Sadly I've not been fortunate enough to have had a lovely beach holiday for a number of years now, so when Lilly & Lime asked me to review a bikini of theirs I agreed with a heavy heart. Poor me, I know!
Lilly & Lime are an Australian specialist D cup and up swimwear brand, launched in January 2016 and based upon an idea the two busty founders Emma and Ashleigh had during a champagne fuelled night out!
I'm a huge fan of nautical stripes so naturally I opted for the Blue & White striped full cup bikini top in my current size of 28H and Blue & White striped hipster tie bottoms in a size 14. I really wanted to try the balconette shape as I feel it would work better on me, but the striped bikini wasn't available in my size. Emma from Lilly & Lime was most helpful when it came to fit advice and suggested their sizes are similar to those of Curvy Kate and Panache, which I found particularly useful to know when shopping newly discovered brands.
The full cup bikini top has fully adjustable straps (a godsend!) and the band size is fixed, fastening with a white plastic clip at the back. The cups have non-removable pads and it is made from a double layered stretch swimwear fabric. I must admit I was slightly underwhelmed with this bikini top. Although it offers support and a good size range, I'd ideally like something a bit more...wow! Admittedly this is probably due to my choice of the full cup and my 34 year old boobs (that have seen better days!), so I am just speaking for myself here. One thing I would LOVE to have seen is a narrower gore. I just think it's a touch too wide for my liking and tends to flatten my boobs a little. If these are things that bother you, the balconette shape does seem to have a bit more of a wow factor and I kind of wish I'd made my decision based on shape rather than pattern so you might want to bear this in mind when shopping with Lilly & Lime.
As for fit, it seems pretty darn good on first impressions, maybe a tiny bit small in the cup but not enough to warrant going up a cup. The band is nice and snug and I'd suggest going up a band size if you're on the upper end of your usual band measurement. My underbust measures 27" so the 28" is perfect on me.
Yes, I have cellulite, I'm a human.
The tie side bottoms are lovely! I LOVE tie sides, mainly because they give you the option of loosening them off if you're feeling a bit bloated and you don't need to worry about the sizing too much either. Again they're made from a double layer stretch swimwear fabric and the fit is spot on!
The Lilly & Lime bikini top range comes in band sizes 28-38 and cup sizes F-HH. Bottoms come in sizes 8-18 and run in UK sizes. Currently Lilly & Lime are producing bikinis in two colours (nectarine and black) and three prints (floral, chevron and stripe). Go forth and shop!
Thanks for reading ,
Le Curvy Kitten
x
