise.

“The high street used to be awash with toys that broke after a couple of uses, and then went straight to landfill,” says Lucy Litwack, CEO of erotic emporium, Coco De Mer. “More than that, they were full of toxic chemicals: things like phthalates, that are illegal to put in a dog toy, were considered fine to use in a vibrator.”

Thankfully things have changed. New brands like Smilemakers and Dame are putting female pleasure to the forefront – the clues are in the names – while more established brands like Lelo continue to lead the way, refining shapes and materials all the time.

Central to our choices below is the fact that 70 per cent of women need external stimulation to reach climax: many of these toys provide a varied way to reach this, on their own or paired with intercourse.

Other toys make a good precursor or second act – or indeed are a treat all of their own; something to luxuriate with over long afternoons lost in sex and sensuality.

Our choices cost rather more than a bunch of flowers. But we believe they will bring substantially more pleasure, for years to come…

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps us to fund journalism across The Independent.