blogleaves

Our 10,000th review

Our 10,000th review has been posted, everyone! Lucky customer Betsy scoops the £50 gift card for her thoughts on the Lepel Athena soft bra, pictured. Here's that winning review in full: "Considering this bra has no underwire it fits me better and make my boobs look so much better than most bras I have worn in the past. Was a bit sceptical on reading reviews and how wonderful it was - but its true! I ordered nude and will be ordering white and black too. Its my first time ordering on figleaves and I am very impressed!"

Beautiful brides at the Designer Wedding Show

Eagle-eyed brides-to-be might have noticed that our bridal department has had a bit of a makeover today, with new features including a wedding day workshop. Want to know more about our catwalk pics? They came from the Designer Wedding Show, which brings you such names as Jasper Conran, Amanda Wakeley and Vera Wang. The next show is in London in October; find out more here.

Above: what to wear under a strapless dress - Ballet bustier £30.

In defence of hemp lingerie

"A world of hemp lingerie? No thanks," says Melanie Reid in The Times today. While this is not the place to pick a fight with the eco-deniers, we don't need the weight of international scientific opinion behind us to stand up for hemp knickers. The columnist describes a "narrow, grey, scratchy world of recycled car tyres and hemp lingerie" - clearly, she has never experienced the softer side of eco friendly smalls. Lots of lovely things in our Greenleaves department, of course, including these silky hemp tie side knickers by Greenknickers and Eco-Boudoir's deluxe hemp and silk shorts.

 

Competition: submit our 10,000th review and win a gift card

When we asked figleaves.com customers to start rating and reviewing products last year you didn't need to be told twice. So popular has it been, in fact, that we are now eagerly awaiting our 10,000th review, which is due to hit the site in the next week or so, and we'd like to celebrate by offering a £50 figleaves.com gift card to its author. Fancy your chances? Go back to your past purchases, submit a review and who knows? You could be lucky number 10,000.

Some ts and cs.

Inside Mariah's closet

What do we think about Mariah Carey, everyone? I am warming to her myself - not least because of her lingerie closet, as revealed to the world on the Oprah show the other day. Night-things arranged by colour? Sounds like bliss to me.

"Typically, I throw on some pj's or perhaps some boxers and a little tank and call it a day," says Mariah. "But if we're feeling extra good about ourselves after our little diet, we might select another type of ensemble."

Gangsters, record breakers and Spanx

• World news: Colombian gangster Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia's personal belongings were sold off in Sao Paolo last week. Best sellers? His Y-fronts, reports The Guardian.
• How many pairs of underpants can one man wear without falling over? Jimmy Kimmel Live set the world record last week - it now stands at 100, says AHN.
• We have a South Carolina mill owner's daughters to thank for the Spanx phenomenon, reveals a profile of Sara Blakely in yesterday's Observer. Read the full story here.

D&G's retro moment

Just something pretty for the weekend... we've been looking forward to this new collection from D&G and it arrived on the UK site today. What's to love? The sweet heart logo and retro piping - it's vintage-style lingerie for the modern girl. Bra £57, briefs £30, chemise £100

Scary stuff

• Lots of lingerie stories in the news today. Let's start with US Federal employees, who have been caught using their government credit cards to pay for lingerie (among other "frivolous items"), says the Washington Post.
• Phew. It's OK to wear Speedo's controversial new swimsuit after all, says Sky News.
• And the citizens of Hong Kong are still free to enjoy the sight of Djimon Hounsou in his Calvins after a skyscraper-sized advert was cleared of indecency, says the Pakistan Daily Times.
• Scary: Move over, Sarah Harding; Spice Girl Mel B is the new face of Ultimo, says Fametastic.
• Even more scary: Check out the latest Russian undies in the Daily Telegraph. These pro-Putin pants offer a solution to Russia's shrinking population, says their creator.

Bikinis, Spanx and sexy lingerie for the dead

• Blame it on the bikini: ever wondered why Benidorm became such a big tourist destination for all us pasty Brits? It's all because former mayor Pedro Zaragoza, who died yesterday, allowed bikinis on the beaches of Benidorm when they were banned everywhere else in Spain. [The Times]
• Another celeb joins the ranks of Spanx fans: American Idol's Carly turned to slimming pants to quash pregnancy rumours says the Irish Independent.
• You can take it with you: ethnic Chinese in Malaysia are snapping up paper underwear sets for the dead to use in the other world, says the Malaysia Star. Paper paraphernalia is traditionally burnt as offerings for the dead on the Quing Ming festival, which falls on Friday this year.

The bra: spend or save?

And today's hot debating topic is brought to you by lingerie blog Eve's Apples: "Is a good bra worth a high price?" it asks.

RealSimple.com has been looking into the merits of various wardrobe essentials and is in no doubt when it comes to bras: spend. Here's what their experts say: "Bras are a good investment item because they can affect your overall look," says Tim Gunn, chair of the department of fashion design at Parsons The New School for Design. And according to image consultant Amanda Sanders, "A great bra can make a 5- to 10-pound difference in your appearance."

Couldn't agree more - not that we're biased or anything. Here are a few worth splashing out on: in the UK, in the US.