CURVY KATE ~ Tease Me in Cherry/Blush 28F

Yesterday, I received the gorgeous Curvy Kate Tease Me in Cherry/Blush in the mail. I've been wanting this bra for months and now it's all mine. My precious. I will spend some time talking about the story between the Tease Me and me before the review proper. Feel free to skip ahead!

From left to right:  Black/Silver 32D, Pink Ivory 30DD, Cherry Bluch 28F

Confession time: the Cherry/Blush is not my first Tease Me. It's not even my second one but my third. You could say I'm just a tiny bit obsessed with this range.

The Tease Me entered my life a while agon, when I still had no idea there was such an established DD+ lingerie world out there. I was also still under the mistaken impression I was a 32D. I live in a rural region and my local stores and supermarkets do not stock 32Ds. In the 5 years I've lived here, I think I saw maybe one bra in that size at the local supermarket. It was lost in an ocean of 32Cs and 34Cs.

Enough was engouh and I tried searching for online stores based in France. I found one called VS Lingerie. I really liked what they had to offer but, gosh, the prices! I ended up ordering two bras, both in 32D: the Freya Taylor strapless and the Curvy Kate Tease Me in Black/Silver. I had no idea what Freya and Curvy Kate were at the time, I just liked the look of these two bras. Paid about 64€ for the Taylor and 30€ for the Tease Me (it was on sale, IIRC). Ouch. Needless to say, I didn't even consider getting the matching 20-30€ bottoms. I wasn't a matching bottoms person at the time anyway. "The time" being January 2012. But let me tell you I had to search long and hard to find the matching Tease Me shorts in an ok size more than a year later!

The 32D is obvisously way too big in the band for me and I can't wear it without a Rixie clip but I can't bring myself to get rid of it. It has sentimental value. And the frilly shorts are extremely cute. I don't wear the set often but I like knowing I own it.

Now, fast-forward to the first half of 2013. I knew all about the major brands in the DD+ lingerie world and I was in love with many discontinued, older bras. I discovered the wonder that is Brastop and could see all the pretty past versions of the Tease Me that were completely sold out in my size. But the gorgeous Pink/Ivory was available in a 30DD. It was on sale for £14.95 and the matching shorts were a mere £3.95. I couldn't resist.

It actually fits me pretty well, except that I also have to wear it with the Rixie clip. The cup volume is okay. The Tease Me is famous for running a bit small in cup but I haven't found this to be the case on me. I'm a 28F so my sister size would be 30E but I barely have the slightlest hint of quadboobing in the 30DD. I think the lace at the top is a life-saver.

But the color I really wanted was the Cherry/Blush. I couldn't find it in a 28 band anywhere and I knew I just couldn't afford to buy another bra that was too big in the band just because of its prettiness. I finally managed to find a matching set of a 28F + the thong in a UK size 10 on Bratabase. Unfortunately, the set was located in the US and, with the shipping costs, it didn't come cheap. I wasn't desperate enough to buy it anyway at the time. I still had some hopes of a return of the Tease Me range in the Spring/Summer 2014 collection and I told myself there might be fresh colorways like Lemon/Ivory or Mint/Ivory. That would be my chance to own the Tease Me in my correct size. But Curvy Kate unveiled its SS 2014 collection and there wasn't a Tease Me in sight.

That's when I became desperate enough to contact the Bratabase seller again. As luck would have it, she'd just sold the set to someone. I almost gave up but decided to do a last search on the web. I can't remember how long I spent combing through the search results from my friend Google but it was quite a while. My efforts were rewarded in the end though. I managed to find a previously unknown-to-me online shop based in London: Allevon Lingerie. They had the Cherry/Blush in tons of sizes for £23. Victory. I do recommend that shop. The bra arrived quickly and very prettily packaged. I didn't buy the shorts from them though because Brastop had the genius idea of transferring them to their £2 knickers section. Double victory.

So here it is at long last: the Tease Me Cherry/Blush in 28F.

Red is one of my favorite colors. It's great to wear all year round, be it summer or winter. I can never resist a pretty red piece of clothing. But when I took the bra out of its box for the first time, I must admit I was a bit disappointed because it appeared to be dark red and far from the cherry red of the official pictures. 

This bra is actually a chameleon that adapts to its environment. When it's dark and overcast (as it was when I opened the box), it's dark red. When it's bright and sunny (as it was when I took these pictures), it's the cherry color of the official pictures.

I know many people prefer to wear the Tease Me for "special occasions" but I must confess that it's an everyday bra for me. I just love wearing it. It doesn't work well with thin summer tops because of the lace but everything else is fair game.

As many people have noted, the Tease Me doesn't have the tightest band on the block. Indeed, it's the first 28" bra I own that I have to start on the second hook. The first one feels too lose.

Strap placement is great for my narrow shoulders. I never feel them slipping. They're also fully adjustable and that's always a plus.

From the top. I think I need to take another picture of this angle. My left breast is slightly smaller than my right one but it shouldn't look like that. I probably didn't swoop and scoop properly.

Since the 30DD fits kind of good in the cups, I admit I was a bit worried that the 28F would be too big. While the package was on its way to me, I wondered several times if I'd made the right choice. As it turns out, I did make the right choice. It's the correct size and the cups are filled properly.

The only thing is that I don't get as much cleavage as I do with the 32D and the 30DD. No biggie though.

Now, this side view can seem kind of underwhelming: is that a hint of quadboob? and what's with that weird flattened shape on the top part of the cup?

But not to worry. I must have been taking a full breath when the camera snapped the picture because I don't quadboob at all. And the flat shape is because the bra is new and the lace hasn't softened enough to conform to the contour of my breasts.

It stands at attention like a good little soldier (more so on the left cup):

I went through the same thing with my other two TMs and I know it won't be a problem after I wear it more under clothing and wash it a couple of times.

Close up. I love the lace and the ribbon weaving though it.

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Bottoms

I found some pictures online that showed the shorts from the back as well as the front.

I bought the Pink/Ivory shorts in a UK12 so that's what I chose for the Cherry/Blush as well. I'm glad I did. I find that these bottoms don't run very big (wouldn't go as far as saying they run small though) and I wanted to avoid panty lines and muffin tops. I could only find the Black/Silver shorts in a UK10 and they do feel a bit tight in the leg opening. 

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Verdict

Heeeeeeeeeee! So happy!