Ruby Menstrual Cup Review

Menstrual cup basics

Now if you don't know what a menstrual cup is then here are the basics. Menstrual cups are the alternative to tampons, you fold them up to make them smaller, insert them into your vagina and then they pop open and create a seal. This seal then allows the menstrual cup to sit up in the vagina and collect your flow, then after 12 hours (yes you read that right, 12 hours!) you remove the cup, empty it, clean it and then reinsert it. These things are game changing when it comes to your period, you can literally put the cup in in the morning, then forget about it for the whole day, then empty it out at night and reinsert. Lets have a quick look at the pros and cons.

Pros

• They hold around 3 times what a tampon will hold! Most women can wear the cup for 12 hours before needing to empty it.
• They're healthier! There is no risk of toxic shock syndrome with menstrual cups as there are no fibers. Tampons also dry out the vagina and contain trace amounts of a toxin called dioxin (Pads do too!), which is a carcinogen (it causes cancer). Menstrual cups are carcinogen free and much safer.
• They're reusable! Once you have your menstrual cup you are set for a long time, if treated well menstrual cups can last 5-20 years!
• You'll never run out! No more wondering if you have enough tampons or when you'll need to buy more. 
• They're comfortable! Once you find the right cup for you and learn to put it in correctly, you can't feel it at all.
• They'll save you money! It will only take a few months for a menstrual cup to have saved you money in pads and tampons you no longer need.
• You can sterilize them! Menstrual cups can be boiled or soaked in sterilizing solution to completely sterilize them, if you are prone to vaginal infections these might be the perfect thing for you.
• You can swim! You can go swimming with a menstrual cup in and it is actually more comfortable than using tampons as they don't become waterlogged like tampons do.
• They're eco friendly! No more filling up landfill with pads and tampons.

Cons

• They can be expensive initially. Menstrual cups range in price from about £10 (Around $15) to £25 (Around $38) depending on what brand you choose.
• There is a learning curve. Menstrual cups are easy once you get that hang of using them, but at first it can be tricky to get it inserted and popped open.
• There are so many different sizes and shapes- Which do I choose? Menstrual cups come in a variety of sizes and shapes, which can be a good thing, but it also means its hard to pick one when you are starting out.

The Ruby Cup

The Ruby cup is a menstrual cup made from 100% medical grade silicone, it comes in 3 colours (Pink, blue and purple) and a clear version. The Ruby cup comes in a small and a medium size and both are priced at £21.95, I opted for the medium as I have a high cervix. The cup itself is 51mm long and the stem is 17mm, the diameter of the cup is 45mm. The small sized cup holds 24ml up to the rim and the medium size holds 34ml. The cup comes with a really nice organic cotton bag with their logo on and a pink pull closure.

The Ruby cup in Medium

Most menstrual cups have small holes near the rim of the cup called suction release holes, these allow you to break the suction when you want to remove the cup. The Ruby cup has 4 equally spaced suction release holes just under the secondary rim, these are pretty small suction release holes compared to my other cups but I didn't find that it made any difference to the function of the cup. 

The Ruby cup stem and grip rings on the base of the cup

The stem on this cup is nice and flexible and soft, it has lots of little bumps which make it easy to grip. The stem is also hollow so when you grab it it flattens to make more surface area for you to grip onto, this really helps when removing the cup. The grip rings on the base of the cup are smoothed over and less pronounced than some of my other cups, but still help with gripping.

This cup is one of my favorites, it is just the right level of firmness so that it pops open super easily but is soft enough that it is really comfortable to wear. With some of my softer cups I have had trouble getting them to open up once inserted but this cup was great. After inserting I just pinched the base of the cup and twisted and it popped open straight away. The Ruby cup is very easy to remove, especially if you don't cut the stems off your cups. I kept my stem on and it is just amazing for removal, the bumps make it super grippy, even when wet. I haven't had any leaks at all with this cup and it forms a nice firm seal. I wish this had been my first cup as it is really easy to use, I started with a medium soft Meluna cup and it almost put me off cups because, no matter what I tried, I could not get it to open.

The Ruby cup is also a great option because of their social mission, the Ruby cup company has a 'Buy one give one' strategy where for every Ruby cup bought, they donate a cup to girls in Africa that don't have access to menstrual products. It is estimated that these girls miss around 20% of their school time every year because they are on their periods (UNICEF, 2013) and are afraid of leaking at school. Having a menstrual cup allows these girls to stay in school, get educated, get better jobs and provide for their families. This is an amazing project and there is no doubt that it is doing a lot of good.

I would definitely recommend this cup, especially to anyone new to menstrual cups. The medium size has a great capacity and would be great for women with heavy periods and the small size is perfect for women with lighter periods. This cup was so easy to use and the ethics of the company are amazing.

Have you tried this cup? Or have you never even heard of menstrual cups? Let me know in the comments.

Sleek 'Blush by 3' Review

As a usual Boots shopper I hadn't come across Sleek make up, as it was only stocked in Superdrug. Recently though, Boots has come to its senses and started stocking Sleek make up and I was like a moth to a pink-sparkly flame with this blush set. These blush trios only cost £10, an amazing deal for 3 blushes in my opinion, and are just superb.

 The shade I bought is called 'Pink lemonade', it has two lovely pink shades and a more reddish orange shade. The blush in the centre of the pan is a cream formula and the other shades are lovely shimmery powders. The cream formula in the palette is a beautiful colour, but unfortunately I couldn't blend it very well on my super dry cheeks, the formula would look great on someone with normal to oily skin though. The two shimmery shades are especially lovely, they are super pigmented and easy to blend, although I would say to definitely use a light hand when applying these as they are quite easy to over do. These blushes are a great affordable find and I would definitely recommend them, they also have a great range of shades, including some great colours for darker skin tones.

Have you tried these blushes? Let me know in the comments.





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Precious Stars Cloth Pad Review

Precious stars is a business run by Bree Farmer, a young girl who has been using RUMPs (reusable menstrual products) since she was 15. Bree has her own YouTube channel with informative videos on how to use and look after both cloth pads and menstrual cups. If you are having trouble with your cup, or wondering about different cloth pad toppings, Bree is your woman. She really is a brilliant source of info on all things cloth pad and menstrual cup! On the Precious stars website Bree sells a range of budget cloth pads and wet bags, along with a few brands of menstrual cup and cup accessories. As Bree is such a connoisseur of cloth pads I was really excited to try her own brand of pads.

When I first decided to try cloth pads, I purchased 4 pads and a liner from the site and they arrived 2 days later. I was really impressed at how fast these came, they are made in a factory in China and sent to Bree prior to ordering so there is no waiting around for them to be made. Bree sells two styles of pads and liners, her regular range and a curves range.

'Regular' range

For the 'regular' range, there are day pads (10" long) and overnight/ postpartum pads (11.5" long). The pads are bamboo charcoal topped, with a core of microfiber terry, and either a layer of laminated minky, or a PUL backing. These pads are a bit unusual in the sense that, the pattern side goes against your underwear, as opposed to your skin like usual cloth pads. The liners of this range are 7" long and topped with bamboo terry and have the same core and backing options as the pads, but are obviously less absorbent. In the regular range, both the pads and liners come with a selection cute patterns on the back of pad/liner.

 The bamboo charcoal topping (seen on the day pad to the right above) is a wicking fabric, meaning that it wicks moisture away from your skin and into the core of the pad. This is a great topper for if you have a heavy flow, you stay super comfortable and avoid that horrid 'sitting in a puddle' sensation we know all too well. The price of these pads are very affordable, being priced at £3 for a liner, £3.75 for a day pad (10") and £4 for a overnight/postpartum pad (11.5"). One of the things I love about these pads and liners is that they are really narrow when snapped up. The pads and liners all have two snap settings, so you can choose if you want a narrower fitting pad or a wider fitting pad, The liners are 3" wide when snapped up on the first snap, and 2.5" wide when snapped up on the second. The pads are 2.75" when snapped on the first snap, and 2.5" when snapped on the second. This makes them great for petite women, or women who wear underwear that have a particularly narrow gusset,

A liner and a day pad on the narrowest snap setting

'Curve' style

The 'curves' range is a bit different from the 'regular' range, they are a more curved shape and have a different top fabric, All of these pads have a topper of bamboo/cotton mix fleece, a microfiber terry core and a PUL backing. The PUL backing comes in a range of colours but no patterns, and the bamboo/cotton mix fleece is white on all the pads. I bought an overnight pad in this style, which is 13" long and is longer in the back. The day pads are 10" long and are also slightly longer in the back.

I thought that I would like this pad as I tend to need more back coverage, especially at night, however it has become one of my least favorites. The topping fabric of this is strange, when I first received the pad is was nice and soft, but after two washes it has lost its softness and is slightly bumpy. Also, I could not show a picture of the other side because it stains horribly. I used this pad once and I cannot, for the life of me, get the stain out. I have tried my usual stain remover and it lightened slightly, but is still really visible. I also found that the area I stain treated is now rougher than the rest of the pad, This makes wonder how long this particular pad will last, Bree says on her website that these pads can last for several years but if this pad is already showing such wear I doubt it would last. I also found that after 2 washes, the cotton topper has shrank slightly and left the PUL backing slightly baggy, as you can see in the above photo,

Overall is it a mixed bag with these pads, I really love the 'regular' style pads, however I have had some problems, I have one PUL backed pad in the 'regular' style and one in the 'curved' style and have had the same problems with both. Firstly, the PUL is smooth, and so these pads slip around in your underwear, which isn't ideal. I found myself getting frustrated with these when I go to the bathroom as, when pull down your trousers, the pad flips upside down and hangs by the snaps. The second issue I had with these is, they leak. The Precious stars label seems to be stitched through the waterproof layer, on two occasions I have leaked all around the label, and nowhere else. This is a frustrating flaw with the pads, as it makes the waterproof layer pretty useless.

To wear these pads you would just have to hope that you didn't bleed in the area of the label and make sure you were careful not to saturate the pad very much. When this occurred the second time, I contacted Bree through her website, she replied after with some suggestions that I could try to 'seal' the PUL layer. She suggested washing the pads on a hot wash and also ironing the back of the labels, but neither of these things helped. After a few emails back and forth Bree was nice enough to refund me for the pads. If she fixed this problem, the 'regular' pads would all be a great budget option, but for now I'm not sure that I'd recommend these. Personally I really disliked the 'curve' style, the topper develops an unpleasant texture after a few washes and  they are impossible to get stains out of. I'd be interested to know if anyone else had any issues with these pads, if you have any experience with these leave a comment below and let me know what you thought of them.