Update on my strapless bra search! This is a 65G from Candy La Vie, a Chinese brand specializing on big cups. I have paid USD35 for this bra and a few extra bucks for shipping. I first tried this brand in 2017 - please see my old review here: http://bra.pe/XWpG/ for detailed information. Their band ran TTS, while cups ran 1 size smaller (their G fit like UK E). They have 65-90 bands, with C-K cups (varies with model) on 65 bands. The largest cup available decreases when band size increases, until C-G on 90 bands. So that translates to UK 30B-GG, 32B-G, 34B-FF... until 40B-E. ... In Asia that's a pretty large size range especially for the price.

The brand used to be like Comexim, offering different cuts on the same fabric, but since then they have revised their strategy. They now have 3 different kinds of breast shapes - disc, hemisphere and papaya - representing different root area VS projection levels. Each bra has information on what shape(s) it fits on each size. While other shape characteristics like vertical fullness or root width are overlooked, this is already a big improvement from most Asian brands knowing only generic (often meaningless) shapes like round, pointy and teardrop. One downside is that they suggest judging shape while standing, which is not very accurate in my opinion. Their customer service representative think I have a disc (shallow) shape because I have tall roots that show easily from a the side. But they didn't consider my narrow roots which makes my root area small overall and more projected, especially when I lean forward. This is not very relevant in this bra that I’m reviewing though, because it is claimed that this strapless bra work with all breast shapes. This is also the only wired strapless bra that is available from this brand at the moment.

This bra has individual wired and moulded cups in beige with white lace overlay. The lace actually look cheaper than Qmomo (another similar type of strapless bra I reviewed recently - http://bra.pe/MIGq/). I prefer unlined bras but moulded foam cups in strapless bras are inevitable. As you can see from the pictures, there is a little thickness at the bottom of the cups but thin on top. According to the company, the foam is 5mm thick. I usually hate padding but this one is minimal so it’s acceptable. I love how the straps come in a little cute white mesh bag since they always get lost in my drawer. And I really appreciate how there is no plastic strip along the band to prevent slipping. These things irritate me so much. I think a good strapless bra with a tight enough band doesn't need plastic strips to stay up, unless you are doing cartwheels or something. There are 2 bonings on each side of the band, which has 3x3 hooks.

The band runs tight, being a 65(30) but only stretches to 28”. I’m not sure if, after revising their strategy, the entire brand has bands that run tight (common in Asia) or it’s just because this one is a strapless. I guess I will have to try a normal model to find out.

The cup width is comparable to my narrower 28F’s. It is quite narrow at the top but on the side the curvature is too much that it was too wide on me. I hope this makes sense.

The cup depth seems to be on the average or shallow side. With this the bra it sort of gives a minimising shape. I feel like the wires are sitting too low no matter how much I try to pull the bra up. But when I take off the bra, the wire marks are very close to my IMF. Also the cups slant “up and in” in a sharp angle. I feel like my nipples are being pushed towards each other. The gore doesn’t tack on me, but I wonder if it is due to being close-set, which I can fix if I overlap the gores. I’m seeing some gapping, especially on my smaller side, when I pull the lace away and look. But when I push the gore down, I get quad boobs. I tried to explain to the customer rep that the cups are too shallow, but they advised me to size down in the cups to alleviate the sliding down.

Another issue is the elastic edge of the lace cutting into my tall roots. The customer rep said the lace is scaled according to the band size so going up a cup to 65H won’t solve this issue. Maybe I can remove the elastic.

I think the cups are quite tall too. They are rubbing my armpits.

I’m still debating whether to return this bra or not, or maybe exchange for a 65H? But then I think the wires will definitely be too wide. And return shipping is going to cost a lot with tax. This bra doesn’t fit perfectly, but the only obvious fit issue is the lace cutting in. I have had more horrible, even painful fit from UK strapless bras. This is actually the most comfortable strapless bra I’ve ever had. I kind of want to settle on this one just because I won’t be able to find something better elsewhere. Would love to hear what you think!
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Updated on Apr 24, 2020 Flag this