Wading in Florence's Pacific Blue - A Curvy Kate Review

#brastop
When underwear fits & looks fantastic on it's an instant confidence boost.  I have spent so many years suffering with ill-fitting bras and enduring uncoordinated sets.  I refuse to settle for these things any more. I will continue to seek out comfortable, gorgeously designed, enticing and well-fitting lingerie for the larger lady.

Curvy Kate bring you a range of beautiful pieces in their #SS16 collection.
I have my eyes on a few of their Swimwear range too for my up-coming Summer Look Book.

Meet "Florence" or as I have nicknamed her; "Flo"



This set is such a striking blue. Flo comes in three colours; Pacific Blue (featured here) Blush (which is a dusky pink shade) and Black.


I'm wearing a size 38GG in the Balcony Bra and a size 20 shorts.  
The range fits from a 30 to 40, D to J Cups.
The shorts range from an 8 to 20.


I love the fit of the bra.  It's supportive enough to provide a fantastic lift with ample cleavage. The central "gore" fits flush against my sternum. Win!  With the migrated breast tissue "scoop & swoop" technique you can obtain a fuller enhanced fit, smoothing out any back bulges and by doing this technique regularly, you can eventually migrate the breast tissue back from whence in came.

You can pick up Flo and many other Curvy Kate selections from Brastop; their number 1 stockist.


Overall Summary: I'm a big Curvy Kate fan, I really recommend their bras especially if you have been fitted and know your correct CK bra size.
Rating:  7.5/10
Potential improvements: The fit of the shorts is not ideal.  With a tummy these are just not the greatest fit. The small v shaped cut outs on the shorts make for mildly indecent exposure.  Improve the fit of these shorts and you're on to a winner.
Would I recommend this? Yes to the bra - but I think the shorts in this cut wouldn't be in my basket again.

Hair & MUA: Kat Henry
Photographer: PK Photography
Disclaimer
These products were sent to me for review purposes. The review above is based on my own opinion of the product and I own all creative content of this post.

xXx

Tease Me...A Curvy Kate Lingerie *Review*

#Curvykate
What a lucky girl I am to have this gorgeous Tease Camisole from Curvy Kate in my boudoir collection.

I adore this cami, it's so nice to find adequately sized and well fitting lingerie.  For years I struggled to find lingerie that covered my 5ft 4, size 18/20 frame, now I don't have such a struggle with brands like Curvy Kate, Panache, Scantilly, Pour Moi, Ewa Michelak, Bravissimo making beautiful garments in a range of sizes.

This set can be bought with either a matching thong or suspender shorts. I'm by no means a thong girl (never have been, nor will I be...) but the set arrived with a thong!


The colour is what attracted me first, it's a beautiful red shade called Cranberry.

The detailing on the cups are quite intricate,  the inner cup is a cream colour called Champagne with the cranberry lace & mesh overlay.  There is a matching cream coloured ribbon along the trim and cranberry and champagne bows on the joins of the straps and in the middle of the two cups.


The cami has a split front reveal which makes it a little saucy, but there's a frilly trim to each flap so it still feels uber girly.  The trim extends to the bottom of the cami which then brings the overall length to just below butt cheek level (cheeky!)

There's a standard 3 hook and eye fastening at the back and a keyhole and fully adjustable straps. 

The fit of this cami snug. It's sized by the bra size so I chose a 38G in this set and the thong was a size 20.  The thong could use a little more material round the front in my opinion.  The balcony style bra fits fantastically just like their bras, giving awesome cleavage and maximum lift.

This is available from sizes 28 to 38 in D to J cups and the shorts and thongs start from a size 8 and go up to a size 20.

The cami can be bought from Brastop here and it's currently £37.00 which I think is great value.
I loved this cami so much that I chose to wear it for my recent shoot with the ever beautiful, acclaimed & impeccably talented photographer; Velvet D'Amour.

Velvet is such a pro, she knew just how to pose me to showcase the garment effectively whilst still being rather seductive, that's exactly what I wanted.

Combined that with the amazing hair and make up skills of Rachel Williamson who transformed me in under an hour from plain Jane to siren.  Fantastic work all round.

You lucky lot get the first peek at these shots which I have held exclusively for this post....see don't I love you!





Overall Summary: This set is perfect for the bedroom and I love how it makes me feel sexy and girly.
Rating: 8/10
Potential improvements: The thong definitely needs to have some extra material. 
Would I recommend this? Yes I would recommend this, it would be perfect for a saucy Valentine's night in!

Hair & MUA: Kat Henry
Photographer: PK Photography
Outfit shots

Professional photos taken by Velvet D'Amour of Volup.2 
Hair & MUA: Rachel Williamson
Hair Extensions provided by House of Hair UK

Disclaimer
This product was sent to me for review purposes.  The review above is based on my own opinion of the product and I own all creative content of this post.

In search of uplift...Curvy Kate Cascade Set *Review*

#Curvykate
After many years of wearing ill-fitting bras and being told by various “professional” bra fitters on many different occasions that I was a 44DD for so long you could imagine my confusion when Hannah from Curvy Kate measured me to a 38GG.  She seemed to know my size from just looking and at first I doubted her – that was until I tried this bad boy on!


The fit was unlike any bra I had ever tried.  The middle was flush against my breast bone, my boobs weren’t spilling out of the sides or the underwire wasn’t cutting into the side of my boob and what’s more – I had some serious cleavage going on.  Hannah told me that if I continued to lose inches (through BunnyHop) I may need to drop the back size but go up a cup size to a 36H and true to her word, that is my current size.  I bought this set in a 36H and Size 18 shorts.

I was fitted on a whim in Evans on Oxford Street one evening and I had not been in a position to buy on the day, but I fell in love with the colour of the Cascade set in “Topaz”  So when I saw that Curvy Kate had a fantastic offer of bra sets for £20 at Style XL I could not help myself.  I picked up this set and another in black and a few pairs of undies from the £1 a pair bargain bucket!


The bra has a gorgeous diamond shaped embroidery on the cup with an adorable little droplet jewel in the middle. The material has a elastane feel to it, but it's a soft laminate so it feels silky smooth.

It gives fantastic lift and for me that's a big plus. Since having a bubbs my boobs just lost their perk so anything that gives me a semblance of the once known perkiness was always gonna be a winner in my eye's. No "four-boob" going on and no side spillage! (Some serious official terminology there!) The straps are fully adjustable.


The shorts are made of the same material as the lower part of the cup and even feature the same embroidery and  droplet detail. My bottom half is by far the biggest part of me and I often opt for a size 20 in most undies so for my sizeable ass to fit into a CK size 18, the shorts must be a generous fit.  
This set is available NOW at Brastop and there are BLACK FRIDAY deals reducing many lines to £14 (Go Check it out!!)

Just search for "Cascade Topaz"


The balcony bra was £29 now only £14 & the shorts were £15 now only £8  It's such a steal make sure you take a look-see!

The style is also avail in a jade colour "Pixie" same cut but it's still full price :(
The sizes of the balcony bra (Product code: CK3601) range from 28-40 in a D to K cup and 42-44 in a D to G cup.
The shorts (Product code: CK3603) range from an 8 - 22
There is also a thong in the same sizes but thongs don't really do it for me!
Overall Summary: This set makes me feel confident and sexy. The quality is brilliant, the set washes well too.
Rating: 8/10
Potential improvements: I would've preferred a slightly higher waist on the shorts, but that's just preference.
Would I recommend this? Yes I would totally recommend being fitted by Curvy Kate. Their designs are gorgeous and girly. Perfect for day to day wear and pretty enough to rock in the bedroom too!


  
Xx

Hair & MUA: Kat Henry
Photographer: QR Photography
Disclaimer
These products were sent to me for review purposes. The review above is based on my own opinion of the product and I own all creative content of this post.

Dare to Bare??

#dare2bare
In an effort to promote the fact that women are a thing of true beauty and that we come in all different shapes and sizes I would like to share with you something that I hope will show my true vulnerability.
This is me....these are the photos I took back in April for the Curvy Kate #StarInABra lingerie competition.

No edits
No airbrushing
Just me...

I am not perfect - far from it....but I am me and I am HAPPY!

I accept my flaws and imperfections - but this is who I am and I am unashamed.

I continue to strive to be the happiest & healthiest version of myself possible.


This post is for all the women out there who ever feel self conscious about their bodies, I understand...but instead of beating yourself up about it...celebrate the things you do love instead.

So in true spirit of growth & self acceptance, I ask anyone reading this....

...do you #dare2bare



Make that bold choice and prove to yourself that you are beautiful - warts & all! Post a selfie of yourself baring all - be as daring as you like, but just make sure you use the hashtag; #dare2bare.

I showed myself at my most vulnerable, hoping to inspire others to step outside of their own comfort zones and share parts of themselves they would usually hide away and celebrate that in all its beauty. You don't have to expose all, just test your own limits. 

Make sure you link me to any of your posts - I would love to see yours too :)

Xx

Curvy Kate @ Evans, Oxford Street & #StarInABra

#StarInABra
It wasn't until I met +Curvy Kate 's Hannah who actually took the time to fit me at the Oxford Street branch of +Evans Clothing recently that I realised that I had been wearing the wrong bra size for years.  I have been measured many times by Debenhams & M&S; my last fitting had me at a 40E but I have previously been told I should be both a 44D & a 42DD.


No bra ever fitted correctly and I wrongly assumed that this was something to do with my shape & size or perhaps that I was simply to big and bras weren't made for people like me!



How naive I have been! Now I must admit that with my recent weight loss, dropping a back size is totally plausible but Hannah measured me up as a 38GG and gave me a recommendation of two Curvy Kate bra's that not only were absolutely gorgeous, had the best fit I have experienced ever!  She even suggested that if I continue to lose more weight that I drop another back size but perhaps increase a cup; so try a 36H. As soon as payday rolls around, I will be heading down to the nearest stockist to revamp my whole underwear selection!


Although I wasn't successful, I broke down a major confidence barrier and bared all (well in lingerie) in a submission for their #StarInABra competition.  I knew I didn't have a chance, but for me to even consider submitting an entry was a big milestone for me!

Did any of you get fitted by the Curvy Kate ladies or did you enter #StarInABra??