It’s about damn time.
Kotex has come out with this:
New design for feminine products by Kotex, July 10, 2010
Woo, pads and tampons. Big deal. Right? Wrong! Check out the box design on these babies. When Daughter and I spied these at Wal-Mart, we were both immediately drawn to them like kids to an ice cream truck. Finally, feminine products that don’t look like they’re supposed to be used in a hospital.
Check out the insides of the boxes:
Inside newly designed Kotex tampon box, July 10, 2010
Inside newly designed Kotex box of pads
It’s like opening boxes of confetti. Surprise!
The back of the box is also worth reading:
Back of newly designed Kotex tampon box, July 10, 2010
It appeals to a woman’s logical nature with the “Myth or Fact?” question, and to her emotional nature by asking “What color are U today?” Here are the colors you can choose from:
Newly designed wrappers for Kotex pads & tampons, July 10, 2010
Why did it take so long for a feminine products company to figure out that there are women walking this earth who aren’t attracted to pink and white? (Another news flash, in case it was missed: Many of us don’t see menstruation as a disease that needs clinical-looking products for treatment.)
I mean, sheesh, bandages, hearing aids, braces, arm slings, wheelchairs, casts, and diapers have all undergone joie de vivre transformations over the past decade. If they can be injected with a sense of fun, why not pads and tampons? Snazzy feminine products are small, but important, gifts we can buy ourselves in exchange for dealing with mood changes and blood every month for 35 to 40 years. Ya think?
Way to go, Kotex! (Now, try not to overcharge us for the fanciness.)
Check out this blog post examining, in minute detail, the Kotex U overnight pads.
http://meninmenstruation.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/u-by-kotex-overnight-pads-all-nighter-review/
What’s fabulous about this blog, which is called Men in Menstruation, is that it is written by a man who happens to be interested in feminine hygiene products. He explains the history of his interest on one of his pages (a link at the top of the blog – sorry, can’t remember the name of the link).
Okay, checked the blog for the link name – “TMI Corner.” You’ll also find more under “What’s This About?”.
haha, nice post!
Thank you, amandasasha!
When I saw this post I was like, “Cool, she posted a review on UbK! I should let her know I have one too”… then I noticed you linked to my blog, lol, thanks! I’ll send a trackback to this post if you don’t mind
I recently managed to find one of my girl-friends who happened to buy a box of the UbK tampons to try to see if they “compare up” to the existing Tampax Pearls she’s using. I took some pictures of it, but looks like you beat me to it
Not only that – but your pictures are also in high-resolution compare to mine, lol. I noticed that the tampons themselves both inside (applicator) and out look great though, very attractive colours (although in terms of practicality, it means nothing, haha) and stylish.
I like the “Myth or Fact” too – although I’m not sure how often “regular” buyers of these products will actually read this. Maybe the first one or two times, but then it just becomes a drawer commodity, heh. The way I see it though (sometimes grimly, haha) is that all this time they put into making a product such as this, don’t forget the cost just comes out from the consumer
The funky packaging does make you want to throw it around though…. I actually think I took one and chucked it at a guy friend and it freaked him out when he actually opened it 
sigh… guys.
I’m glad you don’t see menstruation as some kind of “issue” because it sure seems like it. I’m also very happy and want to thank you for your positive feedback on my site. It was a very downing day for me because I got a reply from a blog I posted a comment on which was denied because my site apparently is too controversial and weird for a guy to be speaking on such a topic. Shame on that blog – but at least you totally cheered up my day!
Very observant. I never thought about it before how “medical” they look. Maybe they’ll come out with Hello Kitty…which would almost be a dirty pun and funny!!
@Jody,
They do have HelloKitty pads and pantiliners – lol… they had it a logn time ago in places like Japan.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2418/1582842091_3a17057e6c.jpg
Great blog post, Mary!
I had the same reaction as you when I first saw them – they seem to have arrived in the UK a few years earlier than in the US. I remember coming across them in my bag one time, and mistaking them, just for a few milliseconds, for sweets.
Who knew feminine products could generate so much conversation? The way I was brought up, we women were supposed to be hush-hush about it. To heck with that!
Prexus – Daughter and I were impressed with how detailed your blog post was about the Kotex U overnight pad. Honestly, why aren’t you engineering products for one of the companies that makes them? It seems to be your calling. There should be no shame or weirdness in your interest, even though you’re a man. Ask your detractors this: How many gynecologists are men? Yeah, thought so. Not so weird in that light, huh?
When I have to use a product regularly, I like it to be both useful and stylish. Feminine product companies are forever tweaking their designs, so how much does it really cost them to offer something in bright colors or patterns? After all, there’s cost in designing the more clinical looking products too.
Glad I could brighten your day!
Hey, Jody & Clare – Thanks for your comments, too. Love the idea of Hello Kitty feminine products. The idea of feminine products as sweets (perhaps they could bundle them with chocolate!) makes menstruation more tolerable.
WHAT!?! You showed your daughter my post? Did she ask, “Mommy why does this boy like periods?” or “Why does this weirdo make reviews on FEMININE hygiene products?” – Oh gosh, I’ll never live this down now >_< Ahhh… lol. I work as an I.T. guy so funny enough that's the farthest thing from being a feminine hygiene inventor, lol.
I think designing pads and tampons would be quite an interesting career, because such things severely impact the lives of females who use it. It's something that most women will use on a monthly basis so to create something that has every requirement a woman would want from it would be fantastic. I doubt they would take my interest seriously, they'd probably consider me some kinda fetishist, HAHA. It's always an interesting conversatin when someone asks you, "What is your job?"
I'll happily do a side-job in the future if I ever get a chance being on a product production, engineering or marketing team though, LOL… the future is always an unknown
That's true about the cost of the product – but a lot of the times, it's not so much as the dye they use to make the product that they "tack on the price" – but more, the brain-power used to do research and creativity to reach that point (i.e "manpower" or "womanpower") – the labour. The colouring costs them mere fraction of a penny but it's all the labour involved where they decide to make these damn products cost even more than they already do! Being a woman is so damn expensive.
Prexus – For the record, my daughter is an adult, so it was no issue to have her read your post over my shoulder. Also, if we treat menstruation as a normal body function (as we do), there ought to be no shame in her reading your post, just as there should be no shame in your writing about feminine products.
I know there are lots of people who consider it an off-limits topic, especially for a guy, but let’s just start our own little club and, by example, help them get over their attitudes.
From the way you described the Kotex pad in your post, I take your interest seriously. The detail you’ve used (measurements, moisture wicking capability, etc.) indicates the close observation of a researcher. I think you’re a lot closer to being a feminine products designer than you think. (Intense interest is half the battle.) Why not research the companies (I bet you’ve already done some of this) and see what it takes to be a product designer? It could be a second career if you get tired of your IT gig.
And, yes, being a woman can be expensive – at least the menstruation part.
Have you ever done research on reusable cloth pads? (The ones available in natural foods stores.) How do they stack up against the disposable ones in terms of cost, absorbency and ease of use?
Ohh.. lol, thought she was a “little girl” – although I guess to parents, your kids will always be your little ones
I just thought she might’ve had more of a “reaction” to reading something like that, haha. I’m definitely happy to see someone who understands my point-of-view when it comes to bringing menstruation into the open. Maybe I find so many people who are opposed to my views that even I’m slowly being affected by them mentally!
It looks like we’ve got quite a bit of a club going on already
Obviously your post have attracted quite a bit of attention. It seems in particular my UbK review gets quite a few hits – I’ve even received a “Best vote” on a Yahoo Questions thread with information pertaining to the All-Nighter pad which I was quite surprized, since I expected the asker to pick one of the “female responses”.
I think I’ll give your idea on looking into some jobs for feminine hygiene companies some consideration! Who knows what the future will bring and maybe I’ll get to love the “best of both worlds.” I wouldn’t even mind having TWO careers, I have plenty of time for that – especially when like you said, when you do something that’s of interest, that’s already half the battle.
I read an article on being a woman is expensive – not even just the menstruation part, but all the extra accessories like bras, pantyhose and make-up, more or less the items that “males” don’t require… honestly, I think women put a lot of effort into making themselves look good for us guys
Should make us feel guilty for perpetuating those expectations!
I have done research on cloth pads, Lunapads in particular and have even a review posted up on the Divacup. I have not tested these and I’m still sharing a household space with my mom so I have to be careful about where I store and experiment with these products. Having a traditional mom who is hardly open about her son testing feminine hygiene supply is not exactly “helping my situation” harhar. I hope to persuade one of my girls to try these reusable products so we can both test them together!
You give me such great inspiration, thank you!
Here’s what life boils down to for me, Prexus. As long as you (or anyone else) has an interest that doesn’t hurt another person (and I by this I don’t mean offending someone’s sensibilities or feelings – you’ll never make everyone happy in this department), then feel free to follow your interest. You’ve only got one chance to live this particular life, so go for it.
Glad you found my words inspirational.
Man i really want those tampons and pads i used to have them you know and see im mixed and my dad is spanish and my mom is white well my mom recently died and she was the one that always got me those and my dad never knew and im scared to tell him :/ idk im just scared cuz hes the type tht asks questions too much :O D:
Hi, Anna – Dads can feel uncomfortable about buying feminine products, but I assume he is buying some other feminine products for you now. If he is, why not say to him that your mom bought this kind for you and you like them? If he knows that your mom endorsed them, surely he’ll be fine with buying them too. If he’s doing cost comparisons and he doesn’t want to spend the extra money, maybe you could suggest he give you the amount he would spend on some other product and you could pay the difference.
Being as how you’re old enough to have your period and respond to blog posts, an even better solution is to have your dad give you the money you need for feminine products and you can purchase them yourself. That would remove any discomfort he might be feeling. (He might not actually be uncomfortable at all. It’s easy to think that dads are totally out of the loop on this whole period thing, but they are usually pretty cool about the situation.)
Good luck! Let me know if you’re able to convince him.