During my very short and sweet holiday, away from cloudy England and on to beautiful higher climates, I got a chance to test out my new bikinis.
The First bikini on my list, is the Freya Zodiac. Unfortunately, since I bought it earlier this year, my size has increased, and it is now to small for me. So, the only picture I have to show you, is one I took after I first bought it. Sadly, on holiday I couldn’t bring myself to wear something that was too small (not in front of others anyway!)
Freya 'Zodiac' Bikini
However, I did go for a quick dip in the pool with it very early one morning, while no one else was around. I can safely say that it water tested very well; it didn’t try to slip off and was comfy to swim in. Not only that, but it has a lovely pattern with bunnies and cats on it, which I love. The bikini briefs also have a flap that you can fold down, or pull up to cover your tummy if you so choose. I found it quite true to size, I tend to wear my bikinis in 32 rather than 30, as I don’t want too much squidgy-ness when in public.
The one down side that I find with most Freya bikinis, and in fact, most bikinis in general, is that there is a very limited size choice for briefs. They come in XS, S, M, L and XL. Knowing how unlikely I am to fit into most bikini briefs, I always opt for XL. I can tell you that these are the equivalent of a size 14-16..which is not very big at all for an XL. I really wish companies would expand their swimwear, not only in the brief department, but over G cups as well! I have many frustrated H, J and K cup friends who really struggle to find decent swimwear. Fantasie is one of the few brands that do – good on them!
This however, this is a small downside for a very lovely bikini. I would definitely recommend it.
My next review is for the Pour Moi Azure bikini. As beautiful as I find it with its striking cobalt colour, and as much as I want to give it a good review, I just can’t. When I first bought this bikini, I found it huge in the cup. I immediately sent it back for a smaller size because it swamped me. On getting the correct size, it was a better fit…in the cup at least. The problem is, the back does not give any support whatsoever. I ordered a 32, which near enough makes no difference, as it is a tie back bikini, and even the 32 didn’t have that much extra tie -up material. No matter how tight I tied the back (and I had help from someone tie-ing it as tight as possible), I could still, every time, manage to pull the front of the band inches from my chest. I took a good look at the design of this bikini, and saw that the tie back straps and the band were separate pieces of fabric feebly stitched together. Because of this join, the back half cannot pull the front half any tighter.
Pour Moi 'Azure' Cobalt - Unsupportive Band
What a shame to have such a huge design flaw in what would otherwise be a fabulous bikini. I went in the sea with this on, swam for about 5 minutes; on my way out, my other half had to run over and adjust me, because everything had already fallen out underneath!
Pour Moi 'Azure' Cobalt
The top appears fine in the picture, before you start to move around or swim in it. If you plan to stay completely still the entire time, then that is the only time I would recommend this bikini.
I really did like having the option of tie-side briefs though, because that can work for so many different sizes.
Next, is one I wouldn’t normally go for, but I took a risk anyway. A La Senza bikini. Generally I’m not a fan of La Senza bras, their sizing is usually off, and anything above a DD cup appears to be badly designed, or designed by someone who does not have a larger chest. They also incorrectly measured me; never a good sign.
However, I’m more open in terms of their swimwear, and spied a very pretty bikini, the Marbella, which I was pleased to discover came in a GG. I actually really liked it, and even though it had a similar build to the badly designed Azure bikini, because this time it had a clip-up band and not a tie back, it wasn’t a problem. It’s lightly padded which I liked as it gave me a little added support. It was also very uplifting, but without huge amounts of in-your-face cleavage.
La Senza 'Marbella' Bikini
At the time I couldn’t afford the briefs as well, so I made do with a pair of white tie side briefs that I found on ebay for £2. I quite like mixing and matching bikinis, I’m not really a person who tries to match their underwear either, so for me, anything with a complimentary colour will do.
La Senza 'Marbella' Bikini - Ebay Briefs
Last but definitely not least my favourite bikini of all; Freya’s Pier bikini. For a while it only came in red, green and black, all very lovely colours. However, I opted for the new pink pier! I have trouble resisting something sparkly and new to the lingerie/swimwear scene, so I pre-ordered it as soon as I could. It has not let me down. I love the way it’s made; it gives a little bit of cleavage, whilst being very supportive and comfortable. It has a clip back, which is always my preference, and the cutest ruffles on the edge of the bikini top, and on the sides of the bikini briefs. Again, the only downside is that I need to order XL briefs again, and they didn’t have my preferential tie-sides. I actually wore my Slinky Dip bikini bottoms (mentioned in a previous post) with it, just so I could feel a bit more relaxed in the briefs.
Freya 'Pier' Pink
I spent most of my holiday in this bikini, and I found it very comfortable to swim in. Not only that, but because of the wonderful support, I found that even though it lacks padding, when I untied the neck straps and wore it as a bandeau bikini, it worked perfectly! The one thing I cannot quite understand though, is why Freya can’t make this in bigger sizes. I’ve been looking at the design of it, and it seems more than feasible. I tell you Freya, the sales you would get if you brought this out in something bigger than a GG!
Freya 'Pier' Pink
This is a thoroughly worthy bikini, and a staple swimwear item for any larger cupped woman. If you don’t already own this bikini, you should go get one now!
One other bikini that I tried on in store, and loved, but couldn’t get in my size, is the Freya Waves bikini. It is really bright blue and beautiful, but in store I couldn’t find anything bigger than a G. I felt that bikini ran small as the 32G was so tight on me in the cup; in the correct size, I have no doubt it will be fabulous.
Freya 'Waves' Bikini
Hopefully this will be useful to anyone searching for a good bikini this summer, and if you are looking for some entertaining summer reading, I very much recommend Caitlin Moran’s ‘How to be a Woman’. Beckie over at Busts for Justice recommended it to me, and it had me laughing out loud for a great deal of my holiday!
Love
Sophia xxx
