The Sileu Rose menstrual cup is the only rose-shaped cup on the market, and that shape didn’t come out of a marketing department: it came from the mind of Viviana Quijano and a pencil sketch drawn on paper in 2018. I’m Manuel Gallego, the designer behind the Rose, but the original idea — the seed of everything — is hers. This is the real story of how the flower-shaped cup came to be.
Between 2017 and 2018 I spent months researching why so many people who already knew about menstrual cups — and their well-documented benefits — never quite took the leap. The answers kept repeating, and they were almost never technical. They were emotional: the cup was perceived as a strange, almost clinical product. An object that looked like medical instrumentation, one people felt awkward showing, storing, or carrying in their bag. The “dirty product” stigma outweighed any comparison chart.
The conclusion of that research was an uncomfortable one for a designer: the menstrual cup’s problem wasn’t functional. It was a design problem.
The solution didn’t start on a computer, and it wasn’t my idea. It started with a pencil and paper in the hands of Viviana Quijano, my partner: the idea of a flower-shaped menstrual cup was hers, and so was the sketch of a cup whose folds echoed the petals of a rose. An object that didn’t apologize for existing; that could sit on the sink or come out of a bag as naturally as a bottle of perfume or a lipstick.
Starting from that sketch, my job as a designer was to turn Viviana’s idea into a real product: I modeled the cup in 3D, fine-tuning every curve so the floral look wouldn’t compromise capacity, seal, or comfort; once the model was finalized, the mold was made, and from the mold, production began. Every Rose we ship today traces back to that pencil drawing.
The rose shape solved the problem we’d identified, and it did so better than we expected: the Rose quickly became our store’s best-selling cup, especially among first-time cup users. But the design didn’t stop at the silicone:
When the Rose hit the market, something happened that we hadn’t fully anticipated: many customers wrote to us not to ask about capacity or wear time, but to tell us they were showing it off. That the cup that used to hide at the back of a drawer was now something people brought up in conversation — with friends, with daughters, with mothers. The design was doing a job no marketing campaign had managed: normalizing the product.
That early period also shaped the decisions that define the range today: the three firmness levels (Soft for those who feel pressure or have a sensitive bladder, Standard as the balanced option, Sport for toned pelvic floors) and the XS size designed for teenagers, because we discovered many first-time users were younger than the industry assumed. Every question we received — many are still posted on our forum — ended up shaping a product improvement or a guide like this one.
🌹 Sileu Rose — €19.99
The rose-shaped cup, in sizes XS, S and L, three firmness levels (Soft, Standard and Sport) and two colors. Cotton pouch included, shipped from Spain in 24-72h.
A beautiful design paired with poor material would just be makeup. The Rose is made from German silicone by Wacker, certified to the ISO 10993 biocompatibility standard — surgical-medical grade, the same family of standards required of medical devices. If you’re curious about the technical side, this article explains what the ISO 10993, USP and FDA certifications mean and why you should demand them from any cup, regardless of brand.
Your bag was an obsession from day one, because it was one of the sticking points we’d uncovered in our research: nobody wanted to carry something clinical-looking among their things. That’s why the Rose has never traveled alone. The cotton pouch comes included with every cup; the 8cm flower-shaped case (Sileu Go, €21.99) turns it into just another item in your bag; and the Travel Pack adds the foldable silicone sterilizer, so the whole routine — carry, use, sterilize — fits in any bag or suitcase. It’s no accident that Travel is our best-selling pack: it solves the entire logistics of your period away from home for €29.99.
That same logic of supporting real-life scenarios is what we still follow today with our certified organic cotton period underwear or the Sileu Sea marine sponge: products that don’t compete with the cup, but cover the moments where the cup doesn’t reach.
After this whole journey, the important question is yours: is the Rose the right cup for you? The honest answer is “it depends on your body and where you’re at”, which is exactly why the Sileu range has seven models. But the Rose is designed so your first cup doesn’t feel intimidating: through its look, its three firmness levels, and because the XS size makes it suitable for teenagers too. If this is your first time approaching a cup, start with our guide to choosing your first menstrual cup or check how to find your cervix to get the size right. And if you already wear period underwear, you can now get the underwear + Rose pack, choosing sizes, firmness and color, for less than buying separately.
We could have simply said “rose-shaped cup, €19.99.” But when you choose a menstrual cup, you’re choosing something that’s going to be with you for years, and we believe you have the right to know who’s behind it, why it’s shaped the way it is, and exactly what it’s made of. It’s the same transparency standard we apply when comparing our cup to other brands or explaining the certifications you should demand from any manufacturer, ours or not.
The Rose was born from an idea sketched in pencil and a conviction: that an intimate hygiene product doesn’t have to look like medical instrumentation. Eight years later, Viviana’s intuition is still the cup our customers gift the most — the statistic we’re proudest of, because nobody gifts something they’re embarrassed to show.
No: the Sileu Rose folds, inserts and removes just like any menstrual cup. The floral design is about the outside — look, feel and discretion — without affecting capacity or seal.
Size S is the usual starting point; XS is designed for teenagers, and L for after vaginal birth or very heavy flow. If you’re torn between two, Sileu’s size guide helps you decide based on your cervix position.
The original idea belongs to Viviana Quijano, who sketched the first flower-shaped cup in pencil. Manuel Gallego, Sileu’s designer, modeled it in 3D and took it from sketch to mold to production between 2017 and 2018.
German silicone from the Wacker brand, certified ISO 10993 surgical-medical grade, the same family of standards required of medical devices. It comes with a cotton pouch for storage.
New: Underwear + Rose Cup Pack — €26.99
The leak-proof duo: OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certified organic cotton underwear, free from harmful substances (choose size and waist) + Rose cup (choose size, firmness and color). Save €3 compared to buying separately.
The original idea for the flower-shaped cup belongs to Viviana Quijano. Manuel Gallego, the author of this article, designed it and took it to production as Sileu’s designer.
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