Push-up inserts for a swimsuit

A bikini top is the hardest case for shape. There is no band, no wire, usually no lining worth the name, and the whole thing is designed to be minimal. Inserts fix it, but only if you are honest about what water does.

Do adhesives work in water?

They are water resistant, and that is the accurate word. Our pieces are sweat and water resistant, which covers a hot afternoon, a dip and getting out again. They are not designed for swimming lengths, and no adhesive silicone on the market is — moving water works at the edge until it lifts.

If the day is sunbathing with a swim in the middle, inserts are fine. If the day is an hour in the pool, put them in your bag and place them after.

Sewn-in versus adhesive

Many swimsuits come with loose foam cups in a sleeve. They are fine until they are wet, then they hold water, go lumpy and take a day to dry. Silicone does not absorb anything, which is why it is the better material here even before you get to the shape.

The trade-off is that silicone is heavier than foam. On a string triangle that weight can pull the fabric down, which is why placement matters more here than anywhere else.

Placing them in a triangle top

1. If the top has a lining, put the insert between the lining and the outer fabric. It disappears completely and the fabric holds it in place.
2. If there is no lining, apply it to skin first and let the top sit over it.
3. Sit it low, with the widest part under the breast, and angle the narrow end towards the centre. That angle is what creates a centre line instead of a flat push forward.
4. Press and hold for ten seconds a side.

The Sculpt is the one for a triangle top that sits flat; The Sculpt Lite if you want shape without adding size under a tighter one-piece.

Chlorine, salt and sun cream

In order of how much damage they do: sun cream first, by a distance — it is an oil film, and oil is what adhesive silicone cannot grip through. Then salt, which dries into a crust on the adhesive face. Then chlorine, which is mostly harmless in a single afternoon.

So: sun cream on your shoulders, back and everywhere except the patch of skin the insert sits on. If you have already applied it there, wash that patch with soap and dry it before putting anything on.

Afterwards

Rinse in fresh water the same day, then wash properly with a drop of mild soap and fingertips only. Air dry face up and put them straight back on the storage film — not face down on a towel, which is how they end up covered in fibres that never come off.

What not to do

Do not leave them in a hot car or on a sunny windowsill; heat softens the adhesive and it never fully recovers. Do not dry them with a hairdryer. Do not put them back in a wet swimsuit for the trip home.