Body Beautiful Secrets

Nobody's Perfect

If you've been feeling your beauty pulse according to the perfect visage presented by celebrities during photo opportunities, relax—it's all, or at least mostly, a façade. We're not so much talking trick photography as we're talking tricks of the trade. You can use them, too, if you want, but the main point here is that nobody's perfect or has a perfect body. Not even J. Lo.

Extra Security

Take Queen Latifa, who has admitted to using special body-sculpting undergarments under those designer evening gowns. The Higher Power High Waisted Power Panty from Spanx is a particular favorite of plump stars, helping them conceal those bumps and bulges in the most comfortable way possible. Even really thin stars like wearing these for a bit of extra security.

As for the aforementioned J. Lo, if you were wondering how she held up that Versace dress with the plunging neckline that she wore to the Grammy Awards, it was tape—um hmmm, double-sided tape—which is one of the most famous of famous stars' fashion secrets. Hollywood Fashion Tape costs seven bucks and is great stuff to carry around in your handbag and to have on hand at weddings and special events. You can use it to tape up a dragging hemline, hide your bra straps, keep that low neckline from wandering out of place and hold up your strapless shirt. Really amazing stuff! It's invisible and very strong.

Some celebrities don't buy the fancy tape online; super model Naomi Campbell, for instance, just uses surgical tape when she wants to get very full cleavage while going braless under a low-necked evening gown. This taping technique is called "up and in," and if you try it at home, make sure you look at yourself in a two-way mirror to make sure the tape doesn't wander into any visible area outside the boundaries of your outfit.

Other body-sculpting products that celebrities use as practical solutions to fashion problems are Low Beams, which are used to cover nipples under the sheerest of sheer fabrics, and Cleavage Cupcakes, gel pads you can insert into your brassiere to give you an instant boob-lift. These are cheaper and easier than plastic surgery and a fashion stylist's dream.

And if you were wondering how Lindsay Lohan manages her slim, jeans-covered silhouette, it's not diet and exercise; it's all due to her "Skinny jeans" from J Brand jeans. These jeans were designed to give a slender look that hugs a woman's curves, without being uncomfortable or tight. The jeans have a very narrow leg opening and were created in consultation with Susie Crippen, stylist to the stars.