Which Old Favourite Products Do I Still Love? (Bra + Beauty)

 I review a lot of stuff, many don't even make it into the blog because there aren't anything special. Some however turn out to be personal holy grails, which I quietly rebuy again ad again.

Braologie Posture + Contour Bra

This bra has proven to be really sturdy, and looks really good after all the wear. The band was really very snug in the beginning and came with an extender, now that it has stretched I don't use the extender any more. This has really increased the life of the bra because as it stretches you have six rows of hooks you can work your way through. This is probably as close to a Buy-It-For-Life as a bra can get.

I like the feeling of encapsulation that it gives me, and I think that this bra is at least partially responsible for the fact that over the years my breast tissue has shifted more towards the center (my breasts used to be very far apart and I needed really wide underwires, but not any more). I haven't used the vest much because it's almost too much cleavage for my lifestyle.

Cattier Micellar Cleanser

I use this religiously, often combining it with other types of cleansing products. It removes all oil and makeup, and does not dry or irritate my skin.

Gosh Click n Conceal

This concealer from the Danish brand Gosh lasts ages. It goes on easily -- I always have problems with applying other concealers smoothly, and doesn't budge or crawl into creases.Unfortunately I can't buy it in Germany, so I stock up when I'm abroad. Fortunately one pen lasts for a very long time.

Khadi Henna

I still haven't found a better colouring Henna. One thing I did learn though is that colour releasing is very different across brands, and in the case of Khadi I get best results if I mix it with cool water and let it stand for ca 12 hours, or I mix it with very hot water and use as soon as it is cool enough (in the second scenario I need to blast my hennaed hair with a hair dryer every half an hour to make sure that the henna keeps on releasing it's dye).

Savon Noir + Kessa glove

Still the best way to get my skin really smooth. I always take both with me in the sauna, it's also a staple gift.

Sweetscents Hide-A-Pore

This product is amazing when it comes to mattifying just about anything. It's a great primer and a great finishing powder.

Smile Brilliant Teeth Whitening

I do this every six months or so. It usually takes 2-3 sessions will my teeth are nice and white again.

Bohn Combs from Hairsense

I'm actually pretty surprised I haven't broken the big one. I love how it's really gentle and smooth, and I don't use anything else apart from my fingers to comb my hair. I lost the small one which made me pretty sad, I replaced it with a similar one from the Hercules Sägemann line from Müller. I used it for my bangs. DM also has the nice plastic-free Ebelin Nature combs.

If there is any other older product you'd like to ask about, let me know in the comments.

Photo credit: Rachel Walker

Book Review: How To Find A Bra That Fits + Free Copy For You!

   Have you ever tried to talk about bra-fitting to a woman who embarrassed to talk about the topic; you want to send her some links she is not the type to dig through forums and blogs. I know I have, and I wished there was a book about bra-fitting that I could gift such a person. A book that explains all the basics of bra fitting and empower her to find her perfect bra size. I was thrilled to find that such a book exists!

   How To Find A Bra That Fits is a book about bra fitting, written by Liz Kuba. I was thrilled to receive a copy, and want to tell you about it.

All the bases are covered!

  So, I have nothing but praise for this little book, and I think that Liz did an amazing job on it. It's pretty thin and won't scare off someone who has been gifted this book. Yet it manages to cover all the essential topics, it's written in a concise way and there is no fluff or filler. I have a problem with being wordy, so I am really full of admiration for Liz Kuba! Not only does she cover all the essentials like bra anatomy, sister sizing and measuring oneself, but she also explains swoop-and-scooping, breast depth and placement, troubleshoots common fit issues and busts the "underwires cause cancer" myth.
  I liked that the book includes online resources as well as places where to buy bras, the glossary is very useful too!

  The advice in How To Find A Bra That Fits is a solid and simple bra fitting guide that you can read through in one sitting, then take with you when you shop for bras, and then you want to lend it to every one of your female friends.

Quadboob, explained and illustrated

   My only criticism would be about the cover -- it looks very retro so if I had seen this in a bookshop I would have skipped over it, expecting it to be an old publication that might not be up-to-date.

  So I strongly encourage you to buy How To Find A Bra That Fits for the women in your life -- you mom or grandma, sister or niece, and your female buddies. Heck, I could even imagine slipping it into the gym locker of someone who really needs it.
   You can check out the places where you can buy a physical copy or an ebook at BraThatFits.me. And pssst, this month the book is available for free on Smashwords throughout the month of April!!

Disclosure: a sample copy was provided for this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

  PS I felt something akin to maternal pride when reading this book. When I started this blog and there was hardly any correct bra fitting info out there in English. Now there are tons of blogs, forums, and now there is this amazing little book! An actual book! And I even spotted some expressions that I kind of coined, like the bra matrix, in there. Sniff.

Giveway! Avocado Essentia Bras Review And Giveaway!

    Today I wanted to show you two different styles of the Essentia bra from the    Polish brand Avocado. Also, one lucky reader can win an Essentia bra!

   First, a small announcements: Avocado is looking for wholesale buyers, if you know someone who is interested, do contact them at paulina.gizycka(at)avocado.com.pl

   Avocado is a brand that is focused on bigger cups, and carries bras in five different constructions which are named after a letter of the alphabet, all nicely explained here. The Essentia line is the most affordable of their lingerie, and in it's simplicity a departure from the luxurious style of the brand.

   I got a black Essentia in the K shape and the caramel one in a H style. These styles did not work as well for me as the A style did, but they could be the absolute hit for breast styles different from mine.

   The bras were provided to me as a review sample, but all opinions are my own, as always. Currently my measurements are 68/81. I got a 65D in both styles, but remember that Avocado has its own sizing!

Aesthetics: 4/5

    The Essentias are designed to be simple but interesting everyday bras that don't show up under clothing. I heard that the design was even simpler before, but the clients wanted a bit more decorations. As for me, it is refreshing to see a bra other than the Panache Tango II that can be worn under fitting clothing but is not a (padded, boring) T-shirt bra. That is the reason that I gave the Avocado Essentias 4/5 for aesthetics even though the style is not drop-dead gorgeous.
    The cups and a part of the wings are made of a pretty mesh, which is backed by a softer fabric on the lower parts of the cups and by a simple net on the top of the cups and the wings. The top edge is lined with a thin strip of lace. There is a small key charm between the cups, it's the only element that sticks out under T-shirts but it can be snipped off easily. I like the effect of the pattern on the mesh, it makes the bra look interesting yet simple.
  The colour of the caramel bra is  a rather unsaturated caramel, rather sepia. I think that the photo above is pretty accurate, at least on my screen.

Fit: 1-3/5

  Though both the H and the K styles didn't work for me, they might be amazing on other women.
   The cups of the two bras have a 3-piece basic cut, but very different proportions. For the purposes of the next paragraph, I'll call the three parts of the cup the outside piece (the one near the armpits), the inside (near the gore) and the top piece.
   On me, neither cut worked as well as the A cut did. In the H style there was loose space on the outer top parts of the cups. If you look at the photos of the caramel H Essentia bra you will see that the strap is attached to the outside piece of the cup; and when the straps are pulled tight then the entire outer piece of the cup becomes flatter. This is why the cups still kind of fit me but the material of the outside piece wrinkles.
    In the black K style the strap is attached to the top piece of the cup, and when the straps are pulled tight only the elastic on the outside piece of the cup gets stretched (the elastic starts at the end of the strap and goes to the under-wire). On me there was too much free space on the top of the cups. The K has a lot of projection where the horizontal seam is, much more than I need. I would like to have tried it in a smaller cup, but unfortunately the 65D is as small as Avocado goes.
   The top of both the cups are lined with elastic, however this doesn't seem to stretch at all (unlike that on the A cup). Both cups are rather closed on top, so if you have full-on-top breasts the edge may cut in a bit.
  
   The underwires of the H style are much longer and narrower than those of the K style. Generally Avocado is the holy grail for women who need narrower underwires. The underwires of the K model are shorter, so they feel wider even though they aren't really. The center gore of the H model is around 1cm shorter than that of the black.
    Straps are fully adjustable, but not very long -- if you usually need longer straps you might be disappointed.. They are much more widely spaced in the caramel than in the black.
    The Avocado bands are generally nicely snug, and the Essentias are no exception.

Comfort: 5/5

   Avocado bras are some of the most comfortable ones I have tried. The part I liked best is that the hook closure of the band has a little padded cushion! The hooks and eyes themselves seem to more rounded and flatter than those of any other bra I have seen. The mesh fabric is soft and not at all scratchy. Even the inside of the straps is softer.
  I have not felt any discomfort from the band or the underwires.

 

Summary:

   The Avocado H and K styles are not "mine", and in the future I would go for the A cut (as well as cuts I haven't tried yet). However these cuts could work for women with different breast shapes from mine. I must say I enjoy the way Avocado has labelled their five different cuts, which really helps to navigate through all the bras that they offer. It saves you a lot of guesswork -- many other brands re-use the same cuts, but as they don't give out the information it's often a matter of guesswork and luck to stumble upon another bra in a cut that works for you.
   If you have tried the Avocado Essentia, let me know in the comments how it worked for you!

Avocado Essentia S192K in black Stats:

Band unstretched: 60CM

Band stretched to the maximum: 78cm

Underwire length: 19,5

Underwire width:  12,5cm

Avocado Essentia S192Hn in caramel Stats:

Band unstretched: 62cm

Band stretched to the maximum: 80cm

Underwire length: 23cm

Underwire width: 13cm

Avocado Essentia Giveaway!

   Avocado is kindly sponsoring a give-away! One lucky winner gets an Essentia bra in the cut and colour of their choice (of course you can exchange it if you don't get the right style or size the first time).
  You can enter via the Rafflecopter form below, and don't forget to tweet to get extra entries.
   The giveaway is open worldwide and the winner will be notified via email (check your spam folder) and on this blog. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bra Review: Avocado Jewel A In Choco Chili In 65D

   A while back I wrote about Avocado as one of the interesting bra brands from Poland that carry affordable bras in a full size range. I got a chance to try and review a couple of Avocado bras, and today I will talk about the Jewel choco chili, the next post will cover another model and a giveway!
   The bra has been provided to me as a review sample, but all opinions are my own, as always. Currently my measurements are 68/81.

   Avocado carries bras in five different constructions which are named after a letter of the alphabet, all nicely explained here. The Jewel comes in the A and the H cut, I got the A. There are also two colour versions: I got the choco-chili which flatters my deep autumn colouring, but if you prefer something cooler and brighter you might love the pink-magenta version.

 

Aesthetics: 5/5

  The Jewel is a handsome bra with its folklore-ish embroidery and chocolate-brown mesh. A continuation of the floral embroidery on the straps is a nice touch and there is even a small decorative detail on the closure at the back. The rich brown colour of the choco-chiliis quite flattering on warmer skin tones.
   The hooks and clasps and eyelets are made of metal which is coloured to exactly match the fabric. The bow in the center complements the embroidery, but can be easily removed if you are not into bows. The entire bra looks well-made and luxurious.
   The embroidery is visible under tight and thin fabric,as you can see on the photos at the bottom of the post.

 

 

Fit: 4/5

   Avocado cups tend to run narrow and deep, however the A cut seems the least deep of them all.
  The cups are rather projected, definitely not for those with shallow breasts. The deepest point of the cups is center-front. The underwires are rather narrow. They are not very long, and don’t go up very high in the front or the underarms. The gore is very narrow (the underwires are close together in the front).
   The cups are build for narrower breasts that are projected and closer together. I was pretty surprised that the narrow underwires fit me, since I always needed very wide underwires in the past. I think that years of wearing the right size + the Braologie bra has moved my tissue from around the armpits towards the center. The underwires of the Avocado Jewel are on the soft and flexible side.
   The top edge of the cups is backed by a thin elastic, which pulls it in and makes the cup "closed" at the top. This will probably  slightly loosen with time, making the top edge a bit more "open", like I experienced in the Discover Mademoiselle Clara Bow.
    Straps are two-piece and can be regulated only half of the way. They are set rather close together.
   The Avocado Jewel gives a lot of lift, especially for a unpadded bra. It gave me a centered and rounded shape that still looks natural. 

    A note on the Avocado cup sizes: they have their own sizing system which skips the double letters. You can shoot them an email if you are not sure about which size you should pick.

Comfort: 5/5

   The mesh is very soft and doesn't scratch at all.
A point for the hook closure: the hooks are slightly flatter than average, which makes them very comfortable.
   he boning in the band is so light and comfortable that I hadn't noticed it until anther blogger pointed it out.
  The low and narrow gore means I have had absolutely no discomfort in that area. The underwires are rather flexible and adjust well to the shape of my ribcage.

Summary:

   The Avocado Jewel choco chili is great for women who prefer narrower underwires and have breasts with a lot of projection. If you need something broader, try the H cut. I personally think that it's amazing that the same design is available in two different cuts -- how many times have you seen a bra that you loved but the cut didn't work for you?
   Also, if one cut fits you really well, you can buy other bras in the same cut basically with your eyes closed.

Avocado Jewel A Stats:

Band unstretched: 63cm

Band stretched to the maximum: 82cm

Underwire length: 20cm

Underwire width: 13cm

   These measurements have been taken after appx. 5 wears :)

More reviews on (blogs, bratabase) 
Undiegamer reviews the Jewel, but in the H cut

Review: Wiesmann Roxana Balconette in 65E

   Remember the beautiful Wiesmann bra that I reviewed a while back? It is still one of my favourite bras and the best soft-cup (wired but not padded) bra that I own. So when I recently realised that I own too many neutral bras that are either lined or moulded, I decided to treat myself to some Wiesmann.

   The fit of this red Roxana Balconette is exactly the same as that of the Tiffany, indeed it is exactly the same cut only in a different material. The cups run small. The cups give a very rounded shape, and looks like it has been custom-made for me; there is no wrinkling at all. The top edge of the cups lies flat on the breasts, neither cutting in nor standing away. The balcony shape is very flattering, both for small breasts and bigger ones.
  Another plus point is for the removable straps: though the bra cannot be worn as a strapless, the possibility to switch out the straps is quite practical.
    I had absolutely no issues with the underwires this time. My only complaint is that the material might be a bit scratchy for someone with sensitive skin. It's not the best quality mesh that I have seen. For more details and measurements, check out the review of the Wiesmann Tiffany balconette.

    I will just leave a couple of photos, before we can talk about where to buy Wiesmann bras:

 

 

  Shopping for Wiesmann bras

   The more "common" sizes of Wiesmann bras are easily available. Even Amazon and Ebay stores sells Wiesmann, and you might find other online stores if you google. I found Wiesmann bras in German online stores such as welt-der-dessous or ladys-dreams, but they usually cost more than what they cost in Poland. However, I had a very hard time finding band 65 (UK30). In the end I bought from Diores.pl which accepts Paypal, ships internationally for reasonable prices, and features models which look a tad, um, porny. The site is in Polish, but I think you can navigate is easily with Google translate.

   Here is review of another Wiesmann bra, namely the Wiesmann Maja balconette.

Did anyone of you try a Wiesmann bra? If yes, I'd love to know where you got it.

Parfait Jeanie Strapless VS Freya Deco Strapless, Review + Giveway

    A basic strapless bra is something every woman needs in her wardrobe. Yet the choice is not very big when it comes to strapless bras that come in a big range of sizes. One of the most popular of such models is the Freya Deco. For those who find it incompatible with their breast shape the Parfait Jeannie is an interesting alternative. It resembles the Deco in looks, however fits differently and has been often recommended as a great choice for Freya-incompatible breasts. Here I will compare these two strapless bra models, and at the end of the post will be giving away one of them!

The stats:

   The Freya Deco Moulded Strapless bra comes in sizes 28-38 D-GG (28 DD-G, 30 DD-GG, 32-36 B-GG, 38 B-G). Sister styles include a plunge and a longline version.

The Parfait Affinitas Jeanie Strapless Contour bra comes in sizes 30-80 D-G (however the band is tighter).

Sister styles include a padded plunge, a moulded spacer and a bustier.

   Both bras come in black and nude versions, so you are covered whichever neutral colour you prefer for your lingerie workhorses.

  Both the Freya Deco and the Affinitas Jeanies are convertible bras, which means that they can be worn strapless or with straps (regular, halter-neck, criss-cross, one shoulder). The Deco has the advantage of having several locations where you can attach the straps.

   The words "moulded" and "contour" refer to the fact that the cups are made of foam that has been moulded in a certain way, so the cups. The foam is thin, so the cups are not actually padded. These kinds of cups are also seamless and don´t show up under clothing.

  A word about the photos: I have done my best, considering the low amounts of light we have been getting. The Deco presents itself better on the photos because it is stiffer overall, the Jeanie is softer and so a bit less photogenic. However "live" both the bras present themselves equally well.

Aesthetics:

   Both bras are basic seamless models, and at first glance pretty similar. The shape of the Jeanie is a tad prettier, because the decolette has a pretty and flattering bow-curve.Both bras have a small black bow in the middle,  the Jeanie has an additional little plastic silver heart. The band of the Deco moulded strapless are trimmed, while that of the Jeanie is plain.

   The Jeanie is a tad slimmer overall than the Freya Deco: lower-cut cups, narrower and shorter band. The center gore seems to be the same height in both bras, but from what I´ve heard this may vary according to the size.

   The cups of both the bras are profiled in a way as to bring the breasts front and center, however this is much more strong in the Affinitas Jeanie Strapless. (Also, the fit problems of the Freya Deco cancel out this effect.

   The straps of both bras are narrow which means they don´t bring attention to themselves under strappy clothes.

   The fabric of Jeanie seems rather delicate, so I´d advise to wash it carefully.

 

Fit:

Underwires: This is the biggest difference between the Freya Deco and the Affinitas Jeanie. The Deco has rather flimsy underwires, which get pulled ope (wider) by the band. Obviously the band on a strapless is quite snug, and so the underwire of the Freya Deco gets pulled quite a bit. This makes the cups wider and shallower. It makes the underwires broader, and it will not contain underarm tissue.

  The Jeanie has underwires made out a much less flexible metal. They do not change shape when pulled. However, they pinched me in the sternum. I had to bend them away, which was not very easy. They fit better, however when they twist, they don´t lie flat but poke with their edges. A little bit more bending seems to have solved the issue.

   The underwires of the Jeanie strapless seem to be a tad wider apart at the gore than those of the Freya Deco strapless. Also, the tunnels of the Jeanie are longer than the underwires, so you can push the wires through the tunnels to get a more comfortable center gore situation.

Cups: The cups of the Jeanie are deeper than those of the Deco. Because of the underwires issue that I mentioned, the Deco moulded strapless is in practice much shallower, and squashes the breasts and gives a bit of quadraboob. It is even shallower when worn with the shoulder straps as opposed to without. This might be even more of an issue if your breasts are already full on top, but if you have shallower breasts you will love it.

   The Jeanie has deep cups, true to size. The cups of the Jeanie are a bit more closed on the top than those of the Deco, at least when both bras are resting, which means that the top edges are usually not visible under clothes. The cup is moulded to bring the breasts center and front.
    In the bigger cup sizes, word has it that the cup soft the Jeanie are more further apart than those of the Deco.

The straps of both bras are fully adjustable, and removable.

The Freya Deco Moulded Strapless has three silicone strips going along the band. The Jeanie strapless has only two, but the top edges of the cups are lined with silicone. Silicone helps with the grip, but some people are allergic to it and it can be a bit uncomfortable if you sweat.

Band: The band of the Deco Strapless Contour bra is snug, so you don´t need to size down like you would in the regular Deco. The Jeanie is even snugger at rest (5cm lesson a 30 band). Interestingly, the Jeanie is a tad stretchier, and both bands stretch out to a maximum of 75cm. 

   The Freya Deco has a different number of hooks according to band size: 2 hooks in D cup, 3 hooks DD-FF, 4 hooks G-GG. This is a bit annoying if you are a 28G, and you don´t need all the extra support. The Jeanie strapless has two rows of hooks for the smaller sizes, three-rows start (I think) with FF.

Both bras have boning on the sides, the boning of the Jeanie strapless seems to be a tad less flexible.

Comfort:

   The cups of the Parfait Affinitas Jeanie strapless seem to be slightly softer and more flexible than those of the Freya Deco.

The straps of the Jeanie strapless contour bra are non-elastic, which means they are a tad less comfortable, though probably more durable.

    The underwires of the Deco strapless are more comfortable because they are very flexible. I had to bend the underwires of the Jeanie a bit before it worked for me. However, I have not read many complaints about Jeanie underwires, so don´t let this scare you off.

The Freya Deco strapless is made of 81% polyester, 16% nylon/polamide and 3% elasthane.

The Affinitas Jeanie is made of 85% nylon and 15% elasthane.

Summary:

   Both the Freya Deco Strapless Contour bra and the Parfait Affinitas Jeanie Moulded Strapless bra are well-made and supportive strapless bras and I´d recommend either in a heartbeit. I hope that this post has described the differences between the two to help you determine whether the Freya Deco or the Affinitas Jeanie will fit your breasts better. In case of doubt, I suggest ordering both and trying them on side-by-side.

Freya Deco Moulded Strapless bra in 30DD Stats:

Band unstretched: 61cm

Band stretched to the maximum: 75cm

Underwire length: 22,5cm

Underwire width: 14cm

   These measurements have been taken after appx. 5 wears :)

Parfait Affinitas Jeanie Strapless Contour bra in 30DD Stats:

Band unstretched: 56,5 cm

Band stretched to the maximum: 75 cm

Underwire length: 24cm

Underwire width: 13,5cm

   These measurements have been taken after appx. 5 wears :)

More comparisions of both bras on:
Undercover lingerista
Faustine´s Foundations
R/ABraThatFits

The Affinitas Jeanie has been provided for review purposes by Affinitas. I won the Freya Deco strapless from a giveway on a bra-fitting blog, courtesy Large Cup Lingerie (which I totally recommend: free worldwide shipping, friendly customer service.) All opinions 100% mine.


   If you have any questions about these two bras, shoot away! If you own one of these strapless bras, I´d love to know whether it worked for you and what your breast type is.

Parfait Affinitas Jeanie Plunge giveway

  Now to the part that you have all been waiting for! Parfait Affinitas have generously offered the Jeanie Plunge + matching bottoms set to one lucky reader! The winner gets to choose the colour (black or European nude), and the style of the matching bottoms. Please note that the giveway is for the Jeanie plunge, not the strapless!

Rules:

• Giveway will end on 5th Jan 2014.
• Open to US, Canada and UK only!
• Winner will be picked at random.

Enter here. The more tasks you complete, the more chance you have of winning!

Update: The winner is Beth, congratulations!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Debenhams Cream Five Way Convertible Bra

   About convertible bras, clear straps, shopping from Debenhams, and a review of  the Debenhams Five Way bra.

   I ordered the  Debenhams Cream Five Way Convertible Bra out of sheer curiosity, wondering whether it will offer a solution for plunging necklines and backless pieces that I collect but don't wear. I was ordering a couple of items from Debenhams and I decided to throw this bra in as well and see if it works for me.

   The Debenhams Cream Five Way Convertible bra comes in nude and black, I got the nude one is 30DD for 21,20€. The bra comes with normal and clear straps, and a clear band and low-back band.

Here are the ways that the bra can be worn:

   Whether this bra is useful depends on your opinion of clear silicone bra straps. Personally I find them tacky, because to my eye they are very obvious. However this is just my personal opinion, so feel free to like the look of clear straps.

    The  Debenhams Cream Five Way Convertible bra doesn't have a full band, just a small piece with hook eyes on both ends. To this you attach either the clear band, or the convertible low-back band.
    Both bands are meant for backless dresses. The convertible band is meant to be wrapped around the torso twice, it stays hidden when worn under backless tops and dresses. The convertible band also has loops for the bra straps. It worked quite well for me even though it could be a bit snugger, offering moderate support (enough to feel comfortable, not enough to jump around in). A problem is that it creates flesh rolls around the tummy if you have fat in that area. If you're planning on wearing snug clothes I'd suggest layering some kind of shapewear over it to smooth things out.
   The clear band is visible under a low back, but more discreet than a normal band would be (especially with the ugly closure). However it is way too loose to offer any support. The 30 band I had was more like a 34. Other than that it looks ok, and doesn't draw too much attention to itself.

   The cups are connected in the front with a small clear piece of band, which is much sturdier than the silicone shoulder straps and will hopefully last a longer time. However it also spaces the cups a bit wide apart, which could be an issue if your breasts are close together. The cups could be lower-coverage in my opinion, because the way things are you can only wear narrower V-necks with this bra.

   Now on to the generals: the cups are made of thin, stiff foam. The underwires are very soft and bendy, so if the band were tighter it would pull the underwires more open (wider). This would distort the fit of the cups and make them shallower.
  Underwire length 21cm, width 13,5cm.
   The shoulder straps are narrow, and adjustable on the whole length. The convertible low-back band is made of a nicely soft fabric.

My verdict:

    I ended up returning this bra as the band is much too loose for me. If it were the right size I'd probably still return it, as I do not like the look of clear straps and band. I will definitely be buying just a low-back convertible band and wearing it with my other bras.

Should you get a convertible bra? 

    Almost all of the ways the Debenhams Cream Five Way Convertible bra can be worn can be done with a strapless bra (that you probably already own), if you buy clear straps and a convertible low-back band. The only thing that your strapless cannot mimic is the clear band. However if you do want to try out the Debenhams Cream Five Way Convertible, I'd definitely recommend going up two band sizes (don't forget to go up two cup sizes, as cup size is proportional to band size).

Review: Shopping at Debenhams

  I wanted to mention Debenhams: I have bought several items from the site and am very satisfied with the service. The international shipping charges are reasonable, and returns are for free. Payment via Paypal is possible, and when I returned some items my money was refunded quickly. I shopped through their German website, but the items are shipped from the UK and took around 1-2 weeks to arrive to Germany. My only complaint is that the offer on the German site is much smaller than that on the UK site (of course I could also buy from the UK site, but only some of the products have international shipping).


    Stay tuned for a the reviews I've got lined up,including the Freya Deco and it's rival Affinitas Jeanie; the Wonderbra Ultimate Strapless, and more!

    Do you own some kind of a convertible bra or a low-back convertible band? Would you recommend it? Also, has anyone recommend a good adhesive bra?

Review: Only Her Latte Plunge In 65DD

   You might remember that when I was in Poland this summer I discovered the brand OnlyHer. I was blown away by the Amaretto but didn´t buy it because it was white. This month I got the chance to try out another bra from them: a big thanks to OnlyHer for giving me the opportunity!

   The OnlyHer Latte Plunge is an underwired, lined bra in the plunge style (there is also a halfcup version). The OnlyHer brand specialises in bras for smaller and medium busts, and their bras come in cups B-FF, bands 60(28)-80. You can buy their bras at their Polish-language and German-language online stores, where apart from their own line they stock bras from other Polish brands including Ewa Michalak, Dalia, Comexim as well as a couple of British brands.

   Recently I realised that my summer wardrobe is based on nude lingerie -- I can't have enough of it! And one of my new favourites is the OnlyHer Latte Plunge. Here is my review of this bra:

Aesthetics: 3/5

    Real nude bras are rarely stunningly beautiful, and the Latte isn´t either. Nude bras are very often ugly and matronly, but the Latte definitely isn´t. The beige is actually a blush and the fabric has a sheen to it, which makes it look elegant. The top edges of the cups have a nice "wave" to them, which is very flattering for smaller busts. Funnily, on some models this is just a light wave and on others it is a peak. The little contrasting bow in the center is a nice touch. The bras is pretty yet simple enough to work under sheer tops.
   The straps are slim and light.
    The top edges of the bra are slightly visible through close-fitting tops, which is a price one has to pay with most low-cut cups. The central seams are invisible even in very fitted tops.

   The cups bring the breasts strongly closer together. This combined with the very low cut gives a seriously nice cleavage. However if you have very unfirm breasts that are prone to spilling out of cups, this will not work for you and you might want to try the half-cup version instead.
   The cups are cut very deep, which is very flattering for smaller busts. The shape they give is very round. As this bra is very "open" on the top, it will probably work for shallow breasts. However you might consider going down a cup size (especially if you don´t have much breast tissue on the top).

   The Latte plunge is an underwired bra with soft, but lined cups. This means that the cups are not moulded or padded, however several layers of fabric are used to avoid nipple show. As you might have already read on this blog, soft cups are much better for the breasts, but nipple show can often be an issue!

Fit: 5/5

   The cups are low-cut which I find very flattering. This cut avoids the typical problems with the top edge gaping / cutting in.
    The underwires have a medium width. They are pretty comfortable. The center gore is very narrow, which means that the underwires are very close together at the center. The underwires don´t go up high below the armpits. Ideal for petites and high-placed breasts, but might be problematic if you have a lot of migrated breast tissue in the area which needs a firmer hand underwire.
   The straps can be regulated all the way. The are slim, but surprisingly stable and strong.
   The band is standard. I got a 65(30) which is supportive, but I could easily have dropped down to my standard 60(28). The closure is 4x2. From what I have heard, the band holds up very well over time and doesn´t stretch out.
  On me the size of the cups is just a hair below too small, yet the next cup size would be clearly too big.
      The cups feature inserts which can be used for a slight push-up effect or to correct asymmetry, depending on whether you put both inserts into one cup or one in each. The inserts are a tad thinner but wider than those on my Ewa Michalak Onyx.

Comfort: 5/5

   I really like the soft cotton that lines the cups on the inside. The underwires have also not given me any trouble at all.
The support is quite good, and even though the cups are very low cut, nothing falls out when when I bend down.
  On the whole, this bra is one of those that I absolutely cannot feel on me! It would be the bra I would choose if I had to wear the same bra for 24hrs or more (when travelling).

Summary:

   The OnlyHer Latte Plunge is clearly going to be a re-buy staple. I love low-cut cups, and enjoy the freedom the inserts give me to control the amount of cleavage I want.


Brownie points: This is a new feature, where I will be mentioning special thing about the bra, model or brand which I see as extra positive.

• In my email exchange, the Only Her representatives really took care that I got the right size bra! It is not often that the lingerie brand people I get into contact with actually know how the bras of their brandfit.
• The online store mentions when a bra runs smaller or bigger than standard. Why don't all the online stores do that?
• The OnlyHer Latte Plunge won second place in the A-C category of the best nude bra at Stanikomania. (The first place was taken by the OnlyHer Latte Halfcup!)

OnlyHer Latte Plunge in 65DD Stats

Band unstretched: 59cm

Band stretched to the maximum: 80cm

Underwire length: 20cm

Underwire width: 14cm

   These measurements have been taken after appx. 6 wears :)

More reviews on:
Bratabase reviews

Update: 

The OnlyHer people let me know that their English-language website will be launched in early 2014. Till then you can shoot them a mail in English with your order, and any questions about sizing that you may have.

   So, would you like to try the Latte Plunge, or maybe the halfcup? Does anyone own and other OnlyHer bras, and if yes -- what is your opinion of the fit? If not, which one would you like to try?