My top Valentine's Day picks for 2014

Love it or hate it, St. Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Single or not, what better way to treat yourself than with a new lingerie set (and maybe a big tub of ice cream...)! Using my favourite online retailers I've put together a collection of my top picks for this February 14th.

1. Entice Alexa by Figleaves Boudoir 

The latest trend in lingerie seems to be straps. Straps everywhere! The Entice Alexa set from Figleaves Boudoir is a perfect example of this. It's strapping details hints cheekily towards bondage whilst remaining classy. The bra comes in XS-L suggesting it's not meant to be a functional piece and rather one for, ahem, 'bedroom wear'. 

Photo courtesy of Figleaves

Priced from £14 to 34 per piece in red or black and consisting of an unpadded bra, thong, brief and suspender belt it's above my budget for something that lacks functionality. However, for that special occasion it's rather stunning! 

2. Detachable Choker Bra Straps by Esty Lingerie

If the Entice Alexa from Figleaves is your kind of thing but you can't quite bring yourself to part with over £60, how about a detachable choker strap from Esty Lingerie? These straps simply attach to your bra band at the central gore and range from just £5.49 to £19.99. They add a subtly sexy rock/bondage look to any outfit and are really quite unique!

Photo courtesy of Esty Lingerie

Not sure? Check out the reviews from The Full Figured Chest, The Undercover Lingerista and Of Lambs and Lace.

3. Femme Fatale Slip by Gossard

Sadly this sexy slip is old stock and doesn't come in a large range of sizes (32-26 B-E) but if you're lucky or willing to sister size you might be able to find this at a bargain price. Gossard are currently selling this at £35 knocked down from £59.00. The slip can be paired with any black thong so you don't even have to buy the matching one.

Photo courtesy of Gossard

I love the contrasting lace bra section and the sheer polka dot slip. It's functional too, useful as shapewear and with foam padded plunge cups it'll boost your bangers for a WOW cleavage!

4. Charlotte by Parfait by Affnitas

The only set in my Valetine's selection I actually own is the decadent Charlotte. I bought her from LargeCupLingerie a few months ago and have only worn her a handful of times. I have this weird OCD thing about 'special' sets and sadly rarely get to wear them because of that reason! Although I've not yet reviewed the set, you may have seen my selfie on Twitter a while back.

The set is sexy, supportive and high quality, so you really feel you've treated yourself should you choose to buy it. I found the cups on the small side so I bought a 28H and the thong is a Large. The padded cups quite shallow and didn't give me any cleavage, which is forgiveable since the set is so nice! The band is firm and VERY wide as are the fully adjustable straps, which can only be a good thing if you have a large bust.

Photo courtesy of Affinitas Intimates

I bought my Charlotte set in Red but it's also available in Peach and Dusty Rose. Charlotte costs £30 for the bra, £12 for the brief and £14 for the high waisted shorts here at LargeCupLingerie. Charlotte comes in sizes 28-40 D-K, the best size range I've seen in a long time!

5. Tease Me by Curvy Kate

Long standing readers of my blog will know I'm a huge fan of Curvy Kate's Tease Me, and when they released the autumn/winter colour way of black and scarlet I knew I had to have it. 

Photo courtesy of Curvy Kate

At £29 for the bra, £13.50 for the thong and £15.50 for the shorts it's not the biggest bargain but I do love Tease Me so I'll be buying mine from Debenhams shortly. The set can also be found at Brastop for the same price but most sizes are now out of stock. *Don't forget that if you can, try a band size smaller and two cups larger. If it's not possible to downsize a band or you like a looser fit then just go up one cup size.* Tease me comes in sizes 28-30 D-J, 32 D-HH, 34 D-H, 36 D-GG and 38 D-GG but the above retailers don't have all sizes left.

*Edit* Curvy Kate have kindly informed me that this version of Tease Me now runs true to size, so it's advised that you order your usual size.

6. Carmen by Curvy Kate

Brand new from Curvy Kate is the pretty pink long line Carmen. This is the first long line bra Curvy Kate have produced and with it's padded cups with pale yellow embroidery I'm sure it will be a hit! In sizes 28-38 D-J Curvy Kate have made sure all their usual customer base won't miss out.

Carmen is a three part set consisting of the long line bra £35, suspender belt £18, and thong £15 or shorts £16. All can be purchased at Brastop. If pink isn't your thing wait until AW14 range when Curvy Kate will be producing it in black. I'm sure you'll agree it's fabulous! 

7. Neon Yellow Contrast by Made In Preston

This may not be the obvious choice for Valentine's Day so let me explain. My boyfriend ADORES yellow. His bathroom is yellow, his kitchen is yellow including ALL appliances. He loves it. Yellow isn't a colour often found in lingerie, particularly in the market for larger cup sizes. When I came across this fun set from Made In Preston my heart skipped a beat on his behalf!

Photo courtesy of Petite & Plentiful

In a good size range of (yes, a 26" band!) 26-30 DD-J, 32-36 DD-H and 38 DD-GG, Made In Preston have really pushed the boat out to ensure a lot of large busted women are included. My only complaint about this is that they are charging a higher price of £38.95 for 26 bands! It seems ridiculous to charge for the smallest and most niche of band sizes when they already have the patterns cut for all the advertised sizes. All other sizes cost £34 and the matching knickers are £8.95. I don't know if the bra is padded or not and with Made In Preston being new to lingerie, I can't advise on fit I'm afraid.

Will you be buying yourself lingerie for St Valentine's Day? Let me know your favourites by commenting below!

Bringing out the Retro Goddess in you with Gossard Retrolution!

*This set was sent to me by the kind people at Gossard to review*

Apologies for the break in blog posts, I've recently stopped spending so much on clothes and lingerie on account of paying for my Maldivian holiday next month! Thankfully, the lovely folks at Gossard sent me another set to review, so I didn't have to spend a penny! Phew!

I was sent the Retrolution set of the half padded bra (£36) in my 'sister size' of 30G with a waist cincher (£40) in a large, but neither fitted. In the bra the cups run small, as does the band, so ideally a 30GG or 30H would have fitted, but sadly Gossard don't produce bras above a G cup. The large cincher was too big all round, so I returned the set for a 32G and a medium cincher.

The Retrolution range boasts tags saying 'VIP' which instantly makes you feel you're getting something special, and the 'hardwear' is in a striking shade of rose gold as opposed to the usual silver.

Each design in the range has high quality lace panels combined with a stretch satin type fabric, again of a high quality. The Waist Cincher benefits particularly from the stretch satin as it really holds it's shape and can help smooth out any lumps and bumps. The little details and stitching add to the 'VIP' feel of the range.

The back of the bra features the classic Gossard gate back, which I love, and a nice thick band of hooks and eyes as you can see here. Great for support in larger cups.

So, how did it fit? Well, it could be better. The bra, as I said was a 32G, a far cry from my 'real' size of 28GG which meant the back was on the large size, but not so much that it would cause any major issues. It fitted more like a 30G, so I'd recommend going up a back size but keeping your cup size the same as it runs small in the cup. The coverage of the bra is full and not something I'd normally go for, but is certainly something I'd wear as there's no risk of any spillage from the centre of the cups like I usually experience in plunge bras. I will need to take the band in a little to get the perfect fit, but I must say, this bra does seem to be a very wearable day-to-day bra.

The waist cincher was ideal for me in the butt in a medium, but an inch or so too big in the waist. This is perfectly understandable as not everybody is as curvy as me, with my waist measurement of 26.5" and hips at their widest at 38". The cincher could really work as decent shapewear on someone with more 'normal' curves I'm sure. I wouldn't recommend wearing this under a slinky dress as the seams are relatively bulky so you'd get a VPL.

So you want to know how it looks, right? Here you go!

Admittedly I wouldn't have bought this set as I like a PERFECT fit and something I know I'll wear regularly, and the price is a little more than I'd pay at £76 for the set. The thing I loved about this set is that it really hit the spot in making me feel like a Retro Goddess. I teamed it with seamed stockings and black heels (not seen) and felt every inch the Pin-Up, see?! 

What do you think?

Ooh La La LOVE!

*This item was sent to me by Gossard to review. This in no way clouds my judgement*

As soon as I saw the Ooh La La range from Gossard I fell in love to the point of buying an entire set that didn't even fit purely on the basis that it looked gorgeous! I consider it the set that won me Brastop's Model Of The Month competition in December 2011. To recap, here's the set; plunge bra £30, deep suspender £22 and shorts £14.

Since then, I've lusted after the Ooh La La corsele £59 and thong £12 in it's different colours, particularly the most recent in Scarlet.

You can imagine my delight when the lovely Jade from Gossard offered to send me the very corselet and matching thong I'd been admiring from afar! As soon as I unpackaged it I was in love, but at a 30G (again, sent because Gossard don't make a 28GG) I was doubtful that it would fit.

The colour is more of a raspberry red rather than scarlet, with pinkish undertones. The vintage styling, pin tucks and lace really add to the luxury of this piece, making it ideal for bridal lingerie in the Ivory colour.

Firstly, Gossard boast this corselet has an 'easy-on, easy-off' side zip and hook and eye fastening. Let me tell you, easy it is NOT! I fought for quite a long time trying to fasten the damn thing, and eventually had to unhook the bra strap and spin it around! The zip is concealed and virtually invisible. Here's the fastening with the hook and eye part of the bra band fastened already;

The unique side hook and eye fastening with a concealed zip

The 30G padded cups were a perfect fit on me, but as expected, the band was on the large side, as was the body. I can imagine this fitting a 30G size 10-12 perfectly. Sadly it was an inch or two too big on my waist. It would be suitable for wearing underneath that little black dress as a sexy alternative to shapewear, but you also need to take into account the seams which may appear bulky under anything particularly tight fitting. I'm unable to comment on it's 'pull-in power' as it's loose in the body on me. This begs the question; how much pinning did they have to do on the model to get it to look so good?!

The addition of suspenders is both practical and drop dead sexy too! This corselet is a multi-way, enabling it to be worn under a strapless, halterneck, asymetrical or normal strapped dress. Sadly, as it was a bit big in the band, I can only wear it with straps.

Regular readers will know I like to buy my thongs in larger sizes to reduce 'muffin top' and in the Ooh La La, I was sent a Large, which fitted perfectly without any lumps and bumps.

Be warned, this corselet will make you feel like a real-life Jessica Rabbit!

At £59, it's a lot more than I'd be happy to spend, but if it fits and you have a use for it, I'd certainly recommend buying it. It's sexy, practical and well made. The corselet is available in sizes 30-38 D-G for £59 and the thong XS-L for £12. There's no denying it's one of the sexiest sets I've reviewed so far, it's just a shame that Gossard don't cater for more sizes.

What do you think? Would you pay this much for a corselet? Should Gossard branch out with their sizes?

Glossies by Gossard

*This product was sent to me by Gossard for me to review. This in no way clouds my judgement*

I saw the Glossies collection by Gossard a few months ago on Twitter, and pretty much came to the same conclusion as everyone else I know; it looked HIDEOUS! I mean, really...ew. It's shiny and see through and that Mocha colour...? I quickly dismissed this bra as something I'd never wear, or even contemplate trying on.

Glossies bra in Mocha

Then I was contacted by a lady from Gossard who wanted to send me some products to try, and to my disappointment, what turned up? I Glossies set in Mocha!! Cue a horrified look/gasp!

Gossard don't make 28 bands at all, so I was sent a 30G. I had a feel of it and the fabric is gorgeously soft but I didn't think it would support me. Then I noticed the panels on the outer sides of the cups designed to shape and support the bust. Then I tried it on...and it REALLY pains me to admit that it's actually a lovely bra and DOES support me! The fabric feels beautifully soft against the skin and although I still think the colour is pretty vile, the Mocha shade would be perfect for someone with darker skin who's looking for a 'nude' bra, because nude bras tend to cater for Caucasian skin. The Mocha colour in person is quite different than in the stock photos.

I was very surprised it worked on me because normally in a plunge such as this, the seam over the top of the bust usually cuts on, but in this bra that doesn't happen. I don't tend to wear unpadded (and particularly sheer) bras, but (and again, it pains me to admit it) I would actually consider wearing this, just as long as I could find a way of hiding my nipples. The other issue I had, although I realise other women wouldn't, it that you can see the creases in the skin on my boobs when I 'tuck' them in when putting the bra on. As I said, it probably won't affect a lot of you, unless you have post weight-loss boobs with some loose skin.

My main bugbear, and it is a biggie, is that the straps are so thin! Why, Gossard, why?? Also, it could use three hooks instead of two, so the combination of thin straps and a thin band aren't ideal in larger cup sizes.

The shorts were sent to me in a Large, and are perfect. No muffin top!! I actually love these! They are ideal for slipping on under tight fitting clothing and feel great. I imagine I'll get a lot of wear out of these because they look and feel really nice.

The Glossies range is available in various colours, in sizes 30 D-G and 32-38 A-G. The shorts comes in sizes XS-L and cost £12.00. Both can be purchased direct from Gossard here. I'd really like to see Gossard expand their size range to include 28 bands and cup sizes over a G. They are a very well established company now and I think it's about time they moved with the times and their customers.

Well I've certainly learnt my lesson; never judge a book by it's cover! Would you try Gossard's Glossies range or do you think they're too ugly?

Thanks for reading!

Finally I've won something!!

So on my quest to be photographed professionally in my smalls I've been entering Brastop's 'Model of the Month' competition every month since it started back in July last year. Yes, you guessed it, I won December's title!

I can tell you I'm thrilled to bits and have already landed an interview with the local paper (again) to try and drum up support for some votes when the time comes. I'm sure the people at The Sentinel are sick to death of me now, since I was only in the paper a month ago for the third time last year! It's all unpaid so they can't really complain!

As part of the prize I'm to attend another professional photo shoot and make over at the end of the month, and I'll be put through to Brastop's overall Cover Girl competition, which is when I'll need your votes (pretty please, you lovely people <3)! Please do check out Brastop.com, it's the only online bra shop I'll go back to again and again! Nice plug there Kel... I'll leave you with one of my winning photos ;)

As always, thanks for reading! x

To every cloud there's a silver lining...

Today I did another photo shoot for the local paper. This time it was all about bargain partywear. Not just any bargain partywear, but PRIMARK partywear! I had great fun posing with the mannequins in the entrance and ended up buying one of the dresses I wore, a leopard print skater dress for just £10. Apparently they couldn't give it to me, even though I was doing a piece basically advertising for them! If you're local to Staffordshire, I think it's going to be in the Sentinel Saturday Magazine in 2 weeks. 

After my shoot I went on a typical bra hunting expedition in the very few shops Hanley has to offer. First up, as usual, Debenhams!

I was excited to find the Freya Taylor in my 'Deco size' of a 30G, which makes a change as they never usually stock Deco's or any variant in a 30G. I've heard the Taylor runs a little small in the cup and that's not incorrect! The back was tighter than a normal Deco too, which was perfect. The cups were small, but apparently they loosen up pretty quickly. I must admit, I fell in love with this when I first saw it online, but having seen it in person, I'm not so sure. I would have preferred Freya to have used a black velvet ribbon as opposed to brown. Other than that, the styling is gorgeous.

The next brand I tried was Gossard, purely because they are half price at the moment in Debenhams admittedly! Firstly we have the Beau bra. Pretty and a nice fit, although if you're a 28 back or above a G cup, you're sized out of this. I found I had to wear it on it's tightest hooks, which can only mean one thing; I need a refit. I also found my usual problem in that the straps were too long.

Next I tried the Ooh La La range; plunge bra and suspender belt. I was instantly drawn to the vintage styling of this range, but why Gossard decided to make the straps so thin is anyone's guess. I would like to say this set was perfect, but it wasn't. The cups weren't quite right, although I can't quite put my finger on what exactly is wrong. Maybe if it was a balcony bra it would be perfect. I love the structure of this set, lots of detail, and I love the mix of powermesh and stretch lace together. The suspender belt is a small, and sits high on the waist. It's so beautiful and I would have bought this if it had fitted. I'm sure you'll agree that it's a very striking set.

Now onto Debenhams' own brand for the fuller bust; Gorgeous. I was delighted to find this sexy longline bra in my size! For once, the purple straps weren't too long, but the cups were a little on the small side, giving me a bit of side boob, as shown in the second photo. I loved the ruffled edge and black on black polka dot fabric, and the longline style made a nice change from usual bras. Debenhams are known for being hit and miss with regards to back bands, and this one was nice and snug, ideal for me. It's a shame they stop at a G cup, I'd like to see this available in further cup sizes like other bras in the Gorgeous range.

Next up, This pretty green silk mix balcony bra. I love the gorgeous pintuck detail and lace edging on this, but again the straps were too long and the back slightly too large. Again, a fitting is in order, and again, this bra doesn't come in a 28 back.

This next one was a nice idea, an unusual snake/croc print, but the fit was not nice! Very much 'down and out'. Not recommended!

Next up, a limited edition for the festive season. Navy lace with a gold metallic thread, this is a very pretty choice, nice in the cup and in the back (if you're a 30 or larger), and a limited edition, so snap it up!

I promise there aren't too many more! This was perhaps the best of the Debenhams bunch, a memory foam (yes, you heard right!) steel blue t-shirt bra. Both comfortable and functional, and with the potiential for cleavage (with a little adjustment), this bra comes in a few different colours. Finally, a bra I'd recommend!

After my epic session in Debenhams, I toddled off to Marks and Spencer and was rather underwhelmed to only find 3 bras in my size, one of which I've reviewed in a previous blog. I was delighted to find this eye-catching black sequinned design in a 30G, although I'm also aware that a 30G can sometimes mean a 28F with the odd sizing in M&S. I wasn't far wrong...Check out my four boobs! I'd need at least a 30H in M&S sizes, something that is only a far distant dream. SORT YOUR SIZING SYSTEM!!

Now, to end, a pleasant surprise. A VERY pleasant surprise. A M&S bra that FITS! It's A 30G  tight in the back, more like a 28. The cups are perfect too! Not to mention it's polka dot and red <3 The only reason I didn't buy this is because I already have lots of bras that I'm still to wear. If you're still sceptical about M&S bras I suggest you try this one. You may be surprised.

You may have noticed that I've not put any prices up this time. This is because there are so many offers and pre-christmas sales around at the moment, so you may find a bargain ;)

As always, thanks for reading x