Valea Brilliant came to me from Bulgaria.

I have a 29 inch underbust with almost no squish, and find in EM bras I can be either a 65 of 70 band (if EM bras fit me at all. I'm not willing to special order a 65H to find out if there is any reality in which my boob shape is compatible with them). In comexim, I can fit a 65, but seem to prefer a 70. The same is true for Gorsenia, 65 fits, 70 is more comfortable. Kris Line - 65 or 70 depending on the model.

I decided to go with a 70I for this attempt, since ... altering down the band is not the end of the world. I often have to narrow gores, so I thought 70 would be safer than 65 in case that ended up being the case here.

This bra is nearly identical to Kris Line's Brilliant in terms of shape and construction, so I'm thinking a knockoff, but you know what? The Valeia is prettier, and it feels better against my skin. (The last three pics are comparisons of Kris Line Brilliant in 65GG and Valea Brilliant in 70I. You can see the Kris Line's 65 band is a bit longer, but the Valea's has more give. What this says, well, I can't be sure. I've bought Kris Line's brilliant twice, both times in a 65 band, and the two bands were two completely different lengths, so I can't really do an adequate size comparison there. But, I think given how stretchy the Valea is, a lot of ladies would probably prefer to size down a band.

Cup shape and sizing is pretty much identical. Both have a 6 inch wire width, but the wires are very sturdy in both cases, so even though I'm constantly on the hunt for 5 inch wires, these actually feel narrower than most 5.5 inch wires I've worn and at least during try on, the width didn't bother me. How it'll fare for all day wear, I'm not sure ye, but the wires don't warp or wiggle like a lot of the UK bras I've tried. I don't know if they'd be bendable.

The Valea is a warmer, creamier beige, closer to my skin tone. The Kris Line is 'coffee', it has a hint of a cool rose shade to the beige. The Valea is more of a honey beige so looks much more neutral on my warm skin tone. Okay, I'm still casper colored, but my undertones lean toward the pink/yellow end of the spectrum, so on me, the Kris Line just looks brown, but the valea looks more like a traditional nude. Someone with a cool skin tone would probably find the opposite to be true.

I like the Valea's material better: it's softer, almost silky to the touch, with a subtle sheen. The Kris Line Brilliant is just, you know, meh. On the other hand, Kris Line's Brilliant goes up to, I believe, an N cup (or something like that), where Valea's Brilliant stops at I. If you're in the size range though, the price difference between the two is significant enough to opt for the Valea (which lands at around $35 USD, where Kris Line, even on Zulily and Brastop, is often more costly.)

In terms of construction though - identical. I have the same issue with the valea as I do with kris line - the elastic seam up top is too tight. I'll have to remove it to open it up for my full all over breasts. It's a minor alteration, so no big deal, but because of that I'm not sure if I wouldn't be better off to size down a cup. I'm not sure if opening up the top of the cup will cause gaping or not, so having only tried it on for a minute or two to write this up, I'm debating on whether to alter it or sell it and buy a 65I instead. I think if I buy a Valea bra again I would definitely want the smaller band, but I'm still mentally analyzing how the alterations I'll need to do will affect fit.
Shape is basically the same, too. I'd call it a "natural" shape. On me it's not completely round but the pointy quality is soft and attractive.
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Updated on Sep 06, 2014 Flag this

sayitifyoumeanit

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