Sensation play is a great way to enhance any sex scene, and not only does it add layers to your lovemaking, it’s easy to do.
What Is Sensation Play?
Sensation play simply means experimenting with different senses. It’s a natural part of sex, vanilla or kinky.
Although sensation play can refer to heavier types of play such impact play, the kink community will often use the term to describe lighter, less painful interactions. Examples of sensation play include tickling, rubbing, wax play, and ice play.
These delights are often combined with other elements of BDSM such as bondage or roleplay to enhance the experience.
Part of the fun in sensory games is the variety of “scenes” one can experiment with. Let’s take a look at the basics of sensation play, and how you can get started.
BDSM and Sensation Play
BDSM isn’t all about pain. Many kinksters that live the lifestyle prefer a gentler approach that includes a wide range of sensation play for excitement and stimulation – a mix of sensations from heavy to light.
Experienced kinksters often recommend sensation play as a starting place for BDSM beginners.
We suggest a combination of light bondage and sensation play. This way a bottom or submissive is able to explore feelings of being helpless, without being overwhelmed by the idea of extreme pain.
BDSM is all about limits and exploring our comfort levels and fears. If you’ve been trying to find a way to bring a lover into this world, sensation play is a perfect place to begin.
Read: Bondage for Beginners: How to Get Started
Sensation Play Toys and Tools
There are many places to purchase sensation play toys, but I like to use my creativity and find things around the house that would feel good, even strange against the skin. Think texture – rough, nubbly, smooth, silky, furry, bumpy, scratchy, velvety.
One of my favorite things is when I accidentally find something that I can add to my sensation play “toolbox.” This happened recently when I was using my eyelash curler. I thought they would be great for nipple pinching, and I was right!
Here are a few of the things I use that may inspire your own sensation play sessions.
Ice
Ice is probably my favorite sensation play item to use on someone else, or to have used on myself.
I either run cubes up and down their body, squeeze a cube in my hand and drip here and there, or the best: crunch a cube in my mouth and then suck on their cock. That’s a real pleaser!
Read: Ice Play Ideas for Kinky Ice Cube Sex
Wooden Spoon
Nothing makes a sound quite like a cooking spoon against a bare bottom. Even if your lover isn’t a submissive, a good spank out of nowhere can be quite titillating.
I prefer my tied partner on his back. In this case I just roll him gently to either side. I also use a smaller spoon to cup his balls and give light taps.
Feathers
I have a collection of sensation play feathers, various sizes and textures, that offer a nice balance between delicate strokes to more intense sensations. They also tickle which can be a pleasant sensory surprise.
Tweezers and Tongs
I love pinching and clamping a man’s nipples. This isn’t something they are used to and will give them a unique feeling.
Other areas that can be clamped are ears and balls. Cock and Ball Torture (CBT) is more popular than you think!
Vibrator
Small and cordless vibrators are the best for sensation play because they make it easy to navigate your lover’s tied up body.
I like to use a clit vibrator with a lipstick point. It’s good for reaching into small crevices and can be used with one hand while your other is doing something else.
Make a List of Tools or Assemble a Toy Box
There are literally thousands of sensation play items you could try out if you put a little thought into it.
Pay attention during kinky movies like 50 Shades of Grey or 9 and 1/2 Weeks (where everyone got the ice cube idea). Candle wax drippings are also sensation play favorite, and you can always find lotions, potions, ticklers, and hardware at your local sex shop.
Read: Wax Play Tips for Beginners
Think outside the bedroom when you’re not naked. I was cooking when it occurred to me that I could warm up some olive oil, and it would feel nice on my breasts. I was in the shower when I wondered how the shower curtain would feel between myself and my lover as a strange way to increase the tension without skin-on-skin contact.
Another time, I happened to be holding a pancake whisk when I had to shoo my dog out of the laundry room, and I realized a whisk would feel awesome as a spanking tool.
Read: Household BDSM Props and Pervertables
Saran wrap over moisturizer. Brushing each other’s hair. Silk scarves of different textures over the body. An extension cord whip. Turning on the fan after rubbing her with oil or moisturizer. A watering can for slowly pouring warm water.
Sensation play tools and ideas are everywhere.
Sensation Play Ideas and Tips
Now that you’ve found your supply of sensory objects to use, how do you do sensation play?
Try Sensation Play with a Blindfold
Touching your partner with sensory play tools isn’t all that exciting without a little imagination. This is where a blindfold comes in. Blindfolds add an element of sensory deprivation, which heightens their sense of touch.
Blindfold your partner then wait a few minutes to let their anticipation build. Play a game where you touch an object to some part of your lover’s body and they have to guess what that object is.
For an added dimension, you can reward your partner for correct guesses (two-minute massage) or punish them for wrong answers (two spanks).
Read: Sexy Ideas for Blindfold Fun
Sensation Play Bondage
I love to feel all kinds of interesting touches but the whole sensuality of sensation play makes a lot more sense to the kinky if you are restrained. This amps up the tension and gives a purpose to the teasing beyond “How does this denim feel against your butt cheek?”
Restraints can be elaborate if you have dungeon equipment or studied Japanese rope bondage, but even a few neckties to keep you secured to the bed posts can work wonders. I like to keep a role of bondage tape in my night table drawer… just in case.
Read: Bondage Restraints: Types of Bondage Gear
Temperature Sensation Play
Don’t forget temperature play which our bodies are highly sensitive to. It doesn’t have to be something naturally hot or cold because you can always put something in the freezer for a few minutes or warm something up in the microwave/oven/hot water to create a texture temperature sensation.
Sensation Play and Orgasm Edging
If you enjoy orgasm denial or want to experiment with it, then add this sensation play idea to the mix for an unbelievable ride.
By working up the sexual energy almost to the point of orgasm, and then holding back, over and over, the tension and energy is increased to a fever pitch.
To distract you or her after getting to the edge, move to a different sensation to create a roller coaster of peaks and valleys for orgasm edging.
Read: Orgasm Denial: 8 Games and Ways to Play
Indulge a Partner’s Fetish with Sensation Play
Maybe your girlfriend isn’t sure how to satisfy your foot fetish. Maybe you’re not sure what to do once you dress up as the paramedic she fantasizes about.
Here is where sensation play can provide a purpose and a context for a particular fetish or kink.
Tell her you want to give her the pedicure of her dreams, and lavish her feet to a world of touch. Then use all the toys, tools, and ideas. She’ll be amused by the variety of feelings, and you get to play with her feet.
Ask her about the specifics of her roleplay fantasy, and then work sensory play into it. That might include an erotic massage, bandaging, or the application of cold compresses within a scene.
Read: How the 5 Senses Affect Our Kinks and Fetishes
Continue with sensation play at a rate that is both comfortable and enjoyable, and of course arousing to both you and your lover. Many couples that go beyond light sensation play still keep it in the mix, using it as foreplay before escalating to heavier scenes.
What are your favorite sensation play ideas?
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