Review of Lepel “Iris” full-cup bra in 32FF

Hiya lovely readers! I have so much to show you and would wanna blurt it out all at once but I have to be patient. In meantime I can reveal that there is still four lingerie reviews to come in the next couple of weeks and a dress review next week. Today I am reviewing a lingerie set that has been in my possession for quite a while. I took part in the Lepel’s #SelfieLove competition with a picture of me and my sister and for my surprise, won one of their sets as a prize. I chose the lovely Iris set first in a size 30G but as it arrived, I noticed the band was way too tight – closing but causing my back to bulge horribly. I changed the size to 32FF and now that I’ve tested it for grand three months, I think it’s time to review it properly.

The Design: Iris is a full-cup style bra which means it covers the breasts fully and the edge of the cup comes quite high up my decollete. I don’t have a lot of experience of full-cups except my old trusty Jasmine bra so it was a nice thing to try though I do love my balconettes. This style is very popular among people who want a more modest look and not too much cleavage. Many women also think it provides the most support since there is a lot more fabric going on than with plunges and balconettes. 

Iris has a three piece cup-construction meaning it gives a very nice lifted shape. I love my Iris for this reason exactly – even though it’s an unpadded bra it gives me a lovely natural shape and great uplift. The materials are also pretty thin which makes it a great bra when you wanna feel less bulky – this is the kinda bra you want to wear on a hot summer day to make you feel less clothed. The pale pink shade is also spot on for summer. It works well as a “nude” bra for me since I am very pale, almost white most of the time (except I have a class reunion tomorrow so now I’m definitely getting me tan on). It works really well under t-shirts and doesn’t show through at all. The lace of the bra is very beautiful and classy which makes it look a bit more romantic than your other everyday bras.

The Fit: Most of my friends love unpadded cups for their fit – they accommodate one’s bust shape nicely and don’t show size differences too drastically. I however have always preferred padded cups as a more secure option, but again, an unpadded bra amazes me with it’s lovely fit. It seems that Lepel fits me pretty much like Gossard – a band size up and a cup size down from what I’m used to wearing. This means good news for everyone who needs a GG-cup or a 28 band even though the brand is not offering them. I would gladly recommend to try Lepel out if you fit in their size range. The company has a long history of making bras and they produce fashionable yet well-fitting styles that are reasonably priced as well.

The band is not too stretchy, as said I needed a bigger size of it than with eg Panache and Curvy Kate. It features two hooks and eyes but feels still very supportive. The cups are very stretchy meaning they can easily accommodate size fluctuations. I would definitely recommend this bra especially to women whose breast size changes due to their monthly cycle. The cups are quite big all over so I would also recommend sizing down, at least one cup size. I believe that if I would go up a cup size, this bra would still be nice to me and fit well. The straps are quite long and I have to almost fully adjusted them, so this might be a problem to someone more petite. However, they are fully adjustable so it should not cause too much trouble with women of average height (I’m 5″6).

Comfort: Now, pay attention. First this bra was not the best for its comfort. But don’t make hasty conclusions! After only a couple of wears it softened a great deal and the center gore became a lot more flexible. First the center and the wires felt really stiff and almost a little painful but after wearing the bra and washing it, it now feels really comfortable and is one of my everyday bras for its great shape and comfort. The wires are an average width meaning it’s a great fit but also quite comfy. The wires aren’t poking me anyway and definitely sit on a right spot to encase all my breast tissue. Also the materials feel very soft against my skin and don’t cause any irritation.

I was sent the short-style panties that belong to the set and I quite like them as well. If I could say something that Lepel could improve, would be the rise of the panties – it’s quite high so for me so it’s not the most flattering style. If however you have a bit more booty (I have none) this might be just the right style for you. Say, if you hate Cleo panties, these are right up your street! I got mine in a size 10 which is pretty true-to-size so a bit roomy for me as I would need something between 8 and 10.

All in all Iris has worked lovely for me as a “skin tone” shade bra and I will most definitely get even more wear out of it when the summer finally comes (18 C tomorrow, think about that!). The size range is 30-38 A-G (panties 8-18) and the price for it is about £24 for the bra and the £13 for the panties – an absolute bargain I say! You can it at Figleaves, Brastop and Mio Destino.

Review of Gossard “Summer” in 32FF

As I told you guys a few days ago, I received a couple of sets from the Gossard’s recent collections and as a more summery option I was sent their very aptly named ”Summer” set to review. I was very keen to see if this unpadded style would fit me similarly to the padded Edina since it was such a success with my shape.

 
The design:

The Summer is almost like a more spring-like version of Edina with its painting-like flower print. The colours are lovely with this bra as well – it’s a happy mixture of lavendel purple, peach and creamy tones. These shades are very nice on my extremely fair skintone and also very fashionable for the SS14 season. The lace is beautiful and very feminine yet quite simple complimenting the cheerful print.

 With unpadded bras like Summer it’s crucial to create a as-good-as-possible shape, especially with full-on-top breasts since they can be turned into sad droopy things hanging way too low on one’s waist. In three words: uplift is vital. Gossard has managed to great quite a natural and also fairly minimized shape even with an unpadded bra. The uplift is beautiful and looks great under shirts and dresses. Definitely one of my new favourite bras at the moment!

 Compared to Edina Summer is definitely a more everyday look which can be worn in most situations since it doesn’t give you any extra volume or cleavage. It’s great under t-shirts as well since the lace on the top part of the cups is very thin and the colour palette is so light (not as light to go as a “nude” bra but that’s not usually a problem since I don’t wear white). The band has Gossard’s signature triangle design and looks very pretty, as always.

 
Fit:

The bra has a very similar cup construction to Edina even being a unpadded design; it features three parts per cup and both vertical and horizontal seaming. The cups have quite a good depth to them for me and the wires encase all my breast tissue. I would say the overall fit is VERY similar to my Edina. I opted for the size 32FF with Summer as well and it fits me perfectly.

 As said in my latest post the Gossard bras run small in bands and large in cups. This applies to Summer as well which is good since I can note that the fit is very consistent. Nothing more annoying than to order bras from the same brand and end up with differently fitting individuals! Consistency in sizing makes it always easier to make your next order since there is no guessing with the sizes.

 
Comfort: 

Like Edina, I wear Summer around my flat just for hanging out since it’s so comfy. The materials are very good quality and feel nice against my skin, also the wires are the right width and don’t pinch me anywhere. The straps are half-adjustable which always makes them more problematic for smaller ladies. They are also made half-way through out of satin which makes them more slippery than just basic bra straps.

 Again, the co-ordinates were super comfy with this set. I rarely wear a thong but this one was especially comfy which is great since a badly-fitting thong is one of the worst things I know. Also the size XS was spot on and didn’t rise up my butt towards my back or create any muffin-top. I especially loved the fact that the sides of the thong featured the same semi-strechy lace that the bra did, great for accomodating slight weight-fluctuations.

 All in all, I loved the Summer as much I loved Edina. Gossard has very quickly become on of my go-to brands when it comes to sexy yet comfy pieces and if I speak the truth, it’s one of my boyfriend’s favourites as well! The unpadded bra comes in sizes 30-38 D-G but it is also available in smaller cupsizes as a padded bra. The panties come in sizes XS-XL. You can find the set on Gossard’s website! What do you think of Summer, is it something you could imagine adding to your summer wardrobe? Let me know in the comments! xx

 Disclosure: This set was generously gifted by Gossard. All opinions are my own.

Review of Gossard “Edina” in 32FF

When I entered the full-bust world about a year ago I really felt there weren’t that much options for a gal who wants something sexy yet supportive. I felt really frustrated for a long time and felt like so many companies were ignoring a huge market – regarding that one of my most viewed posts were the one with a plea for sexier full-bust undergarments. However, even then I knew some brands that definitely had the right look to them; one of them being Gossard.

As I visited Moda exhibition this year I met the lovely folks of Gossard and was very pleased with their stunning collection. To me it feels like this brand has been listening to us and created something for everyone. (You can see the preview of the collection here.) Gossard was very kind to send me a couple of pieces from their AW13 and SS14 collections and today I am reviewing the amazing Edina set which had my heart from the moment I saw it online a few months ago.

The design: When I saw Edina my heart jumped and started racing from pure desire. This set is so beautiful and sexy it just makes me happy with its appearance. The print is gorgeous; it’s almost like a beautiful painting in a form of fabric. The shades are pretty unusual for such a sexy piece since they combine blue with black, purple and brown mixed with some brighter creamy colours as well. The flowers are not naive nor tacky, quite the opposite. The over-all look of the bra is very sophisticated and sultry.

One of my favourite features of the bra is the cleavage it gives me – it’s official, this bra is the queen of cleavage even with my average-to-wide-set breasts. It pushes them together without any over-spill and to be honest, I can’t stop looking at my own boobs when wearing this bra (a bit narsisistic, I know). Also the shape the bra gives is pretty good under clothes, not particularly rounded nor pointy which is very wearable. The padding is also quite thick for that extra oomph as it clearly is more of a night-out bra. The construction includes both vertical and horizontal seaming for that particularly uplifted look.

The fit: The fit of Gossard is very different from other brands that I’m used to wearing. It definitely needs some trial-and-error if you are used to brands like Panache or Curvy Kate since the bands run quite tight and the cups larger than your regular British bra brand. This however is a good thing, in my opinion. Gossard’s full-bust size range goes up to G-cup which means true GG gals can easily wear their G’s without any quadboob. The first time I tried on a Gossard bra it was my regular 30G (meaning my regular size back then) but as it turned out, I was better off with 32FF for their tighter bands and larger cups. This means the collections are actually available to an even bigger market than it might seem.

I was very hesitant about my correct Gossard size at first but with the the lovely people at Gossard we figured out my best starting point size would indeed be a 32FF. When I received the bra in mail I was very happy with our choice since it fitted perfectly, even with the plunge shape that sometimes tends to cut into my full-on-top shaped boobs. The depth of the cup is very good for me and the wire width is also great! No folding on the bottom of the cup and I feel very supported and contained in the cup. As a conclusion I would advice to go down a full cup size with Gossard bras.

The band features the Gossard’s signature design which is kind of two straps on each side forming a triangle towards the closure. This looks amazing but can dig in nastily if the band is too tight. The bands run small so do go up a full band size when opting for the size. This makes the band look more attractive but still keeps the bra supportive. The band features two hooks and eyes which is enough for me. However, this might not work for even larger breasts.

The comfort: For a such a sexy little number Edina makes a damn-comfortable bra. It’s usually a hard-and-fast rule that sexy bras are not the comfiest ones which is really sad considering how many women ditch them for that reason. I can happily report that this is not the case with Edina: in addition to being beautiful it is very comfy and has all the right proportions for my body from wire-width to strap-lenght.

What is the problem with bras this pretty is usually the straps though. Even nicely placed so that they wouldn’t fall off, materials can drastically affect their tendency to slip. With half-adjustable straps this is a very common problem since half of the straps is usually made of some slippery material such a satin and against some other slippery material they are very likely to fall a few times during the day. To avoid this you need to tighten the straps regularly to ensure they are not too loose and even more likely to fall. When wearing something like a t-shirt I was fine with Edina’s straps but when wearing a polyester playsuit I needed to pull them up a couple of times a day.

The wires of Edina on the other hand are SO. GOOD. No pinching and they fully encase my breast tissue without being too high or wide. This is a huge comfort factor which is why I love to wear this bra even just hanging out in my room. Also the Edina shorts are vey comfy and cut so that I am not having any muffin top or sagging in the bottom area. Regarding the pants I would say to maybe size down since they are spot on for me in size 8. Right now my bottoms size is something between 8 or 10 so I’d definitely advice to go for you ”smaller size”.

All in all this set is everything that expected it to be and almost a bit more. I would definitely encourage anyone to try out Gossard for it’s truly a luxurious brand with very reasonable prices. The Edina plunge bra comes in sizes 30-38 A-G, brief in sizes XS-XL. It’s also on sale at the Gossard website right now which is definitely a plus! Have you ever tried anything from Gossard and how did you like it? Let me know in the comments! 😉

 Disclosure: This bra was generously gifted by Gossard. All opinions are my own.