It sounds too good to be true, right? I know, I thought so too.
And I am by no means saying permanently — anything that good has to have a catch.
But Skinnies get you skinny, or at least looking a whole lot slimmer than you did a minute ago.
And I do notice — I have said this before — that when you look better, you start taking care to look better for longer.
But OK, let me get to it. Skinnies are basically clear tape that you can use on different places on your body to pull up, smooth out, diminish or downright hide muffin tops, thunder thighs, belly bulge and more. Even batwing arms!
How?
Well, I have to admit, I didn't quite get it when I got my Skinnies in the mail. But that's only because I'm impatient and didn't take the time to just look at the very simple instructions.
Then Fate stepped in. Penilopee LaRosa, the inventor of Skinnies, happened to call me when I was down in Florida for Christmas. I thought she was in Miami, but it turned out not only was she on the West Coast of Florida, she was mere minutes from where my brother lives. So I went over to her house and she showed me exactly how Skinnies work.
Mother of Invention
I chose the pictures of Jennifer Lopez because her dress illustrates just how well Skinnies could work. Skinnies are large pieces of clear tape that stick to your skin so well that you can pull them where you want to smooth out your skin.
Yes, you do have to be wearing clothes — this is not a look better naked solution — but even the illusion netting in J.Lo's dress would probably provide enough cover.
It's one of those products that's a sort of slap-on-the-forehead 'of course'! But I had to ask Penilopee just what prompted the invention. She'd just had her second child and she was going to visit a sister-in-law who happened to be stick thin (I have one of those), and she just didn't feel like looking all bulgy and roly-poly. So she grabbed some duct tape (boy, that stuff does everything) and pulled up her thighs and butt and smoothed out her tummy.
And it did work, sort of. It did start to fray at the edges, and she ended up with red welts when she pulled off the tape, painfully.
So she began calling medical companies that made surgical tape and a few years later came up with the formula for Skinnies.
Fit to be Taped
Skinnies are clear tape in various shapes that you can do miraculous things with. Penilopee showed me how to place half of the tape rectangle just below your armpit, then pull the other half over your shoulder and voila, you have a taught upper arm — you do have to wear at least a cap sleeve tee.
I recently took them over to my friend Sherry's to show her how to put them on the top of the thigh, pull up and attach the other square to above your hip flexor — voila! smooth, tight thigh, perfect for shorts or a skirt.
One friend of mine cuts them in a teardrop shape to give hoist to her bust, and pulls up her behind up in a similar fashion for that rounded J.Lo-like curve.
You can attach them at the side and put them around the front of your tummy to get rid of love handles and rolls like the upper left image. I offered several solutions for how to wear a backless dress at midlife, but Skinnies makes it all that much easier. Penilopee says she can pick out who's wearing them on the red carpet.
Skinnies probably have as many uses as, well, duct tape, but they don't irritate skin. And you can even leave them on for 21 days Penilopee insists. "I'm not sure why you'd want to," she added, "but you can!"
My thigh experiment only lasted a day but I probably had some lotion on my skin— a non-no if you wan them to stick.
Skinnies are basically an event specific item. Like Oh-no, I have to lose 20 pounds by tomorrow! (I say that all the time) — now you can look like you did.
Plus, Skinnies are like making a vision board on your body. Once you see yourself looking the way you want to look, you are that much closer to actually being there.
Where: Skinnies were on ABC's Shark Tank. You can get them online or by phone; they come in various size packets, starting at about $20; the packets are targeted for arms, or tummy and muffin top, thighs and more.
More ways to look thinner in clothes:
