Curvy Kate Maya Red Print Balconnette Bikini Top 34K and High Waist Briefs 18

I'm breaking away from my marathon of reviewing Forever 21+ swimwear for a moment to bring you something bra-sized for a change in celebration of National Bikini Day.

I have been asked quite a few times if I would be reviewing anything from Curvy Kate's 2018 collection and although I can't afford to buy anything myself at the moment I decided to order a bikini, take some pictures for a review, and send it back. So that's exactly what I did!

I opted for the Curvy Kate Maya balconette bikini top and high waist briefs in red print.

Image courtesy of Curvy Kate

Scantilly By Curvy Kate Surrender Basque 36HH and Peep Hole Briefs XL

It has been quite some time since I last put fingers to keyboard to put together a proper review blog post. There are many reasons for this: lack of time, work pressures, long-standing health issues, and happenings in my personal life. But there was also another reason. I had fallen out of love with blogging. 

Curvy Kate Shockwave Padded Bikini Top 34K and Adjustable Short 20

Full-busted lingerie brand Curvy Kate has become my go-to brand for swimwear over the past few years, and I am gradually building up my collection of their bikinis. Back in December I went to Mexico for a week's holiday and I bought myself a few pieces from CK's past collections to take on the trip. Today I will be reviewing the Shockwave Bikini (Spring/Summer 2015).

Image courtesy of Curvy Kate

Curvy Kate Starry Eyed Flamingo Padded Bikini Top 34K & Adjustable Short 22

I'm continuing to work through the backlog of items I've been sent to review - mostly swimwear - and today I will be reviewing the Curvy Kate Starry Eyed Bikini.

Image courtesy of Curvy Kate

Curvy Kate Moonflower Black Floral Padded Bikini Top 34K and Ruched Back Brief 20

A brand I can always rely on for great-looking bra-sized swimwear is Curvy Kate. They make a wide range of styles, colours, and prints, and any time I need a new bikini they are one of the first brands I'll check out.

Just before my holiday to the Greek island of Zakynthos back in late August I was thrilled when the lovely ladies at CK sent me the Moonflower Black Floral Bikini.

Image courtesy of Curvy Kate

Curvy Kate Luau Love Flamingo Pink Padded Bikini Top 34K and High Waist Brief 22

If you're looking for bra-sized swimwear, a great brand to try is Curvy Kate. Their swimwear collections get better every year and the 2015 collection is just fabulous. I was sent a couple of bikini sets for my recent Caribbean holiday to the Dominican Republic and today I will be sharing with you my thoughts on the Luau Love Padded Bikini (£35, 30-40 D-K) and High Waist Brief (£25, UK 8-22).

Images courtesy of Curvy Kate

Curvy Kate Lola Babydoll 32K and Thong 20

For many years, women above a G cup have had very few lingerie choices.  We've had to count ourselves lucky that lingerie brands finally clocked on to the fact that we'd like bras in colours other than just black, white and nude, and some savvy companies even gave us choices in bra style.  Yes, we're so fortunate to not just have to stick to full cup bras, but many of us can now also choose from plunges, half cups, balconettes and even multiway and strapless bras.  Lucky us!

Forgive my flippancy...but sometimes it feels like those of us with larger boobs have to be grateful for these things and not ask for more.  Don't get me wrong; I am incredibly grateful to brands such as Ewa Michalak and Bravissimo for really pushing the boundaries with bra styles in larger cups.  But what has been missing for so long are options beyond this.  We want longlines, we want bustieres, we want basques, we want bra-sized nightwear and we want babydolls.

That last 'want' in my list is one that has been addressed by several brands in the past year or so.  Plus size lingerie brand Elomi brought out the Betty babydoll, but the largest cup available was an H.  Fortunately, this has been followed in recent months by other brands bringing out their own babydolls and large cup lingerie trailblazer Curvy Kate has done just that.

Image courtesy of Curvy Kate

Curvy Kate Smoothie Bra and High Rise Briefs in Raspberry 30J/18

A little while ago I reviewed the gorgeous Curvy Kate Portia in Seafoam/Pink in 32K.  It was a lovely set and overall fitted me pretty well.

One bra I have been longing to try since it came out less than a year ago is the moulded cup Curvy Kate Smoothie.  I was actually the person to name this bra; Curvy Kate ran a 'Name The Bra' competition on their Facebook page and I came up with 'Smoothe Me'.  Now, that's not quite 'Smoothie' but apparently I inspired the eventual name and was credited with the win.  Yay!

Curvy Kate Horizon Red Stripe Bikini 32JJ/16

Summer is slowly but surely heading our way here in the UK (honestly!!) and even though it's been a slow hiccuping start with only a handful of warm, sunny days and rather more cloudy/windy/rainy ones I have every confidence that we'll have some hot days suitable for sunbathing coming soon.

And, of course, for sunbathing we need a bikini!  I've reviewed quite a few of them here on my blog but these reviews were mainly last year so I am delighted to bring you my first bikini review of 2013: the Curvy Kate Horizon Red Stripe Bikini.

Curvy Kate Portia in Seafoam/Pink

It's hard to believe that popular British lingerie brand Curvy Kate has only been around for about 4 years - they've done so much in such a short space of time that it seems they've been in business for decades.

Constantly working to improve lingerie and swimwear options for ladies with a larger bust, Curvy Kate brings out a range of new delights for us to enjoy every six months or so.  The range for Spring/Summer 2013 is nothing short of gorgeous and I was absolutely thrilled when the Curvy Kate team asked me to try the Portia in Seafoam/Pink.

My Blog's First Birthday Giveaway - Brood's Big Bras

Brood's Big Bras is an Australian company which is run by the gorgeous Brood.

Image courtesy of Brood's Big Bras

My Blog's First Birthday Giveaway - Curvy Kate

Curvy Kate are a lingerie brand who aim to provide fuller busted women with a range of sexy, comfortable and supportive options.

Image courtesy of Curvy Kate

My Blog's First Birthday Giveaway - Do It Momma

Do It Momma is the brainchild of former Curvy Kate Star In A Bra winner, Lizzie Haines.

Image courtesy of Do It Momma

Curvy Kate Daily Boost Bra

I got ever so excited a few months ago when I heard that Curvy Kate would soon have a padded bra available all the way up to a K cup – this is the stuff that my dreams are made of!

Image courtesy of Curvy Kate

Curvy Kate Rio Ruffle Bikini

I have already reviewed the Curvy Kate Caribbean Curves and Bondi Breeze bikini tops and shorts on here and my final review of CK's gorgeous 2012 swimwear is the Rio Ruffle.

Image courtesy of Curvy Kate

Curvy Kate Bondi Breeze Bikini

I have already reviewed the Curvy Kate Caribbean Curves bikini top and shorts on here and next up in my review of CK swimwear is the Bondi Breeze.

Image courtesy of Curvy Kate

Curvy Kate Caribbean Curves Bikini

A little while ago I won three Curvy Kate sets because I was the winner of their 'Name The Bra' competition for their 'Smoothie' bra. Initially, I tried the three Showgirl sets (Tempt Me, Thrill Me and Tease Me), all of which were gorgeous undies but sadly all the bras were far too small for me in the cup.

Curvy Kate very kindly let me try some swimwear this time around and I was able to test drive the items on my recent holiday to Spain.

Now, if you regularly read my blog, you will be familiar with my struggle to find a CK bra that fits me in the cup. It appears that a 32KK or even L would be the best size but even if they made these sizes – they go up to a K cup, amazing! – I think the wires would be way too wide as the cups are unfortunately not deep enough for my boobs in smaller sizes. Despite this, I was keeping everything crossed that the bikinis would work for me.

A while back I talked about bikinis and how I find I can often size down because the material is far more stretchy than that of regular bras. I even just about managed to cram myself into a 32H Freya bikini recently!

The first set I wore on holiday was the Caribbean Curves bikini top and matching shorts.

Image courtesy of Curvy Kate

Curvy Kate Star In A Bra 2012 - Final Vote!

Well, I really don't know where the time has gone but suddenly we've only got two days left to vote for the winner of Curvy Kate's Star In A Bra 2012 as the competition closes on Tuesday 1st May 2012.

The girls have been whittled down from 30 to 10 through a public vote and now we need to vote for one last time to decide who will be the overall winner.

Curvy Kate's Star In A Bra Top 30 - Time To Vote For Your Favourites!

You may have read my earlier post about entering Curvy Kate's Star In A Bra 2012 competition.  Well, the top 30 was announced a little while ago and now is the time to choose your favourite three and vote for them!  Voting closes at midnight on Tuesday 3rd April so you have less than 24 hours to make your mind up.  

The ten ladies with the most votes will go through to the final stage which is where we all get to vote for who we want to WIN the whole thing but this intermediate part of the competition is really crucial to decide who gets through.

Curvy Kate's Star In A Bra 2012

As you may have noticed, there has been a lot of coverage on the internet lately regarding Curvy Kate's Star In A Bra competition which opened on 23rd February 2012.  It's a great way for Curvy Kate to find new models - by asking the very ladies who wear their products to enter a contest to become the face of Curvy Kate.

Image courtesy of Curvy Kate