Lilly and Lime is a brand new Australian swimwear company catering to full busts. I’m excited about this for several reasons – full bust swimwear is still pretty lacking in size options and unique designs, and the Australian full bust options are very limited. Shipping overseas to Australia is cost prohibitive, and Lilly and Lime is bursting onto the scene to save the Aussies looking for a local swim company! Lilly and Lime has launched with an impressive size range of 28-38 D-HH. Many full bust swim stops at G – GG, so offering up to HH off the bat is a gutsy move. Kudos to Lilly and Lime!

Ashleigh and Emma-Jane contacted me a few weeks back asking if I would like to review one of their bikinis, and of course I hopped all over that. I have a terrible time finding tops that fit! I decided on the Chevron Balconette top, with removable straps to convert to a bandeau if desired, and the side-tie bottoms.

First of all – the packaging is adorable. I love the matching bag. Lilly and Lime has nailed branding and marketing on the head and little details like the bag and tags will do wonders to make customers feel special.

The color of the swimsuit is more vibrant in person than on the website. I really appreciate how flat the seams are stitched and the overall construction feels very sturdy and high quality. The cups are padded but the padding isn’t overdone to push-up levels. It looks less like a waterproof bra than I anticipated it would, and that is always very appreciated 🙂

From the profile, the cups have somewhat of an uneven appearance, and I’m not sure why. It could be the travel time to the USA from Australia, and the cups arrived to me tucked into each other. It’s possible over time and wear the dents will smooth out.

On to the fit. Unfortunately, this top doesn’t quite work on me. It is very wide and very tall. The underwires are narrow, measuring at just 5.0″ wide, but they are long at 11.5.” The center gore is 3″ tall and wider than I prefer, and while it definitely tacked it forced my close set breasts apart and dug painfully into my sternum within a few minutes

You can see from the side profile the cups are projected, both at the wire and at the apex, and I felt secure that they wouldn’t slide down out of my IMF over time. I measured them at 9″ deep, right on for a 28FF. Sadly, the straps are very wide set and the long underwires, tall wings, and tall cups poke into my armpits, enhance the appearance of my tail of spence, and create chafing with wear 😦 The tall top section of the cup is pretty closed off and flattened my upper fullness, and I don’t have much to speak of. The overall look and construction reminded me very much of the Panache Evie strapless bra. If that bra works well for you, I imagine this swim top would as well.

I have to admit, based off the website pictures and a few other reviews I’ve seen of Lilly and Lime tops, that I was a bit surprised the cups were this tall on me. The volume seems correct for a 28FF and I couldn’t size down. If I tried a 28F I would have spillage above the tops of the cups. I have a short torso, but my breasts are fairly low set on my chest and I rarely have problems with underwires and wings being too tall. I have some concerns for those with a fuller on top shape, or whose bust is set higher on their chest.

All of that said, the set together is very cute. The bottoms are seriously adorable and I love them so much! I’d say they run a little big – I have a UK size 10/US 6, which is almost always my bikini bottom/brief/knickers size, and they really want to be a little baggy. However, I’m not sure they’re big enough to warrant sizing down one. They tie on the side for an adjustable fit, and I have them tied as tight as they’ll go. L&L also offers a mid rise brief and a hipster cut to add to the variety of options in their current lineup.

Excuse my wonky looking hair here – I edit out tattoos. And also excuse my tan lines from other bikini bottoms 😉 The back coverage of this cut is pretty cheeky. Gotta say, it’s cheekier than I usually go for, but for some reason it doesn’t bother me at all here. I think they’re so cute, they’re definitely going to be fun to swim in. There’s a bit of wrinkling at the very bottom, I am praying they don’t stretch out and get larger when they get wet.

I think Lilly and Lime is off to a great start. I’ve been in contact with Ashleigh and Emma-Jane prior to this review, and have offered all of my feedback in regards to the fit on me. They’re very open to feedback, very communicative, very polite and obviously creative. I have high hopes for this company’s future. They’re taking mine and others’ feedback to their pattern grader and constantly striving to improve fit and offer new styles. For now, if you can handle tall cups and wires, I highly suggest you check them out 🙂 I’m excited to see what they put out in the future. They’ve also graciously offered their Full Cup and Halter styles to me for review, so I will report back once I have received those tops!

What do you think readers? Does Lilly and Lime intrigue you? What are your favorite full bust swim styles? Thanks for stopping by!