Sexual Sunday: Secret Paradise Temple Bar

If your not up to date on my weekly series, check out my first post over here. Once inside the shop, I asked the guy behind the counter if he would mind answering a few questions for me and although he said that the owner of the shop talking to me was very doubtful, he was extremely obliging and helpful. I couldn't have asked for nicer. This is a mixture of my own impression along with nuggets of wisdom from the staff member. If you fancy a more in depth interview question/answer kind of post, feel free to comment, tweet me or email to bigblondegirl1@gmail.com.

Appearance of the outer shop: 2 stars - being generous.

Appearance of the inner shop: 4 stars - offer coffee and a comfy chair, I may stretch to a 5.

Friendliness and helpfulness of staff: 5 stars - is it possible to give it a 6?

Price range of toys: 3 1/2 stars - I'm surprisingly happy with this one.

Selection of products/Specialists: 3 stars - nothing specialist, but there is a video booth.

Approaching this shop, I was armed with hand sanatizer and balls of steel. Its not exactly in the category of those seedy blue shop windows with the flashing 'adult store' that scatters some of Dublin, but from the outside it didn't look far off. With the words 'Luxury Adult Store'  boasting to be 'Dublins finest adult store'  plastered overhead, I wasn't sold one bit. The window normally offers a scantly clad manikin, although this particular day she was nowhere to be seen. With some poor lighting, lots of wires visibly hanging, dusty 50 Shades Of Grey offerings and some lingerie posters, the shop front didn't inspire much in me.

Image Source: Yelp - Old images

From the outside you can't see into the shop as there is a curtain and the door is reflective, which gives a nice bit of privacy to anyone who might be shopping. There is also a buzzer to press if you want to gain access to the shop, all standard things to any sex shop worth its salt. As I waited for someone to open the door, I was surrounded by people waiting at the bus stop directly outside the shop entrance - although something to note for nervous shoppers, a few odd glances didn't put me off.  Once inside I was welcomed by a large room with bright overhead lights, shiny wooden floors and lots of space to browse the rows of products. You could have knocked me over with a feather, I was so surprised. The saying looks can be deceiving came to mind.

Making a quick note of what was stocked, the prices and quality of brands, I can safely say this is one decent shop. Tanga, We Vibe and Doc Johnson are just some of the big brands to grace the shelves which impressed me. They are, for the most part 'standard' prices, theres no competitive pricing here, but no extortion rates either. Apart from name brands they also stock some fetish, clothing, shoes, magazines and a large selection of porn dvds. In Ireland its illegal to sell porn dvds, but 99% of sex shops still stock them and for the most part, the guards turn a blind eye to it being more interested in targeting the sale of potential drugs and erection pills. - This shop does however sell skins and grinders for weed, which is common for sex shops and not illegal. I'm very anti drugs though, so this is a negative thing for me.

Image Source: Yelp - Old images

Not being a specialist shop for toys or fetish, but the creme dela creme was what I found near the back, a 'video booth'. Theres not a lot of these in Dublin, so it is definitely worth a mention. I asked the lovely staff member to talk me through what it was all about, as I've only seen free porn from the internet and wasn't aware there was a market for such things. He told me that it was mostly gay men who used it and were regular customers. You pick a dvd from the shop floor and then bring it into the booth. They are not unlike those little photo booths that you get your passport photos taken in. Sit down, close the door, put in the dvd and pay a small fee before it starts playing. Personally I was itching for the hand sanatizer again, so I didn't dwell too long on the topic. 

Apart from the god-awful shop front, the other thing that really bothers me is the shops online presence. They have both Twitter and Facebook although inactive, I can somewhat forgive it. What bugs the hell out of me is the half arsed job of a website. Poor quality stock, half finished web pages, flashing side bar advertisements and poor layouts, this isn't worth your time looking at. Unfortunately for those of you who are hoping to find something decent shopping online, this site isn't the one for you. If you fancy scoffing with me, here is the site.

Image Source: Yelp - Old images

I was told that any of the 3 male staff are happy to answer questions, get in any items for people they might not already stock and discreetly ship them to you at a price throughout Ireland only. If you do buy something in the shop, there is the option of a black plastic bag or leopard print, both impossible to see into. There are plans in the pipe line to expand this business into a second shop in Dublin, with a focus on the video booths, which I'm excited to hear about. Any way of offering 'Catholic Ireland' the chance to let its hair (and trousers) down for a bit of harmless fun is always something I can support.