The Lily Cup Compact – review of the world’s first collapsible menstrual cup
I’m a pretty big fan of menstrual cups over sanitary pads and tampons, especially when it comes to travel because they are space saving, comfortable and environmentally friendly, perfect for the active female traveller. There have been some pretty innovative ideas applied to menstrual cups over the years, like the discharge valves of the Victoria’s Love menstrual cup, so when the folks from Intimina reached out to me to send me the Lily Cup Compact, a menstrual cup that is has a curious space saving function thanks to its collapsible nature, I was curious to see how that would work.
Lily Cup Compact – the collapsible menstrual cup
The first thing you’ll notice about the Lily Cup Compact is that it comes packed in an impossibly tiny flat case. And when you take it out, it looks nothing like a menstrual cup.
But when you extend it out, it looks like a rather futuristic menstrual cup, albeit with ridged edges instead of a smooth bell curve. The designer was apparently inspired by Japanese collapsible cups, and wanted something similarly elegant. I’ve always liked that menstrual cups are generally space saving, but their bulb like shape isn’t the most compact. This takes it one step further, to make the menstrual cup small enough to easily slip into a slim purse or a pocket. You could palm it quite easily without anyone noticing either.
My review of the Lily Cup Compact
The collapsible nature of the Lily Cup Compact is an extremely cool function which makes this easy to pack into any bag, no matter how big or small. I carry this around with me on a daily basis just in case I forget to bring my normal menstrual cup with me.
I was a bit concerned at first that the collapsible nature would somehow make it harder to insert, but it’s not been a problem. What I really like is the material they used which is really super silky smooth medical grade silicone. It’s the nicest to touch of all the menstrual cups that I’ve used.
I’m using the smaller Size A, but you will notice that the Lily Cup Compact is much smaller in volume, so generally better for lighter flow days. I tend to use it towards the end of my period so I don’t have to empty it so much. It’s smaller nature makes it even less obtrusive – I hardly feel I’m wearing it at all, as compared to the Victoria’s Love menstrual cup.
It comes in a light pink for Size A, and a darker pink for Size B
. I wish there was an option to choose colours – I personally am not a fan of pink so I avoid it when I can. The inside of the cups are a little bit stained after use that can’t be washed off, but it’s not a big deal because no one is going to be examining the inside of your menstrual cup, ever.
Where to get the Lily Cup Compact
The Lily Cup Compact has done quite well for itself, getting successfully funded on Kickstarter. It’s also currently being sold for US$39.90 here at Intimina which might seem pricey compared to pads and tampons, but think about how much time and space you’ll save from buying pads in the long run – the recommended lifespan is up to 5 years.
Check out the standard Lily Cup for heavier flow
If you prefer something that can hold more discharge, you can also check out the standard Lily Cup that holds up to 28ml as compared to the 18ml of the Compact. It doesn’t have the cool collapsible function but it does have that same lovely texture and quite an interesting shape
See my other menstrual cup reviews:
- My first menstrual cup – the Lunette and how I became a menstrual cup convert
- Victoria’s Love – the menstrual cup with a discharge valve
Note that I’ve recently added some affiliate links in this post, which means no additional costs to you whatsover, but I may get a small % of any purchase you end up making through a click here. Think of it as supporting the cost of running this site.
The Lily Cup Compact and Lily Cup were sponsored by Intimina. Review and opinions are all my own.
Hi, just across your post. I just buy the lily cup regular and compact. I am heavy period. Before this try organic cup and Be-u…just say hi!
Thanks for your nice informative post on the menstrual cup. I am confused about one thing and asking for your advice. I found many eco-friendly menstrual cups but are those really eco-friendly?? Hope to see more post on it. I have found another article on the menstrual cup. In this article, I found eco-friendly menstrual cups review. After reading the review the question comes to my mind. Please advise if possible.
Hi Mariya, I definitely can’t say whether eco-friendly menstrual cups are actually eco-friendly, but if you compared the fact that you are just using 1 cup versus the stacks of pads/tampons that you will use in your lifetime, it definitely is eco-friendlier in that sense. I can only speak for the menstrual cups which I have reviewed in this blog – there should be links in the post above to the other cups.
I removed the link in your comment because I don’t think it’s particularly helpful in terms of recommendations honestly, but what I’ve found is that you do have to trial and error a little to see which menstrual cup works best for you and your body, so you can do all the research you need but nothing beats actually trying it for yourself.
Hello!
So, I just tried this menstrual cup yesterday, and I was able to get a hang of inserting it easily and had no problems with it opening up on its own afterwards. However, I have a lot of difficulty taking it out. I followed the instructions of pulling the stem down first, and then squeezing the base to release suction and pulling it out while moving it side to side, but it doesn’t release any suction at all for me. TMI, but in order to get it out, I have to tug really hard and/or insert my finger while it’s still inserted and press down on the rim of it. I find this really uncomfortable to do every time I have to empty it… do you have any tips for me?
Thank you!
mmh could be that you might be a bit tense – the longer you take to get it out the more tense you might become unconsciously! The other thing you might want to try is instead of reaching all the way up to the rim, perhaps press into the side of the cup instead and wiggle gently? Maybe less uncomfortable for you that way… hope that helps a little! It does take some getting used to and finding out what works best for you :)