Ewa Michalak SM Wanilla

This bra seems to be slightly lesser known as I think it might be exclusive to Ewa's stockists... but don't quote me on that. It's yet another that I purchased second hand but this time as new, with tags. This one is a 65G that I believe the original owner got from Bra Obsessed .

Ewa Michalak SM Cukiereczek

This is the SM version of the Cukiereczek in 65FF. I've reviewed the HM version of this bra in two different (and bigger) sizes. While the HM and I never really got along, the SM styles have had a better success rate.

Cleo Marcie - Black and Burgundy (30FF)

I've had my eye on the black Marcie for a long time, but with the recall and lack of stockists, getting my hands on one wasn't the easiest thing in the world. Bravissimo has had it for a while now but after they sent a return package back to me nearly two years go that put me out a bunch of money and knowing their shipping is pretty damn expensive, I was having trouble justifying the purchase. Then a few things started piling up and I was slowly convincing myself.
First, I bought this (cheap) bodystocking on Amazon and knew it would go very well with a black bra. Then I wanted to start a little DIY project that would also work best with a black bra (post definitely coming on that one). Lastly, Panache released the beautiful "burgundy" version of Marcie and of course Bravissimo carries that as well, so I knew it was time to place an order.

I'll be going over both bras in this single post since I've covered Marcie a boat load already.

Cleo Lily (30FF)

It's been too long since my last post! Between work deadlines, new interests and my vacation in July, I've only lurked around the bra community without much interaction. To be fair, I haven't gotten any new bras until yesterday, but I do have a couple ideas for other posts, so it's not a very good excuse. :p

It's good to be back, though!

Getting right to it...

The Lily is no stranger to me and my blog. I've had numerous colors and sizes of it and so I initially debated on mentioning this one. However, once I tried it on, I felt like there was enough difference between this one and the others that it might be useful information for someone with a similar shape and situation. 

Cleo Cassie Longline Bikini Top

In an effort to ensure that I had a bathing suit for my vacation, I frantically searched the internet for something cute that would get here in time. I was afraid my Comexim order might either be late or not fit, so I was really feeling the crunch. Luckily, I found one that I really liked, happened to be a longline and fits quite well - the Cassie Longline from Cleo.

32F Cleo Cassie Longline Bikini Top

Beige Cleo Marcie

Recently, Large Cup Lingerie and Bravissimo got the release of the beige Marcie from Cleo. They seem to have gotten very limited stock for some reason, so when I first found out, LCL had already sold out of 30G. A short while later, I tried on my red 30G Marcie and realized it was too big, so I rushed back to the LCL website and bought the (seemingly last) 30FF.
I'm still trying to figure out what to make of it.

Altered Comexim Ingrid

The last of the three in this order is no stranger to my blog. I've already reviewed it in a 65M with reduced cups and raised gore. This time it's 65J with reduced cups and the straps moved in. If you've read my last two reviews, you know I asked for all three to have the gores also lowered, but only the Pin Up Girl received that treatment so this is the standard height.

65J Comexim Ingrid with reduced cups and straps moved in.

Comexim Joy Plunge

This is the second item from my Comexim order, but the first of the bras.
For the record, my requests on all of the items I ordered were to have the cups reduced, straps moved in and gore lowered. Of the three in the order, only the Pin Up Girl has the lowered gore. Also, I had requested and was charged for the Joy longline with plunge cups instead of half cups. Unfortunately, this is a plunge but not a longline. It's not all bad because I had seen a lot of mixed reviews on the fit of the longline and was getting a little worried, but nevertheless, it isn't what I asked for.

Despite all of that, I'm incredibly happy with this and my order as a whole. I was able to order through the website and leave the alterations I wanted in the comment box at checkout, albeit with mixed results.
I just realized that even though I've owned quite a few Comexim bras, I've never actually ordered from them directly. Manufacturing time for three custom pieces was reasonably quick at two weeks. Once it shipped, it arrived in a surprising 6 days - with plenty of time before my vacation!

65J Comexim Joy plunge with reduced cup height and straps moved in.

Comexim Pin Up Girl Bikini Top

Guys, I'm so super pumped about this thing. I was afraid it wouldn't fit because of all my size fluctuation but it's sooo good! Let's just get right to it!

65J Comexim Pin Up Girl Bikini Top with Reduced cups, lowered gore and straps moved in.

All About Shipping

Shipping is a topic that comes up quite often in the secondhand bra community. Buying and selling your bras seems pretty straight forward (it basically is), but if you're in the US and want to get and provide the best deal, there's a few things you can do to make that happen. You will need a printer, shipping supplies like padded envelopes or boxes and some tape. If you do not have a printer, most of this post won't be of much help, but if you plan (or already do) sell a lot online, I think it would be worth the investment.

Freya Pansy Padded Longline

I came across an amazing deal on a 30G Pansy Padded Longline from Freya and decided to give it a shot. My logic was that now that I've sized down into the "full bust matrix" (D-G cups), it would be a crime not to try any beautiful bras that are cheap enough to justify the gamble. I wasn't sure what to expect since the only Freya I've even tried was a plunge halter bikini top, but this experiment went better than I anticipated.

Cleo Marcie (Also again, but this time in yellow!)

Marcie is yet another friend of mine... for the most part. Purchased used, this bra was a bit too small at first but now it's a slightly different story.

Cleo Lily (Again)

The Lily and I have been friends since the beginning of my proper bra life. There have been ups and downs as you may know, but we're back on good terms now and I hope it stays that way!

30GG Cleo Lily

Miss Mandalay Paige

This is yet another bra I acquired used while I was MIA. 

When I first got it, the fit was pretty sad, but it has both improved and gotten worse with more weight loss. Unfortunately, it's not something I can or would wear, though it's not because of the appearance itself.

30GG Miss Mandalay Paige

Ewa Michalak SM Burek

So this is the 65GG SM Burek I purchased used. It has either beaten out or tied the Cynamon as the best fitting SM bra I've had so far. The last time I was this size, I couldn't get an SM to tack, let alone as firmly as this one does. It has given me new hope in the SM cut and I'm now on the lookout for more, though it could be a fluke.

Ewa Michalak HM Cukiereczek

This was the other HM that came in my most recent order. My feelings still stand from my review of the 70H when it comes to it's appearance, so I'll stick to the fit in this post.

70G Ewa Michalak HM Cukiereczek

Ewa Michalak HM Fiolecik

Towards the end of April, I placed another order with Ewa Michalak for two HMs to replace the previous ones that were too small and then too big. They finally arrived today, over a month later. This time around, they took a while to ship, but once they did, they arrived rather quickly. I actually thought to email them for a tracking number but they got here before I even got around to it.

70G Ewa Michalak HM Fiolecik

Ewa Michalak HM Finezja

It's been much too long since I last wrote a review and a lot has happened. As you're probably aware if you've read anything I've written in the last couple months, I've been trying to lose weight. So far, I've lost just short of 20 lbs with a about 7 more until I reach my goal weight. But that's not all! I'm also down to 30G/GG. Though I'm not expecting to lose much more in the boob department, I might end up settling into a "truer" 30G instead of being sort of in between. Maybe I'll even hit 30FF, but we'll see.

Somewhat blog related, I got a new camera - the Samsung wb350f. It's technically a downgrade from the DSLR I had before since it's just a point and shoot, but I don't have the desire or patience to learn all the functions of the DSLR and it was easy to mess things up if I tried to experiment.

On a completely unrelated note, I got married at the end of April. We didn't go all out or anything; just went to city hall to make it official. Since we've been together for 13 years and lived together for nearly all of it, we had already considered ourselves married, just without all the paperwork and financial type benefits. But ehh,  I won't bore you guys with all that...
On to the real reason for this post!

Comexim Basic

I swapped the Slowianki for the Comexim Basic in a 70L. The cups on it are reduced and the gore raised.

One Month Weight Loss Update

It's been 33 days since I officially started trying to lose weight by counting calories and eating at a deficit along with running in place a couple times a week and most recently; hiking. I've lost roughly 7 lbs and have shrunk about 2 cup sizes so I thought it would be interesting to update on how my bras fit at this point.

I still find 30 bands for UK bras and 70 bands for Polish bras to be more comfortable. I think it might be something I stick to even at my goal weight because I'm over the feeling of super tight bands. I may end up needing 28/65 bands in the end since I have at least 15lbs to go, but if my boobs keep shrinking at this rate, I doubt I'll need the kind of support the tighter bands would provide, anyway.

Ewa Michalak HM Cukiereczek

This is the third and final bra in this particular order of HMs. It's also my favorite of the three despite the shade of pink that's splashed onto it.

Ewa Michalak HM Summer Time

This is the second of the three HM bras I purchased from Ewa Michalak.I've also had it in the SM version, which actually fit me pretty terribly as it was much shallower than SM bras tend to be.
Let's see how this version fares, yes?

Comexim Ingrid

At long last... I've finally received the long awaited Comexim Ingrid. I ordered it with reduced cups and raised gore through Erica at A Sophisticated Pair towards the end of November.
How does it fit? Let's see...

Ewa Michalak HM Sekret Wiktorii

In the middle of the month, I placed what could be my second to last order with Ewa Michalak. That order contained three custom sized HM bras: HM Sekret Wiktorii, HM Summer Time and HM Cukiereczek - all in 70H. I'll cover the Sekret Wiktorii first. I'm expecting to ramble quite a bit in this post, so consider this fair warning :p

Cleo Lily 30HH + 30J

The 30J Review is further down - after the 30HH.

The Cleo Lily is a bra I've had in a few different sizes. Aside from the Cleo Marcie, it's the only other UK branded bra that has "fit" me.

30HH Cleo Lily

Growth Within A Year

I found an old picture I took on December 30, 2013 in my 28GG Marcie and saw a difference in how I looked, so I decided to try something. 
I just snapped a pic of me busting out of my 28HH Marcie, today, and photoshopped them together to compare. I knew I gained some weight and a boat load of cup sizes over the last year, but it's insane to look at the pictures right next to eachother; you can really see the difference. 

As you're probably well aware, I have no bras that fit at the moment, otherwise I might have taken the picture in something that fit better so it didn't look as dramatic, but Marcie to Marcie seemed "fitting" (har har) so I said screw it.
I'd probably guess my size to be 30J/JJ. 

Left - 28GG, Right - 28HH (though, probably more like 30J/JJ)

Is it any wonder why I've had such a hard time with bras? The damn things won't stop growing! If this wasn't proof enough, I don't know what is. 

And I thought my 28GG were big! Ha! Little did I know...

Ewa Michalak PL Slowianki

Here's the post on the previously mentioned PL Slowianki I swapped for. Let's just get right to it, shall we?

Chaos

So I swapped with someone on Bra Swap last week (/waves). The trade was my 65L Comexim Ivonne for a 70HH PL Slowianki. It arrived in the mail this morning, and after some time with it, a number of different thoughts and feelings have come up. I'm going to address those things first, before I get into the details of the bra itself, in the next post.