Intimina Lily Cup Compact and Lily Cup A Review: For sustainable periods!

Intimina Lily Cup and Lily Cup Compact review and price

PRICE: Lily Cup (P1,600); Lily Cup A (P1,600)

FROM: Free

OTHER LOCATIONS: Available at Intimina.ph; Mercury Drug stores

THE VERDICT:

Menstrual cups have revolutionized the way women address their monthly period and it's arguably one of the best sustainable hygiene solutions the world has ever seen because it has helped reduced the environmental impact of tampons and napkins, which are considered one of the biggest contributors to plastic pollution. I have been meaning to try my hands on one too and thankfully, Intimina Philippines was graceful enough to provide some samples so I can finally try it and join the revolution. I also know that a lot of you have been wanting my opinion on menstrual cups so here we go. Let me tell you all about Intimina Lily Cup Compact and Lily Cup A: their differences, performance, and which is the best cup for you.

Intimina is a Swedish intimate health and hygiene brand and one of the first brands to come up with menstrual cups. The brand is actually distributed in the Philippines by a relative of mine!

Intimina prides themselves on superior quality, medical- grade silicone. This silicone is considered the gold standard in silicone variants and safe to be used inside the body. According to intimina.ph, Intimina's products are toxic and phthalate- free and comply with FDA, CE, and RoHs regulations. Sustainability is also part of Intimina's DNA, therefore they comply with environmental regulations and energy standards in every country that they operate in do they stay true to their sustainability promise.

Intimina has the following menstrual cup variants:

LILY CUP ONE (P1,380)- Intimina's flagship product. Comfy, easy to use cup that is great for beginners. Great for light flow.

LILY CUP COLLAPSIBLE (P1,600)- the world's first collapsible cup. Initimina's most universal cup in terms of size and great for traveling and for light to moderate flow.

LILY CUP A AND B (P1,600)- big but as thin as a tampon; highly flexible and can be easily rolled into a tampon- like width for easier insertion. Great for those with high cervix and heavy flow.

ZIGGY CUP (P2,000)- world's first intercourse- friendly menstrual cup. Thin, disc- shaped cup that provides total coverage on the cervix during period for mess- free intercourse.

I got this sometime around late last year and since it was my first time to try the product, Intimina has gladly assisted me in choosing the right cups for me.

Thing is, you have to know your cervix well enough to know which one is for you, which is obviously hard to do because how do you take a peek in there, right? No cervix is the same and to be able to find the right cup for you, it might take a few cups until you find the one. But for starters, Intimina has a pretty universal cup called Lily Cup Collapsible.

I think the collapsible cup concept is brilliant because it makes the thing travel- friendly. I think the allure of this product lies in its smart design: it's discreet, light, and compact, perfect for every modern gal who wants a period buddy/napkin alternative that they can pop in the purse.

I get heavy period every time so for those days, I have Intimina Lily Cup A. Another reason why I opted for this one is because I feel that my cervix is on the high side and this cup is made for that.  Lily Cup A conveniently comes with a silky pouch.

First question: HOW DO I USE A MENSTRUAL CUP?

First, you gotta sanitize. How to sanitize? Just pour boiling water in a clean bowl, dunk the cup, leave it bathing in hot water for 5 minutes, and take it out. Make sure it's cool before inserting into your vag or else, you will scald your self. Be sure to handle it with clean hands because you don't want to insert filth and bacteria inside your vajay. Oh, be sure that the bowl is dedicated to cup cleansing for hygiene purposes. After usage, rinse the cup with mild, unscented soap, immerse in hot water again for 5 minutes, dry with a clean towel, and store properly.

Now here's the biggest question: HOW DO I INSERT A MENSTRUAL CUP?

Here are some helpful infographics from Intimina Philippines' official website showing how to use Lily Cup Collapsible and Lily Cup A:

Lily Cup Collapsible How To Insert Instructions

Lily Cup A How To Insert Instructions

There are various folding methods to help you insert the cup smoothly into your vag; Youtube will be your friend during this time. I have to admit I struggled on the insertion part in the beginning, but after about three tries, I got used to it. The most popular and the best fold so far for me is the Punch Down Fold because this technique, so far, is the best way to make the cup slimmer and smaller, which makes for easy insertion and fixing.

Just like finding the right cup, you gotta find the insertion method that works for you.

HOW DO I KNOW IF THE CUP IS INSERTED CORRECTLY?

There are three things to check:

1. The cup shouldn't feel as if it's almost outside your vag. This means that it is placed way too low inside. You will know if you inserted it correctly and that is if you don't feel anything.

2. The tip of the cup shouldn't be exposed and causing friction between your vag walls.

3. To know if the cup has opened properly inside your vag, gently tug the tip of the cup and if you feel that there's a strong suction inside that's keeping the cup from being pulled out easily, then that means it has opened inside correctly. You can also insert a clean finger inside and circle the perimeter of the cup to check for folds.

It took me a while to review this because aside from I have irregular period, I also wanted to explore different ways to use it and give enough time for learnings.

I would say that Lily Cup Collapsible is the perfect size for me and the height of my cervix, but Lily Cup A is the perfect size for the volume I produce, but this is just too long for me and the tip peeks from the inside and causes friction between my vag walls, which is very uncomfortable. Between the two, I settled with Lily Cup Collapsible because it's the most comfortable.

There's a significant learning curve if you are new to this thing and frankly, it will really test your patience most especially if you love the convenience tampons and pads bring. I've been using Lily Cup Collapsible and I would have to empty the cup every three hours because its capacity is too small for my period plus oftentimes, I would have gooey period and that fills up the cup faster than expected. 

Another issue I have with using menstrual cups is you have to be strategic with your choice of restroom: there has to be a bidet at least and preferably it's an obscure restroom so there won't be people around that will be culture shocked when you dunk blood on the public sink. But then again, if you don't care what other people might think, congratulations. But if you do, another option aside from finding a restroom with bidet is to bring bottled water so you can rinse it inside the cubicle.

Given all of these, I have decided that I can't fully switch to the menstrual cup not because of the inconvenience, but because of the size issue. I will still use it to help minimize my environmental footprint: on heavy days, I'll use the pad and on light days, I'll use the cup. On light days, I change my pads twice and it normally lasts 2-3 days so that's 4-6 pads and tampons that I have saved in every cycle; multiply that by 10 or so years until I hit menopausal period and I would still have saved a lot of trees and minimized a significant amount of trash. :)

I highly recommend Intimina because of the quality and safety assurance, plus it's very comfortable too; the menstrual cup is one product that I suggest that you invest in because the material is safe for usage inside the body; don't skimp on your health because you will end up spending a lot in the hospital. Plus the products are super cute and the design is just smart and convenient!

Is the menstrual cup for you? I think the menstrual cup is for everyone, but I won't recommend that you completely change your lifestyle for it most especially if it will alter your routine big time, but at least try to make the conscious effort to minimize your environmental footprint; you can do like what I did: 50% napkins and tampons, 50% menstrual cup; so we could at least make planet Earth somewhat livable in the days to come.

P.S. I have not used the Menstrual Disc yet, but if I do, then that's for a separate review!

Have you tried menstrual cups already? What are your thoughts and experience?

INTIMINA LILY CUP COMPACT AND LILY CUP MENSTRUAL CUP RATING

Please visit INTIMINA PHILIPPINES on Facebook. You can buy the product HERE.