Author: Lynnette LaPlace

  • Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Illuminating Primer and Flawless Lumière Radiance-Perfecting Foundation

    Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Illuminating Primer and Flawless Lumière Radiance-Perfecting Foundation

    Salut les filles!

    Bienvenue, j’ai récemment reçu deux produits Laura Mercier pour tester et donner mes avis honnêtes, j’ai reçu la Base Teint Illuminatrice et le fond de teint Perfection Éclat.

    Je commencerai par dire qu’avant le mois dernier, lorsque j’ai reçu le Quench Hydrating Primer from Tarte, je n’avais jamais utilisé de produit de maquillage. Je ne pensais pas que cela faisait une si grande différence et l’utilisation de la base teint Quench n’a pas du tout changé mon avis.

    J’ai eu tort !

    Base De Teint Illuminatrice

    Size: 1.7 oz/ 50 mL

    À propos du produit :

    Ce que c’est : Un apprêt illuminant, à base d’eau, avec des perles réfléchissant la lumière, qui améliore la luminosité de la peau et prolonge la tenue du maquillage.

    Ingrédients mis en évidence :
    – Perles micronisées : Éclaircit et nourrit le teint, donnant à la peau un éclat lumineux.
    – Extrait de fleur de porcelaine : favorise l’éclat à long terme.
    – Complexe réflecteur de lumière : Crée un effet apaisant sur la peau et atténue l’apparence des imperfections.

    Appellations des ingrédients : Exempt de sulfates SLS et SLES, de parabènes, et contient moins d’un pour cent de parfums synthétiques.

    Ce que vous devez savoir : La formule respirante scelle le soin de la peau et crée une barrière protectrice qui prolonge la tenue du maquillage. Elle est formulée avec des ingrédients qui aiment la peau, donc non seulement elle protège la peau, mais elle est aussi bonne pour la peau.

    À la première impression, c’était comme une crème chatoyante par rapport au gel primer que j’ai utilisé le mois dernier. Il a été assez facile à appliquer et a laissé ma peau hydratée et lumineuse.

    Vous pouvez obtenir la base teint chez Sephora (France) 42,00€

    Fond de Teint Perfection Éclat

    Size 1 oz/ 30 mL

    À propos du produit:

    Qu’est-ce que c’est ? Un fond de teint liquide lumineux offrant jusqu’à 15 heures d’hydratation et une couverture légère, moyenne à complète, pour un fini parfaitement éclatant, quelle que soit la lumière.

    Couverture : Moyenne

    Finition : Radiant

    Formulation: Liquide

    Type de peau : Normale, sèche, mixte et grasse

    Ingrédients mis en évidence :
    – Perle Super Cristal Clair : Une texture très fine avec une surface plane et sans défaut pour un effet de réflexion de la lumière, sans aspect crayeux.
    – Extrait de champignon Silver Ear : atténue l’apparence des rides et des ridules.
    – Vitamine C : Aide à révéler une peau plus lumineuse, plus claire et au teint plus uniforme au fil du temps, de sorte que même sans maquillage, la peau est radieuse.

    Appels d’ingrédients : Sans sulfates SLS et SLES.

    Ce que vous devez savoir : Le fond de teint perfecteur d’éclat Flawless Lumière offre jusqu’à 15 heures d’hydratation pour lisser et adoucir l’apparence de la peau. La formule légère ressemble à une seconde peau et se sent comme telle. Les polymères flexibles se fondent dans la peau pour créer un confort longue durée, et les pigments lumineux et fidèles aux couleurs résistent à l’oxydation.

    Ce produit est lauréat du prix Allure Best of Beauty.

    Résultats cliniques : Un test indépendant réalisé auprès de 29 femmes utilisant le fond de teint perfecteur d’éclat Flawless Lumière, après 2 semaines :
    – 83 % des personnes interrogées ont déclaré que leur peau était lumineuse et avait un aspect naturel.
    – 90 % des personnes interrogées ont reconnu que le produit n’avait pas l’air gras et ne donnait pas l’impression de l’être.
    – 83 % ont reconnu que leur peau était radieuse

    Vous pouvez obtenir le fond de teint chez Sephora (France) 34,30€

    La nuance que j’ai reçue était 4N1 (Suntan) ; elle est décrite comme un bronzage avec des sous-entendus neutres.

    Une chose est sûre, j’aime que mes fonds de teint aient un fini naturel. Je ne suis pas une grande accro du maquillage et je préfère un aspect naturel et comme il s’agit d’une formule légère avec une couverture moyenne et un fini naturel, elle me convenait parfaitement.

    Voici deux regards que j’ai faits en utilisant l’apprêt et le fond de teint:

  • Lessons in Crucian- S/He

    Lessons in Crucian- S/He

    Welcome back to #CrucianwithMami, in the last lesson I mentioned that I was going to focus on the 3rd person pronoun He but I felt like it made more sense to talk about both He and She since they are very similar.

    In Standard English, He and She both have four forms (He, She, Him, Her, His, Hers, Himself, and Herself) in Crucian He and She also have four forms (He, She, Hiz, Ha, He own, She own, Heself, and Sheself).

    As you no doubt noticed we don’t say Him or Her it’s He and She, once more I don’t exactly know why but I’m sure there’s a reason for that.

    Here are the sample sentences:

    Subject Pronouns

    SE: He is not going to like this one.

    He’n gon like dis one.

    SE: She is not a fan of this color.

    She’n a fan of dis cula.

    Object Pronouns

    SE: Is that him over there?

    Das he ova deh?

    SE: Is that her dancing in the corner?

    Das she dancing in deh corna?

    Possessive Adjectives

    SE: That’s his chain.

    Das hiz chain

    SE: That’s her children.

    Das ha children

    Possessive Pronouns

    SE: That car is his.

    Da cyar is he own

    SE: That child is hers.

    Da chile is she own.

    Reflexive Pronouns

    SE: You see all of that? He did it by himself.

    You see all ah dat deh? He did it all by heself.

    SE: She made that dress all by herself.

    She make dah dress all by sheself

    While I was doing this lesson I realized that sometimes instead of Hiz or Ha I sometimes will use He or She, I hadn’t noticed until I started forming the sentences. I find that very interesting because by itself I will say Hiz for his and Ha for hers but in a sentence, it is more natural to say He or She.

    In the next lesson, I will talk about 3rd thing, It or Ih as we say in Crucian.

  • Lessons In Crucian: Yo -Yu

    Lessons In Crucian: Yo -Yu

    Welcome back to #CrucianwithMami, today I am going to talk about the Crucian second person pronoun Yu sometimes said as Yo.

    In Standard English you have four forms (You, Your, Yours, and Yourself) in Crucian there are also four forms (Yu, Yo, Yo’s, and Yoself)

    I wish I could offer an in-depth explanation as to why we say Yoself in Crucian rather than Yurself but I feel like I’m learning about my own language alongside you!

    Here are some sample sentences:

    SE- You are a student.

    Yu a student.

    SE- Wash your hands.

    Wash yo hand dem. (I will explain dem in another lesson)

    SE- Is that yours?

    Das yo’s?

    SE- Did you do it by yourself?

    Yu do it by yoself?

    You can listen to the audio clip here:

    In the next lesson, I will talk about the third person pronoun (male) He.

  • My first order with Tarte

    My first order with Tarte

    Tarte, if you don’t know is an American cosmetics company that was founded in 2000, their products first caught my eyes I want to say about 3 to 4 years ago. I can’t remember what product it was that interested me but I quickly joined Team Tarte. Team Tarte is their loyalty program where you can earn points that enables you to get some free stuff with your purchases. Just opening an email from Tarte gets you 10 points. I didn’t make a purchase before because while I enjoyed makeup that was inexpensive Tarte is anything but. My eyes saw more than my pockets could handle but this year I decided I was going to splurge a little and get something for myself since I don’t usually get any gifts.

    I still had a budget mind you so I went on the site and looked for things that were interesting to me but not that expensive. I immediately saw the Hydration Celebration Hydrating Skincare Set for 23,00€ (47€ Value), what exactly is this set about? Well, this is what the description says:

    What It Is

    Celebrate good skin, come on! These 4 hydration sensations feel ultra-lightweight & quench your skin’s thirst.

    SET INCLUDES

    • full-size quench lip rescue in rose
    • travel-size quench hydrating primer
    • travel-size drink of H2O hydrating boost moisturizer
    • deluxe 4-in-1 setting mist

    The small sizes of the products didn’t bother me since I have a few other products I’m currently using. I thought this would be a good way for me to try out the products before committing to the bigger sizes.

    With my order I received a sample card of Rainforest of the Sea Water Foundation in Medium, there are five different shades you can swatch to find your perfect match.

    While I was there I decided to use some of my points and collect some rewards. I took the Birthday Set which is two cult classics but in mini size. It’s the Amazonian clay 12-hr blush in Quirky and the Lights, Camera, Lashes, 4-in-1 Mascara.

    I also took a Deluxe SEA Wink h20 Vegan Collagen Eye Cream

    Reviews

    I tried out my purchases today and the first thing I applied was the Eye Cream, it is a bit thick in consistency, there’s no smell, and doesn’t leave the skin feeling greasy. Since this is my first use I will come back after I have used it a while to update you on how I like it.

    I next applied the moisturizer, it feels very light and went on smoothly, the scent is not strong at all which I like, my skin feels moisturized, once again I’ll update after using it a while.

    The next step, the primer, has a gel-like consistency which I was not expecting, it went on smoothly and did not leave my skin feeling like there was something on it.

    I then applied my foundation, my preferred YSL Touche Eclat, after it was the eyeshadow, the mascara which I like a lot because it gave me length and that dark color without the spider effect, and then the blush, followed by the gloss which is just that, a gloss, I prefer my glosses to have a bit of color to them so I’ll probably add this over a lipstick, and finally the setting spray which smells like very citrusy and I panicked a bit thinking I might break out due to my allergies but so far my skin is still smooth and bump-free.

    The finished face:

    Out of all these products, I think I enjoy the mascara the most and will probably consider buying it again, the rest? I’m not very impressed with them so far.

  • Lessons In Crucian: I – Me’en

    Lessons In Crucian: I – Me’en

    Welcome to the first lesson of #CrucianwithMami, I originally wanted to start with the word “Deh” but I’ll leave that for the next lesson.

    Today we are focusing on the two forms of I that are used in Crucian, the affirmative form I and the negative Me’en.

    There are no strict rules when using I but Me’en is never used in the affirmative form.

    If you wanted to say I’m home in Crucian you’d say – I home or I deh home

    If you wanted to say I’m not home in Crucian you’d say – Me’en home or Me’en deh home

    Another way you’d say that in Crucian would be – I’n home or I’n deh home

    Unlike other languages, there are no informal or formal forms as the entire language is considered informal. Using either Me’en or I’n just seems to be a personal preference.

  • Beginning Crucian with Mami

    I originally posted about this on the Facebook page and realized that I had not posted about it on the blog, I sincerly apologize for that.

    You might notice a new tab on the blog’s menu “Crucian with Mami” well that’s there because I started a mini-series in an attempt to teach my children Crucian.

    On December 19, 2020, I decided I was going to do something about the fact that my son doesn’t speak the local creole from where we were born, this is what I posted on Facebook:

    Being an Expat parent is not easy especially when your child speaks only the community language and not your mother tongue so today I’m starting a mini-series: Crucian with MamiIn Crucian (the creole of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, where I’m from) we call our mother’s Mami. My son stopped calling me Mami when we moved to France in 2015, social pressure, everyone calls their grandmother Mamie and their mother Maman. It’s an indescribable feeling going through a terrible pregnancy, waiting 9+ months for your child to finally call you Mami, and then just like that in the blink of an eye, it’s taken from you. It felt like he forgot me. I understand fitting in when out and about in public but I had hoped that we could still keep a little of our culture at home. As it is now my son doesn’t talk to any of my family, he says he doesn’t understand them because he only speaks French. I don’t want this for my children so from today, we are going to be doing Crucian classes with Mami. My classes will teach the difference between standard English and Crucian, we’ll listen to Crucian music, hopefully, eat Crucian food, and read Crucian literature. As we say in Crucian “Leh we go!” (Let’s go!)

    Crucianize

    I started going over the language and trying to figure out the most important aspects of it so that I could teach the children. I decided I would start with the word Deh, I recorded a sound clip and soon realized that it would be much better to start with pronouns in Crucian.

    For the first lesson, I covered the two forms of I used in Crucian.

  • New MyHeritage Genetic Groups

    This being the first day of the new year I thought it only fitting that I write about MyHeritage’s Genetic Groups update that dropped on December 24. They are free to anyone who has taken a test at MyHeritage or uploaded it there. I have three uploads, my 23andme which was uploaded in Sep 2018, my brother’s Ancestry which was uploaded in Mar 2018, and my father’s 23andme which was uploaded in Aug 2020. Since my brother and my uploads were done in 2018 we were grandfathered into having access to most of the DNA tools without having to pay. It’s interesting how both our uploads perform, my brother’s upload has 520 DNA relatives while I have 500. Our father on the other hand has 1,006 DNA matches!

    Here’s my Ethnicity on MyHeritage, I didn’t receive any Genetic Groups, unfortunately, these results don’t really make much sense to me and have never changed since I uploaded them.

    Here’s my brother’s Ethnicity, he has one Genetic Group in, the Netherlands, which makes sense since I knew we had relatives in the Netherlands.

    My father’s upload was stuck behind the paywall because it was uploaded after MyHeritage stopped allowing the free uploads but I never really thought about paying for it since I could see his ethnicities by comparing his account with mine or my brother’s, I have to admit though, seeing that he had 3 Genetic Groups and I had no way of seeing them unless I paid made me very curious. I ended up paying 34,80€ to unlock his DNA results.

    I’m not sure if being able to change the Confidence level of the Genetic Groups is part of the paid DNA account or if it’s due to the fact that there is more than one Group.

    Puerto Rico and USA Genetic Group make perfect sense as my father has a lot of families that moved to Puerto Rico and then their children later on moved to the USA.

    The other two Genetic Groups I wasn’t expecting if you read the About this Genetic Group section it’s mostly British and some Irish and German settlers, on my father’s paternal side we have a few Irish/British lines so this makes sense.

    In conclusion, the Genetic Groups have been a pleasant surprise just waiting on an update to the Ethnicity because I’m not really sure what could be contributing to the South Asian in both mine and my father’s composition.

  • Haircember

    I don’t know if you guys have noticed yet but I love a good hair product, I will buy all the hair things if I could, I frequently get Shampoo, Conditioner, Masque, Leave-in, Gel, Curl Activators, and Hair oils but there are so many more products that I haven’t bought yet!

    December was definitely my month for trying out new products, some from my favorite brands and others that I’ve never used before, I’ll tell you all about my likes and dislikes below.

    Herbal Essences Pure

    Since the lockdown began I haven’t been out to shop for Hair products on my own so I was looking on Amazon and I usually like to buy a whole set so I can get the full effect. I was going to buy some Garnier Ultra Doux because those are always my first choice but I saw a bundle for Herbal Essences Pure Aloe Vera & Avocado Oil on sale for 9,87€ it was available for 13,58€.

    The bundle included three products:

    Shampoo

    The Shampoo claims that it gently cleans and soothes your hair and scalp.

    Conditioner

    The conditioner is supposed to be nourishing and gently moisturizes your hair and scalp.

    Masque

    The masque claims to nourish and soften your hair while moisturizing your scalp.

    To complete my order I also picked up Herbal Essences Pure Argan & Aloe Oil on sale for 4,51€ I thought it was Aloe and Avocado but I’m fine with it, the price was 4,80€ at the time of this post.

    Smoothing formula that protects hair from breakage.

    Final Verdict

    I find the Shampoo to be very gel-like instead of creamy like my usual Shampoos, it does not take a lot to lather which means I’ll probably have this bottle for a while, the scent isn’t strong, it’s what I imagine a Bio Shampoo to smell like, a bit earthy like freshly cut grass, it doesn’t weigh my hair down or leave it feeling greasy which is the most important in my opinion. I’d say that while it’s not my absolute favorite I’d consider using it again if I can’t find any of the usual go tos.

    The conditioner isn’t anything special, to be honest, it hydrates my hair well enough and doesn’t leave it feeling dry after washing it out. I can’t say I’d reach for it even if I was desperate.

    The masque is a bit thick and doesn’t seem to coat my hair well so I end up using it even more to make sure every strand is saturated. I feel like it doesn’t nourish the hair well when you leave it on for more than 5 minutes.

    The oil is fairly light and I light to spray some on the next day when I’m refreshing my hair. I would pick this up again.

    On a whole, these products get a 4/5.

    Garnier Fructis Hair Food

    My husband is the one that picked this up for me, I was out of a leave-in conditioner and I asked him if he could pick some up for me while he was out shopping. He came home with this and I was like…this is a masque, I wanted a leave-in. This masque is actually Multi-Purpose, it can be used as a masque, a detangler, or as a leave-in. I’ve only used it as a leave-in since I do all my detangling with my conditioner.

    As a leave-in this masque is really good, it is thick but I feel like it absorbs better than the Herbal Essences, it leaves my hair feeling soft and light, I will definitely be picking this up again.

    I give this masque a 5/5.

    Kérastase

    I’d never tried this brand before but heard of them so when I was offered the chance to get free samples I jumped on it and I am glad I did!

    The samples I received were:

    Kérastase Nutritive Bain satin 2 (Shampoo) 21,81€ on Amazon

    Kerastase Nutritive Masquintense – Thick Hair (Masque) 38,00€ on Amazon

    I’m not going to lie but I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to try out such small packets but they were all I really needed.

    The Shampoo lathered extremely well and my hair felt quite literally like satin after rinsing it out. I was impressed. I didn’t even condition my hair afterward just moved on to the masque and the glide I got, it was like magic. Just 5 products and my hair were soft, hydrated, and light! I know what you’re thinking, 5 products is a lot, not for me though lol, I use a pre-poo, shampoo, masque, conditioner, leave-in, and oil. A total of 6 products every wash day. So using just 5 is amazing to me. Who knows maybe I will find a good 2 in one that will eliminate the need for a Shampoo and Conditioner one day. But for now, I give Bain Satin 2 and Masquintense a 5/5.

    Well, these are all the Hair Products that I used in December, truth be told I’m looking forward to discovering new faves in 2021.

  • ZzzQuil Sommeil Ambassadrice

    Cette semaine “3 décembre”, j’ai eu l’occasion de tester ZzzQuil™ SOMMEIL gommes.

    Réclamations ZzzQuil

    • VOUS AIDE À VOUS ENDORMIR NATURELLEMENT. Les gommes ZzzQuil PURE Zzzs vous aident à vous endormir naturellement et à réguler votre cycle de sommeil afin que vous puissiez affronter votre lendemain
    • PAS DE GROGNEMENT LE LENDEMAIN AVEC UN NIVEAU OPTIMAL DE MÉLATONINE. Formulé avec un niveau optimal de mélatonine, qui aide à réguler votre cycle de sommeil afin que vous puissiez vous réveiller frais et dispos
    • MÉLANGE BOTANIQUE NATUREL. Formulé de façon unique avec un mélange d’huiles essentielles botaniques comprenant de la lavande, de la camomille, de la mélisse et de la racine de valériane
    • DES GOMMES À LA VANILLE ET AUX BAIES SAUVAGES. Ces gommes pratiques et savoureuses sont proposées dans un délicieux parfum de vanille aux fruits des bois. Vous aurez hâte de vous endormir, que vous soyez chez vous ou que vous voyagiez dans plusieurs fuseaux horaires.
    • NON-HABITAT EN FORMATION. Les PURE Zzz ne contiennent pas d’arômes artificiels, sont sans médicaments, sans gluten, sans lactose et sans gélatine

    Attention

    La mélatonine est une aide naturelle au sommeil mais elle n’est pas sans effets secondaires, tout le monde n’a pas de problèmes mais ceux-ci peuvent survenir :

    • Somnolence matinale
    • Rêves éveillés
    • Petites variations de la pression artérielle
    • Nausées
    • Maux de tête
    • Étourdissements

    Mes réflexions

    Je ne savais vraiment pas à quoi m’attendre puisque mes autres tentatives d’utilisation d’aides au sommeil, Unisom (De retour dans les îles Vierges américaines) et Donormyl n’ont jamais aidé à dormir, ni même à me fatiguer.

    J’ai décidé d’essayer, les premières nuits, je n’ai pas eu un meilleur sommeil et j’étais sûr que ce serait comme les autres fois, mais le sixième jour, en utilisant les gommes, je me suis endormi et j’ai dormi toute la nuit. Je me suis réveillée en me sentant rafraîchie et j’ai été impressionnée !

    Je n’avais jamais eu une aussi bonne nuit de sommeil depuis que je suis tombée enceinte. J’ai souffert de très graves insomnies pendant ma grossesse.

    Pour vous donner une petite histoire, ma fille ne dort pas de la nuit, je suis debout avec elle presque toutes les nuits pour la nourrir ou la réconforter et j’ai un peu de mal à me rendormir après qu’elle se soit rendormie. Le matin, je me sens souvent très fatiguée et ce n’est pas idéal quand on s’occupe d’un bébé et d’un enfant de 7 ans.

    J’ai beaucoup aimé essayer ce produit. Avant cette campagne, je n’avais jamais entendu parler de ZzzQuil, mais je suis heureux de le faire maintenant parce que j’ai des membres de ma famille qui peuvent bénéficier de l’aide supplémentaire d’une bonne nuit de sommeil.

    Je dois ajouter que cela pourrait ne pas fonctionner pour tout le monde, si vos problèmes de sommeil sont liés à l’anxiété ou à des problèmes hormonaux, ces gommes ne feront rien pour vous.

    Je vous suggère d’aller voir votre médecin pour obtenir de l’aide.

  • Postpartum Bra Shopping

    Postpartum Bra Shopping

    Featured Photo by Uliana Kopanytsia on Unsplash

    Bra shopping used to be one of my favorite things to do when I was younger, I was a 32A from the time I hit puberty right up until I had my son at 26. I don’t normally care for shopping in general but I would browse the Junior bra section for hours finding new bras, I easily had over 10 pairs of bras, one of my biggest problems was that I thought I was too small (thanks society) all the bras I had were more aimed towards younger girls who were just getting their first bras, nothing in the women’s section was in my size. I had never even heard of Sister sizes, if you don’t know what that is stay tuned because I will talk about it further down in this post. I’ll never forget that singular day in school when I overheard two boys talking about girls’ bodies and when one asked about mine the other said “She doesn’t have a body”. That point was later solidified when I was in my mid-twenties and surfing Blackplanet, one of the most popular groups among the men was one where it said something like guys preferred “Bad Grades C, D, E, F”. There was no mistaking that they were talking about breasts and what they considered to be bigger sizes. There I was being bombarded with the idea that men didn’t care for slim women with small breasts and I had no breasts to speak of so they obviously didn’t care for me. I want to say it didn’t bother me but I would be lying, I didn’t care about attracting anyone but the thought that I was unattractive was troubling. I often wished for bigger breasts (silly, silly goose) just to be thought of as feminine. I should explain that I was very much a tomboy before this hyper-awareness of my “lack of body”, I frequently wore baggy jeans, big shirts, backward caps, I hanged out with my brothers and cousins all the time so I was essentially one of the guys, I didn’t care for skirts and dresses and all those girly things my parents said was for girls. I was happy as I was even though people often asked me what I was…

    Despite the occasional wishful thought for bigger breasts, I was fine, I began wearing dresses and skirts and cultivating a feminine side that isn’t hyper-feminine. I wore make-up but not a full face, I still don’t know how to blend eyeshadow or know what half those toners and cc creams, and serums are for but I’m fine with who I am.

    When I was pregnant with my son, I joined a few Birth Boards and one common theme was women’s breasts growing and leaking milk, I didn’t experience any of this, I guess my body was too busy trying to provide nourishment for my baby. I didn’t think it would happen to me but it did.

    One day I had my baby and the next I had my breasts. I remember it so vividly, I woke up with HUGE (in my eyes) breasts, my milk had come in and I began to leak like crazy, it’s a good thing my son was exclusively breastfed because this was crazy. It’s funny the things you learn about your body after having a baby. No one ever told me about Letdowns but up to this day, I can still remember the tingle I’d get, and then the leaking would begin. My usual 32A bras were not going to do so we quickly went shopping and I ended up with a C cup, I don’t really remember what band size it was but it was probably wrong.

    My son nursed for one and a half years, I originally wanted to do baby-led weaning but I ended up pregnant and in the hospital for 4 days and after that, he just lost interest in nursing. There I was fresh from the hospital without another baby and my first baby didn’t want to nurse anymore. I was sad we wouldn’t have that bond anymore and fine with it at the same time because I wouldn’t have to be nursing him all hours of the day and night.

    With the end of nursing, I found that I needed to buy new bras once again. Here was a new problem though French bras don’t use the same system as the US bras, both the cup and band sizes seem to be bigger letters and numbers, what should be a C is actually a D, and what is a 34 is actually a 90! Imagine my shock when I go from a 34D to a 95E but they are the same exact size. I think everything about the sizing system over here made me think I was bigger, fatter than I actually am. To find a good bra my husband and I looked up international size conversion charts and then I just tried on different bras until I found one that fit.

    I was content with my bras, they mostly fit but it seemed I kept having to buy a new one as soon as I got used to my newer bigger size. Sometimes I ended up with a really good fitting bra and buy two different colors but one of them doesn’t fit, right? I don’t understand how that happens but it did several times. Some of my biggest bra issues in the last year were falling straps, too tight band, and gaps at the top of the bra where it should have been flush against my skin. I thought I was at the biggest reasonable size but boy was I wrong. One day in my mom group one of the other moms posted about a Reddit group called A Bra That Fits and there was a calculator you could use to find the right-sized bra for your body. You can find the Calculator here. I don’t remember what the calculator said was the ideal size for me but I remember thinking they were joking because it was a smaller band than I was currently wearing but a bigger cup, I decided to do some more reading on the group and learned all kinds of interesting things. Your size it seems isn’t the most important aspect of finding a bra that fits it’s the shape of your breasts. It’s a lot to get into and if you want to read more I suggest heading over to the subreddit and reading the beginners guide. This is my most recent results from the calculator: 28FF/G in the UK, 75H in French sizes, and 28F in the US.

    These are not full charts they are aimed mostly at showing how I found my French and European size from the US or UK size. If you are interested in seeing a full chart I suggest Googling International Size charts, there are lots of different charts available.

    75H is not a very common size to find here in France, most if not all the common stores only go up to Cup size E, and if you’re lucky you can find band size 110. Here is where knowing your Sister sizes come in handy. A sister size is a bra that is either a larger or smaller band but the same cup volume, for instance, I can’t find a 75H here but I can usually find a 90E, 95D, or 100C, these are all Sister sizes meaning they might fit me just as well or better than my original size. You’ll notice I omitted 80G and 85F, well that’s because they are not readily available which I had the pleasure of finding out when I needed a new bra after starting to breastfeed my daughter and I couldn’t go into the store to try on any bras during the pandemic so my poor husband had to go in and try to find one of the numbers I tell him. I sent him to find a 75H, no, 80G? no, 85F? no, what about 90F? it looks like it would fit. Fine, and it was for like a few months until I looked at the calculator again and realized it was not the correct size!

    This is not a full chart, I focused mostly on the Sister sizes of my own results, to find a chart suitable for you I recommend Googling Sister Sizes with your Country name on the end. I also limited the sizes to what I found was mostly available at the sites I frequent.

    Now I have the right Sister sizes I ordered bras more suitable for my shape and fullness, I’m hopeful that I have finally found my bra that fits!