Lingerie Review: Ewa Bien “Daria” B103

It has been a while since I tested Ewa Bien bras myself: they are actually visually one of my top favourite brands but unfortunately, most of their beautiful bras stopped at G- or H-cup in Polish sizes. As someone who wears 70J in their bras, this made the brand out of reach for me. When I reported this problem to Ewa Bien and though I understand the limitations when it comes to bra manufacturing and running a business successfully, Ewa Bien team took my advice and plea, and added a couple new full-bust appropriate styles to their collection! This is amazing, as making J-M cups is not always the easiest nor the most cost-effective thing to do. Today I am trying out their new B103 style in Black/Grey Daria. Here’s how it turned out for me! *This bra was sent to me by the lovely Ewa Bien team. All opinions are my own.*

The Design: The B103 is meant for the fuller bust as it goes up to Polish M-cup, equivalent to UK J-cup. This is an amazing size expansion for a family-lead brand, that doesn’t yet have the audience of Panache and other huge brands. In Poland however, businesses such as Ewa Bien are very popular and Polish women trust in their country-women’s knowledge on bra-making. No wonder – the shape you can get with a Polish bra is unrivaled and Ewa Bien is no exception.

The shape with the B103 is very uplifted and it has a great deal of immediate projection, which is something many women look for in their bras. The cups are constructed of four parts: it has the traditional three-part cup construction but for added support, there is a side sling to bring the breasts even more forward. This prevents the breasts from splaying towards my sides, which is something I can always appreciate.

The Daria style seems to be something that Ewa Bien is making as one of their core styles for bigger cup sizes. The style is also available in other cuts which doesn’t have the massive size range, but they do make it in one other full-bust style, the semi-soft B151. The Daria also comes in two colour combinations: Black/Cream and Black/Grey, of which I chose the latter one. Grey has recently become one of my favourite colours in both clothing and underwear and I love the sophisticated combination of black and grey a lot.The cups are completely see-through which is nice if you are looking for something a bit sexy for your everyday bradrobe.

The Fit: The B103 is quite a regular balconette style cut, with a 3/4 coverage. Personally, I would prefer something a bit more revealing like the styles I tried a couple of years back from Ewa Bien, but I have no issue wearing this bra either on a regular basis. The cut still suits a variety of necklines and is a great basic style for everyday wear.

I am wearing my regular Polish size 70J (UK 32GG) with this bra and I am very happy with the size – the band is stretchier than with many other Polish brands but this suits me fine as I like my bands comfortable. The fastening happens with three hooks and eyes and the band is wide enough to feel comfortable and supportive on someone with my body type (ie. small band, big cups). I would say the size runs very true-to-size if you have tried Polish or other European brands before. If you are between band sizes, I would advice to size up with most Ewa Bien styles.

My only gripe with the fit is the wires – however, wires are the one part that are highly personal when it comes to what fits your body the best and I prefer wires that are medium-to-narrow width. This style is a bit on the wider side for me, but not alarmingly so. If I could, I would have them just one cm narrower, that’s all. The depth is absolutely perfect for me, and I like how it contains me fully top, bottom and sides without any extra bulging.

Comfort: This set is made of very comfortable materials and it’s lightweight which makes it easy to wear almost under anything. The top part of the cups is a bit stretchy so it suits many breast shapes without being too restricting for a full-on-top girl like me. The band is comfortable and the whole ensemble is very sturdy if you need to be active and walk/move around a lot during the day.

The only thing I am having issues with, are once again the straps. Even though they are rather wide and comfortable themselves, they are placed a bit too widely for my body type. This makes the bra cup’s edge chafe my armpit just a little, which is not ideal if you want your bra to “feel like nothing”. Overall, I would say this bra style is meant for someone a bit wider than me, when it comes to breast tissue distribution, shoulders and rib cage.

The panties are, in a very Polish manner, quite snug in sizing. I went for the size Medium which does fit me okay, but I would perhaps prefer something a bit more covering. However, the C511 style is a classic Brazilian so it’s not even meant to cover a ton. Great for feeling a bit cheeky, quite literally!

If you would fancy giving this new full-bust style a go, you can find it on Ewa Bien’s own online store. The B103 bra (219 zl) comes in Polish sizes 65-100 B-M (enormous size range, right?!) and the C511 briefs (109 zl) come in sizes S-XXL. What do you think of size expansion and the Daria? Let me know in the comments!

Sunday with Samanta: A122 Spinel in 65J + Discount Code!

Ah, I know I am late. The Sunday last week passed already but again, this month will feature two Sunday with Samanta posts as I am not someone who skips a post completely 😉 Also, I will apologize for my absence next week as I am visiting UK + Moda again and won’t be home before the 12th. However, from then on there will be Moda-posts-galore and you’ll see some lovely collections from all of our fave brands! (If you have any particular brand you would like me to go and see, do let me know in the comments below!) However, today I am bound to bed with a sprained ankle and will be telling you all about my latest Samanta trial. This time, it is the non-padded balconette style A122 in “Spinel” – a lovely sophisticated French-style beauty who’ll steal your heart, no doubt.

The Design: The A122 is an unpadded balconette bra which is designed especially for women with big breasts and is supposed to offer a beautiful rounded “two cakes on a plate” -cleavage with a little less coverage and an uplifting three-part cup construction. This shape is widely used by British manufacturers as well, but the shape of the Polish balconette is a bit different from what we are used to with the likes of Panache and Curvy Kate. The vertical seam of the A122 cup goes on very straight across the cup whereas many British brands favour a more diagonal seam which gives the bra its somewhat pointed natural shape. I am more a fan of the Polish version though, as it rounds up the bust while still catering a rather natural look to it.

The A122 is something perhaps a Cleo-fan would enjoy – it is a quite simple style yet works brilliantly with all the uplifting and shaping a bigger bust requires. The look of the Spinel however, is something for the more “middle-market” audience meaning the styling is a bit more grown-up and sophisticated. As a 22-year-old gal some might think I would be all for polka-dots and bows but I do prefer a more glamourous look to my bradrobe. This is why I love the grey and peach colour combo of Spinel and lace is AGAIN absolutely stunning – something Samanta does so well each time.

The Fit: The A122 Spinel fits me very well and is the same as my other Samanta bras – I am once again convinced that Samanta is one of the most consistent brands out there which makes it easier for gals like me to order their bras online. It is true that some of the models are a bit deeper, which could affect your bra size with Samanta, but until now all of my 65J’s have been great size-wise. The band is rather narrow yet sturdy with the A122 and is made of stretchy elastic material instead of the usual power-mesh. The 65 band is a rough equivalent to a British 30, yet a bit snugger than with the likes of Freya and Curvy Kate. The cups are again, the perfect size and depth to me which makes this bra a great fit overall.

If you have any trouble with the usual height and width of balconette bra gores, this could be a great style for you to try! The gore is very slim and sits rather low at my sternum, meaning there is no stress on my ribcage even with very “harsh” tacking. The wires are again just the right length and width for me so no poking or too wide cups, which always makes me happy. For reference, I am pretty average-set and not particularly wide nor narrow at my breast root.

Comfort: The A122 is a lovely choice for those who want the same Samanta-quality for their summer but something a bit more light-weight than their padded bras. I personally REFUSE to wear padded bras at summer just for comfort reasons – everyone raise a hand who know that boob-sweat is a thing?? Cause it certainly is when you have big tatas, there is no denying it. Also, non-padded bras are great under tighter tops and dresses that have zero extra room for boobies and extra padding is not an option.

If I could give Samanta some feedback on this particular model, it would be regarding the straps – they are a tad too wide-set for me, meaning they sometimes fall off my shoulders and rub against the edge of my armpit. I think this will get better over time as I haven’t washed the bra more than twice now (there’s a huge review pile to test out each month, so most of my samples only get a couple of washes before being reviewed). However, in any case I would love to see Samanta revising their strap-placement a bit as I know there are a lot ladies who suffer from too widely placed straps immensely.

I also got to test the M300 brazilian briefs which are made of very same mesh/embroidery and sleek polyamide blend as the bra band. The seamless back of the brief is great under tighter jeans and also, quite sexy with its very wetlook-like appearance. The size Medium fits my 39″ hips very well but the rise with the M300 is pretty low, so ya be warned. However, I do like this style completing the set and I am always open to falling in love with new panty styles if they forgive me my ever-growing butt 😉

If you would like to give Spinel a proper spin (hehe), do use the code Mette at the check out to get 20% off your A122 Spinel bra. The bra retails for (full price) 56,30€ and the briefs for 26,30€ on the Samanta online store so not bad at all, especially with the discount! If you live in USA, please contact Samanta via email to place your order. Also, do ask for different shipping methods if you are hesitant about the shipping costs! Have a lovely Sunday everyone and let me know in the comments how you liked the review and Spinel, I would love to hear from you 😉

Lingerie Review: Maison Lejaby “Féline” in 32G

You might remember me raving about Maison Lejaby a couple of months ago (click for my latest post on ML!) – when I last visited London I had the pleasure of trying on a few pieces at Mimi & You Lingerie boutique and I fell in love with their designs. During the same visit I did travel up to Birmingham where I had the chance to chat with Maison Lejaby’s UK & Ireland coordinator who introduced me even more to this lovely brand. Fast forward to today, I am now reviewing my first Maison Lejaby set here at 2COP. Maison Lejaby was so kind to send both me and Jo a set from their Elixir and Premium collections and today, I am reviewing the lovely Féline bra set from Maison Lejaby Elixir collection. Enjoy!

Design: To be honest, I was very nervous about Lejaby picking something for both of us and sending them to review as a complete mystery. I am a bit picky when it comes to my lingerie – there are some things I absolutely dislike so I was so anxious about getting something as a surprise. On the other hand, I do love surprises which made me very intrigued about the contents of my parcel. When it finally arrived in the post office and I ripped the packaging off I was so happy to be facing a set of sophisticated animal print in an unusual grey colour. Also the texture was lovely and unique – there were some bigger leopard spots at the top part of the cups which seem to raise ever-so-sligthly from the otherwise sleek fabric.

The construction of the bra is a very traditional plunge-balconette with a three-part cup and medium coverage. Féline gives me a decent amount of uplift and a very natural shape – this is a bra that I would recommend to anyone who wants something subtle under their clothes. It gives a rather rounded yet natural look and works well with most of my outfits.

The Fit: I asked for a size 32FF as this was the one that fitted me the best in another styles from Lejaby. However, as the parcel arrived I realized I had been sent a 32G instead of an FF so I was a bit nervous about the fit. These things happen sometimes when I get sent samples – someone accidentally sends me a wrong size and sometimes they fit, sometimes they don’t. In this case, the mistake was a blessing in disguise – the 32G fitted me super well! I do notice some slight gaping on my smaller boob but as we all know so well, the bra size should be opted by the size of one’s bigger boob. The unpadded style of the bra ensures though that the gaping in in no-way notable under shirts and dresses which makes it also a practical little number to wear for everyday. The 32G compares roughly to a regular, even large-ish British 32GG so this brand and particular bra run about a cup size or a cup size and a half bigger than usual!

As Maison Lejaby only makes 30-bands in a few styles, I was sent a bra with a 32 band instead. For a French brand, Maison Lejaby seems to be running very British when it comes to their bands – that is, very true-to-size. With my 30″ underbust measurement the band is in all honesty a bit loose but doesn’t ride up in the back even when worn in the loosest set of hooks. However, this may not be your sturdiest bras anyway – the materials are very stretchy meaning the whole ensemble is super comfy yet not the kind of to run a marathon with. In my opinion the band would be best for someone with a 32″ rib cage so on me, it is not the best size. However, I have worn this bra over the last couple of months each and every week so you can imagine how comfy it really is!

The underwires of Féline are a rather standard ones for a French brand – not as wide as with British bras but not as narrow as Polish. This works for me very well as my boobs are a very average width and don’t require super wide or narrow underwires.

Comfort: As mentioned before, the Féline is VERY comfortable and a stretchy little sucker. The band, the cups, the wiring and the straps are all made with comfort in mind – this makes the bra to adjust to your body and feel comfy when moving around. Even though this takes a bit away from the sturdyness of the bra it does give you a sense of not wearing one in the first place – which is something I aim for when I am at home chilling and still want to feel supported.

When it comes to the underwires, the Féline does a great job by staying low under the armpits to avoid any unpleasant chafing against your arms or pinching in the flesh under them. The wires are also just flexible enough to keep you comfy even riding a motorcycle, which some of you know to be my ultimate test for my bras (by the way, thank heavens for the mc season starting just now, I missed you Honda-babe <3). The straps can be quite stretchy as well but nothing near eg the Comexim “Irish Coffee” (click for the review!) I own. The straps are also rather long so if you are even slightly more on the petite side, this could cause you some problems. I have adjusted mine to the tightest they can go and this is the right length of straps for me with Féline.

I was also sent the Brazilian brief in size 2 to match my Féline bra. My bf is probably the biggest fan of Brazilians so he was happy and to be honest, for a Brazilian this panty is a rather comfortable little number. The size 2 is a french size which translates roughly to a UK size 10-12 (not sure though, enlighten me if I got it wrong!). The back of the Brazilian leaves a seamless finish so if you are a great jeans-wearer, this could be just the knicker style for you.

When it comes to getting your hands on Maison Lejaby, I would say your local brick and mortar boutiques and department stores are the best to look into. I tried to look for Féline online and found this one place where you can get your hands on it for a reduced price even. The online store is a french one called Les Dessous Chics but it translates mostly to English as well and sells Féline bra for a rather great price of 53,83€. Even though Maison Lejaby is a bit more in the luxury category both for quality and price, the course of the pound is horrendous to anyone who doesn’t live in UK. This actually takes the Maison Lejaby pretty close to its British rivals when it comes to € price and sometimes even a more affordable choice compared to other full-bust mid-priced bras.

How do you feel about Maison Lejaby? Have you tried them and if so, how do you find the quality and fit? I would love to know a second opinion to mine so let me know in the comments! xx

V.I.P. Lingerie: Review of Gossard “Temptation” in 32G

Hi everyone! How was your weekend? I had a fantastic one with some other bloggers from my hometown Oulu. I will not go into details yet but I promise a blog post about the night as it was so much fun and I have some pretty nice pics. Today I have another Gossard review for you and it’s one of my absolute favourite sets from Gossard (I think I say this everytime I write about Gossard?) – the Temptation. Temptation was released last month as a part of Gossard’s V.I.P. range and even before that I was super excited about the set as it includes some pretty badass eyelash-lace and a lovely deep suspender belt. The lovely folks at Gossard sent me the entire set in sizes 32G and Small and here are my thoughts about these lovelies.

The Design: This style is pretty unique to any full-bust bra I have ever tried; it’s a demi-cup bra meaning it only covers about half of my breasts. This may not be something that works for all sizes and shapes, but for my full-on-top breasts the look and fit is pretty stunning. The cups are constructed of two parts with a vertical seam going across the cup and making the breasts look super rounded. This bra also created my signature cleavage – two cakes on a plate! It’s a very “pushy” in-your-face kind of look but I love it as it’s not that well-achieved after you go past the G-cup barrier.

The overall look of the set is super sexy and looks as if someone had created a full-bust bra using the traditional aesthetics of a smaller cup lingerie – meaning pretty lace, fantastic half-cup cut and some gorgeous painting-like floral print. The whole look is so stunning and vintage-like I could simply die out of adoration. The deep suspender belt creates a lovely hourglass illusion and suits my pinup style very well whereas the brazilian is cut to be invisible under clothing if that’s the look you need to go for.

The Fit: This bra fits me pretty much like a dream. I decided to go up to size 32G instead of my regular Gossard size, 32FF. With other brands I am usually between 30GG and 30H right now. So I would still advice you to go up a band size and down a cup size with any Gossard style. However, if you are more full-on-top and in-between sizes like me, I would suggest taking the bigger cup size. I still fit fine into eg my Botanical bra even though it’s a 32FF. This is probably due to the demi-cup shape of Temptation and a size smaller would definitely lead to some spillage with my breast shape.

The band did not feature the gateway design this time so I would say it feels a bit more secure than your regular Gossard bra. The straps were quite thick but also widely placed and slippery so they tend to slip off my shoulders from time to time when combined with another slippery material. However, they are also fully-adjustable so that’s definitely a good thing!

Comfort: Even though the straps caused a bit of tricky situations when combined to eg a polyester dress, this bra is otherwise very comfortable. The wires are perfect again and I can’t praise Gossard more on their comfortable and high-quality co-ordinates. The lace doesn’t feel scratchy at all and even with my worst skin condition the bra felt pretty damn comfy on.

The suspender belt and shorts look fabulous but also feel good on. I really liked how the suspender belt flattered my tummy area and sucked some of it in to form a more streamlined look. However, this is not the most subtle piece of lingerie, so be aware that it does show through clingy clothing. Even though the look is very “bedroom” I think the suspender belt is also very wearable under eg vintage-style swing dresses as it is not too tight or restrictive and has high-quality metal parts that hold your stockings in place during everyday or evening wear. The panties were very appropriate for any outfit you can imagine; even though they do feature some lace the back part is seamless and looks overall great and flattering with or without clothes.

This set is priced a little higher unlike your usual Gossard lingerie; it’s part of the V.I.P. range so it’s definitely a bit more luxurious style with more exquisite details. In my opinion the whole assemble is so alluring and stunning I would pay the higher price tag for the quality and style one gets for the money. You can find the whole set on Gossard’s online store and the sizes go up to G-cup. There is also a plunge bra available up to D-cup if you are smaller-breasted and look for a more sheer look! The demi-cup bra costs £42 whereas the brazilian and the thong are sold for £24 and the waspie suspender belt for £54.

Hope you liked the review and if there is anything else you would like to know or just something you want to comment, please leave me a comment below! 😉 xx

Bra Review: Tutti Rouge “Rosa” in 32G

Hiya everyone! Long time no see. I have been longing to write to you but as life goes, I had a lot of things on my radar and decided to put relationships and my mental health first. Meaning a lot of social time and a holiday trip to UK! This is not all that bad though regarding the blog – I visited Moda Birmingham last week and have a lot of exciting goodies to share with you. This time I browsed around the tradeshow with awesome Anna from Bras and Body Image and it was also great seeing some old friends at brand stands. We walked from stand to another the whole Sunday and also ventured into the small bust brands on the market. So this time, expect a small-to-average size coverage as well!

But today, I will not talk about Moda yet, it’s a matter of next week in fact. Today, I will review the lovely new Tutti Rouge style called “Rosa”, a semi-soft balconette shape with an exclusive TR rose print. Jessica, the lovely founder of the brand, was so kind to send me this set for review purposes, all opinions are my own.

Design: First of all, the print is totally exclusive to the Tutti Rouge brand and can only be seen on this bra style. I loooooove the print and the colours – so pretty and cute, very appropriate for summer. I am not a big fan of white lingerie nor butterflies but this design just works. This is the reason I keep coming back to TR; they offer phenomenal styles with great detailing and a unique touch. 

The shape is a semi-soft balconette, quite a full-coverage one. Semi-softs are a bit tricky when it comes to fit – especially if the upper part is not something super-stretchy. The upper part of the cups is non-stretchy lace and the lower part lovely luxurious-feeling satin. The centre core is quite high and features a little bow with a black pom-pom-like detail. The straps are half-adjustable and placed quite widely with a wider sling on the lower part of the strap, for some side support. The shape the bra is a bit vintage-like – it gives me a bit lower profile than some bras but a lovely uplifted natural look. Not too pointy or rounded.

Fit: The Rosa is a lovely bra and gives me a rather minimized look which is quite preferred sometimes. However it’s not the best fit from all the TR bras I have tried. I asked Jess to send me my regular size 30GG but for some reason, the mail delivered me a 32G (I for one know how easy it is to make a mistake while sending something out..). This size fitted me rather well so I didn’t see the point in exchanging it. However, I must note that the band feels a bit too large for me – very comfy but I’m afraid it might wear out more easily than my 30-back bras. Tutti Rouge bras are known for their tighter bands but this style runs pretty true-to-size in my opinion – both in the band and the cups. 

The cups are on the shallower side which is not ideal and makes the centre core float a bit. This doesn’t bother me though and is not too obvious; we are talking like 1-2 mm here. The cups fit well in the sister size besides being a bit too shallow and folding over at the bottom of the cup. The top part of the cup is great for upper fullness and feels spot-on without any gaping or spillage. Also the wires are quite okay, they feel a rather regular width to me so they don’t poke or rub me in anyway. I would have loved to try a 30GG in this style but I can easily do with the 32 band as it goes.

Comfort: Recently, I have been having some trouble with TR bands coming up too tight so I feel like the Rosa is a more comfy choice, even though the 32 band in this styles feels like regular 32, meaning a tad too loose for me (I measure 31″ under bust at the moment). However, the band size depends solely on the style you are opting for. For reference, I wear 30 in Mae and Nichole (also used to wear 30″ in SS13 Frankie, Betty and Liliana) but 32 in SS14 Betty, Rosa and  AW13 Liliana. Conclusion – you might need some trial-and-error with TR bras to determine the best size for you in each style and season. The best rule is to usually go up a band size as most of the styles run tighter.

The materials are again a great strength when it comes to Tutti Rouge bras. I love the cotton lining inside the cups making it a very comfy choice for someone with a difficult skin. The straps are placed rather far apart from each other so keep that in mind if you are very petite. The satin feels great on my shoulders but makes the straps a bit more slippery.

I also got the Brazilian brief which I absolutely adore as a style. I think the backside makes your butt look delicious but the front is not the most flattering for me – it is cut a bit too low on the hips and a bit too high in the crotch area. I told about this to Jessica herself at Moda and to my relief, they have slightly revised the style of their upcoming Brazilians meaning they will have a tad more coverage on the front. Great news to most of us! Otherwise the panties feel good on and are rather comfortable if you forget about the low-coverage issue.

This style is available through Tutti Rouge Big Cartel shop and costs an affordable £35 for the bra (sizes 28-38 D-HH) and £15 for the Brazilian (sizes XS-XXL). I personally cannot wait for the next print Tallulah Tattoo to get released next spring as it’s another amazing Tutti-exclusive print to drool over! What do you think of Rosa? Let me know in the comments! xx