One of the biggest fashion trends of 2017 has been the stick-on bra.
You can't open up Instagram without seeing style bloggers and celebrities magically lifting their cleavage with one of these gravity-defying boob holders. But are these bras actually any good? Can real people, not just perfect Instagram people, actually wear them? Jess and I found out.
We tried six of the most popular stick-on bras to see which one is ACTUALLY the best… and which belong in the trash.
The first one we tested was, of course, Instagram's favorite, the Sneaky Vaunt bra.
Sold in sizes A through DD, the sneaky Vaunt bra comes in black and nude. Jess had already tested this viral boob-sation, but we decided to give it another chance ($49, Sneaky Vaunt).
While Sneaky Vaunt's size C didn't look too bad on me from a distance...
...up close, the stick-on bra revealed itself to be a bulky, wrinkly mess.
What shirts or dresses could I possibly wear this under without raising serious concerns about my boob health? A boiler suit? Military fatigues? Stainless steel armor?
What's more, removing this bra nearly took off several layers of skin. The adhesive — which weirdly started peeling off my fingers — is HARDCORE.
Though this bra was nice enough to have a non-stick "hole" in the adhesive for one's nipples, I still screamed while peeling it off.
Jess tried the Sneaky Vaunt in a D, and had an even worse time.
"I stand by my last review — this bra is trash for women with bigger breasts. My titties aren't even that big, and I have NO support from this."
"This is as symmetrical as I could get this on my breasts. It did not hold them up or give me any cleavage," said Jess. "If I took my hands away, you'd see my soul."
"The glue came unstuck after about 10 minutes. What if I was wearing this out? I'd be braless!"
Are you wondering if the pull-tie push up function worked on either of us? Absolutely not.
On Jess, the pull-strings gave limited cleavage results. "But I feel like you almost pulled my breasts out," she told me. On my flatter chest, there was zero cleavage effect.
We give the Sneaky Vaunt 1 star out of 5.
We don't know who the Sneaky Vaunt *actually* works for, but it isn't either of us. "It covered my nipples, but that's it," said Jess.
Next, we tried the Rolls-Royce of stick-on bras — the NuBra.
The 3D underwire NuBra ($68, NuBra) is supposed to be the best. It has powdered silicone cups, a built-in underwire, and a front-clip for added support and cleavage enhancement. It only comes in nude and is available in sizes A through D.
I tried the C. Though it was a little tricky to position correctly, once I stuck it on my chest, I was in love.
Though the bra itself felt like two heavy chicken cutlets, it definitely lifted and defined my boobs. The soft silicone also added what felt like an extra cup size, which I wasn't about to kick out of bed.
My boobs looked great in this! I only had two small problems.
I was pre-menstrual when we took these pictures, and one of my breasts was bigger than the other. This bra really made that evident — there didn't seem to be any way to course-correct for asymmetrical boobs. So there's that.
Secondly, the adhesive on the NuBra is POWERFUL, and there's no "blank" spot in the middle to protect your nipples. Wear pasties, guys, or you'll lose an areola.
Jess, who tried the D, was similarly into the NuBra. "This is giving me GREAT cleavage!" she said.
"When I saw this bra, it looked like pasties to me," Jess said. "But I tried it on, and I was surprised! The NuBra stayed on, it made my titties look amazing, and I wasn't worrying about flashing everyone."
"This is the only stick-on bra that has worked for me," said Jess. "I would wear this, 100 percent."
Removal, however, *did* prove painful for her. Silicone nipple shields, everyone! Don't forget!
This bra gets our very highest stick-on marks. We give it 4.5 stars out of 5.
We both felt confident enough in the NuBra to wear it in our real lives. "I'd wear this to a wedding without worrying about flashing anyone," said Jess. "I don't want to flash anyone unless I'm the bride."
After that, we tried the most accessible stick-on bra — the Victoria's Secret PINK stick-on backless bra, which seems to be available in EVERY VS store.
Jess and I have BOTH had some issues with Victoria's Secret, but hey, maybe this is the bra that turns us into Angels. This stick-on backless bra comes in a single color (buff) and is available in three sizes: A/AA, B/C, and D/DD ($25, Victoria's Secret).
I tried the B/C size. Unfortunately, I was unimpressed by this bra once I had it on.
While it covered my nipples, it also seemed to push my breasts farther apart. NOT GREAT, BOB.
If you don't have especially large breasts (me), or boobs that are a little wider-set (also me), it's impossible to use this bra to fake any kind of cleavage.
Even if you scoop your breasts into the cups like ice cream, the Victoria's Secret bra still doesn't stretch far enough out to the sides to push 'em together. Because there's no front clasp, you can't attach the cups one boob at a time, which makes it awkward. And sadly, the adhesive wasn't sticky.
But the inside of the bra *was* pink. So there's that.
PINK by name, pink by nature.
Jess, wearing the D/DD, fared even more poorly with Victoria's Secret. "This is a joke," she said. "This cup is meant to fit a DD? This will cover ONE breast at a time!"
The adhesive on this Victoria's Secret bra was so weaksauce, it wouldn't even hold the (very light) cups on her chest.
"I wear a size 46C," said Jess. "There's NO WAY this bra is for a DD. For a bra company, Victoria's Secret doesn't seem to understand breasts."
TRUTH.
We give this bra 0 stars out of 5.
Overall, we did not like Victoria's stick-on secret. "NO," said Jess, when I asked for her review. "NO THANK YOU." We feel disrespected, Victoria's Secret. You can do better than this.
After our VS failure, we girded our loins and tried the best-selling stick-on bra on Amazon.
Though we were a little worried about ripping off our skin, we bravely soldiered on.
Deceny CB invisible strapless bra ($20, Amazon). It comes in black and nude, and includes sizes A to DD.
At first, I was really concerned about the SERIOUS adhesive inside this bra... but then something amazing happened.
I REALLY, REALLY LIKED IT.
This Amazon bra ticked every box for me: The clasp in the front was low enough for a hypothetical deep neckline, my breasts felt supported, and I had some MAJOR cleave happening.
The game-changer for me was that this bra extended out farther to the sides, which pushed my breasts closer together.
Again: If you have wide-set breasts (like me!), this is a game-changer.
Sadly, the same bra let Jess down. "This isn't a bra," she said. "This is a nipple cover."
"Amazon is disrespecting my breasts right now," said Jess. "Scotch tape has more hold than this bra. If I take my hands away, you'll see my nipples."
While I gave this bra five stars, Jess only gave it one — so this Amazon bra averages out to 2.5 stars out of 5.
While we *usually* like the same things, we don't ALWAYS. That's OK! Different people (and boobs) like different things (and bras).
Because we are gluttons for punishment, the fifth stick-on bra that we tried was from Fashion Nova.
We've had a few run-ins with Fashion Nova, but HOPED the Pull Them Close bra would work out ($13, Fashion Nova). This bra seemed like a slightly thicker, more hardcore version of the Vaunt Bra, so we were here for it.
Once again — this bra didn't look too bad from far away. I wore a C and it *seemed* fine.
But up close, once again, it was a wrinkly mess. The shoelace-style drawstring barely even worked!
Like the Sneaky Vaunt Bra, you're supposed to stick the Fashion Nova bra cups to your breasts, then pull the drawstring to smoosh your boobs together.
But it didn't.
The drawstring was so stiff that the cups barely moved, and the cups themselves were so large that they hid any cleavage I might have developed.
And the adhesive was so pathetic, it started lifting off my skin almost immediately.
This was after two minutes.
Can you imagine if I wore this under any clothing? NIGHTMARE.
"I wanted this bra to be the one, but Fashion Nova played me again," said Jess. "That brand wants to be body positive so much, but they're not positive about a body like mine."
"I hate this bra," said Jess. "The cups didn't stay stuck on. It didn't give me cleavage. It was awkward and depressing."
"What clothes would I be able to wear this under? A regular bra? What's the point?"
Sorry, Fashion Nova — this stick-on bra was trash. 0 stars out of 5.
"The only good thing about this bra is that it kind of looked like mermaid shells," said Jess. "That's the only nice thing I can say about it."
The final stick-on bra we both tried was a bit of a dark horse — the Bring It Up Breast Shapers.
These stick-on silicone petals ($35 or $40, Bring It Up) were recommended to me by a friend — the "shaping cups" supposedly lift your breasts to make them look perkier. They come in sizes from A/B through DDD in clear and nude. So naturally, we had to try the Bring It Up petals for ourselves.
You place the cups on your boobs, then unpeel the top of the sticker, lift the petal and your breast up higher, then stick the petals back down on your skin. Voila, instant breast lift!
But would they really work???
THEY SURE DID. On the left, my breast lifted with the petals. On the right, my breast normally. The difference is stunning.
I'm a size 30D wearing size C, and this was a revelation. Damn. DAAAAAAAMN.
Though they didn't give a ton of support, I was really impressed with these petals for a few crucial reasons.
The Bring It Up shapers are made of silicone, so they didn't need glue to adhere to my skin — and they didn't rip off my nipple when I took them off. My boobs looked IMPECCABLE.
Meanwhile, Jess had high hopes for the DD size she was wearing. "I really wanted these to work," said Jess. "And they brought my breasts up a little, but not as much as I wanted them to."
"They weren't powerful enough to lift my heavy titties," she said. "And the small lift I got didn't last as long as I wanted it to."
"These breast shapers would make you look good for an Instagram story," Jess said. "Not for a whole day. And I started sweating, forget it. These are sliding off."
We give the Breast Shapers 3 out of 5 stars.
My smaller boobs give this bra five stars, while Jess' melons give them two. Breast buyer, beware.
What did we learn from our stick-on bra extravaganza?
We learned that every body (and boob) is different, and the only way to know what's really going to work for you is to try them. A lot of them, probably.
We learned that even though stick-on bras SEEM like the solution to all your underwire-hating problems, they often cause more issues than they solve.
We learned that if an Instagram product seems too good to be true, it probably is.
And we learned that if you have to stick uncomfortable things directly to your nipples, you BETTER have your BFF by your side.
Anyone else will laugh at you too much.
