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 

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