Winter Sun: Huit Tropical Jungle Bikini Review

I’m going to hold my hands up here and say that maybe I missed the boat slightly on this review. And when I say the boat, I really mean the plane. The plane to take you off on your exciting and sunny holiday destinations. In which you will probably wear a bikini. Ok, yes, I’ve missed the summer sunshine and school holidays, BUT (it’s a big but) people go on holiday in the winter. In fact, I think it’s better to go on holiday in the winter. It gets wet and cold here, why wouldn’t you want to jet off? In fact, this was probably deliberate all along. Go on holiday in winter. It makes sense. And, therefore, so does the timing of this review…

I am in fact jetting off myself on Sunday, to the land of eternal sunshine: CALIFORNIA. I’m a little bit excited, can you tell? And I’m super excited to share this gorgeous bikini with you all, and get in that sunshiney spirit.

Bras & Honey stock so many brands I’d been drooling over forever: Huit, Lepel, Fanatsie, and loads more. In swimwear I’m always torn between super classic, chic, monochrome looks, and something just absolutely bright and colourful. The Huit Tropic Jungle set caught my eye from the beginning, and although there were some stripey, navy sailor-esque distractions, that’s the set I ended up ordering.

There were some options in the bra / briefs. I went for the bandeau rather than the bra top in a 32D, and the low waist bikini briefs in a size 12.

Appearance

Having already stated my desire for something bright and colourful, this set ticked ALL the boxes. It’s multi-coloured, but for the most part features hot pinks, purples, yellows, and turquoise. The combination of colours has been done really well; it’s bright, but not garish. The pattern is really tropical; kind of an abstract floral.

The Bandeau

The design is gorgeous; although it calls itself a bandeau, it has optional straps (which I used) to turn it into a halterneck. I love that option, as often I find that bandeaus can end up looking really unflattering on me: they drag down, flatten my chest, and make my upper body look really wide. But this is something different; the top of the bikini is a sweetheart neckline (ALWAYS flattering), the band is thicker than most bikini bands, which holds the whole thing up well. And in the centre there is that adorable blue bow and small triangular cut-out. I’m not a girly-girl—not always a fan of a bow—but this is lovely in combination with the cut-out underneath. The cups are padded, which again adds a nice amount of support to the bandeau structure; holds up, holds in, and gives a nice shape rather than doing any flattening. I think this is my favourite bikini top ever in terms of design; overall, it seems to have been really thoughtfully made, and I reckon it’d be flattering on a lot of body shapes.

The Briefs

I took the plunge and went for the teeny-tiny briefs, which given my shape (which my mum kindly describes as ‘Pit Pony’) have always been slightly out of comfort zone. What I couldn’t resist, though, is that little bit of side detailing on the hip—and AGAIN with the bows! Honestly, objectively, I don’t like the things, but on this design they work so well! Again I go with that word—flattering—I think hip detailing is always good in terms of that. The bikini brief option looks safer but nowhere near as pretty—just one little bow on the side top, and no cut-out hip detailing at all. The low waist option though really are quite low and teeny-tiny, so it really depends on how comfortable you feel in little briefs. They cut really quite narrow at the back, but not so narrow they’re indecent. I sized up to a 12 in this design, since I’m quite—let’s not say Pit Pony, let’s go with Bootilicious instead. And I’m REALLY glad I did. Even in the 12, I don’t get a huge amount of bum coverage out of these, and I won’t be swimming any triathlons in them anytime soon, but for some gentle holiday pool time they look great and do the job.

Fit

I’ve mostly covered the fit for of the brief above. As I say, if you’re heavier on the bottom and want to feel a bit more secure, I’d consider sizing up from your usual brief size to compensate for the narrow cut at the back. As for the bikini top, on the whole it was really good. The band is pretty much perfect: nice and tight, but doesn’t cut in. The band is tight on this, and I’d think about sizing up with going down in the cup. There’s just the standard bikini fastening at the back which snaps into place; no hooks. The only thing I do notice from the photos is there is a small amount of quad-boobing going on there. I don’t think this was a problem of it being too small for me; certainly, if I’d sized up in the cup I would have been swamped. Maybe just a problem of me being fuller in the top of my boobs, so if you’re similar I’d try a couple of sizes. Overall though the fit is really good, and the halterneck option is a great addition for extra support in the bigger sup sizes.

I shall definitely cracking out this bikini for a good few holidays to come—California here we go, baby!

And I’m going to leave you with this action shot of me exploding from the pool in what we like to call The Ejector. It’s a fun game, and as an added bonus to this review, here’s how to play it: one person either side, duck under the water and cup a foot each. The Ejectee gets into a sort of squat position, and then pushes up as the others LAUNCH them out of the water. The best results see the ejected party fly across the pool a good few feet. Try it. You’ll look ridiculous, but it’s a bloody laugh. And the bikini survived the beating.