All I want for Christmas…

This is not just lingerie; this is M&S lingerie...

The bra I have up for review this time is the Perfect Fit Underwired Extreme V PlungePush-up by Marks and Spencers.
I chose this bra as one I would like to receive myself as a Christmas present! (Here’s where I hope my boyfriend is reading)

I chose this bra because I’m a bit of a tomboy – I wear a lot of t-shirts, so needed a bra that was pretty enough to look at alone, but smooth enough on the cup to wear underneath a t-shirt without it becoming lumpy.
The cup of this bra is nice and smooth, with a little lace detailing towards the bottom of the cup, which flows seamlessly into the lace on the back band.
It’s also a great colour for wearing under a white top, for example, as the colour is described as ‘fawn’ a pink-beige colour.

The back of the bra is gorgeous, and the lace means that it can be worn as a luxury item, and looks gorgeous underneath a sheer blouse or shirt.  

It’s a genuine all-rounder to be honest, and is comfortable to boot!

With regards to the fit of the bra, there isn’t much negative to say at all.
The cups are well shaped and fit me very well, despite having two different sized boobs! Generally I get a fair bit of gaping on the right cup, but both cups on this bra fit me well, and there was only a tiny bit of gaping on the right hand side (which was barely noticeable and certainly not an issue).

I did expect the lace to be a little irritating, as this can happen with a lot of similar bras, however I was pleasantly surprised that even after wearing it for a while, it was still as comfortable as it was the moment I put it on J
This pleased me no end, because it’s so beautiful that anything less than perfect comfort would be an injustice!

The straps were also sufficiently well-built to withstand holding even the largest pair of twins, and they didn’t dig in at all in the time that I was wearing it (and believe me, I gave it a thorough testing!)

The bra was described as an Extreme V Plunge Push-up and it really did live up to that description.
Trying the bra on with my most revealing of dresses, no an inch of bra could be seen in the V of the dress, and the push-up effect really was amazing.

I always get a little wary of bras that claim to be extreme plunge, as it normally means that the padding is on the outer edge of the cup and I end up looking ridiculous with a gap the size of the Grand Canyon between my breasts.
However.
The Extreme V Plunge Push-up did retain some of the padding on the bottom of the cup (in its rightful place) and so I actually ended up with a decent cleavage for once. A miracle considering the meagre quantity of boob that I actually possess!
The quality of the padding is also pretty good. Sometimes you find the weird bean-filled sacs in the bottom of bras, or really heavy, poor-quality ‘foam’ type padding that does nothing more than weigh you down. Again, 

I was pleasantly surprised, as the padding was lightweight and comfortable, with just enough there to do the job, without there being too much.

As a result, the shape that the bra gave me was also very natural. With it being a plunge bra, a lot of what makes up the shape of your boobs while wearing this bra is, in fact, your own breasts.
On occasion, the padding takes over, and all you see under your clothes is what appears to be half a tennis ball stuck onto your chest; however this was not the case here.

As I said, the shape this bra gives is very natural, and does look as if there is no padding there at all, especially with the plunge feature leaving a lot of breast uncovered.

Testing

I gave this bra all my usual tests…

I wore it for a number of hours, and did a fair bit of jumping around to see how well it would stand up to that (In all honesty, I did a few star-jumps, but it’s a worthy test nonetheless!)
Safe to say nothing fell out or over-spilled, though I did have to pull the back down once or twice.
My argument for this is that I had the bra on the loosest hook (which you should always do when trying on a new bra). While I could have got a smaller back size, after putting on the middle hook, all my troubles ceased and I had a fully functional, supportive bra.

Lifting my boobs into the cups proved no problem. They fit in perfectly, and didn’t over-spill or gape (I’ve already mentioned my issues with differing cup sizes between my boobs) so that was all good!

During my trademark ‘shake test’ the bra also stood up well. Hanging upside down while frantically trying to shake my boobs out of the cups amounted to nothing, as this bra held me in with no trouble at all, despite having a fairly low plunge at the front.

Just take a look at my fitting guide to see what size you need to begin looking at. Of course, this doesn’t give a definitive answer, it’s merely a guide to get you started.
To be honest I always find that once you find your back size, getting the cup size is really a matter of common sense and trial-and-error. Getting the back size isn’t usually too hard either; it’ll be roughly the measurement (in inches) around your ribcage just under your breasts (this is always a good starting point). 

Always try on bras on the loosest hook, and if you feel it’s too tight, go up a size. If it’s too loose and the back is riding up, make sure you go down a back size, or you risk not getting the support you need, which can lead to back problems in the long run, among other things.

With the cup sizes, as I said, there’s a bit of trial-and-error involved, but once you’re started its really very easy. If in doubt, most stores now have trained professionals to help you anyway. For this, I highly recommend Marks and Spencers, Ann Summers and Debenhams – these are the best from my experience.
If you’re experiencing a bit of overspill from the cup or under your arms, go up a cup size. If there’s gaping, go down.

So to summarise…

I’m going to rate this bra in four categories, with stars being awarded out of five for each category:

Comfort: ★★★★★
Fit: ★★★★
Support: ★★★★★
Quality: ★★★★★

In summary, I gave the fit 4 out of 5 stars because of the slight issue with the back size, though that wasn’t a major issue and it was easily sorted by just tightening the band a little.

Every other aspect I was immensely pleased with to be honest, and I think I would be hard-pressed to find a better bra for the same purpose anywhere else J

Anyone that wants a link to this bra, here you go! Just click on the image below. It comes in three colours and is very reasonably priced at £22.50 :) 

Haych xxx 

Drumroll please...

So...it's clearly been a while since my last post. Life has a bad habit of getting in the way sometimes!

But from now on, I have a lot more free time since I finished my degree (hooray) so I'm getting back into the blogosphere well and truly. And I hope to do it in style ;)

So first of all, a review of one bra that I'd love to receive for Christmas, from the M&S range. Why I crave it, how I know it's right for me, and a link in case a certain someone wants to buy it for me (hint) haha

As the Boxing day and January sales hit, I'll be identifying the very best in New Year bargains from every lingerie range you can imagine, with thorough lists of the best deals, and how you can get them :)

That's it for this short post, but in the meantime, Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New year from me!!

Epic Bra Battles - Day Two!

Round One: Looks

The Serengeti Plains is one of those bra’s where you can tell it’s well made from the moment you put it on.
The material was gorgeous; deep blue satin that felt wonderful to touch because its just so soft. Despite this, the design is a little plain, though I suppose any more and it would have been ‘too much’. The bows are a nice touch though, in complementary orange.
The straps are in the same colour and material as the cups, so they're not too fussy either.
On the whole, this bra (while it feels lovely) does lack that little something extra.

The Collette from La Senza is a gorgeous bra by anyone's standards. The cups are silk, with delicate lacing on the cups and scalloped lace along the neckline.
Similarly to the Serengeti Plains, this bra has a delicate bow nestled between the cups, which is gorgeous.
The straps are plain, and the same colour as the cups. This works well with the style of the bra however; any more detailing and its at risk of looking too fussy.

The winner for round one...the Collette!

Round Two: Quality
I found the Serengeti Plains to be very well made, as is typical of Elle MacPherson.
As the cups are molded, they feel durable, and I think the quality of them is good enough for this bra to be worn everyday with no trouble!
The straps seem a little unsubstantial, as I suspect there may be issues when it comes to larger cup sizes, with them causign a little discomfort.
The fastenings all seem great, and I don't feel there is much danger of this bra breaking in any way!

The Collette, while a high street bra, is also fantastically well-made.
 The silk if of course outstanding quality for a high-street bra. Many are made from satin, which is no-where near as luxurious as the silk. The lace detailing is added beautifully, and the quality of the lace is great. It doesn't itch at all, and it does look and feel wonderful.
The straps seem suitably thick which is always a plus, especially for the larger cup sizes.

Both bra's are wonderful, and so well made its ridiculous! Therefore, I award a draw!

Round Three: Comfort
When wearing the Serengeti Plains, I found that it was immensely comfortable. The cups were nicely lined with no seams, and the underwires weren't poking out or digging in. In fact I barely noticed they were there!
I found the level of support that this bra gave to be great too. I tried to shake my boobs out of the cups, and there was a small amount of spillage from the cup. This is not unexpected, as this does happen with a lot of bra’s. To make this point again, however, for such a pricey bra, I did expect better.

The Collette in white

With the Collette, the cups were a slightly different shape to those of the Serengeti Plains. I felt that my boobs were held in much better by the Collette, and when I tested this by trying to shake them out, there was actually no spillage whatsoever from the cup. Needless to say, I was impressed!
Again, the underwires were great, as was the lining of the cup.
In fact the only thing I didn't like about this bra was the fact that I couldn't take it home with me!!

So I feel the winner of this round, and overall is the Collette!


The Collette wasn't a whole lot cheaper than the Serengeti Plains (the Collette being £30 and the Serengeti being £37) but the value-for-money comes from silk being used to make the cheaper Collette, and satin on the Serengeti.

Haych xxx

Designer vs High Street - Epic bra battles 101

So in a series of classic head-to-head battles, I am going to pitch designer and high street bra's against each other over the next three days to determine if you really do get what you pay for.
I have three designer bra's; the Cupcake (by Elle MacPherson), the Serengeti Plains (also by Elle MacPherson) and the Seductive Comfort (by Calvin Klein). These are going to be put head-to-head against similar bra's that you can buy for £30 or under on the high street.

I took a trip to Manchester on the 21st August to see which bra's were the most comparable to the designer ones I had chosen.
I chose to go on this day, because the 21st August was a special day in Manchester.
Following the horrific riots of the 9th August, the people of Manchester have rallied together against the violence and have launched the I♥MCR campaign.
Thousands of people were in town, hundreds holding I♥MCR posters, and wearing I♥MCR t-shirts. The Manchester Evening News printed free Metrolink vouchers in the paper to encourage people to get back into the city centre and show support for the local businesses.

Photo: Mark Waugh

Around 2pm, film crews showed up, and in the 'Manchester Moment', hundreds of people held up their posters, and gave interviews about this campaign. Bands played in Piccadilly Gardens, and street dancers performed in St Anns square; everyone completely united against those few who destroyed so much of our great city.
When I finally dragged myself away, I got to work!

The three high street bra's I chose were the floral chiffon balconette (by Janet Reger), the Collette silk bra (by La Senza) and the white spot balcony (by Wonderbra).

There are three rounds to every 'fight':
Round One is looks
Round Two is quality
Round Three is comfort

So those are the rules, and soon it's time to get started!

Haych xxx

Little things that make a big difference! (The sequel)

This is a continuation of my quest to find the best boosting bra on the high street. The first 'instalment' of which you can read a little further down the page. Or you can be lazy and click here ^-^

Continuing the quest for the best boosting bra on the high street, I bring you bra’s from La Senza!

There are only two, at the moment, as there was a bit of a crisis in the Manchester Debenhams that day, and all customers and staff were evacuated. I spent the majority of the journey out of the building still pulling on my top!

Nevertheless, I tried out two kinds of bra; one a boosting strapless, the other a strapless bandeau.

XXX Effect Strapless

 

The boost that this bra gives your cleavage is pretty decent, it's about 2 cup sizes. While the bra was quite weighty because of the sheer amount of padding, the effect this gives is great. The fit was good, and the shape that it gives your boobs is quite natural, which can’t be said for many bra’s with this much padding in them!

Because of the weight, it meant that the bra felt the effect of gravity rather a lot more than normal strapless bras, and I felt like I would constantly be pulling it up throughout the day. Having said that, it kept me in place relatively well, more so than a lot of strapless bra’s I’ve tried in the past, so that counts for something.
After trying the bra out on a couple of nights out in Manchester, I found that all of my assumptions about pulling it up were wrong. The bra stays up fantastically well, and lasted the entire night on two (and many more to come) occasions.

There weren’t many designs on the bra’s, which was a shame; the standard plain black, nude and white, and this leopard print were the only ones available. The black, nude and white bra's cost £22, while the leopard print costs £6 more, at £28.
The boost that this bra gives you is around +2 cup sizes.

Comfort: ***
Fit: ***
Support: ****
Quality: ****

Soft Bandeau - Nude

I hesitated to try this bra on, because bandeau bra’s usually look absolutely terrible on me. This one didn’t look too bad though, so I thought I’d give it a go.

As the sizes were small to extra large, I opted for a medium, though the elastic was a little loose around my ribcage. I could have had small, but I think the cup size would have been to small then. That’s the problem with sizing things with S, M and L...it really doesn’t take into account the variation amongst women with regards to cup size. Just because you have a small band measurement, doesn’t necessarily mean you have a small cup size to match, and the same goes for larger band measurements.

On the whole though, this isn’t bad for a bra to wear for general everyday things. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it for a night out though! It does hold you in reasonably well, and it stood up well in the ‘shake test’, as I didn’t fall out at all. It was comfortable though, as there were no wires to dig in, or silicon gripping to stick to your ribs!

There isn’t much in the way of padding, for those that want it, and the shape that it gives your boobs isn’t particularly natural. It gives the impression of two half tennis balls, stuck on your chest...

For women with larger boobs, I don’t think that this bra would hold you up especially well. There isn’t any grip on the elastic, as there are with most strapless bras, so I don’t think it would hold up especially well.

As far as design goes, you’re pretty much limited to white, natural or black, although this isn’t exactly a luxury bra, so this is to be expected.
Costing £16, this is a very reasonably priced bra.

Comfort: ****
Fit: ***
Support: **
Quality: ***

Unfortunately, that's it for the La Senza bra's for now. However! I will be updating this very soon! I feel a shopping trip coming on ^-^

Haych xxx

A look into this seasons lingerie trends :)

As you may know, I ran a questionnaire for a couple of weeks to have a look at the lingerie consumer market this season.
A surprising number of people helped me out; I wasn't expecting such a great response!

So, the first thing is a quick breakdown of my audience. This is actually a reflection on the blog too, so I thought it was kinda interesting...
Anyway, a whole 91% of the people who answered my questionnaire were aged between 20 and 29 years, and the rest were in the 10 to 19 years category!

...I'm a little sad...I like using excel for everything! ;)

I also found that only 54% of the people asked had been professionally fitted into a bra. This really surprised me, because I thought that most people would have been. Those that had, had gone (most commonly) to Marks and Spencers, with the next most popular being Debenhams. M&S did have mixed reviews however - which is exactly what I have heard from people I know who have been fitted there. The fitting is described by some as "rushed" with "no advice or recommendations given", whereas others swear by M&S fitters who "always seem to know what they're doing, and make finding the right bra easier".
Having never been fitted in M&S (only Debenhams) this discrepancy has given me the incentive to go and try out a few stores, to see where is actually the best place to go for a fitting. Cue, the store fitting challenge!

The Freya Deco, up to 38G

The After Eden Multiway, up to 38D

The most popular styles of bra amongst consumers at the moment seem to be multiways and strapless, t-shirt and push-up underwired bra's. With the arrival of summer (or what we foolishly call 'summer' here in the UK) the multiway and strapless bra's are out in full force, with the arrival of strapless and strappy dresses to our wardrobes!
Of course the best multiway bra's don't focus primarily on how many ways they can be worn, but on the quality of the fit to begin with.
Whenever I try a multiway, I always begin by removing the straps and wearing it as a strapless bra. If it doesn't hold you up well enough without the straps, chances are it won't perform brilliantly, for example, as a halterneck.
As multiways offer less support than a classic bra, if it's not holding you up without the straps, chances are it won't be a whole lot better with them either.
It's generally easier to get t-shirt and push-up bra's to fit, as they're the kind of bra most people are used to, even from buying your first bra - I know mine was a plain black, underwired t-shirt bra, so I'm well used to them!

To provide a little more detail, I looked into what designs consumers prefer to see this season on their lingerie.
Since floral prints are very fashionable this season, I expected to see a lot of responses related to floral patterns on our underwear. I was quite surprised to see, however, that the reaction to floral printed undies wasn't quite as positive as I had imagined.
A lot of responses suggested a certain 'tiredness' for floral underwear.
Lace being the timeless classic that it is, was very popular, as were pastel colours and 'frills' (I can't see these EVER going out of fashion!).
Tying together the most popular styles of bra with design, plain block colours are also quite popular, and this is understandable. T-shirt bra's are popular all year round, as are the classic block colours that go hand-in-hand with them!

The fabric of a bra is important too, with many consumers preferring cotton and silky underwear, as opposed to man-made mixes of fabrics.

Of course, these can be quite costly materials, and since 72% of people would be willing to spend only between £0 and £20 on a new bra, it seems we can't always have what we want!

Haych xx

Silk image from aveniabridal.com

Win free lingerie for a year with Freya!

You can win a new set of Freya lingerie every month, for a whole year!

All you have to do is enter your name, bra size (of course!) and email address into their competition site, to be entered into the competition. What could be simpler?!

Just click on the Freya logo above to view the webpage and enter this fantastic competition! :)

Haych xx

Lingerie Drawer Consumer Survey

If you could, please take part in my short (very very short) survey at the link below. It will seriously take a maximum of three minutes, and the feedback will help me so much to make my blog much better! :)

The survey can be found here, and as I said will take 3 minutes max!

It doesn't involve information any more personal than your age range and bra size, so it's perfectly safe. And the results are for my own use LingerieDrawer.

Thank you so much!!

Haych xxx

Little things that make a big difference!

This is an ongoing quest of mine to find the best 'boosting' bra on the high street! I'm going to give each one a short review, and will rate the comfort, fit, support and quality on a five-point scale from 'poor' to 'outstanding'!
I've begun my search in my local Debenhams (Altrincham, Cheshire) which doesn't stock much in my size, to be honest. The number will therefore be added to, as and when.
Nevertheless, I found 4 bra's that were worth trying out, so here they are!

Wonderbra "Full Effect"

The Wonderbra "Full Effect" bra was a dream! The padding inside was fan shaped from every angle, and this gave an incredible boost!
The fit of this bra was excellent, though there was slight gaping where the cups join in the middle. This could just be my boobs though, as they're quite far apart (see my fitting room page).
Overall, it was incredibly comfortable, and the fit was great.
On the "shake test" (again, see my fitting room page) this bra held up well, with only a little spillage from the cup. This is understandable, as there is so much padding in the cup of the bra! The padding is a combination of air and liquid, so it feels substantial (unlike with air-only padding) yet still lightweight.
The bra also looks fantastic! You pay a little more (£1.50) for the lace design, as opposed to matt, block colour, yet its still smooth enough to wear as a t-shirt bra. The small 'W' feature between the cups is also kinda cute! ^-^
The lace design bra is £30.50, while the black, natural and white plain bra is £29.00.
The adverts don't lie either; it really does boost your boobs to around 2 cup sizes more than normal!

• Comfort:   ****
• Fit:            ***
• Support:    ****
• Quality:      ****

Wonderbra Gel Balconette

This was another comfortable bra, however it didn't feel quite as supportive as the "Full Effect", also by Wonderbra. This is undoubtedly due to the style of bra; this is a balconette bra. 

The padding in the bra is at the bottom of the cup, to give your boobs a real uplift! The padding was a very light gel, which meant that the bra was neither heavy nor uncomfortable. 

The bra fits reasonably well, though I did have to tighten the strap on the right hand side to stop the cup gaping (due to my being quite uneven). 

Speaking of the straps, I found them to be a little thin, and I think perhaps that women with bigger boobs than me may find them a little uncomfortable.

On the "shake test", this bra did reasonably well, however slight 'spillage' did occur. 

Despite the bra being plain black, the design was pretty, and it could easily be worn as a t-shirt bra.

For the price of £24.50, this bra is quite expensive, but worth the money. The padding is incredibly lightweight, and the spotted Jacquard fabric and lace detailing make this bra absolutely adorable! The boost that it gives you is around +1 cup size.

• Comfort:   ****
• Fit:            ***
• Support:    ***
• Quality:      ****

Ultimate Natural Boost

I've owned one of these bra's for a number of years, and it's been almost perfect for me!

It has excellent support, and I've been to the gym in it a few times, it's that good. Its also really comfortable, as the straps are a reasonable thickness, and the liquid padding is pretty lightweight. As the cups are underwired and padded, it holds you in really well.

With the padding at the bottom of the cup, your boobs are lifted up and outwards, giving you a boost of around +1 cup size. 

There is a striped design on the cups and back, and on an otherwise plain bra, this makes it a perfect t-shirt  bra, and perfect for everyday wear. 

On the "shake test" this bra was an excellent - I was held in really well, and nothing left the cup!

So, this bra fits really well, and this makes it worth the money. Not that this bra was especially expensive, at just £18.00 (currently reduced to £13.00 - correct on 9th July 2011) at Debenhams. 

The only thing I can find wrong with this bra is the elastic - in the time that I have owned one (about 2-3 years) the elastic has gone a little slack. 

• Comfort:   ****
• Fit:            ****
• Support:    ****
• Quality:      ***

Ultimate Push-Up Balcony 

I found this bra fantastic! The boost that it gives is great - between 1 and 2 cup sizes, while still keeping the natural rounded shape. 

Neither of the cups gaped at all, and the band, straps and cups were very comfortable. 

Despite this being a balcony bra, it survived the "shake test" really well, and I stayed firmly in place. 

The padding is a lightweight liquid, giving you a gentle push up for killer cleavage!

The design of this bra means that it looks stunning by itself, with the lace trim and bow at the front. It also goes great under a t-shirt, as the decoration is smooth, and doesn't leave any lines under your clothes. 

This is a very reasonably priced bra, at £20.00 (currently, as of 9th July 2011, it's in the sale at £15.00) and is well worth the money. 

• Comfort:   ****
• Fit:            ***
• Support:    ****
• Quality:      ***