Blue (Lingerie) Christmas

I don’t know if y’all have noticed this… but one of the major trends this season is definitely a royal blue/black combination! Blue is one of my favorite colors, and when paired with black on a piece of lingerie… ooh, it just makes me shiver with excitement! It’s just as sexy as red and black, in my opinion, but offers a new level of sophistication and fashion since it’s not expected. So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite pieces that play on this trend:

1. Blue Magic Bra – Comexim

Photo courtesty of http://www.comexim.pl

I LOVE THIS BRA. I still haven’t tried anything from Comexim, but they are on my “to-do” list. Unfortunately, this is the only set from my Christmas post that I’m not going to receive. But, beggars can’t be choosers. All I can do is hope that it’s still available come March 30 (my birthday!). My favorite part of this set is… all of it. I love the paisley-type pattern, I love the big bow in the center (though I do worry it would get smushed by my boobs), and I love the style of the matching thong – the thick sides look so flattering! I also love that the straps don’t look too “heavy duty” – a feature that I’ve come to accept about full-bust bras, but that I’m still not that crazy about.

2. CHP Noc – Ewa Michalak

Picture courtesy of http://www.ewa-michalak.pl

This one is a pretty simple take on the trend – it’s mostly black – but that’s part of why I love it! It does it’s play on the trend while still being wearable as a basic. My favorite part of this set are definitely the cute matching bottoms – the thong pictured above has that great floral embroidery with hints of blue, and the briefs are just as cute, with a little blue bow on the back.

Picture courtesy of http://www.ewa-michalak.pl

Picture courtesy of http://www.ewa-michalak.pl

 

 

3. Tempt Me in Midnight – Curvy Kate

Picture courtesy of http://www.bosom-buddy.co.uk

This set actually makes my heart hurt a little, because as you may know, my boobs did not get along well with the Tempt Me in Scarlet 😦 But it is beautiful none-the-less, and if the Tempt Me is a good fit for you, please buy this set so that I can live vicariously through your enjoyment of it.

4. Sapphire Garter Belt – Arabel Lingerie

Picture from http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArabelLingerie

I’ve actually never bought lingerie from an Etsy designer, usually because even though I love it, it’s outside of my budget! But this garter belt and panty set is decently affordable at £26.00, and would make a great match for whatever black bra is in your wardrobe (mine is a waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too small Freya Deco – 30G). I especially like the cheeky sheer back!

Picture from http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArabelLingerie

As you can see, this color combination is popping up everywhere! I wanted to include this gorgeous set I saw in Victoria’s Secret the other day on this list, but I couldn’t find it online! I usually am not very inspired by Victoria’s Secret’s designs (not that I can wear them, anyway) but I do have to admit that I recently popped in there for some new panties and was pretty impressed by what I saw… I remembered VS as mostly molded, solid color, microfiber push-up bras, but this time I actually saw cut-and-sew bras, waist cinchers, and multiple garter belts! Maybe it’s just because it’s the holiday season and they know significant others will be in, buying sexy things for their partners, but their stock was much sexier than the last time I’d been!

What do you think of the royal blue/black color scheme? Do you have a favorite trend from this autumn/winter?

My First Ewa Michalak!

Hello! Sorry for the very long absence again you guys. You may know I’m an engineering student, which sometimes means my life is filled with at least one test a week. On top of this one-test-a-week schedule, my boyfriend of 3 years and I just broke up, so life has been a little crazy for the past month or so!

I tried writing this post last week, but when I went to publish it, the university internet went crazy and the post disappeared, and I got frustrated and didn’t immediately rewrite it. So, without further ado, here is the review for my first Ewa Michalak, the PL Lilia!

I ordered the PL Lilia through The Big Bra Bar when they were taking requests for a large custom order. I had been hesitant about ordering from EM directly, because custom sizes aren’t returnable, and I knew I would need a custom size but wasn’t willing to spend the money to try out non-custom sizes to suss out my size. The Big Bra Bar was awesome through the (very long) process, answering all my questions, and offering free shipping since it was my first order from them. Although it took over a month to receive my bra, the actual shipping from The Big Bra Bar was very fast, 10 days from the UK to South Carolina.

As for the bra, it is VERY beautiful. The white satin cups are amazing, and it is convertible, with 3 strap options: regular straps, comfort straps, and a halter strap. It also comes with removable push up pads (which they list for correctly of asymmetry, but I use them just for the extra cleavage on a night out 😉 ).

Unfortunately, the first guess of my size in EM bras wasn’t quite on. As you can see in the picture above, the cups are slightly too small for me, and I think I would’ve been more comfortable in a 28JJ for this style. The too-small-cups I think are really evident in the shape I get from the side in this bra:

Ewa Michalak is known for having a very uplifted, up front shape, and I just don’t get that from this plunge. I think it may be either that my high-set, round breasts would work better in a CH, HP, or CHP style, but I also think it could be a result of the too small cup, because the problem seems to be that the fullest part of my breast isn’t sitting in the fullest part of the cup, a problem I’ve had before, and remedied with a larger cup size. I hope that going up a cup would fix it, because I have very close set breasts and plunge is simply the most comfortable style for me!

My other complaint about this bra is that the wires are very stiff, and can get painful at the end of the day. At first I thought this was due to the very firm band, and having not been broken in yet, but even after the band had stretched to a very comfortable size the wires dug in at my rib cage. It isn’t enough to stop me from wearing this bra multiple times a week, but it is a little annoying. Also, sadly, the comfort straps are only half adjustable, and since I’m pretty short (~5’3″), they were simply too long for me to use. A great shame, because they are nice and wide, and the padding seemed like it would be extremely comfortable for a long day’s wear..

As all other reviews of EM bras have always said, the band is definitely tight, and if you’re in between band sizes you may want to size up. I measure ~28.5″ underbust (comfortably), and the 28 band was very hard to do up the first few times I tried to wear it. It’s comfortable now, but did take around 2 weeks to break in. The wires are the perfect width for my breasts, much narrower than any other brand I’ve worn (except Kris Line, whose wires are comparable).

Overall, if you’re looking to try out a bra from Ewa Michalak, I would go for it! They are definitely quality bras, and their styles are unlike anything else you see from the full-bust market.

Pros:

• Padded styles available in larger cup sizes
• Plunge styles available in  larger cup sizes
• Push up pads (for those who are asymmetrical, or those who like to show off a bit of extra boobage every once in a while!)
• Narrow wires
• Unique designs
• Firm band

Cons:

• Stiff wires
• Borderline-too-tight bands (why can’t any manufacturers just be consistently true to measurements? 😦 )
• Comfort straps too long (for me)

Lastly, since I know this is why I put off ordering for so long, as a starting point I would most likely suggest just ordering your usual UK size, unless you read a review that says the band on that model definitely runs tight, or the cups small, or what have you. For me I found this method gave me a bra that was good enough to keep, even if not quite perfect, and is a much better fit than what their calculator suggested would’ve been (usually around a 32GG for me). I think a lot of my too-small-cups issues with this bra were because since the process was long, my boobs grew about a half inch from ordering to receiving, and also plunges are notorious for running small (across pretty much all brands).

So there you have it! Hopefully I’ll get another post up this weekend, since I’m on fall break and finally have access to internet at my parents house (yes, my apartment still does not have internet even though we were supposed to get it in SEPTEMBER).

Curvy Kate Showgirl Collection, Part II – Tempt Me

Hello! I have hijacked my boyfriend’s internet to write a new post, so although I don’t have my own internet yet, hopefully updates can become a bit more regular again!

Today’s review is of the Curvy Kate Tempt Me in Black/Scarlet, which I purchased a month or so ago from Brastop in a 28J.

I feel like there aren’t as many reviews for the Tempt Me as there are for the Tease Me and Thrill Me, so I’m glad that I’ll be able to put my review out there! I have a lot of good things to say, but I can definitely tell why it’s not as popular as the other parts of this collection.

I personally LOVE the look of this bra. The Scarlet color isn’t a straight red, it’s more of a red-magenta mix that looks very nice mixed with the black lace. A little more girly-sexy, whereas a strictly red hue would’ve come off more sex-vixen-sexy. The little button detailing also adds to this girly-sexy vibe. The materials are nice and soft, and the bra is lined with a cottony material similar to all the other Showgirls. This makes these bras a better bet in heat than some other padded options!

As for the fit, I already knew it wasn’t going to be perfect, but I have very close set breasts and desperately wanted a plunge bra, so I bought it anyway! It isn’t a horrible fit, and I still wear this bra fairly often, but in this I’d really prefer to have a 26K or so. The band fit fairly firm at first, but is extremely stretchy, and the cups run small. So, for me, a fairly true 28J (sometimes a HH), the gore doesn’t sit quite flat and I fall out of the cups, resulting in four boobs.

My biggest problem with this bra is something that I saw in every review, but for some reason didn’t expect to happen to me. The bottom inch of the cup folds and makes a strange crease that makes me not care too much for how the bra looks when it’s on.

The strangest part of this crease is that it looks like I’m not filling out the cups in the bottom… but when I take the bra off after wearing it all day, the wire indentations are right at the root of my breast. Hmmm, strange indeed…

Aside from the issues, I love how this bra makes my boobs look… without a shirt on. Naked, I get great cleavage that reminds me of the 34DD bras I used to wear. All of the cleavage, only a few hints of the horrible fit! That being said, with a shirt on, I find this bra pretty underwhelming. I like my breasts to project a lot, and this bra just does not provide that. Because of this, I find myself reaching for my Tease Me and Thrill Me before I even consider this bra.

I don’t have any pictures, because I have somehow already lost them (how does one lose panties?!?!), but I also purchased the matching thong in a size 14 UK. As the size 12 Emily shorts were already almost too big for me, I was worried the 14 wouldn’t work, but it was the closest size Brastop had left in stock. They ended up being probably 2 sizes too small! I was so surprised and disappointed. I kept them, as they’re not UNWEARABLE… but they give a pretty good case of muffin top. Aside from the weird sizing, they were very pretty, and surprisingly comfortable for a too small thong.

 Overall, if you can go up a cup and down a back size, I would recommend this set. Although the fit isn’t quite right for me, I like having this set in my drawer as an option under low cut shirts and as a bedroom set!

Kris Line Jasmine Bra

In one of my two orders during my Brastop binge, I couldn’t help but pick up a Kris Line bra. They don’t make my usual size of either 28HH or 28J, but their bras are so pretty… and some of them are molded! My dream! I couldn’t help but try it out in the closest size they  had- a 30H- especially since I’d heard the bands ran tight.

So, without further ado, here’s the set, with a 30H bra and a medium thong:

I don’t think there’s a question about the attractiveness of this set! The color is really just gorgeous, and although I was worried the medium thong would be too small when I took it out of the box, it actually doesn’t dig in at the sides hardly at all. As you can see, it is quite low coverage, but this type of thing hasn’t ever bothered me.

As far as the fit goes, I wish it fit better. The cups are ever so slightly too small, but the band is much too large. It fit okay at first (on the tightest hook), but after just the first wear it’s become so loose that I hesitate to wear it out at all, despite how pretty it is. I’d alter the band down, but I’ve found that really this doesn’t work so well on cups that are even slightly too small, as it generally makes them more shallow and wide, which leads them to cutting in (I haven’t posted about this yet, but it’s what happened to my Freya Deco when I took the band in). Overall I wouldn’t say that this band runs tightly at all, and the cup may run just a touch small, but is a pretty close fit to the other 30H’s I’ve tried.

As far as shape goes, it’s quite a bit pointy, but CRAZY uplifted. For reference, my bust measurement bent over so that all of my tissue hangs forward is usually around 40″, and my standing measurement is around 38″, both in and out of a bra. In this bra, my measurement is more like 39.5″, so it’s almost the same as if my boobs are perfectly parallel to the floor! If only Brastop carried Kris Line in a 28J, I would snatch up as many bras in this brand as I could!

Here’s some more photos of the bra for fit reference:

View from the front- looking pretty good! Obviously very pretty!

Can see the amazing uplift- but unfortunately also the double boob 😦

Looking pretty good from the side. These wires are obviously more narrow than the average UK brand, and although I haven’t tried Ewa Michalak yet, look more like the pictures I’ve seen of her bras.

This is on the tightest hook. Although it doesn’t stretch SO far, it definitely fails the two finger test!

Center gore doesn’t quite lay flat 😦

In clothes the shape is significantly less pointy. I don’t feel self conscious about it at all. Also, oddly, even though this shirt is pretty see through, the purple is probably the least visible bra I currently own? Weird.

Overall, if you fit into the size range, I would definitely invest in some Kris Line bras! I unfortunately can’t justify spending the money on another, despite how pretty they are, since they just don’t carry the size I need at Brastop, and they’re pretty expensive elsewhere, I don’t know if I’ll ever get to own one of these awesome bras in my size 😦

Oh, last note that I forgot to mention- this bra might be made out of the softest material I have ever found on lingerie ever. It is just damn awesome. The. End.

Curvy Kate Showgirl Collection, Part I – Tease Me

During Brastop’s huge sale this past month, I managed to snatch up the Tempt Me in a 28J, the Tease Me in a 28J, and the Thrill Me in a 28HH, so those reviews are all coming shortly! First up, the Tease Me in a 28J, in the Silver/Black colorway.

From the front- definitely “cakes on a platter” look going on here!

From an angle- cleavage even more apparent!

Ok, I have to say it. I have fallen in bra love. I want to buy this bra in every color they ever make ever (especially this one in pink and white!) because it is exactly what I want in a bra. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before on here, but I actually really like having big boobs. I don’t want to make them look smaller, I want them to look the size that they are (or even a little tiiiiiiny bit bigger is ok, like as much as a thinly padded bra might add), and this bra ACCOMPLISHES! And it does it while still being comfortable enough to be worn to work, and after work, for a total of around 15 hours without me feeling scratched or uncomfortable.

Something else that I love about this bra is that it is extremely low cut. If they made this bra in a 28JJ though, I would get it, because while wearing it with tank tops I am occasionally concerned about a nip slip in this 28J, and also I get slight double boob if I don’t occasionally readjust. The benefit to wearing a 28J however is that the spaghetti strap tank tops that I wear almost religiously during the hot summer months aren’t ruined by a collarbone high bra (like the Panache Tango, which I also loved, but for different reasons).

View under a tank top from the front- slightly cleavagey, but not too much!

View from side in tank top- definitely not minimizing! (Please excuse the double boob, which is caused by the shirt, not the bra. Yes I still wear things like this in real life despite the breast conflictions 😛 )

A last note on the fit- it’s widely told that Showgirl bras have a very loose and stretchy band, but I didn’t find this to be the case. I measure between 28.5 and 29 underbust, depending on the time of the month, my weight, etc., and find this band to be as firm if not firmer than some of my other 28s!

I’m trying really hard to think of some complaints with this bra besides it’s limited size range… and… I can’t think of any! If I could get this in a 28JJ for the days when I wanted my cleavage a little less in-your-face, it would probably be my ideal bra. Also if Curvy Kate would make this exact shape into a basic bra in continuity colors with minimum embellishment… that would be more than ok with me! 🙂

Panache Tango II Balconette- a Surprise Favorite

Hello! I’m finally back with another review!

As I mentioned, I received 5 bras this past week, and one of the ones I got was the Tango II Balconette in a 28J. When I was recently sized, I was diagnosed as a 28HH, though some styles I feel I would have felt more comfortable in a J, so when I saw the Tango on ebay for $21, including BOTH the matching thong AND briefs… I had to go for it.

Ok, looks wise… This is not something I would wear for sexy-times. Absolutely not. It takes up a lot of my chest and is definitely the highest cut bra that I own, not to mention that even though it’s a “balconette”, it is cut like a full-cup bra, with the top section connecting to the strap as opposed to the usual bottom section connecting to it. On, this bra gives great lift, although a slightly pointy silhouette. This bothers others more than it bothers me, and under clothes this pointyness is less pronounced.

As far as fit goes, I know that technically it is not perfect, but it gives me great support and that’s the most important part of a bra as far as I’m concerned! The band feels very comfortable, and fits nicely on the tightest hook, but the cups take up too much of the band area, reaching back about an inch past where my breasts end. I toyed with the idea that going down a cup size would help, or going up a band size, but a looser band would definitely need to be fastened on the tightest hook, and a smaller cup would cut into the front of my breasts, where the J cup currently fits very well.

From the front, before performing slight strap adjustment (which does away with the slight wrinkling in the bottom)

Angle, showing pointier shape and the wrinkling in the bottom.

As the first caption mentions, the straps on this were too long for my petite (around 5’3″) frame. They are only half adjustable, but once I shortened them there was no wrinkling in the cups except for on the side where the cups are too wide. I’m writing this review at a moment where I can’t take more pictures, but hopefully I’ll be able to update this review soon with the fixed straps and pictures of the too wide cups from a straight on side shot!

Like I said earlier, I found this bra very comfortable! I work as a waitress, and broke one of the cardinal rules of bra wearing in order to wear this during my 12 hour shift- that’s right, I wore it two days in a row! The only thing I can complain about is that the center gore is too high for my close set breasts. Only one of the wires will lay flat at a time, while the other pushes up and tries to go on top of the other one in order to form a more narrow gore. This is pretty common for me in balconette bras, but unfortunately very few plunges are made in my size range.

Overall, although I considered it a risky buy at the time because of the slightly larger than usual size, and “meh” to negative reviews I’d read about it, this bra was a surprise winner for me!

Review: Curvy Kate Emily

I love red underwear. And after my near success with the Curvy Kate Princess, I decided to snatch up the Emily in “Flame” that was on sale at Brastop.

I knew a 30 band was too large, but thought that other Curvy Kate bras would run larger than the Princess, so I kept the same cup volume by purchasing the 28HH. I also bought the shorts in a size 12.

The shorts fit pretty well. I’d heard Curvy Kate pants run small, so I went up a size from what I thought I’d wear in most brands, but I think I overestimated a little, as they’re a little large. Next time I buy the matching panties I think that I’ll go for a 10 in this brand. They have embroidery that matches the bra, and are sheer all around. I think they’re really really adorable and am very pleased with them!

The bra is also very beautiful, the color is very flattering (especially now that I’m freshly tanned from the beach!), and I thought that I liked the shape… at first.

After a few days I realized that I actually disliked the shape. It’s what blogger Bras I Hate calls the “sad” shape. Basically the bra kind of makes your boob point towards the ground. She’s found that this is often a symptom of too small a cup in Curvy Kate, and I began to wonder if that was what was causing it in my case.

Soon I realized that my  nipples were sitting right in the middle of the sheer section, even though my nipples aren’t particularly high set, and I haven’t seen anyone else’s nipples in this bra. Since my nipple is the fullest part of my breast and it wasn’t sitting in the fullest part of the cup, my boob was kind of getting smashed down and flattened by the sheer section of the cup.

Since then, it’s just become more and more obvious to me that this cup is too small. I’m nervous about going up a cup though, because the wires on this bra are very very wide, and the side of the cup comes all the way up to my armpit. I’m beginning to think that even though this bra is beautiful, it’s not a good cut for me. It seems to be too shallow and too wide for me, because I think if I went up to a 28J or JJ the shape would be better, but I can’t imagine it coming up any higher under my arm!

Overall I like the look of this bra so much that I’m willing to buy a larger size to try and get the right fit, but I’m not sure it will work. There are tons of women who really love this bra, and one thing I do love about it is how flat it lays underneath clothing. In the Princess the velvet polka dots are very visible under clothing, but the embroidery on the Emily lays flat and is invisible under almost all clothes I’ve worn it under.

Hopefully some day I’ll be able to update this review with the correct size, and hopefully it will be happier, since I love the look of this bra so much, and it comes in so many pretty colors! Not to mention it’s usually on pretty deep discount at Brastop!