NEW YEAR, NEW OOH

Intimate wellness products have stepped out from the shadows and discreet cupboards to claim a confident place in our everyday routines

- CASSIE STEER

During my Eighties childhood, female anatomy existed largely without language – or certainly not the kind spoken out loud. Perimenopause wasn't mentioned either, but while we now can't escape the latter, it's only recently that we've been discussing our nether regions in ways that feel neither medical nor sexual.

Yes, there was the brief “vajazzle” era, but even that focused on aesthetics over wellbeing. Today, our language – and products – have evolved. Sleek packaging, ingredients borrowed from luxury skincare (hyaluronic acid, anyone?) and a presence on the chicest of shelves (if it's good enough for Selfridges...) have ushered intimate care into a new cultural space.

“Finally seeing sex as part of our health and wellbeing has been a huge turning point since Covid,” says Anna Richards, founder of FrolicMe, a female-led erotic media platform focused on female wellbeing.

“That change in narrative has helped women become far more comfortable in seeking their pleasure and with it talking about lubricants and our vulvas, because finally we feel we are being given permission to have these open, shame-free conversations.”

A surge of female-founded brands has helped to normalise language once considered taboo, and demand has grown for lubricants that feel luxurious rather than clinical.