Speaking up and being open about your health, especially as women, isn’t always easy, or encouraged. Not unlike many other female health concerns, there is a stigma attached to them—PMS, urinary health, libido, water retention, and bloating, to name a few—which in turn has prevented many of us (myself included) from talking about it or seeking help. But the negative side effect of that is any real progress on creating products to help prevent and minimize them has also been stalled.

As a women-led, women-run company, Create & Cultivate stand by our motto of collaboration over competition and encourage a culture of sharing, being honest about our feelings, and offering an outstretched hand or sympathetic ear when it’s needed most. That’s why we’re partnering with our friends at OLLY to end the stigma around female wellness. It’s time to open up the conversation around these traditionally taboo topics so we can collectively combat discomfort, stress, fatigue, and irritability to restore balance.

Their new Future Is Female line of vitamins and supplements was designed specifically to support common female health concerns from mood and libido to digestion, hormones, and urinary health. Because let’s be real, when you’re busy taking care of everyone else and building a successful career or business at the same time, your health often gets bumped to the bottom of the to-do list. But OLLY has made self-care simple by putting everything we need to feel our best into one pill—genius!

So, the C&C team put them to the test for two weeks and logged their results. A few of us were suffering from bloating and water retention while others wanted to improve their mood and libido which has been impacted by the tumultuous year we’ve all had. Read on to hear what they tried, how it helped, and their verdict.

THE PRODUCT: OLLY Beat the Bloat

THE GOAL(S): Bloat relief.

FIRST IMPRESSION: I was very excited to get my hands on this product. I haven't had issues with bloat in the past, but now that I'm working from home and just steps from my kitchen I've been drinking tons of water, which is great for my skin and overall health, but bad for bloat. (Hello, water retention!)

VERDICT: For me, this product ticked all the boxes. It's free of artificial flavors and colors; something I look for in any supplement I take. It's a simple dosage; just one capsule per day. And it really works. After two weeks of taking it consistently, I experienced less water retention and a flatter-feeling stomach, which was a boost to my self-confidence after putting in six weeks of work on Kirsty Godso's Burn Program on the Nike Training Club app. Although I'm happy with simply feeling stronger in my own body, I'll admit that I was eager to see the results of all those early morning sweat sessions, and now I feel like I can.

Olly Beat the Bloat — OLLY Beat the Bloat

$17.99

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THE PRODUCT: OLLY Miss Mellow
THE GOAL(S): Even mood and stress response during your natural hormone cycles

FIRST IMPRESSION: I have been taking OLLY Sleep gummies before bed most nights for about a year now and I love them, so I was really excited to try out this new product! Plus, I’m always inclined to try anything that promotes an even mood and balanced stress response throughout the entire month, (especially as we are living in very stressful times right now.)

I love that the supplement’s active ingredients are natural botanicals like chaste-berry fruit extract, rather than a bunch of chemicals! This makes me feel good about adding them to my daily regimen as knowing what you put into your body is so important. The capsule itself is a little large for my personal vitamin taking preferences, (I should note it is a standard size, I am just bad at taking capsules like these sometimes), but I feel like most people trying it out would find it easy to swallow. Overall, heading into the first day of taking the supplements I was excited.

VERDICT: I think we can all agree that in the best of times, being a woman can be stressful, and that goes 10 fold right now with everything going on in the world. So the Miss Mellow OLLY dietary supplement seemed like the perfect thing to add to my daily regimen, (especially as I was coming up on the week of my period as we began this trial.)

As I rolled into week one testing the product I was hard at work designing and launching multiple Create & Cultivate Digital Conferences. The heat was on, I was on my period, I was stressed but I already noticed my usual stress spiral was more manageable. I felt like I could more calmly deal with each new hurdle throughout the week. Don’t get me wrong, I was still feeling the pressure but it was definitely minimized.

During the times where I would usually feel so overwhelmed or stressed that I would freeze—and lose valuable work time trying to get back on track—during the product trial, I felt like I could move beyond my stress brain faster and stay on task. This is key in my role as the associate creative director here at C&C. Throughout the rest of the trial, I continued to feel the effects.

Overall, I am pleased with this product and think I will continue to use it. I would recommend it to anyone looking to even out their mood and response to stress throughout the month.

THE PRODUCT: OLLY Lovin’ Libido
THE GOAL(S): Boost desire and intimacy.

FIRST IMPRESSION: I’ve used several OLLY products before this one and have always loved the results so I trusted the science behind their new Future Is Female line. My husband and I have been married for 13 years and while we have never had an issue with intimacy, I just turned 40 this year and definitely felt like I could use some support to enhance my libido and help support a healthy drive and sensation. I am also aware that I could be entering perimenopause right now and the fluctuating hormones can decrease libido so I was excited to try this product and see if it helped bolster things in the bedroom (*wink emoji).

VERDICT: I loved that the ingredients are traditional botanicals used for centuries in particular the clinically-studied root extract, Ashwagandha which has been shown to support arousal, stimulation, and satisfaction in addition to natural lubrication. I have taken Ashwagandha in the past as a warm drink at night before bed and have found it to be very beneficial for stress reduction and hormonal fluctuations.

Managing stress is key for a healthy libido. I know when I’m stressed that my desire levels are significantly reduced, so taking this supplement to tackle it specifically allows me to relax and get in the mood. I can honestly say that I did see a boost in desire and arousal into the second week of taking them. I look forward to seeing how Lovin’ Libido can help me over time (and I know my husband is too!).

Lovin' Libido — OLLY Lovin’ Libido

$19.99

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THE PRODUCT: OLLY Beat the Bloat
THE GOAL(S): Reduce bloating

FIRST IMPRESSION: I'm not big on taking pills, but I found these so easy to swallow and wasn't scared off by the ingredient list.

VERDICT: I struggle with bloating and upset stomachs pretty frequently, so was very eager to give the Beat the Bloat pills a try. I'm looking forward to giving the product a full month's trial run, but so far they're getting the job done. I'll take one after a big meal (or one that I know will upset my stomach), and I'm effectively bloat-free. Love OLLY and am excited to try more of their products!

THE PRODUCT: OLLY Miss Mellow
THE GOAL(S): Mood / Hormone stabilizing

FIRST IMPRESSION: I do miss the OLLY gummies however, I found these easy to add to my regular vitamin routine in the morning! No bad taste and easy to swallow.

VERDICT: After having a baby 14 months ago, my cycle and moods can still be an unpredictable wave of highs and lows. The pandemic definitely hasn’t helped, so I was excited to see if these worked for me! I did find that after taking these every day for two weeks I was less irritable when small inconveniences occurred and felt less overwhelmed in general. I feel less anxious throughout my daily activities, whether that’s playing with my daughter or leading Zoom meetings!

THE PRODUCT: OLLY Lovin' Libido
THE GOAL(S): Increased sexual drive and sensation

FIRST IMPRESSION: I like the ingredients used for the vitamins, they are not overly complicated and easy to find additional information to support. The vitamins also have a cool look and feel with a metallic coloring and have no added taste. I am a big fan of all of OLLY's products and these are no different—very easy to take on a regular basis with a glass of water, I just set a reminder in my phone to remember!

VERDICT: As I have only been taking the product for two weeks, I am only starting to see mild effects. My goal is to continue to take the product for another two weeks to see an impactful difference. To be completely honest, I wasn't necessarily in need of an increased libido but I was 100% open to trying the product for enhanced results! From my first experience, I would definitely encourage anyone interested in increasing their sexual experience or activity to give them a try! Don't knock it (pun-intended) 'til you try it I always say.