Review: Comexim Carmen

The full set! Ignore the messy apartment 😛

Um. Holy crap you guys. This is kind of one of the best bras I’ve ever put on my body. So this is going to be a very glowing review.

I dithered over my Comexim purchase for a really long time, because it’s always hard to pinpoint what size to get when you’re trying out a new brand, especially if the reviews of the brand that are already out there are contradictory about how the brand runs! I kind of knew that I needed a 60N/65M, but I’ve been lusting after the Carmen for a REALLY long time now, and the largest cup its made in is a 60M/65L. Keeping in mind that the band might run tight, I went for the 65L. For the thong, I looked around Balkonetka (sort of a Polish Bratabase, though a bit different) and noticed that sometimes women would post their hip measurements on there and include the size of bottoms they  had gotten, so based on those I got the matching thong in a large. I feel like I’m a little in between sizes on the bottoms, and proooooooooobably could’ve done a medium, but I’m not upset with the large at all, and the medium might’ve cut in a bit.

So how does the bra fit?

Trying to photograph the quadboob that wasn’t coming across in the other photos.

It fits pretty much exactly as I would expect it to, about one size too small in the cups (though the pictures do not do the amount of quadboob justice). I’d read that Comexim bands run firm, and I would agree with that. When I first got the bra, which is the equivalent to a 30HH, I was nervous that the band would be too big, since I normally go for a 28. However, it fit well on the loosest hook. I can wear it on the tightest hook, and if I had gone for a 60 band instead of the 65, I probably would’ve been fine and just suffered through a little discomfort for a few days. I would say that the band is maybe half a size smaller than normal, so if you normally wear a 28 in a brand that runs loose, such as Freya, you may want to size up, but if you wear a 28 in Panache or Cleo or another brand with more true to size/tight bands you probably will do fine with your normal size.

The cups, aside from being slightly too small, are awesome. The wires are the narrowest I’ve had, similar to Kris Line’s wires. They are definitely narrower than the Ewa Michalaks I have, so if Ewa is borderline or too narrow for you, Comexim will be a no-go. I think that the wires are actually a little bit too narrow for me, because as the day goes on I find a lot of my “armpit fat” (breast tissue… not sure if that’s just where it will always be or if it needs to be migrated) falls out of the cups and my double boob goes away. I think that if I went for the tighter band and the larger cups I would get a better fit, because when I put the bra on the middle hook this happened a lot less. I also get a little bit of “orange-in-a-glass” affect, where, because the wires are too narrow/the cups are slightly too small, my boobs can’t fall into the bottom of the cups and I get a very small amount of empty space there. Even though the wires are slightly too narrow, the bra is very comfortable and I don’t get any poking or anything (which is what makes me question if they REALLY are too narrow or if the fit issues I described above would be solved with the bigger cup/smaller band…).

The shape seems less projected than Ewa Michalak’s does (my boobs feel less big in it) but that once again might be because the cups are slightly too small. It isn’t perfectly round, but it’s still a shape that I really am enjoying. Despite the boobs-feeling-smaller in it thing, which I usually am AVOIDING in a bra, this is already one of my favorites. Possibly because it replaces the sexy feeling I get from showing off some boob size with an undeniably sexy color/shape/pattern. Like seriously. Just look at it.

The absolute BEST PART of Comexim, for me so far, is that they seem to actually scale their cups with band size instead of just sister-sizing the cup down to a smaller band without changing the strap position and cup height under the armpits. Because I’m decently petite and have high set boobs, pretty much every bra I’ve ever tried on has straps that are a little too far apart, cups that dig into my armpits, and wires that go a liiiiittle higher than I like. Not Comexim. The side of the cup actually doesn’t cut into my armpit! And neither does the strap! Hallelujah! So if that’s something you regularly struggle with like I do, and you can handle some super narrow wires, I would definitely check out Comexim. I cannot tell you how awesome it is to have a bra that isn’t showing through the armpit holes of every sleeveless item I own.

Ordering from them isn’t a completely straightforward process, and neither is figuring out the size you should buy, but I feel like that information is separate enough to deserve it’s own short post, so I’ll be writing that a little later (possibly tonight)! Seriously though, I’m not sure how many other companies I’ll be buying from after trying Comexim… they are exactly what I’m looking for in a sexy bra, and the prices are extremely sensible (though shipping can get a bit pricey). Overall, based on this set, they are definitely one of my new favorites!

Obsessed with Breasts is on tumblr!

Hey guys! Just a quick post to let y’all know that I started a tumblr today! I’d love to get some followers, and I’ll probably be posting there fairly often (I know how addicting tumblr can get!). Hope to see y’all there 😀

obsessedwithbreasts.tumblr.com

(Sorry it’s not hyperlinked, WordPress was being weird about it 😛 )

Review: Curvy Kate Princess, Part II

So once upon a time, when I very first started this blog, I reviewed the Curvy Kate Princess in white in a 30H. Obviously, that is not my size anymore (and it wasn’t REALLY my size at the time, I needed a 28HH), but I remembered liking the Princess for it’s more subdued shape and pretty dots and embroidery, so I ordered one in pink and white from Brastop, and got the matching thong from a seller on ebay.

Here’s the set:

The thong is too high rise for me, and I feel like it really minimizes the size of my hips, so I scooched it down and this is how I actually wear it (but I wanted to show the actual rise for the sake of the review):

The bra here is a 28JJ, and the thong is a size 12. I probably could’ve gone for the 14 in terms of hip width, but since it’s already more coverage than I like, I’m not sure that I would’ve really liked the 14 more.

As far as the bra goes, the band is a lot firmer than the 30H was, and seems to be on par with my PL Mak when it was new, making it a very firm 28. Honestly, I would even consider bumping up to a 30J if I didn’t remember how quickly I moved through the hooks on my previous Princess, because since this bra has such wide wires, a larger band would probably allow the cups to fit better. But, doing so would severely limit the life expectancy of the bra, and I’m not really willing to do that (also exchanges are a hassle).

The cups are a decent fit, though I get empty space in the bottoms of the cups. I don’t think this is a size issue, because I fill the rest of the cup out well, and the straps aren’t fastened too tightly, so I’m not just disguising a too large cup by tightening the straps. Even if I try to pull the bra up to fill out that space, my boobs just won’t go into it, so it’s definitely a shape issue. It might be because the wires are too wide for me. I kind of like having a bra with wider wires though, because I still have some tissue that could be a bit more forward, that tends to fall out of my Ewa Michalak bras so it hasn’t gotten a chance to migrate (I think because EM’s straps are so wide set). The cups cover a lot more boob than I normally like to have covered, but since I bought this specifically for more modest days (and because it was pretty!) I don’t really mind. I think it would probably cover less space on someone whose boobs were not as high set on their chest as mine are.

The straps and sides of the cups are definitely too wide, and cut into my armpits, but not uncomfortably so, and since I’m rather petite, this isn’t a new problem for me. The straps are also only half adjustable technically, but I’m stubborn and need very short straps so I tightened over the embroidery, which isn’t very hard to do.

Overall, I like this bra as much as I remember, and it will be nice to finally have an unpadded bra that fits back in my bra drawer.

A little bit of a rant

So, I’m on spring break right now, and my ex-boyfriend (who I’m still good friends with) went to the beach with a couple of his friends. Today, he called me, and we were talking about his trip, and he tells me about one of the girls that was there.

“Robin, you won’t believe what she thought her bra size was… She was wearing a 36DD”

“What?! Well did you tell her?!”

And he had! He had told her that her bra size was almost definitely 100% wrong. I was so proud of him! Unfortunately, she didn’t believe him. He even told her about my bra journey, but it was apparently met with cries of, “I’m not thin enough to be in a smaller band…”, “I don’t think I could fit in anything bigger than a DD…”, “I don’t WANT to be more than a DD”, and the one that really really REALLY bothered me… “Boys like the too-small look.” 

ಠ_ಠ

Seriously.

I have gotten a lot of excuses for why girls aren’t wearing a bra that fits, but this “guys-like-it-better” is the worst. Mostly because guys don’t even know better! They don’t necessarily like the too-small look. They like cleavage! And if anything, you’re going to get better cleavage in a well fitted plunge bra than in a poorly fitted bra because the band will actually be there to support your boobs and squeeze them in!

And even then, “Guys like the too-small look” is not a reason to wear a too small bra EVERY DAY. I would be totally lying if I said I didn’t still have a 34DD Victoria’s Secret padded bra lying around that I would occasionally wear for a few minutes as lingerie (or under a second bra, for the “insane porn star boobs” look that I discuss in my post Cleavage Concerns) but I would never wear that thing every day! It’s so uncomfortable and unsupportive!

The other thing about this, is the “I can’t fit into a smaller band”. This is a bra fitting issue on par with the DDs-are-huge myth, if you ask me. Because 32 is the smallest sold in stores, people think 32 = very thin, 34 = thin/average, 36 = larger side of average, 38 = overweight… And this just isn’t true!

I haven’t met the girl this post is based on, but after the conversation with the ex, I did facebook stalk her. And though she appears slightly overweight in her photos, she is definitely NOT larger than a 32 band (unless she has a flared ribcage, which does sometimes happen). Looking at this girl, I would guess 32FF. But because of the limited availability of sizes in the US, she can’t imagine that size even existing 😦

I know you can’t save all the boobies in the world… but meeting skeptical women makes me so sad. And I am so tempted to facebook message her myself to push the issue, but I know that would just be obnoxious. Perhaps she didn’t believe that her bra size was wrong because it was a man who said it? Who knows. But I’m going to end this rant now, because I doubt y’all really care. I just was very annoyed and needed to type my feelings out!

Thanks for reading my rant guys! Have any fellow bravangelizers out there had to deal with skeptics? What do you say to convince women that maybe it is worth it to double check their bra size?

Ewa Michalak Review: CH Karmelki

Hi guys!! Sorry it’s been so long since my last post- over a month, if you can believe it! Since school started I have just been INSANELY busy, since I’m taking quite a few hard classes (Physics 2, Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics… I’m looking at you!). School and sleeping and the rare night out are really keeping me from updating regularly, but I’m going to try to get better about it since I just went through a “test cycle” (that’s what I call when all of my professors have tests in the same 2 week period) and will probably be a bit freer than I have been so far this semester.

Now that I’ve made excuses for myself, on to the review!!

Unfortunately, this review is not going to be as good as the review for my PL Mak. Something about this bra just doesn’t fit quite right with my shape, and I think I’ll be sticking the PL cut from Ewa Michalak in the future.

The total set!

As you can see, for a “plain” beige bra, it is really quite pretty! It has a line of 3 buttons down the center gore, lighter tan lace lining the top of the cups, and a criss-cross shimmery embroidery pattern. The only one of these details that interferes with the nude-under-shirts function (nude for me, that is!) is the lighter colored lace at the top of the cups. It’s lighter than my skin, and can be seen under my most see through top, but is generally fine still.

Not a super accurate portrayal of color, but a detailed shot of the criss-cross embroidery!

Ok, now that we’ve discussed how gorgeous it is, it’s time to get down to the bad parts 😦 I bought this bra in a 28JJ, which is what I currently would guess is my size in most UK brands (though I’m not sure because I don’t own any that fit!). Right after I put it on and arrange myself into the cups, I fill it perfectly.

 

As you can see, initially this bra, while not perfect, fits decently well! The straps are too far apart, and the wires are a little high/wide, but the same things could be said about the PL Mak (except the wire width, the width of the wires on the Mak is perfect) and I love the Mak! The problem comes after I wear this bra for more than a few minutes, especially if I’ve been sitting down. Here is what this bra looks like right now, after wearing it just while typing this post:

So much gaping!!!! My boobs just fall right out of the wires into the band! Usually when this happens to me, it is because the band is too loose. And this band is definitely stretchier than the band of the PL Mak. I could fasten it on the tightest hook comfortably right when I took it out of the box, but I remembered reading that Ewa’s bands were constructed to be supportive without being overly tight, so I tried to keep it on the loosest hooks anyway, in order to get the most life out of the bra. But not long after I had it on I realized that it was riding up, my boobs were falling into my armpits, and it was just generally being annoying, and that I did indeed need to fasten it tighter. However,  this still did not fix my boob-falling problem! 

After thinking about it, I decided that the problem is that the bra is just too wide for me in almost every way. The straps sit IN my armpits and I have to angle them diagonally so that they sit on my shoulders well. Not exactly the best thing for support. I’m thinking of attempting to alter the bra to bring the straps closer together, because when I’ve pulled the cups from closer to the middle the seem to support me better. Until then, I’ve kept it because 1. it’s not returnable, and 2. I don’t have any my-nude bras aside from this one, so even though my boobs fall out of it after a while, it isn’t noticeable under shirts and I still need something to wear under my lighter colored clothing.

Basically, in the future, I think I’ll be sticking with PLs. Plunges generally work better for my close-together shape anyway, and I am kind of a cleavage addict, so usually half cups won’t give me everything I’m looking for in a bra. If I ever get around to altering this bra, I’ll make sure to post about it! 

 

Ewa Michalak: The Custom Ordering Process

Hi everyone!

As some of y’all might already know, I just received my Ewa Michalak order! The bras are absolutely AMAZING and I am completely smitten, but before I review the two sets I bought, I thought I’d do a quick overview of the custom ordering process.

I’d read a ton of reviews of Ewa Michalak bras, and how to order custom sizes from them, but for some reason was still nervous about it! I just wasn’t sure exactly how things were supposed to work, and I have an extreme planning personality: I need to know exactly what is going to happen, and when it is going to happen or else I just start to get anxious and uncomfortable. So emailing EM to begin the custom order process was nerve wracking for me, and as a result, I’m going to describe how it went for me here, in as much detail as possible!

First, I decided what I wanted from the website. I knew I was going to get a CH Karmelki and the matching thong, but I also really wanted a new bra in the PL style. Unfortunately, no other bras were appealing to me as much as the CHP Mak. So, thinking to myself, “how hard could it be for them to take a completely solid colored bra and cut it a different way?” I emailed them (at sklep@ewa-michalak.pl) and said:

Hi!

On the website, only the CHP style is listed with the Mak. Will a PL version ever be available, or could one be requested? I love the color but fit better in a plunge style.

Thanks
Robin

They responded fairly promptly, simply asking what size I’d like the PL Mak in! I responded with the size, and then also asked to add the other items (CH Karmelki, Stringi Karmelki, Figi Mak) to the order. At this point, they asked me to create an account on their website, as I didn’t already have one. So I did, and then since I was unsure what to do I just emailed back saying “Hi! I created an account. What should I do next?” They requested that I repeat my order, as well as confirm that I knew that custom orders were not returnable/exchangable, so I wrote back:

Hi,

I understand that I can’t return or exchange my order. I’d like a PL Mak in a 28K, a CH Karmelki in a 28JJ, figi Mak in a 12 (40) (this one: http://www.ewa-michalak.pl/product-eng-304-Figi-Mak-.html) and stringi Karmelki in a 12 (40).

Thanks
Robin

The next email they sent me said they had created the order for me, and included the price (in zlotys) that my order came to, as well as the order number. They said they would be sending a payment request soon, and I received one the next day. The payment request was through Paypal, but was unfortunately in Polish. I didn’t really deal with figuring out the Polish thing though, because I just forwarded it to my parents for them to pay (the order was my Christmas present from them).

Once the order was paid for, I received an email saying that my order was placed on hold because some items weren’t in stock (I figure this is standard for custom orders). A few days later, I received an email saying that the order had started being processed, and then later the same day I got an email stating that it had been shipped.

My package was shipped on December 20th, and I received it January 5th, so it took 13 business days from Poland to South Carolina. It might normally be faster than that, but I ordered right around the holidays, and we all know how much slower everything goes at that time of year!

Overall my experience with Ewa Michalak was great, and I am much less hesitant and nervous to order from them in the future. The customer service was always prompt, usually responding to my emails by the next day, and they were very accommodating to my “extra special” request. The English wasn’t perfect, but it was always understandable, and the language “barrier” wasn’t really a barrier at all in the ordering process. I’m very thankful that they speak English, as I don’t know a lick of Polish (Actually not true! I learned that “mak” means “poppy-seed”! So I know one word of Polish!), and if I couldn’t order from them I would not be in bra heaven right now!

I think the best thing you can do if you have a question about Ewa Michalak… is to just ask them! I wanted to know if I could get a PL Mak. I thought it would be a longshot, but I asked anyway, and it paid off! I am very excited to order from them again 🙂

 

Excuse my holiday tummy and the less than perfect lighting in these pictures, but I wanted to give y’all a look at what I got! Reviews to come soon 🙂

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?

How Does BODY Shape Affect Bra Fit? (Also unintentionally a review of the Freya Piper.)

Something that gets discussed often (and for good reason!) is how BREAST shape affects how bras will fit, but I haven’t seen much discussion on how BODY shape can affect bra fit.

I started thinking about this after a trip to Nordstrom while I was in Atlanta this weekend. Nordstrom is one of the few stores in the US that carries extended sizes and UK brands, but even they don’t carry my usual size of 28J. However, I am always wanting to do more bra research, and I was with my sister, who wears around a 30G and therefore DOES fit into their range, so I popped in to check out the selection.

At first I thought that perhaps I was in a not very good Nordstrom, because I couldn’t find any UK bras anywhere! I was getting ready to give up and leave the store when a mannequin hanging on the wall caught my eye – it was wearing the Freya Piper set, one that I really love! The sales girl on the floor saw me looking at it excitedly and pointed me and my sister to the correct rack (only one in the whole store!). I know that the Freya longline bras start at a 30 band and only go up to a G cup, but I am so in love with longline bras that I was determined to try it on and see just how bad the fit was anyway!

I first tried on a 30G, whose 30 band was actually a perfect fit, even though I measure 28.5″ underbust and often find that Freya’s 28 bands are too large for how I like my bands! Unfortunately (and predictably), the cups were too small, and my double boob was too great to mask under a shirt. I decided to try on a 32G, to see if that was better.

The cups on this were a much better fit, I think a 32GG would’ve been perfect cup-wise, but alas, this bra ends at a G cup.

Slight quadboob visible from a 3/4 view, but maskable in clothing.

Obviously the 32 band was too big, but it was totally doable on the tightest hook! Not what you want from a brand new bra, but it does indicate that it would be alterable! My only concern about buying this bra (or any Freya longline) with the intention of altering is that I often find taking in the band exacerbates double boob in any cups that are even slightly too small.

I am in love with this bra. I love the really round shape it gives me, and it gave me a decent amount of projection. My only complaint is the lack of cleavage, but I’m pretty sure that isn’t an issue for most people, I just have a personal preference for the way my boobs look smushed together 😛

Now on to the original idea behind this post…

How Does My Body Shape Affect My Bra Fit?

Realizing that a 30 band was a perfect fit in this bra was very confusing and unexpected for me. I always wear 28s. Freya 28s have always been too big for me, even! So where did this bra surprise come from? I decided that it’s because I have this weird fat roll right below my boobs. I’m not overweight, (5’3″, 130-135lbs, usually), but my stomach is sort of weird shaped, and my underbust measurement is smaller than my ribs, but (slightly) larger than my waist. It’s like I go out-in-out-in-out instead of the usual hourglass out-in-out. This means that when I’m trying on something that comes down below where a normal bra band would sit, I can comfortably go up a band size without compromising support! My world has been opened!

My beautiful fat roll 🙂 Taken stealthily in public!

Unfortunately, while my body shape has helped me fit a bra in this instance, I hear more often about women whose body shape makes bra fitting difficult for them. For instance, women with pectus excavatum, “the most common congenital deformity of the anterior wall of the chest” (according to Wikipedia) will have a very difficult (or impossible!) time finding a center gore that sits flush with the chest. This means they often won’t get the same level of support that a women without pectus excavatum would be able to achieve.

Sometime body shape just means that using the usual underbust-as-band-size bra fitting method won’t work. Thinner women will often find bands this tight uncomfortable since they don’t have as much padding on their ribs as someone heavier. Muscular women may have a more triangle shaped back and also need a larger band size than their underbust measurement would indicate.

How does your body shape affect what bras you can and can’t wear? Also I can only really speak with experience on how my own body affects what bras I can wear and relate things that I’ve heard other women say before, so if any example above is incorrect or not your experience, just let me know and then bra knowledge will grow everywhere! 

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!

What’s normal for a well fitted band?

This is going to be a pretty brief post, but it’s something I’ve noticed being asked fairly often by women who are new to correctly sized bras: I have red marks from my bra, is that normal?

Of course, the answer to this is YES! This is not only normal, but probably will always happen, just like you get red marks on your stomach from elastic waistbands, or on your ankles from socks, or on your hips from panties.

Then I get the question “How red/deep is normal?”

I pretty much feel like your band should be as tight as you can wear without major discomfort. Red marks that disappear within a half hour or so? Normal. A bra that digs in all day so that you can’t stop thinking about it, and red welts that are painful and itchy? Band too small! In order to try to show people what’s normal, I wore my Curvy Kate Tease Me (which has a pretty good band for me, maybe sometimes a little on the loose side since it’s getting a good amount of wear) for a half hour or so. If these pictures were after I’d worn it all night, the red marks would probably be darker and more prominent, so please keep that in mind until I can update it with after-all-day pictures!

For most people, the band in the middle would probably not leave quite so deep a mark. The reason it’s so dark there is because I was sitting the entire time I was wearing it, and I have a fat roll right below my boobs, so bands can tend to dig in there. Notice you can see the outline where my wires sit on me- that’s totally normal. As you can see (besides the dark mark in the middle that  I’ve already explained), the marks are pretty non-consequential. Here’s what they look like from the side:

Once again, the darker red spot is because I was sitting and my stomach is just a weird shape, but the rest of these marks are all almost exactly what it looks like after I take my tights off at the end of the night (except quite a bit higher up on my torso!!)

So that’s my example of what (my) normal bra marks look like! Keep in mind that this is immediately after removing my bra, and in the time it’s taken to write this post (~15 minutes) they’ve almost completely disappeared. Your bra should never leave raised marks, painful or itchy marks, or cut into your skin in any way that’s severely uncomfortable. However, a properly tight band is the foundation for support, and red marks such as these above are to be expected!

*EDIT*

Here are the red marks from an altered Freya Deco. The darker red square shape you see in the side profile picture is from this alteration. I did it myself and it left a section that sticks out more than the rest of the band, which sometimes digs in uncomfortably, but is usually fine, just leaves a darker spot.

Once again, I’ve been sitting for a little bit in this one. My marks are still not uncomfortable in any way.

Here you can see that red square from the alteration that I was talking about. Once again, still not uncomfortable, but probably isn’t normal for most bras.