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Zoe Vanderweide is a writer focused on style and accessories. She has personally tested nearly 300 bags, jeans, bras, shoes, and more. Nipple Bra Adhesive
As Wirecutter’s resident expert on bras and undies, I’m always on the prowl for the latest and greatest underthings. So it’s no surprise that my daily scroll has been inundated recently with targeted ads for Cakes Body nipple covers. These oddly appealing (maybe it’s the name?) silicone discs have racked up a loyal following on TikTok and beyond.
For the uninitiated: Nipple covers are flesh-colored patches that you place over your nipples to, well, cover ’em. Some people use covers instead of a bra under a slinky dress or top; others wear them with an unlined bra or swimsuit. Most nipple covers rely on a sticky backing to stay in place, but the Cakes covers naturally grip onto skin without the ick of adhesive. They also have an unusually large diameter, which supposedly renders them nearly invisible beneath clothes. Another difference is their price: At $30 per pair, they cost roughly three times as much as the usual drugstore and Amazon brands.
I tried the Cakes covers, putting them through their paces in a range of outfits and scenarios, including a sweaty workout and a dunk in the bathtub. And for comparison, I tested two less-expensive nipple covers—Hollywood Fashion Secrets Silicone CoverUps ($10) and Bogzon Adhesive-Free Nipple Covers ($10)—to see how they would stack up.
My verdict: The Cakes covers are a cut above. They did a far better job of concealing my nipples, as well as their own presence, than the other two pairs. Plus, the Cakes covers are comfy, endlessly reusable, well suited for lots of circumstances, and available in an array of sizes and skin tones. Though I won’t be tossing out my bras—nipple covers don’t provide any support—from here on out, if I’m in need of tata toppers, I’ll be reaching for these problem-solvers.
Made from 100% silicone, these reusable nipple covers—available in three different sizes and skin-tone shades—have an unusually large circumference, so they provide better coverage. Though they’re not cheap, they’re the best nipple covers we’ve tried, staying in place invisibly and comfortably without adhesive.
The Cakes covers are made of 100% silicone, which sticks to the skin on its own and peels off painlessly. The majority of nipple covers have an adhesive backing to prevent them from slipping around—but adhesive covers may irritate skin, be painful to remove, and leave behind a tacky residue. Another advantage of the no-glue design: You can wash the Cakes covers with mild soap and reuse them an unlimited number of times, in contrast to using adhesive covers, which typically advertise a lifespan of around 25 wears before they lose their stickiness.
When I first put on the Cakes covers, they felt cold against my skin and didn’t immediately adhere. I worried that they’d migrate—a Wirecutter colleague who has them reported that she has experienced this issue—or even fall off. Once my body heat warmed them up, however, they formed a secure seal and stayed put for a full day, even under a roomy T-shirt. (The company recommends wearing them with snug-fitting tops for the best results.) A tip: Press the covers onto your breasts with the palm of your hand for 10 to 20 seconds to heat them up and activate their sticking power.
The Cakes covers withstood sweat and water, too. Worn with a sports bra, they didn’t budge through a 30-minute workout; inside a swimsuit, they remained firmly in place as I shimmied around in the tub. One thing I did notice: When I got wet, with either water or perspiration, some condensation gathered on the inside of the covers. It didn’t bother me—and I discovered the moisture only later, as I was taking the covers off—but if you have particularly sensitive skin, this could potentially cause irritation.
Cakes bills the covers as “the largest nipple covers on the market”—not so much pasties as yarmulkes for your boobs. They’re available in three sizes: Itty Bitty (rude!), OG, and “+”. I tried the OG size, the option that my usual bra size (36D) falls in, which are about 4.25 inches in diameter. The covers extended well beyond the borders of my nipples, covering about a third of the total boob real estate.
Why is that a good thing? Because in my experience, nipple covers that are too small can create puffy, nipple-encircling outlines under clothing, drawing unwanted attention to the very features they’re meant to hide. In addition to being generously sized, the Cakes covers have thinly tapered edges that blend seamlessly into the skin. And unlike the other covers I tried, they have a gently structured, cupped form that gets thicker and more opaque in the center, providing excellent nipple coverage and a rounded profile.
The Cakes covers come in three shades to match different skin tones: caramel (a medium brown), cocoa (a deep brown), and honey (a light beige). The honey color, while darker than my very fair skin, still managed to disappear under my thinnest white T-shirt. When I tested the covers with a semi-sheer, skintight bodysuit, I was able to make out a faint whisper of their presence, but it took some squinting.
The Cakes covers open the door to all sorts of titillating sartorial possibilities. Personally, I don’t find it all that comfortable to swan around sans bra (my boobs have fed a child, thankyouverymuch), but if you don’t need the support, they could be a game-changing, wardrobe-expanding option. Consider the dilemma of what to wear beneath diaphanous blouses solved. Go to work braless without raising an eyebrow. Bring on the backless satin gowns and plunging “going-out tops.” (Just keep in mind that because the Cakes covers aren’t small, they might peek out from behind super-revealing cuts.)
Even if you, like me, need more lift than nipple covers on their own can provide, the Cakes covers still have plenty to offer. You can wear them under a bodysuit, a sports bra, or an unlined bra for subtle smoothing and shaping. And since they work wet or dry, you can swap them in for those lumpy, hard-to-position inserts that come standard in swimsuits. Now that’s how you have your cake and eat it, too.
In a perfect world, there would be cheaper alternatives to the Cakes covers that work just as well or nearly so. I tested two competitors—both top-selling, well reviewed, and costing around $10—and found them to be half-baked.
Inexpensive and ubiquitous, Hollywood Fashion Secrets Silicone CoverUps, sold at drugstores and online, are the first stop for many nipple-cover-curious folks. Unlike the Cakes covers, the Hollywood Fashion Secrets silicone covers rely on a layer of adhesive to stay firmly in place—and, indeed, I never worried about them slipping around. But it did sting a little when I peeled them off, and their sticky surfaces attracted lint.
The Hollywood Fashion Secrets covers come in four skin-toned hues and two sizes; I tried the size 1, the most popular option, which measures just 2.75 inches in diameter. (The size 2 covers are a more generous 3.5 inches, but neither holds a candle to the 4.25-inch Cakes covers.) Unsurprisingly, the nipple coverage was, well, inadequate. Whereas the Cakes covers have a rounded shape that’s thicker in the center, the Hollywood Fashion Secrets covers are flat and relatively thin throughout, so nipples easily protrude. And their edges, while tapered, don’t lie flat against the skin the way the edges of the Cakes covers do. The Hollywood Fashion Secrets covers’ noticeable borders and smaller size produced puffy, attention-grabbing nipple halos instead of smooth, seamless contours.
Like the Cakes covers, the Bogzon Adhesive-Free Nipple Covers are made from 100% silicone and don’t have any adhesive backing; they promise to stick to skin through body heat (and sorcery). The Bogzon covers aren’t nearly as secure as the Cakes covers, though—I was able to dislodge them by simply rubbing my shirt back and forth over my chest a few times. They come in one (light) skin tone only, and one size, with a diameter of 3.5 inches. Because the Bogzon covers are relatively large and also ultra-thin, they didn’t create any puckering or discernible edges—but they didn’t successfully conceal the topography or color of my nipples, either. Flimsy and semitransparent, this pair pretty much guarantees an a-poke-alypse.
This article was edited by Ingela Ratledge Amundson and Jennifer Hunter.
Zoe Vanderweide is a senior staff writer reporting on style and accessories at Wirecutter. She has been wearing things for over three decades, and she has spent years covering streetwear, luxury, art, and design. Off the clock, you can find her painting the town rainbow with her (devastatingly stylish) daughter.
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