I got my MoonCup UK in the mail today, and I'm pretty happy!  As a U.S. citizen/resident, I couldn't be more proud to purchase, own and support the original cup with this name.  However, I will say (for any officials who might stop by this site) that the mooncup company itself is not resposnible for me getting this cup.  I bought it through other means, which I will not list out in public (please send me a private message for that). 

The box is cute and small (about the same as the Lunette size 2 box), and the bag is unbleached cotton, very durable.  The instruction book it comes with is pretty cool, its in several lanuages, with picture diagrams.  I'm loving the material of the cup-- somewhere between Diva and Lunnette size 2, I would have to say.  And I know some of the people aren't crazy about the material's color, but I kind of think its rather unique.  My period started yesterday (finally), so I'll give it a try.  Here are some pictures:


( Pictures Under The Cut )

Hey everyone-- I’ve posted a new video demonstrating folding techniques, using the small Lunette Selene, so we could see them all in action. I even stumbled across 2 new folds, which are at the end of the video: “Double 7 fold” and “S fold”. They both open more from side to side.

Both of the new folds are only possible with the softer cups though (small lunette, diva, lady). Here is the video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-PX3BWwjPY

 I also made a brand comparison video of the brands I have-- Diva, Lunette (L/S), LadyCup (L/S), Femmecup & Instead:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d12NcWGEnrM&feature=channel_page  

Hiya,

I've made a Flickr group for discussing and sharing menstrual cups. Come and add your images and videos of menstrual cups and menstrual cup related items (pouches, activism, stickers, pamphlets etc). Anything menstrual cup related that you can think of :) If you'd like to become a moderator of the group, just let me know. Feel free to join the group and add your friends.

My Miacup finally came today! It took over 4 weeks but it was well worth the wait.  

It's squishy, it's poppy and it's super comfy!  And I love the opaque purple color.  I can't wait to try it for real!

They did change the packaging, though:


( Pic under the cut! )

My trial LadyCups came today.

I decided to test the small Lilacup, since I'm at the tail end of my period.  (I wish it had come yesterday, but whatever.)  It's quite stiff, as someone else had pointed out about the trial LadyCups, but the base is squishier than the rim.  It went in much easier than the Lunette, probably because it's much smoother.  The Lunette has writing at the top, and a ridge, and two measurement lines, and a few grip lines at the base, whereas the Lilacup is completely smooth except for some bumps at the base.  I had to cut the stem, and once again, I'm having trouble getting the cut to be smooth enough.  I wish cups came with an option for them to be pre-cut to a custom length!  I'd pay a little extra for that.

( Pictures behind the cut! )

Comparison pics have proved useful to me in the past.. so I figured I'd take some and share.
I have the two ladycup sizes, a large lunette and a large mooncup UK (all no stem).
A couple of them are wet, lol I dropped them on the floor. Oops.

( Lookie )

Hope these images might just help someone make a decision!
My favourite of course is the lunette, but the ladycups are certainly growing on me :D

With so many suggestions to turn the Diva Cup inside out going around, I decided to see how it would work with my small Lunette. Turning it inside out kind of stretched the holes in a way that looked a little dangerous for long term use.

It was so much easier to insert! I use the extreme 7 or triangle fold, because it's the smallest tip, but usually it hurts a bit at the base when it goes in. I thought it was because the fold made it wider at the base, but now I think it probably has more to do with the ridges. The inside out Lunette went in very smoothly without pain. I didn't have any problems popping open.

I then went to class and left it in for several hours. I think I may have had a bit more leaking than normal. This could be because I left it in for too long, but I think the leaking was constant. On the other hand, it did not leak very much, and I have had some issues with it leaking when it wasn't inside out.

I was a bit worried about removal, but it actually went pretty well. Turning it inside out makes it flat on the bottom, almost flared out a tiny bit. I had some trouble getting my finger past the base of the cup, but once I did that, it was easy to pinch the base and get a good grip because of the shape.

So, I may be using my Lunette inside out from now on. I'll edit this post tomorrow or in a few days if I come to any conclusions about leaking.

EDIT:  ( Pictures behind the cut! )

I got my cup last week. Luckily was on my time of the month to use it, so I was stoked! I bought the Diva Cup Model 2 from iHerb.com. I couldn't resist trying it so I washed it and my hands off. Used the info from this community and the directions...Deciding to use a C type fold, I folded it and tried to put it in. POPPPP! It popped outta my hands, lol. I dunno if it's just cuz it's brand new or something, it seems kinda hard for me to fold and keep folded down WHILE inserting it. That's the MAIN problem I've had with it. I got it in and it instantly opened up inside me cuz I could barely keep it folded together in the first place. I tried to do the spin in one full circle thing I've read about in here. That wasn't going to happen, I couldn't spin it at all. Felt too suctioned in or something.

If it feels like it's suctioned in (cuz it is a lil harder/tugging to get it out when need be)...Does that mean it's SEALED? I'm getting a tiny bit of spotting, like the stem is making lil dots on my pad or something? It was hardly even blood colored...Dunno what's up with that.

Other than that. I love it. I feel a lot nicer, cleaner, healthier, and don't have to change it alllll the friggin time. I love that too. Even though it's been kinda hard for me to get in, and having to wear panty liners. I STILL love it more than stupid tampons. Haha. No more feeling all dried out all the time. And yay for saving money!!


Like my lil cup for my bag, made by: Quirky Quintessentials Click to make the pic bigger. =)

I was browsing around, and I found this web page.  I'll admit, its not for the faint of heart, but if you are pretty open minded, then its sort of interesting (in a Mother Nature type of way, I suppose).  I don't know if the owner of this page is here in the forum, but if she is, I say-- hat's off to you for your willingness to be frank and honest with your photos.  Some people would see it as TMI, but I think its educational (and besides, I see the same thing every month, lol). 

If you have not used your cup yet, and are curious about what EXACTLY flows out, this page will reveal the honest truth.  Absorbant products have prevented most women from really seeing what is going on down there, prior to using cups.  I don't wish to offend anyone by posting this, I just think its one of the most honest and real things I've ever seen.  That being said, I'm going to post the link here. 

But I have to warn you--- it does contain photos of ACTUAL menstrual flow inside the cup, so if that's not something you want to see, then steer clear of the link.

http

://www.labyrinth.net.au/~obsidian/clothpads/MyLunette2.html

I own a size 1 (small) DivaCup. While I'm happy with it so far, I wanted to explore other cups, and I think that the Mooncup might be right for me as a second cup.

Thing is, the Mooncup looks a little stiff. I know that softness is basically something that no one agrees on, but if anyone knows of good folding pictures with the mooncup, or are willing to take pictures of folding their own cups, please let me know.

How do the cups fold in the origami, seven, C, and push down folds?

I got my trial ladycups yesterday, and I noticed the silicone in those is different to the full price cups they sent me last year...

behold:


We have the new trial Lilac, the older Lilac, the trial blue and the older (also small) blue....  So the trial ones are lighter in colour - more transparent  (less coloured if you like). 

The silicone in the trial cups is different too.. The trial ones are stiffer... quite a lot more so in the rim.... 

I don't know what the cups are normally like.... I love the purple in the full price one I have, but I am very disppointed in the lighter more transparent version.. I don't think it is as nice.

I wonder if the colour difference marks the faulty batch/es  - if the darker coloured ones are all going to be fine, but lighter coloured ones are from the faulty batch?  or if they just changed the composition (colour) since the batch my full price cups came from?  making them less coloured......Much like the pink cup - which is only slightly tinted....

So those of you who have a blue or lilac cup - what colour do you think yours is?  the darker or lighter?

Now that my girlfriend and I are both off our periods, here are some comparison photos of the small Mooncup UK and Divacup and the large LilacCup.

( cut for pics )

As you can see, the Mooncup UK and LilacCup are roughly the same height. The LiliacCup is considerably wider than the others, although the head-on photo doesn't really show it (hey, you try to take a picture of cups that are trying to roll away ;) ).

My girlfriend's LilacCup arrived today! (Three weeks on the dot to Sydney, for the record.) So far, no trouble with splitting. *crosses fingers*

The cup looked a lot lighter than previous photos suggested, so I decided to take some of my own. Here they are!

( Large LilacCup - is pretty! )

So I've been anxiously awaiting the Selene and checking the mail every day (I was a little afraid it wouldn't come in time for my next period). It came today, after what feels like weeks! It took about twelve days to get here, but since you can't count certain holidays, it really only took about nine days. The package was smaller than I expected. I got the Selene, a really nice bag, two candies, and two wipes. I thought I would post some pictures here so that everyone can see what it looks like.

I can't wait to see how different it is from the Diva. Later on, I'm going to take my Diva out and compare, but I can already tell that the Lunette is shorter. I'm so glad it came!
 

( It's so cute! )

My LadyCup finally arrived today yay!!
For those who live in Australia it came in exactly 3 weeks.
It arrived in very non-descript packaging (lucky because it was my Dad who got it from the postman).

I've included some pics so ppl know what to expect.
I bought a small LilacCup and they had a christmas special going that meant I got the luxury pack for the price of the basic pack.

( Packaging Pics )
Hope you all like the pics - I'm now sitting here playing with my cup experimenting with the folds and trying to decide if I do a dry run or wait a week for my period hehe

I could not figure out how to paste a picture in lutyalapo's post about the "creepy" sticker.  Here's the sticker.  I personally prefer a smaller less cartoony one.

The BlueCup is here!
I'm sure I'm not the only one to get the email from the LadyCup people today, but the BlueCup have been available since Oct 15th. Mine just got here, and I have loads of
( Pictures behind the cut )

I also got a discount coupon, for 15% off. I have no idea if it can be used once or several times, but the code is 080472, if anyone wants it :)

ETA: Sorry if the pictures are slightly dark, but the ones with the BlueCup on the white background do show the colour quite accurately, I feel. If there's more light, it's lighter of course, being see-through, but the colour looks about right.

Hey :D
It's my first time trying a cup, but I've heard so much good about them I decided to just go for it.
I'm 19 and sexually active, I have a UK Mooncup small size.
I have a horrible time with tampons, I can't use them at all (they are always uncomfortable, and I can't get a good position with them) and I'm recently getting so fed up of disposable pads as well, I also have OCD and it's a horrible time for me and drives me totally mad, so I'm hoping the cup will help.

I'm trying a 'dry run' for now, as the pill dictates I will start tonight or tomorrow morning, so I thought I best have a go.

( Questions and the embarrassing gruesome details.. with diagrams! )
Oh, and the last question, is it perfectly safe to wear the cup 'pre-emptively'? I assume so, but as I want to be completely sure, I was planning to pop it in before bed and wear it overnight as they usually start up during my sleep.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice!

Hello everybody! I hope you are all well today (unlike me, who is sick at home with a sore tummy).

So as I've mentioned to sweetrush, I'm working on a menstrual cup user's guide of sorts. As we know, the little booklets that come with the individual cups are a bit spotty and can have some instructions that are just plain wrong for some women (such as "if you can't rotate it, you're doing it wrong").

The writing stuff isn't an issue for me - it's what I do for a living AND what I do for joy. However, I'm a little concerned about the graphics. I have very little experience with them! So I was wondering if there are any graphically-inclined folks in this community who might be willing to help with this little project? I was thinking line drawings for illustration of cups and diagrams for insertion and the like. I'm planning on releasing the final product under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license, so you'd have to be cool with that.

On a sillier note... I've decided to name my Mooncup Batman, because I've decided it would be hilarious if more women called their vaginas THE BATCAVE. And then last night I had a dream that I named my cup Barack Obama, which is more than a little creepy. (THANKS, BRAIN.) So who else has named their cup something amusing? I know there's an Anastasia Beaverhosen in here...

 
You can tell this was invent by a man eh?!

Vital stats:

Website: http://www.miacup.co.za/
Manufactured in: South Africa
International shipping: Currently free
Price direct from seller: approx $50 USD (will vary with exchange rates)
Material: Silicone, pink/purple
Sizes: model 1, recommended for women under 30 or who have not given birth, model size 2, recommended for women over 30 or who have given birth
Rim: not very thick or tall (very like the Lunette's)
Holes: four, small (could be widened with a pin I'm sure)
Stem: flat, with grips
Branding: Miacup logo raised on inside of rim, no text

Obsessive measurements:

These are my own measurements. For the manufacturer's details, see their website.

Size 1 ('For women under 30 years of age who have also never given birth vaginally.')
Measuring lines: none
Vol until ridge: 20 ml
Vol until holes: 25 ml
Vol until rim: starts overflowing at 35 ml
Diameter: 4.4 cm
Height including stem: 7.2cm
Height of cup itself: 5.5cm

Size 2
I'm a complete idiot and didn't think to order both sizes. I'll ask them, measurements maybe coming later if they want to give me another. *facepalm* Sorry guys.

The packaging

Since it's noteworthy! They're clearly putting a lot of effort into this.

My order came in a white box, tied with string and a wax seal with their logo. And an invoice that looked like a greeting card.

The box contained:

• An 'Important - read first' slip of paper about how to clean the cup before first use


• Two 5% off vouchers for miacup.co.za (ping me if you want the codes)


• A one page leaflet called 'What is it and why is it better' (a nice quick introduction if the recipient needs informing/persuading)


• A 30 page booklet with a detailed FAQ. I haven't read it thoroughly from beginning to end yet, but from what I've seen it's well written and informative, everything from how to insert to concerns about looseness. There are even some academic looking citations that I plan on chasing up because some look interesting.

Incidentally, they quote that ten thousand million tampons are disposed of yearly in the US alone (sanitary pads not included). Scary stuff eh!

Everything is printed in colour and on good quality, recycled paper. It's all very nicely done although I wonder how it'll compete with the higher price.

( photos )
So what do you guys think? :)

Well well well! My 'pinkcup' (made by Ladycup) arrived.

Vital stats

Website: http://www.ladycup.eu/
Manufactured in: Czech republic
International shipping: Yes, but don't know how much it costs
Price direct from seller: €28, or €30 for a 'luxury pack' including two sterilisation tablets and one sachet of lube
Material: Silicone, transparent/pink
The rest of the description (sizes, stem, holes etc) is identical to the original Ladycup as described in this post.

Click for bigger, click again for moar bigger again (approx 700kb).



As you can see, it's kind of clear tinted pink rather than opaque. Annoyingly this is the sort of thing that's hard to get to come out well in photographs, particularly in low light. But after a bit of twiddling with the camera and white card to reflect light, I think these photos are representative.

( come see )

I've been stalking the post office for my Miacup, and it arrived today - Yipee!

I tell you what, I've been impressed with this company!! Not just because their cup is purple ;) Their customer service seems very good, their website (http://www.miacup.com) is very well done and extremely informative.... they donate to charity, and are eco-friendly! and after receiving my sample today, I'm even more extremely impressed with their product & packaging too.  The care they have put into it amazes me.  I figure that a company who puts care into customer service and things like how their products are presented, are actually considering the customer and not just wanting to quickly roll their products off the production line and move onto the next order. IYKWIM.

I got my small Ladycup yesterday!

I've been using a small Mooncup for over five years and am very happy with it, but I was intrigued by how small and squishy the small LC is, so I gave in and ordered one. I'm 24, sexually active and have a very light flow, so I'm interested to see if I can hold a teeny cup in place, because I don't need the volume. My only issue with the MCUK is that it slows the flow when I pee. I thought by putting less pressure on my urethra the LC might relieve me of that nuisance.

I was surprised by how small it is when I took it out of the pack. Next to my Mooncup it doesn't look tiny, but it's quite a noticeable difference. The silicone doesn't feel noticeably squishier than the MCUK, but because it doesn't have a built-up bit at the base, the cup is more flexible. It has a substantial rim and pops open as easily as the Mooncup.

It's over two weeks before I can try it, but I took three pictures to compare it to the Mooncup, and a video to show how it folds and pops open.

( Look here )

I just received a newsletter from the Lady Cup company!

A few highlights:
They're making a coloured cup! It is pink. Not really to my taste, but I know it's something people have been asking for for years. This is the only image they provided:
( pic )
Which looks like a mockup to me, but could just be the background that's not real. They say it will be available from Sept/Oct.

They linked to this community (and Obsidian's site) at the bottom of the email!

( full text behind the cut. I just typed that 'cup'. )