Lilly & Lime Balconette Bikini review: 30G

It’s taken me a while to get round to this review due to the fact that, well, I live in the UK and I cancelled my gym and swimming membership when they decided to renovate the pool (but refunded me approximately 10% of my membership despite it being closed for 2 months – ridiculous, I know!). My point is that I didn’t actually get a chance to wear the bikini, only try it on, until my holiday this past month.
I’ve seen loads of blogger reviews of Lilly & Lime bikinis recently but I actually won my bikini in a competition they were running – woop! I’m actually really unlucky in competitions usually, so yay for finally winning one! I was given a choice of any bikini set off the site, so I decided to go for something simple and classy – a black balconette with the full brief.
I actually didn’t want to post these pictures to start with – we snapped them super quickly on the balcony of our apartment and they were, well, really unflattering! I didn’t get a chance to pose properly, check the lighting or anything, literally snapped a few photos and ran out the door to the pool. I decided in the end that I would publish them as even though they’re not the best, they show me in a bikini how I probably always look when I’m not overly posing (not to say I’m not trying to pose here!). So I tried to fix the light a bit (it was direct sunlight) and have got over the fact that they’re not the best photos. So onto the review!

Shape & Appearance

Bikini top first – I chose the black balconette as I prefer a more low cut bikini shape that does look too “bra-like”. The problem with full bust bikinis is often that they can look a lot like bras and I don’t want to look like I’ve accidentally gone out in my underwear! I also wanted shoulder straps (even though these don’t help with the bra look) because halternecks can be sore on my neck, even if the band is the correct size. I was won over by the fact that the balconette is foam lined whereas the full cup didn’t appear to be and has only removable padding as well as a more partial band, which I wasn’t so keen on.
The balconette bikini top has 3 parts to the cup, with the lower cup split into two and a larger upper cup section. Unfortunately I get a little shape mismatch with this bikini top similar to what Sweets has – the top digs in a little even though the rest of the cup is a good fit. Personally I just need a more open top.
The straps are fully adjustable and also detachable, which is really nice as the bikini can be worn as a bandeau for better tanning or wearing options. It actually stays up pretty well as a strapless too – not ideal, but not bad at all!
The bikini top fastens with a plastic clasp, although I did note that after wearing it for an afternoon around the pool and sunbathing, the black coating on the plastic has worn off a little. I’m not sure whether this was due to the chlorine or minerals in the pool, or maybe I rubbed it against something accidentally without noticing, but it’s a shame!
For a bikini top, I find it does have quite a lot of coverage and would describe it as higher than a usual balconette. It does keep everything secure for swimming though!
I chose the full brief bottoms to go with this for a more flattering look for me. Low briefs can be too tight on my hips whereas high waisted cover up a lot of my relatively short torso. These can be worn rolled up or down, so it’s really nice to have the option of higher or lower. I always worry that tie sides, even though they look awesome, will come undone, so it’s nice to have a good sturdy pair of bottoms!
What I love about the overall look of this bikini is that it’s so classic in black – something that I didn’t already have. Lilly & Lime have vast range of colour and pattern options that can be mixed and matched (I love this so much!) so you can add to your collection over time.

Size, fit & comfort

I chose the bikini top in a 30G as the balconette didn’t come in my usual 28GG. I also sometimes like to size up in the band in bikinis as they don’t need quite as secure a fit as normal daily wear and I’ve found through experience bikini bands often fit tighter. I’m not sure whether that’s due to the fabric or swim elastic, but it often happens that way! The band on this bikini is actually a really good fit despite the fact that the single fastening means the band is non-adjustable (as bikinis tend to be) – just tight enough to give me enough support for it to be strapless (yay!) but not so tight there’s any “squish”.
The cups are also a good fit sizewise, aside from the upper cup digging in which I’m pretty sure is just a shape mismatch. The wires are good and more narrow than many full bust bikinis and it has a fairly good amount of projection for me in the lower cup.
I chose the bikini bottoms in a size 10 which is my usual size, although I’m wondering if I might have been more comfortable in a 12. I’m starting to size up in bottoms nowadays, not necessarily because my hips are any bigger than they used to be (obviously they’re bigger than when I was a teenager, but I used to wear an 8 then ;D), but because I find them to be more comfortable and more flattering on me in a larger size. The full brief rise is about mid hip which is really nice too.

I also have to add a note about Lilly & Lime as a brand overall – they’ve just newly launched and are catering to a pretty awesome size range already with some really young and fun designs (I’m SO tempted by their more colourful pieces now!). Being both full busted girls that launched it, they understand the issues that we can have, so it’s great to see them figuring these out 🙂 The size range is 28-38 bands and D-HH cups, so go wild if you fit that range!

The Lilly & Lime balconette bikini is available to buy from their site at $80 in sizes 30-36 F-H and the full brief is $30 in sizes 10-18 (AUS – which is the same as UK sizing).
Here are a few more blogger reviews of Lilly & Lime bikinis:
2 Cakes on a Plate (32GG)
Dreams and Underthings (28FF)
Comic Girls Need Bras (30GG)
H Cup Chronicles (30H)
My Fashion Insider (28F)
Le Curvy Kitten (28H)
Sweet Nothings NYC (34GG)