Luv Ur Body Menstrual Cup Review

The Luv Ur Body menstrual cup comes in 3 sizes and is made from 100% medical grade silicone. If at this point you are wondering 'What on earth is a menstrual cup?' then I shall direct you to my Ruby cup review here, where I explain the basics. I have both the small and medium Luv Ur Body cup, but there is also a size large. All of the cups are priced at $28, which is just under £23. For me there were two main things that drew me to the Luv Ur Body cups, their gorgeous flower designs and the high capacity of the cups themselves. The small cup holds around 28ml when filled up to the air holes, the medium holds 31ml and the large cup holds an impressive 34.5ml. The cups come with a generously sized cotton pouch, both of the patterns I received were feminine floral prints.

The Luv Ur Body cup in small (left) and medium (right).

The small Luv Ur Body cup is 47mm long, with the uber-cute leaf-shaped stem adding an additional 18mm. The diameter of the cup is 42mm, and so the cup is still relatively large for a size small. The Luv Ur Body cups all have a raised flower design on the surface of the cups, for the small size this design comes in both red (as seen above) and a turquoise blue. The medium and large cups only come in solid colours and are available in green, red and clear. The medium Luv Ur Body cup is the longest of all three at 61.7mm, with the stem adding 20.3mm. The diameter of the medium size cup is 45mm. The large size cup is 56.7mm long, with a stem length of 20.3mm. The diameter of the large cup is by far the widest at 48mm. The medium Luv Ur Body cup is one of the longest cups on the market, which makes it a good option for women with a very high cervix, who are worried that their cup with move up too high and become unreachable. Personally, I found that the leaf stem is very easy to grip and feels super sturdy, there are raised sections on the stem to help add more grip. I would be extremely surprised if anyone had trouble reaching and removing this cup!

The silicone used feels very nice and seems to be good quality, I would say they are a medium resistance cup, not as soft as a Cuplee cup yet not as firm as a Diva cup. The raised flower design of the cups is said to stop the cup from 'slipping out' during use, say when you sneeze or bear down. To be honest, I've never had this be an issue with any of my cups that don't have a raised pattern on them, but its pretty and so I don't mind too much. I think that the flower design is adorable and makes the cups stand out however, because the silicone is raised, they can make insertion and removal slightly irritating and even slightly painful. For some reason, the flower design on the small cup seems to be more raised than on the medium cup and so was slightly more irritating. I would say that if you are someone who is easily irritated by grip rings, this is not the cup for you. The bottom of these cups has quite an unusual shape in that they are quite rounded, instead of the usual V shape. Luv Ur Body claims that this is to make the cup before comfortable and increase capacity further, personally I found that the shape made these cups a bit trickier to remove as it was more difficult to nip the base to collapse the cup for comfortable removal.

The Luv Ur Body cup in med

I was able to use both of these cups and the high capacity of these cups makes them a great option for anyone with a heavy flow or who suffers from problems such as uterine fibroids or endometriosis . The large diameter of these cups is thought to be better for women who have a low cervix, as it allows the cervix to sit within the cup. Personally, I have a high cervix so I wouldn't be able to say whether or not the concept works. 

Overall, I don't think that this would be a good cup for new cup users as the raised design could cause extra difficulty inserting and be irritating. Also the curved bottom of the cup can make it quite hard to remove. I think that these cups would be perfect for women who have heavy flows, anywhere from a high to a medium cervix and aren't irritated by grip rings. The price is comparable to other menstrual cups on the market and the floral design really is quite gorgeous.

Let me know if you have tried this cup out and what you thought of it!

Eco Rainbow Pads Review

Eco Rainbow is an Etsy shop, run by Bex Cleaver, which sells reusable sanitary pads, nursing pads, nappies (or diapers for you Americans) and wipes. I purchased 4 pads from her shop in a bundle deal for £21, in the deal you can choose the length, absorbency and fabric and also give some detail on the prints that you like. You cannot choose the exact prints for each pad in this deal, but there are always a variety of pre-made pads for sale in other adorable prints if you are particular. You can also custom order from her website. 

I chose 10" heavy pads, in the 'plush' fabric (sometimes also called 'minky'), my print preferences were cute colourful designs and personally, I think she nailed it. As they are heavy pads and have the plush fabric (that is stain resistant!) as a topper, these are quite thick. Personally I don't mind thick pads, but if you are someone who wears thin leggings or something similar, you might want to choose something a bit thinner to avoid them being visible. I believe the core used in these pads is zorb.

Width of the pad when snapped is 2 and a half inches ( 6.5 cm)

When snapped up the pads are about 2.5" wide (6.5cm) and sit quite snugly in most underwear. These pads don't have a layer of PUL for waterproofing, however I have used them for several months and never leaked. They have a water resistant fleece backing and so the PUL isn't really necessary. The shape of these pads is perfect for me, they are super comfortable. I also gifted one of these to my sister and she has since reported that it is her favourite pad. The delivery of these pads was also extremely quick considering they were made after I had ordered, I believe I received them after around 2 weeks. Overall I really love these pads, they are very well made and uber comfortable. I'd definitely recommend trying something out from Eco Rainbow Pads and there is even a Facebook group where Bex runs market nights, along with a website where you can order custom made pads.

Have you tried these pads? Let me know in the comments section below.

Dimplemuff Cloth Pad Review

Cloth pads? What?

When I heard about cloth pads, like most people, I was confused and slightly grossed out. The idea of keeping something that I had bled on and reusing it seemed unhygienic and gross. As repulsed as I was initially, I was also intrigued. After researching a bit more, I decided I had to try them, and I'm so glad I did.

I have always found disposable pads and tampons uncomfortable, but you are never told that there is any alternative, so you just put up with the discomfort every month. The first time I used a cloth pad I was taken aback by how soft, comfortable and easy they are to take care of. You wear them, like any other pad, then when you want to change you just unsnap it, fold it in half over itself, throw it in a waterproof bag (known as a 'wet bag') and then at the end of your cycle you just empty them all into the washing machine with some detergent (no fabric softener) like any old load of washing. Occasionally fabrics like cotton or flannel will stain, but I've found the stains come out super easily just by using a run-of-the-mill stain bar. They are so easy to manage and unbelievably comfortable compared to conventional pads. Plus, because most cloth pads are made to order, they are super customisable. You can get cloth pads in any shape, length, width, fabric, pattern, colour, or thickness you need. Not to mention you can use them for years, so they save you a huge amount of money.

Dimplemuff Pads

My first custom order experience was with Dimplemuff pads, sold here. Dimplemuff pads are all custom orders made by a lovely woman called Claire, you choose how long you want your pad to be, what shape you want, what absorbency you need, and best of all, which gorgeous fabric you want! I ordered four pads from Dimplemuff, two light/liner absorbencies and two regular absorbencies, all 8" long. My pads arrived two weeks after I ordered them (custom orders take a bit longer since it takes time to make the pads too), the packaging was lovely and they came with a free adorable mini stain remover bar in the shape of a hippo. I ordered two of the pads in minky (an extremely soft pillowy fabric that is stain proof) and two in cotton. All of Claire's pads are backed with micro fleece and she offers a free PUL layer (a waterproof laminated fabric) for all her pads. I have to say, I love everything about these pads, they are my favorite out of all the brands I own. The fabrics are so pretty and she has such a wide range of prints to choose from, they are practically leak-proof because of the PUL layer and they feel like you are sitting on a little pillow. The stitching on them is good, a little wonky here and there but nothing that affects the functionality of the pad, and they are quite thin too.

Claire offers 4 shapes of pad, her regular shape which has broader wings that wrap around the pad, her slim shape which is more slender, her ultraslim which is even more slender and curves in slight at each end and her curvalicious which is wider in the gusset (I believe) and has one end that is lightly longer than the other. I have a slim (pink below) and an extra slim (grey) and I really like both shapes, they are both nice and narrow when snapped up (7cm).

I would really recommend these pads, they are great quality products and I'm certain they will last for quite a few years. If you haven't tried cloth pads before then you definitely should and Dimblemuff is a great place to start. If you are still curious about cloth pads then you should head over to Bree Farmer's Youtube channel, she posts great informative videos about AMPs  (alternative menstrual products).

Have you tried these pads? If so, leave a comment below and let me know what you thought.