http://www.naturcup.com

{more info to come later}

I’ve been asked about comparison “squishiness” of all the cups.  This is hard to rate really, but I will give it a shot.  This is just my opinion, it’s quite hard to judge, and the cup sizes actually make a difference in squishiness.  Some cups are stiffer at the rim, than they are in the body.

I’m rating these from 1-10.  1 being most squishy, 10 being least squishy.   Basically it is rated on how much effort it takes to push the material in.

Squishy at the top rim

Small Yuuki – 1

Miacup (large?) – 1

Large Coloured Lady Cup – 2

Small Diva – 2

Femmecup – 3

Small coloured Lady Cup – 4

Large Mooncup (UK) – 4

Small Mooncup (UK) – 5

Large Lunette – 5.5

Large Mooncup (UK) – 6

Small Lady Cup – 7

Small Keeper – 8

Small MeLuna – 9

Large MeLuna – 10

Squishy at the body

1 – Femmecup & Large coloured Lady Cup

2 – Small Diva & Miacup (large?)

3 – Small coloured Lady Cup & Small Yuuki

4 – Both sized Mooncup (UK)

5 – Large Lunette

6 – Small Keeper

7 – Both sized MeLuna

I recently received this cup, and had a chance to test it out straight away    I was surprised to find the stem was not a hollow tube… it’s the same size as the hollow tube stems, but it is solid.  Which means if you like the tube stems but don’t like that they can collect blood inside them, then this stem would be great.  I like this cup… not sure why, since it doesn’t have anything that immediately jumps out as being innovative or special… and it has features I don’t particularly like (such as the angular holes and thicker stem)….but I like the degree of flexibility of the silicone, and the lack of ridge around the rim – it feels nice.

Testing it out – I was able to feel the stem for a while… because it is solid, and has lines on it for grip, I was able to feel it while wearing it.  After about 15 mins I was not able to feel it any more (I got used to it I suppose), and I think it pokes less than the hollow tube stems.  Probably because the Yuuki stem has a rounded tip, while the hollow ones have a flat tip (so more pokey).  I found it opened up easily, although they sent me the smaller size.  I had no leaks.

Gear – It came in a tube which was different.  It had an instruction sheet, but no pouch.  I don’t know if they normally ship them with a pouch or not, since mine was a freebie.  To be honest, not having a pouch probably wouldn’t make a difference to me, since a lot of people buy a replacement pouch elsewhere anyway (I used the Lunette pouch that came with my first cup for about a week then made my own because I hated it)

Personal Observations – I haven’t had much to do with the company – I e-mailed them to ask some questions and they replied prety quickly.

Ratings

I’ve rated all the cups I’ve tried. They can be found here: http://menstrualcups.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/my-comparisons-and-ratings

People asked me to take some comparison photos of the MeLuna, and since I also got the Yuuki cup since taking photos, I figured I’d go on a bit of a photo spree.

see many more pics by clicking –>

All the cups I have

Coloured Cups

(Shows the colours compared with each other)

(Shows the pink and purple cups for colour comparisons)

Size and shape comparisons

(Diva, Keeper & Yuuki are small size, other cups are large)

The large Cups

The Small Cups

Fun Shots

All photos are copyrighted and cannot be reproduced (used anywhere) without permission.  E-mail me if you would like to use these images.

I received the Yuuki Cup today, so here are some pictures

It comes in a tube!

With instruction sheet.  I actually like the tube idea… it’s different and protects the cup from being squashed.  Though the packaging makes me think of a sports supplement or something

The stem is about the same width as the tube stems of other brands of cup, but it is solid.  Because the silicone is softer than that of the Mooncup UK or Diva, the stem is more flexible, but not quite as flexible as the thinner tab stems of the Lunette or Miacup.

(The cup got a bit of fluff on it, so that’s what the speckles are on the rim, I didn’t realise it would show up   I need to take another photo)

The measuring lines and name are on the inside of the cup. Along with a number “1″.    There is another line on the inside, where the ridge on other cups pokes out… not sure what that is for…  The holes are on an angle, like the Diva’s holes

I found out about this brand in a post on the Menstrual_cups community. I must say, I found the picture of the dolls wearing the cups as hats to be just waaaaaaaaaay too cute to not have a fondness for this company right there! (I love it when a business has a sense of humour and fun about them).

I wrote to them and asked if they could send me some samples, and asking for some more info on the cups, and I got a reply back straight away saying yes, and giving me the info I asked for (and several pictures). Which I was impressed with.

I was excited about this brand not only because of the cup-hat wearing dolls but they are also purple and with a tab stem! I must say though that the plastic composition doesn’t put me at as much ease as it would being silicone, but then that is only because I don’t know much about the type of plastic they use. Apparently the same type of plastic is used in the Instead cups and also in things like baby bottle teats – so I am going to assume it is safe for menstrual cups, as the company says. And to be fair, I was a little wary of silicone when I first started researching cups (hearing stories of killer silicone breast implants [though that is a different type of silicone])… I think sometimes we are always wary of something new, and that doesn’t always mean bad. But I do know that a lot of people (myself included) are a little scared of all plastics, with the things you hear about (chemicals leaching out etc.)

They do however have a “flaw”, which I assume has to do with production, that the silicone cups for some reason don’t have.  It is a round mark on the rim, you can see in the picture below.

The price is certainly good, which is one benefit of using the plastic they do, instead of the silicone.

Testing it out – Firstly, it’s a very stiff material. Much more so than the other cups. It has the same sort of shape and rim as the Lady cup. With the folding tests I did prior to inserting the cup, I was a bit worried about the strength of the “pop” the cup does as you unfold it. But it pops out less violently when doing the “punchdown” method, so I used that.  It is actually nice to have a cup that pops open without problems when I’m inserting it on the toilet – I normally find that position a bit challenging to get the cups to open fully.  Even if once it did pop open too suddenly and give me a bit of a surprise

I first tried the cup with the tab stem. I found it very hard to grasp that stem. The cup has a lot of suction (more than I have experienced with other cups), so I wasn’t even able to pull the cup down a little to better reach the rim, as I am normally able to do. It took a bit to break the seal (especially since the rim is stiffer than other cups), and it was still more difficult than other stems to keep hold of (it was a bit slippery and thin).  Then I tried the ring stem – I was able to grip that better, so I would prefer this stem to the tab one.

Removing the cup is a little more “uncomfortable” (not painful, just not comfortable) than the other cups due to the stiffness.  I think the smoothness of the inside might make it easier to wipe clean than the other cups – it seemed to clean slightly more easily.  I like the  fact there is no writing or markings on the cup at all, so nothing to collect blood.

I noticed that when you fold the cup fully, little crack-like lines appear in the folds, which doesn’t happen in the other cups, so I assume it has to do with the plastic vs silicone thing? (or perhaps the cups they sent me are different in quality to what you would normally buy?) The “cracks” completely disappear when the cup isn’t being held in the fold, so I don’t think it is doing any permanent damage…. and also I didn’t boil the cup, I just poured boiling water over it and used a mild natural soap….. and I tried to fold it while still warm from the water, and it distorted the shape (oval). I folded it the other way to bend it back to round again, and it was then fine, but I don’t know if it would have stayed in that shape if I’d not folded it the other way.

I was trying the large size, and I had no leaking, though so far I haven’t worn it long enough to get anywhere near the holes.

Gear – I don’t know how they are usually packaged, but mine were packaged in a small plastic bag each, and then put in a mailing envelope. I assume customers actually buying these will get instructions – and I don’t know what other packaging they would use.

included with my samples was a pouch. Which is made from a blue suede-like fabric, with a silvery printed design of the woman and a moon. I quite like the pouch

Personal Observations – I’ve been impressed with this company. Not only with the fact they offer a good range of colours, but also a choice of stem types! Which is a great idea!!! When I have contacted them, the response was very quick and in good English (useful for us non-German speaking people)… and they have been more than helpful with providing extra images, and a sample of each of the colours and stem types of the cups!

Ratings

I’ve rated all the cups I’ve tried. They can be found here: http://menstrualcups.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/my-comparisons-and-ratings

The very generous people over at MeLuna have sent me some of their cups!  So I thought Id take some photos of them.

This is all the colours of the cups, and the pouch.  The pouch is a sort of suede-like fabric, it feels very smooth and nice.  The black is actually black!  solid colour (not transparent) and very black!  I’m sure there will be lots of gals who will love that.

I don’t know how they will show on your screen, but the green is a lime green, the blue is a quite bright blue, the purple is gorgeous   The “red” is a sort of orangish red.  They are all quite vibrant colours.

The 3 types of stem.  Ball, Ring and tab/stalk

The tab/stalk stem is not flat like the Lunette or Miacup stem – this is round, so very thin indeed.  It is very flexible.

This shows the Larger and Smaller sizes in the different stem types.

Slightly better comparison of sizes

(All photos are copyight Obsidian 2009 and cannot be reproduced without permission)

I only found out about these recently, and I was excited to see new cups available, and in colours!

I e-mailed them to ask for a sample, and unfortunately they refused, saying they are only interested in the European market.  (I asked them to reconsider, as European people do read my website too – but again no).  A shame, since I would have liked to include the Fleurcup with the other cups I have in photographs, be able to tell people more about it  (it’s look, feel and so on) and promote it more.

(They are actually the first cup company to deny my request for a sample)

So all I can comment on is that they look pretty and that their website is a little less professional looking than the other cup brands. Unfortunately there are no immediate plans for an English version apparently (it will come later), but you can use google’s page translator to translate the page from French to English.

I e-mailed MeLuna and asked if they had any pictures of the coloured cups. They replied back straight away, and sent me several pictures! Including pictures of the cups next to tampons, which is a great visual reference for people who have never seen a cup in real life.  They are also sending me samples, so I will be able to include the MeLuna in some photos with other cups!   So here they are.

This shows the stem types available
(Ring, Classic stem, ball and no stem)

Shows the colours available

Image of the XL version (to be released soon)

http://fleurcup.com

Country of origin: France
Composition: Medical Grade Silicone
Sizes: Small & Large
Dimensions: Small = 41mm diameter, 47mm long without stem (23mm stem length) Large = 46mm diameter, 52mm long without stem 18mm stem length)
Capacity: Small = 20mls to holes 25ml to the rim. Large = 29ml to holes and 35ml to rim
Stem: Flat tab
Measuring Lines: No
Cost (RRP): € 26.99 [Currency Converter]
Guarantee: None
Been around since: Unknown (early 2009?)
Other Details: Comes in clear, pink, purple, orange and black. The website has great animated images of the folds