After what feels like waiting for an eternity, we finally review one of the latest additions to the Curvy Kate family, and perhaps their most practical offering yet – the Daily Boost? But can it convert two sheer cup addicts? Let me start by saying one thing – it is hard for me to like any bra that isn’t sheer. Cheryl isn’t as against them as I am but for me they are a pretty big deal. Unless they’re giving me a cleavage a la Curvy Kate Showgirl, the chances are I don’t want to know. I wish I wasn’t so bitter, but I’ve never really been successful with any bra that isn’t sheer. Not only that, but I am completely against any underwear considered plain and practical. After years of being spoiled rotten with beautiful lingerie, anything resembling a t-shirt bra seems like the devil incarnate. I may as well be allergic.
However I have decided to just admit defeat and realise that sometimes we need a practical bra. What have I been using as my t-shirt bra all this time? The Masquerade Rosa not exactly ideal. But it’s the closest I could get to a smooth cup bra that worked for me. Enough whinging, onto the review! I swear to God it feels like forever ago that this bra was announced, and people have been foaming at the mouth in anticipation. I just kept thinking “really?!”. Not quite a molded cup, it’s a ‘foam lined balcony bra’ and perhaps Curvy Kate’s first foray into a lingerie drawer ‘staple’. You see, ever since the Deco failed me, I’d all but given up on bras of these kinds, but the fact that it wasn’t a molded cup perhaps helped me to even try one on.
Looks wise, I wanted to die. I don’t like white underwear, and I don’t like that weird beige shade masquerading as ‘nude’. So as you can imagine, I was in hell. It’s not that the colours are anything horrendous, just personally I can’t think of anything worse. I’m not painting a very good picture here, am I? Thanks heavens Cheryl has given her two cents all the way from Japan. Looks aside, this bra felt lovely. The fabric is so soft, unlike anything I’ve ever felt from the Curvy Kate range, and definitely a selling point. The bra could easily become one of those comfortable bras you wear because they feel so good against the skin. The fit too was pretty spot on. I did find the back band a little firmer than say the Showgirl – not quite as tight as the Angel, but firm and sturdy. This may loosen up with a few washes, but it was still very comfortable. The slight plunging shape fitted my boobs a treat and as you can see from the picture below, there wasn’t a hint of double boob. I felt secure and even though there wasn’t much of a cleavage, I didn’t end up with an ‘east and west’ looking pair, which is a huge relief. My boobs looked…normal? In a cup that isn’t sheer/a plunge? Preposterous! Maybe these kind of bras do have a place in the world…and I will admit, I did have a smooth silhouette under my t-shirt.
I will admit, the Daily Boost is putting up a fight, resistance is quickly becoming futile! It IS practical, and fits my shape and size well (although as you’ll soon find out, the same can’t be said for Cheryl…) but has it won me over? Not yet. Sorry Curvy Kate, but if I’m going to invest in a bra that goes against everything I normally wear (and stand for!) then it’s going to have to be in a nicer colour. My aversion to white and beige is a tad extreme but hey, it comes in black for Autumn/Winter 12 and THEN I’ll take the plunge and get practical. And dare I say it…I’m even excited about the Smoothie…what’s happened to me?!
Cheryl commented on her experience with the Daily Boost: “I’ve always found it very hard to find a moulded or padded bra which suits my shape. The Freya Deco, somewhat of a Holy Grail of bras for so many full busted women, was a disaster on me. Unfortunately, for me, the Daily Boost was (very much like the Deco) one of those bras that feels great and fits well at first, but with wear isn’t right for me. I actually got the exact opposite problem that I did with the Deco (where my boobs settle in to the cups leaving empty space at the top and side-boob emerging from the sides – a common occurance with wide set and/or boobs with lower fullness – I have both!). In the Daily Boost, I found that I got the dreaded fabric fold at the bottom of the cups which – thanks to my shape – I find I often get with Curvy Kate’s moulded cups.
That said, the balconette shape and soft lined cups make this a much better option for me than the Deco. The band was a nice ‘true to size’ fit, but I had to size up to a 30FF to avoid double-boob, (with my current ‘true’ size being more like a 30F) so that’s also something to watch out for. The biggest problem is also the fact that I’m not accustomed to wearing these kind of ‘unashamedly practical’ bras which aren’t the prettiest things in your delicates drawer – particularly in these white and nude colour-ways. I believe that there’s always a place for pretty, decorative lingerie whatever the occasion; I’d rather have a bit of lace, frills or gathered fabric showing any day. I’m still holding out hope that Curvy Kate’s Smoothie will be the fit I’ve been waiting for with its cute subtle leopard print at the end of the year.”
