Oh Lunette, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
First a little background. The Lunette menstrual cup is made in Finland and comes in blue (Lunette Selene) and green (Lunette Diana) currently, although they are going to sell the cup in purple and orange very soon. It comes in two sizes, like most menstrual cups. Interestingly, the larger size is made of a firmer silicone. I suppose the smaller size is made with softer material for younger women/cup users, who might be virgins and more apprehensive about using a firm cup. Lunettes have been approved by the FDA for sale in the US. If you're interested in purchasing a Lunette, check out their website (linked at the bottom of this post) although you may want to browse around the internet for better deals.
I have the size 1 (smaller) Lunette Selene, and it's one of my favorite menstrual cups. It's soft and squishy, but firm enough to pop open easily inside the vagina. It has four large suction release holes under the brim that are easy to clean (in comparison to the DivaCup's tiny holes). The tab stem is also easy to clean because it isn't hollow, and very comfortable. (I did cut part of them stem off because it was a little too long for me.) The cup has "Lunette" and "Made in Finland" conveniently printed on the outside of the cup. Since flow collects on the inside of the cup, any logo or text traps menstrual fluid and is harder to clean between uses.
The lunette has a frosty texture and grip lines along the base and stem; it's easy to get a firm grip during removal. I find the length of the small lunette to be very comfortable as well as the shape. This cup works for many women/cup users (as long as you have the right size), considering the fact that it has a nice squat shape. Sometimes longer cups will be pushed out by a lower cervix, or the cervix will dangle into a cup and take up capacity. The lunette has a great capacity even though it is short because of the bell shape, and it's nice and short if you cut off the stem completely.
It's almost hard to come up with disadvantages of this cup, but there are a few. :) This cup has measuring lines on the outside, but they don't have any measurements written next to them, so that's not very helpful. Also the capacity of the small lunette is about 20ml, which doesn't last me as long as my small DivaCup. Honestly, this isn't a huge disadvantage, and since I have a moderate flow some day in the future I may look into purchasing a large Lunette Diana. (The moral of this story? Choose the right size.) The bag is made of a shiny, silky material that matches the cup. Mine has held up well, without breaking.
The Lunette company has had some disputes with other menstrual cup companies concerning dupes of their product. One brand, Green Donna, which is still being sold on eBay, was an exact duplicate and the company has shut down. The MPower cup, which is similar but not an exact duplicate, has been barred from sale outside of South Africa because of a legal dispute with Lunette. They are currently redesigning their cup so it can be sold internationally again. The stem, grip rips, and rim of the MPower do look very similar to the Lunette, but the shape is different. You can decide for yourself. There are comparison photos of Green Donna and Lunette in MenstrualCupInfo's blog post, and comparison photos of MPower and Lunette in femininewear's flickr album. Also check out Lunette's side of the story in a post in the MenstrualCup.org forums and here's another blog post about Intellectual Property Rights. After browsing through all this, I think the Lunette company was right in doing this; they want to protect their design and be the only ones to profit from it.
Overall I think the Lunette is a very well made cup, designed with the cup user in mind! It's offered in fun colors, easy to clean, and works well. Sometimes it gets labeled as a "starter cup," and while there is no cup one needs to start out with, this one certainly fits a lot of women/cup users. Keep in mind if you are going to purchase a lunette, you should base your decision of which size to get on all three of these factors; age, child birth, and flow. If you have given birth or are over 30, it's best to go with a larger cup, as a smaller cup may leak because your muscles are not as toned. But even if you aren't either of those things, and you have a heavy flow, go with the larger cup, because you'll have to change it less often. It says this on the Lunette website, but some companies don't make that distinction in their size guidelines.
I hope you enjoyed this review! Leave a comment if you have any questions or if you've used a lunette. :)
Here are some helpful links:
The Lunette Website
wikiHow - How to Buy/Choose a Menstrual Cup Brand
wikiHow - How to Use a Menstrual Cup
MenstrualCups.org - A LiveJournal Community
First a little background. The Lunette menstrual cup is made in Finland and comes in blue (Lunette Selene) and green (Lunette Diana) currently, although they are going to sell the cup in purple and orange very soon. It comes in two sizes, like most menstrual cups. Interestingly, the larger size is made of a firmer silicone. I suppose the smaller size is made with softer material for younger women/cup users, who might be virgins and more apprehensive about using a firm cup. Lunettes have been approved by the FDA for sale in the US. If you're interested in purchasing a Lunette, check out their website (linked at the bottom of this post) although you may want to browse around the internet for better deals.
I have the size 1 (smaller) Lunette Selene, and it's one of my favorite menstrual cups. It's soft and squishy, but firm enough to pop open easily inside the vagina. It has four large suction release holes under the brim that are easy to clean (in comparison to the DivaCup's tiny holes). The tab stem is also easy to clean because it isn't hollow, and very comfortable. (I did cut part of them stem off because it was a little too long for me.) The cup has "Lunette" and "Made in Finland" conveniently printed on the outside of the cup. Since flow collects on the inside of the cup, any logo or text traps menstrual fluid and is harder to clean between uses.
The lunette has a frosty texture and grip lines along the base and stem; it's easy to get a firm grip during removal. I find the length of the small lunette to be very comfortable as well as the shape. This cup works for many women/cup users (as long as you have the right size), considering the fact that it has a nice squat shape. Sometimes longer cups will be pushed out by a lower cervix, or the cervix will dangle into a cup and take up capacity. The lunette has a great capacity even though it is short because of the bell shape, and it's nice and short if you cut off the stem completely.
It's almost hard to come up with disadvantages of this cup, but there are a few. :) This cup has measuring lines on the outside, but they don't have any measurements written next to them, so that's not very helpful. Also the capacity of the small lunette is about 20ml, which doesn't last me as long as my small DivaCup. Honestly, this isn't a huge disadvantage, and since I have a moderate flow some day in the future I may look into purchasing a large Lunette Diana. (The moral of this story? Choose the right size.) The bag is made of a shiny, silky material that matches the cup. Mine has held up well, without breaking.
The Lunette company has had some disputes with other menstrual cup companies concerning dupes of their product. One brand, Green Donna, which is still being sold on eBay, was an exact duplicate and the company has shut down. The MPower cup, which is similar but not an exact duplicate, has been barred from sale outside of South Africa because of a legal dispute with Lunette. They are currently redesigning their cup so it can be sold internationally again. The stem, grip rips, and rim of the MPower do look very similar to the Lunette, but the shape is different. You can decide for yourself. There are comparison photos of Green Donna and Lunette in MenstrualCupInfo's blog post, and comparison photos of MPower and Lunette in femininewear's flickr album. Also check out Lunette's side of the story in a post in the MenstrualCup.org forums and here's another blog post about Intellectual Property Rights. After browsing through all this, I think the Lunette company was right in doing this; they want to protect their design and be the only ones to profit from it.
Overall I think the Lunette is a very well made cup, designed with the cup user in mind! It's offered in fun colors, easy to clean, and works well. Sometimes it gets labeled as a "starter cup," and while there is no cup one needs to start out with, this one certainly fits a lot of women/cup users. Keep in mind if you are going to purchase a lunette, you should base your decision of which size to get on all three of these factors; age, child birth, and flow. If you have given birth or are over 30, it's best to go with a larger cup, as a smaller cup may leak because your muscles are not as toned. But even if you aren't either of those things, and you have a heavy flow, go with the larger cup, because you'll have to change it less often. It says this on the Lunette website, but some companies don't make that distinction in their size guidelines.
I hope you enjoyed this review! Leave a comment if you have any questions or if you've used a lunette. :)
Here are some helpful links:
The Lunette Website
wikiHow - How to Buy/Choose a Menstrual Cup Brand
wikiHow - How to Use a Menstrual Cup
MenstrualCups.org - A LiveJournal Community
... I don't think the MPower looks like the Lunette at all, ano more than any other cup.
ReplyDeleteThe MPower is similar to lunette, but not exactly the same. The shape is slightly different at the bottom and the Mpower only has two suction release holes. The stems are very similar, as well as the grip rings and the rim. Perhaps it wasn't ethical for Lunette to press legal action with the cups only being similar, but they seem to have won.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the Green Donna seems to be exact duplicate of the Lunette. I've added some links photos to this post so people can see for themselves.
Sarah Eliza, I've personally emailed the maker of the Mpower cup, and she said it has four holes, not two.
ReplyDeleteTara--whoops. I was wrong then. I don't know why I was thinking that.
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