BM Cabernet in 60FF

About a month and a half ago, I emailed Jaimie at Bra Obsessed to see if she knew about any upcoming releases. She sent me some pictures, and the only one I remember is this BM Cabernet (I do know the other ones were already teased/released by Ewa Michalak). It was so gorgeous! I wish I still had the stock photo Jaimie sent me but I deleted it ages ago.

I decided to try a 60 band this time, so I went from a 65F to a 60FF. I'm glad I did because this band runs a little stretchy. It's a really soft, beautiful deep purple-brownish lace. It has a knitwear band, which is my favorite kind. It has a big bow in the middle and ribbons folded over with a button on the straps. It seems to run small/wide and I'm not sure if it's this size in general or if it's this style in particular. I also ordered the thong in a 38. If I'm ordering coords from Ewa Michalak I go with thongs. I usually always like her thongs but her briefs can be hit or miss. It ended up being mostly knitwear with some lace in the middle. I was hoping it would be all lace. The knitwear along the backside has lettuce edging and it looks really comfortable.

I wish Ewa's unpadded models didn't look so full coverage on me. I'm getting some wrinkles near the bottom, but I otherwise fill the cups pretty well. The gore is nice and low and sits perfectly. This lace is gorgeous and I love the oversized roses.

The profile on this one is a little pointier than some other BM models I've tried but it's not too bad at all. It's uplifted and close to my chest. The wires are a little wide, but because the wings are so low it doesn't bother me at all. The stretch lace helps cover any slight bubbling I might have on my larger side. The band stretches to 29.5 which is a little looser than I prefer. I was really hoping it would be true to size and stretch to 28 or even 27.5 inches but 29.5 will be perfectly ok. There are 4 rows of hooks so if really starts to bother me I can tight it up a smidge.

The thong is a little boring. I wish it was more lace than knitwear. I haven't tried it on yet but I know the ruffle edge styles usually run comfortable. I wish that there were buttons somewhere on this to tie in with the bra, but otherwise it matches perfectly.

Overall, I love this bra. The color is an absolutely gorgeous deep cabernet color and the lace is so soft. I really like how the 60FF fit so I think I'm going to keep ordering 60 bands in the future. I have a 60G CHP that's unfortunately been lost in the mail. Hopefully I get it soon so I can see how it fits. 

Ewa Michalak SM Tattoo in 65F

This bra isn't officially released yet, but I saw it posted on Ewa Michalak's facebook page and just had to have it. I emailed the shop and Kaska told me I could order it if I wanted. I feel so stupid though because I ordered the wrong size! I thought that I took all my unpadded bras in a 65F so that's the size I ordered. Looking through my other SMs here at home, I apparently order a 65FF. So keep in mind that this bra is a size too small. I'm keeping it anyway because who knows when/if I'll get another chance to order it!

The SM Tattoo is a gorgeous tan based bra with black lace over it. With warmer tanner skintones, it should look like the mesh just disappears. On my pasty self, that doesn't happen but it's still an absolutely beautiful bra. I was a little disappointed in the quality of the lace because there are loose threads at the end of all the embroidered bits. I'll just have to be super careful when I wash it. It has a big bow on the gore of the bra and the front/back of the briefs. It has removable cleavage straps and fully adjustable regular straps. I love how this bra looks and I wish I had gotten the right size.

I have had the song "Feeling Myself"playing in my head as soon as I put this bra on. Look at it! It almost looks like it fits perfectly. I have quad and the wires are a smidge too narrow for me and the gore doesn't tack as well as my SMs do but I'm so happy that this bra mostly fits. The band is tight. It measures only 28.5. While that is perfect for me, others who prefer a looser band might want to size up in this style. In the future I'm going to order 28 band because this one is awesome. 

I get a little bit of a flat 3/4 profile because it's too small, but I have almost no visible quad at this angle. I love how low the gore is though and I wish the next size up was so low too. 

Here you can see that I bubble over a smidge. I wouldn't wear this with super tight clothes but regular t-shirts and sweaters shouldn't be a problem. 

And the extent of the quad. I don't think the wrinkles will be as bad in the next size up, but they'll still be there. The cups feel a little unstable because they're so low coverage, but I can deal with that.

And here is the bra with the removable spaghetti cleavage straps! I think they had a lot to the look. I will probably leave them attached to the bra so I don't have to worry about losing them. 

This is the first bra I've received with quality problems that weren't limited to loose threads. There's one spot on the lace that has the black threads connected. It's an easy enough fix with a pair of snips, but still annoying. Also visible is all the loose threads. I'm not sure how that affects durability but I'll be extra careful! I love love love the little silver in the scallops along the edge. It's the only place the silver is visible. The rest of the lace has a beautiful pearly tan embroidery (along with the flowers). The straps attach to a loop in the gore-which is surprisingly hard to do-and little circles under the strap bows. The bow attachment isn't super sturdy but they aren't coming off the gore anytime soon. 

I found the underwear to fit pretty true to size. I wish the top ruffle was lace, but as it's not a stretch lace I presume the all soft mesh was for comfort. It's got the ruffle edge instead of leg elastic. I've warmed up to the idea of the ruffle edge so I'm fine with that. For me, the gusset was a smidge too wide and it is lined in cotton. It has big bows on the front and the back. The spaghetti straps on the briefs adjust with the rhinestone adjusters. While this brief matches the bra better than the Ja Wiem set, I wish either the brief had the plan black adjusters or the bra had the rhinestone ones.

Overall, I am in love with this set. It's beautiful and so comfortable and most importantly I feel amazing in it. I'm going to hold on to this 65F for now but if it becomes available in Ewa's shop I will grab a 65FF in it for a slightly better fit. Normally I don't talk price but since this one isn't for sale yet I paid 199 zl for the bra and 79 zl for the brief, or about $80 usd. 

Edit: The bra is now available in Ewa's shop for 239 zl.

Comexim Atena Longline in 65HH

Ugh you guys. I hate not having positive reviews or experiences for you guys but here we go. I don't know what happened with this bra. It held so much promise but fell so flat. It's not a bad bra, it just didn't work for me and I'm so bummed. Atena is a gorgeous black long line with gold trim and a red tuxedo bow. The matching underwear do not look like they belong with the set. They do not have the same kind of lux look as the bra. They are very strappy and skimpy and I regret ordering them. They make me very uncomfortable because of where they fit on me. I've noticed with Comexim that, for me, their underwear is either too full coverage or way too sexy with little in between.

For reference, this is what the bra is supposed to look like:

Image courtesy of Comexim

So that image definitely shows a little gore dangle, which I did not receive on mine. I have a mix of flash and non-flash photos so I apologize for the inconsistency!

My flash photo didn't turn out well but guys. I have never been so disrespected by a bra that is *supposed* to fit in my life. This photo hides the truth. I had asked for the straps to be moved in, overlapping gore, and standard plunge cut. I think the only thing that Comexim did was overlap the gore because this is a shallow, arm pit eating disaster. There's not much immediate depth, the cups are tall and the gore is resting on tissue. It has 5 hooks and 4 rows of eyes which is great. The band stretches to 31.5 which would be too big for me in a non-longline. As it is, if I was actually going to wear this bra I would need to start on the second row. The band tapers in so that it is narrower on the bottom than the top. The straps are super smooth and have no grip so trying to get into this bra means that I then need to spend 5 minutes shortening the straps all the way. 

You guys. I have no idea what the hell is the matter with the shape of this bra.  It doesn't look like there is too much space on the outside, and it looks to be projected enough in the middle, but when I swoop and scoop the outside of the bra becomes empty and my tissue escapes out the middle. I settle into less quad but still. The last bra (actually bikini) I ordered from Comexim was a 65HH and it fit fine. I filled the bra out on the sides and the middle. That was a plunge cut as well. I haven't changed size in the Ewa bras I wear every day so I don't know what to say went wrong. 

Attack of the boob. It's super hard to see but on the far away boob you can see the wire is barely below my imf. That was the best I could do with how shallow it was.

I love the shape from the side-super projected and round. If I can direct your attention to the armpit/strap region (which I apologize for cutting off!) you can see my second biggest problem with this bra. It has this wrinkle in it. It's a deep wrinkle built into the bra. It's awful. I can't believe it was meant to fit this way, but when I emailed Anna to return the bra for a manufacturing fault she said "What you show us in the picture is not a flaw. that's how we sew our bras and bras for Wellfitting. Wrinkled rubber under the arm helps good body hold when the size is well-matched. We sew the same Wellfitting as it's our construction. From the picture it looks like the bra is too big for you. You have free space under your arm. Bra is too much pulled up, the bust is not well placed in it." I am so upset about this. I can't pull the bra up any higher. It's in my armpit already and the wire would be resting on tissue. The photo I sent her showed that I had quad and that my armpit was eating the bra. I can understand getting a wrinkle like this in an unlined bra. But getting a wrinkle like this in a foam bra means that either there's something deeply wrong with the way it's made or with my body and I don't like either of those options.

So once I wear it for a bit it settles into some minor quad that is not visible under shirts. It's a nice soft material but the inside is a little scratchy/stiff.

Close up of the wrinkle. I doubt it would be as bad if the cup wasn't so tall and the cups weren't wideset. It's barely visible when not worn so I assume most of the problem is shape incompatibility.

The cups are super tall on my petite frame and just overwhelm me.

Something I noticed was that the gore is taller than the cups. Just by a smidge, but it looks sloppy. The loop around the bow is also not attached to the bow itself, and then there is the missing gore dangle.

Overall I'm disappointed and disheartened. I was so excited for this bra and it just fits all wrong. I got a medium in the panties, stupidly thinking that since they were adjustable I would be fine. Nope. They are too small, even when the straps are as loose as they'll go. I wish I had ordered a size up. I don't think this bra would have been as much of a disaster if it was done in the regular, non-shallow plunge cut and with the straps moved in. 

I hate not having positive reviews, but this bra plain didn't work for me. I think I'm done with Comexim. They have some cute designs but they don't pull me in the way Ewa Michalak's do. I wasn't allowed to return it because it was 'custom' even with that big wrinkle down the side. It's decently constructed for the price. If you need more apex projection and room at the sides and tall cups, this longline is for you! I have it for sale here with the matching panties. 

 

Ewa Michalak HM Wzor 10 in 60G

On Black Friday, I eagerly scrolled through Ewa Michalak's website, hoping to find something cute in my size. Ewa had several random models on her site included in the sale-there were some older models, some custom models, and seemingly some one-offs. I found this beauty, who has no name, on her site in a 60G and 65DD. I've been wanting to try a 60 band for a while now so I decided to take the risk with this bra seeing as it was on sale and also so gorgeous. Unfortunately there was no matching underwear available for this bra.

The HM style is an unpadded half cup with 1 seam and 1 dart near the gore for shaping. I have so far tried this model in a 65FF and a 75DD. The cups in the 65FF gave me a seriously weird shape and the band on the 75DD was understandably too large and the gore didn't tack at all. The 60G has a band that is slightly too tight and the shape is kind of odd but I consider it a perfect fit. The bra has wide set straps, a tall gore, and very open cups. The shape is minimized and very odd in a way I can't put into words (I have photos). However, it gives me a crazy amount of lift.

The cups look full coverage on me but I'm not sure if that's the style or just how it fits my body. I fill the cups completely with no wrinkles-I've never had a soft style fit with no wrinkles before! It's a very tight to the body shape which makes me look a little flat. It is perfectly pattern matched in the most beautiful shades of soft orange and coral and salmon. 

I get a little quadding on my larger side but overall fill the cups well. You can see here how wide set the straps are. It's a common complaint of mine regarding Ewa's bras and it's exacerbated here. I hope it won't prove to be too annoying if I wear it for longer periods of time. 

I get an insanely lifted, round appearance from the side so I'm not sure why it looks so flat/minimized from the front. The band runs on the firm size of true to size, measuring in at 27.25 inches. That is my current underbust measurement so it feels firm on me. I don't think it will bug me too much. The bra's clasp only has 2 rows of eyes. If there were 3 I don't think the band would be a problem. It is made out of ridiculously soft knit in the most glorious shade of salmon.

And here is that weird shape I was talking about earlier. I have no idea what it is about the construction of the bra that would cause it, so if anyone can enlighten me that would be awesome!

Close up of the armpit attack going on with the straps.

The straps are very wide at .75 inches and completely smooth. I am worried that they will slip because there's no embellishment on them at all. They are medium stretchy and soft.

 Even the inside of this bra is pretty. Light pink elastics with red stitching and the wings/band are lined with beige powermesh. The jersey/powermesh bands are my favorites because they always seem firmer than the lace ones. I noticed that the seam tape is sewn with pale pink thread on the inside, matching the seam tape, and red thread on the outside, matching the embroidery. It's a little thing that most people won't notice, but it shows all the thought that is put into Ewa's bras.

The gore is wide and tall and the wires don't really overlap. In this size, the height of the gore doesn't bother me too much. It is a soft tack and doesn't really rest on tissue. 

I can't say enough about how beautiful this bra is. It is well made and hopefully will be comfortable once I break the band in a little bit. I'm not convinced that 60 bands are for me but I will size down if a bra is known to run loose. I'd say my ideal band size is a 28.5/29 and since Ewa's models are known for running tight a 65 band is usually the safest bet. I was worried that this bra would be too big since I normally take a 65F in unpadded sizes which would translate to a 60FF if I went down a size. However, this bra fit well and even a little small on my larger size. I am glad I took the risk on this one. The only thing that would have made it better would be matching underwear but I know that will never happen! There is one model of this bra left on her site in a 65DD. If that's your size I reccomend you snatch this one up! 

Playful Promises Rosie Quarter Cup Bra and Ouvert Brief in 30F/S

Hi all. I want to apologize for being a poor blogger this year. I've been going through a lot of stuff this year which hasn't left me with much time or energy left to devote to this blog. Hopefully that will all start changing, and I wanted to start again with this review. It's a lot of firsts: first quarter cup bra, first ouvert brief, first order from Playful Promises (and first review in too long). This is a long review guys, and please note that I am not wearing pasties in these pictures so my nipples are visible.

I'm not sure what inspired me to do so, but a week ago I was looking on Playful Promises' (hereafter known as PP) website and discovered they had a sale on. As I often do, I decided to check it out. I was expecting to just window shop, but then I found the Rosie Bra. I've always wanted to try a quarter cup bra but I could never justify it. When I saw this on sale, I knew that it was time. My order total was 35 pound, or $60. PP's website is easy to navigate and the UK/US sites have different stock, at least of the sale items.

I wasn't too sure on sizing so I decided to order what I believe to be my UK size of 30F (I've not bought a UK bra in ages) and the ouvert brief in a medium. Their size chart confused me: at first all I saw was the conversion for bra size. I didn't realize their size chart had sizing for briefs on there until after I had already placed my order. And according to this size chart I had discovered too late, the brief in a medium was equivalent to a US 8-I'm a US 4. I immediately emailed PP, hoping it wasn't too late to change my order to a size small brief. The next morning, I got an email saying my order had shipped. While I was bummed I couldn't change the brief, I accepted it as it was entirely my fault. Imagine my surprise when Anna from PP emailed me a few minutes later saying she'd try to pull my order and update it for me! And she did-she emailed me back saying she had updated my order and swapped the brief for me. This is some of the best customer service I have ever received and I wanted to make sure everyone knew about it.

This bra is a quarter cup bra. It has 2 pieces/1 seam. There is mesh on the wings and boning on the seam between the 2 wing pieces. I don't know how necessary the boning is but I'm going to leave it in there until it bugs me. It is a full band bra with a leotard back. The straps are the most disappointing part for me. I knew they weren't fully adjustable, but these are the longest straps I have ever seen. When I shortened them I just sewed the stretchy pink part straight to the back elastic. The cups are also shallow which gives me a pointier shape. The material is soft and the colour is beautiful. For the original price of almost $90 for the set, I think the construction and materials live up to the price point.

Again, I am not wearing pasties in these pictures.

These pictures are all taken pre-strap shortening. I have gaping and the edge of the bra clearly shows under shirts. I don't feel super supported and the straps won't stay up at all if I don't stand still.

Because these cups are so low, the shape you get depends a lot on your own natural shape. I'm pretty even and my nipples just peek above the cup edge. Without a shirt on this results in a pretty pointy shape especially because the cup goes straight out at an angle because of how shallow it is. However, with a tight tank on it's not as extremely pointy as it is without it. The cups fit pretty true to size but shallow on the bottom and inside. I get a smidgen of quad around the inside, but I believe this is the best fit I can expect in this style. The straps are wide set but soft. As I mentioned earlier they are extremely stretchy and long. The wires are medium firm and narrow. The gore touches at the top but does not overlap. I get gapping up around where the strap connects but I'm ok with that. The band is nice and firm, stretching to about 29.25 inches which is perfect for me. The wires stay in my imf for my brief test drive. I believe they would slide down over time because I don't have the depth I need but since I won't wear this for hours and hours that is something I can overlook. I am pleased with the fit and appearance of this bra. 

It's really hard to get a good photo of your bum but I tried. These briefs should be equivalent to a US 6 but the waistband is super tight. It's a lower cut brief so luckily for me it doesn't really cut in too bad. I believe the next size up would be too baggy in the bum/crotch so I'm not going to try the bigger size. Despite the tight waistband, the leg elastic doesn't cut in and the bum fits fine. The ouvert part is actually pretty discrete as evidenced in the photos and fits as expected.

 The ouvert part is nicely lined with very thin binding or piping.

 I forgot to take photos of the straps pre-shortening but I had to cut off all the adjustable part to make it work for me.

All in all, I am extremely pleased with my first set from PP. Customer service was excellent, the quality is great and it fits well enough. I expect to get plenty of wear from this and if I have the funds I'd like to further explore this brand in the future.