Tampons and I have never been the best of friends. I couldn't live without them, yet found them unpleasant for reasons I won't go into here. Due to my rampant dislike of tampons I set out to find an alternative, but nothing else seemed to be as reliable. Then someone pointed me in the direction of the new 'silicone tampons', the femmecup being one of them, and I was sold.

The femmecup is the new ecofriendly alternative to regular tampons. Rather than buy a whole box of tampons every month, you buy the femmecup once, and keep reusing it until it gets lost or the dog eats it. Made from silicone it's safer to leave inside your body than a tampon and many of my friends have found that using this product reduces their monthly cramps. This is probably because the femmecup 'collects' your blood, rather than absorbing all the moisture around it.

Shaped like a wine glass with no base, it doesn't look like it's the right shape to fit. Silicone is quite soft however, so it's easily folded to get it in. Once inside, the femmecup pops open and suction then holds it in place until you're ready to take it out again. Taking it out is a matter of releasing the suction with your fingers and then pulling it by the stem, remembering of course, not to spill the blood all over you. The cup can then be emptied into a toilet or the office pot plants, rinsed off with water and then put back in for next time.

The femmecup did the job however I do have a couple of issues with it. When I first inserted the cup, it didn't pop open completely, which didn't give me a sense of security. My opinion wasn't improved when it leaked on the heaviest day of my period, something which hasn't happened with other silicone tampons. Also when I perused the femmecup website I was surprised that it gave almost no instructions for removal, something that can be quite daunting the first time. Hopefully they intend to rectify that omission at some point.

The femmecup is definitely a better option than tampons. Not only does it hold more than a regular tampon, it is also a lot safer, with no danger of toxic shock or any other unpleasant reactions. Also you can care about the environment while you're wearing one. I've found other similar products to be more reliable, however the femmecup beats them on price and appearance (as its much prettier). I'll be using mine again.

www.femmecup.com