Buying Imported/Foreign Maxi Pads(Sanitary Napkins) and Tampons

Yay, another periodtastic post – it has certainly been a while since I’ve been writing an entry completely on topic. In the past, I’ve received some questions about where I get my hands on foreign pads/napkins and tampons.

(Sofy 蘇菲) Because what good sanitary napkin advertisement could do without a cute Asian girl? 😛

In general, if you’re living in Canada, you’re going to have some pretty rough time with getting access to pads outside of the domestic brands such as Always (Pads/Liners), Kotex (Pads/Liners/Tampons), Carefree (Liners), Stayfree (Pads), O.B. (Tampons), Playtex (Tampons), and Tampax (Tampons). Also, you will likely find an assortment of store-brand pads, tampons or liners such as Selection, Life, No Name, KDL, Femtex, Incognito, Julia and Equate brands. There are also some organic brands such as Natracare (Pads/Liners/Tampons), 7th Generation (Pads/Liners/Tampons) and Asana (Pads) which are slowly coming into a more prominent market. There are many online retailers too who sell feminine hygiene products that are beginning to sell Divacup (Menstrual Cups), Instead (Menstrual Cups), The Keeper (Menstrual Cups/Cloth Pads), Pleasure Puss Wash ‘n’ Wear (Cloth Pads), LunaPads (Cloth Pads) and other smaller brands/home-made alternatives.

Suffice to say, most of my experience with foreign pads would be when I’m on vacation, mainly in Hong Kong. Sometimes dollar stores will also be nice enough to stock some pads/tampons from other countries. My largest target I check for foreign pads/tampons are generally Asian supermarkets (well I’m Asian, so it only makes sense)! I often find an assortment of pads from Vietnam and India, world-wide brands such as Kotex and Always – however, much different than the ones we see here in Canada. Because these products are imported, the cost of them are generally higher so I try to limit my purchases with them. The other day when I was with my bebe, I did see some Elis pads on sale, but they were $8-$9 CAD for a mere 18!! I still plan on trying them, however, I have to find the opportunity when I can make this purchase. Other than stores, another easy method to acquire non-local products is of course, the internet. Distance is not even an issue when it comes to getting products, for instance, the Always Maxi Pads Overnight Extra Heavy Flow is sold in the US, just a mere 80km’s from my house, but not in Canada! Certainly, there are even a few products sold in the US that are not available here…. nor will big online retailers like Amazon actually ship it to Canada – weird. Perhaps the manufactures have some kind of agreement to restrict the pads from being sold outside a certain reason, although it doesn’t seem to make any sense since providing more products just means an extra opportunity to make money – but oh well.

(Kotex 高潔絲) GLEEMS!!! Kotex Whites from HK - woohooo 😀 I lurv these, thx.

So anyways… to answer those who have asked me some of my “sources” of feminine hygiene products, here you go. Please note that your local store may or may not carry these products so this is strictly for reference only. Just for fun :P, I’ve highlighted the ones I still want to/have to try and will also mark a (F) besides ones that not domestic version of the brand:

Store Resources

Fortinos/Real Canadian Superstore

• Always
• Tampax
• Playtex
• O.B.
• Stayfree
• Carefree
• Selection
• Kotex
• Natracare

Shoppers Drug Mart

• Always
• Tampax
• Playtex
• O.B.
• Stayfree
• Carefree
• Life
• Kotex

Rexall/Pharma Plus

• Always
• Tampax
• Playtex
• O.B.
• Stayfree
• Carefree
• Rexall
• Kotex

Metro

• Always
• Tampax
• Playtex
• O.B.
• Stayfree
• Carefree
• Selection
• Kotex

Price Chopper

• Always
• Tampax
• Playtex
• O.B.
• Stayfree
• Carefree
• Selection
• Kotex

No Frills

• Always
• Tampax
• Playtex
• O.B.
• Stayfree
• Carefree
• Selection
• Kotex

Costco

• Always
• Tampax
• Playtex
• O.B.
• Stayfree
• Kotex

Food Basics

• Always
• Tampax
• Playtex
• O.B.
• Stayfree
• Carefree
• Value
• Kotex

Giant Tiger

• Always
• Tampax
• Playtex
• KDL
• Femtex
• Incognito

T&T Supermarket (Central Parkway, Mississauga | Milliken, Scarborough | Promenade, Thornhill | Warden, Markham)

• Always
• Tampax
• SaraSara Center-In (F)
• Elis (F)
• Laurier (F)
• Sofy (F)
• Whisper (F – Not available at Mississauga location)

Yuan Ming Supermarket

• Always (F – Classic version as well)
• Kotex (F)
• Stayfree (F – Secure version as well)

H&H Oriental Foods and Hardware

• Always (F)
• Kotex (F)
• KDL
• No Name (F)

(Laurier 蕾妮亞) .. Gosh, 40cm... Does it have SUPERGUARD? If it does, I'm going to run around in a circle 😀

Online Resources

eBay and iOffer.com and eCrater.com

Search terms I use… Also, in many countries, the terms “maxi pad” isn’t used, so if you’re targeting non-domestic products, use the latter terms:

• “Maxi Pad”
• “Tampon”
• “Sanitary Pad”
• “Sanitary Napkin”
• “Sanitary Towel”
• “Feminine Pad”
• “Feminine Napkin”
• “Feminine Towel”
• “Feminine Hygiene”

Well.ca

• Always
• Asana
• Carefree
• Kotex
• Natracare
• Stayfree
• Playtex
• Tampax
• O.B.
• Divacup

YumClick

Please pay attention to shipping charges. Although they offer international shipping, shipments are made from Singapore, so unless you live near there or are willing to pay the shipping charges, please be aware.

• Carefree (F)
• Laurier (F)
• Kotex (F)
• Whisper (F)

Sasa.com

• FuwaFuwa Center-In (F)
• Carefree (F)

Webichi.com

• Elis (F)
  
• Natura (F)
  
• Laurier (F)
• Sarasarty (F)
• SaraSara Center-In (F)
• Sofy (F)

FairPrice.com.sg

• Kotex (F)
  
• Laurier (F)
• O.B. (F)
• Poise (F)
• Sofy (F)
• Stayfree (F)
• Whisper (F)

Cosmelandusa.com

Seriously… if these guys had better Canadian shipping rates, I’d buy them out.. look at all the great stock they have!! ZOMG, my fav brands 😛

• Elis (F)
• Laurier (F)
• Unicharm Center-In (F)
  
• Sofy (F)
  
• Charm (F)
• Sarasarty (F)

I think that’s it for now 😀

(Stayfree 蝶安護 w/ 鍾嘉欣 Linda Chung) She looks kind of weird in this picture, although normally Linda is very hot XD