By Diane Mapes

What it is: Mood Swing Emotionally Activated Lip Gloss ($18.50 at toofaced.com)

What it claims to do:  This lip gloss lets your lips "express your deepest emotions" by changing shades along with your mood, according to Too Faced Cosmetics. "Are you in love, jealous, angry, happy or hot and bothered? Your lips will tell the tale!" the manufacturer promises. Additional benefits of the product: sunscreen protection, restored elasticity and instant rejuvenation and hydration for extra dry, flaky lips.

Our experience:  I've always been intrigued by mood rings, those clunky baubles from the '70s that changed color depending on your mood (or rather, the temperature of the thermotropic liquid crystals contained within the "stone"). If your ring was blue and your temperature was up, you were in a good mood. If it was yellow, you were tense. If it was black, your ring was either damaged or it was too cold (most people just assumed you were in a foul mood). Mine, inevitably, was black.

Mood Swing lip gloss seemed like a fun twist on the old mood ring theme, with the hues limited to the pink family (no need to worry about going around with black lips if I was in a black mood) and the moods coyly linked to various degrees of passion. Petal Pink, the shade I chose (other options include Berry Pink, Pink Shimmer and Original – all "product tested on celebrities not animals"), was designed to go from "pearl to your perfect shade of petal pink," depending on your emotional state. Those states were cheekily defined on the side of the package as Totally Zen (nearly white lips) to Slightly Smitten (pearly pink) to Feelin' Frisky (light pink) to Dirty Thoughts (darker pink) to Hot & Bothered (fuchsia) to Basking in the Afterglow (a deep rich pink bordering on red).

The first time I applied it, the gloss immediately conjured up memories of grade school –not because of the mood ring connection but the consistency. It was thick and white and sticky, and I suddenly felt like I was putting strawberry-scented Elmer's Glue on my mouth. The white (or Totally Zen shade) quickly dissolved into a pearly pink, though; apparently, I was already Slightly Smitten. Since I don't have a current beau, I decided to test the passion factor by surfing the TV, hoping for a rerun of "Casino Royale" or "Ocean's Eleven." Unfortunately, I couldn't locate George Clooney or Brad Pitt or Matt Damon, so I made due with a rakishly handsome local newscaster. Sure enough, within minutes, my lips appeared to be either Feelin' Frisky or to be having Dirty Thoughts, although it could also just have been bad lighting.

I continued to use Mood Swing over the next few days – while watching TV at home, while out at a bar with a girlfriend, during heated discussions with my sisters, before heading to the dentist – trying to determine whether the lip gloss was actually responding to changes in my emotional state. At the bar, my girlfriend and I both smeared some of the stuff on then started asking each other pointed questions about our favorite cinematic hunks. Daniel Craig seemed to get a small reaction out of her; Jon Hamm – "Mad Men's" Don Draper – she claimed, did the same for me (sorry, George!). But again, the lighting wasn't the best and alcohol – and wishful thinking – may have been a factor. Sadly, the strongest change in color seemed to take place right before I left for the dentist's office for a scheduled root canal. Granted, I was a little Hot & Bothered, but not in what I'd call a good way.

What the experts say: Dr. Hema Sundaram, a Washington, D.C., dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon and author of "Face Value: The Truth about Beauty – And a Guilt-Free Guide to Finding It" says Mood Swing Lip Gloss does indeed work off the same body temperature principal as the mood rings from the 1970s. "It's a grown-up mood ring for your lips," she says. "It's make-up as play."

As for its claims regarding sunscreen protection, restored elasticity, and moisturizing, she says they all seem reasonable.  "It has some color in it and it has some emollients and it has a little bit of sunscreen," she says. "I can't evaluate the claims fully because I don't know the proportions of the ingredients and it doesn't give an SPF, but it seems to be a souped-up lip gloss. It's going to lubricate – it will give the lips a smoother feel – and it has this body-temperature sensitivity."

Mood Swing does contain Vitamin E, so people with Vitamin E allergies may want to avoid this product, she says. And some women may not appreciate its youthful range of bubble gum shades. "A professional woman is probably not going to be wearing this during the day," she says. "Basically, this is a lip balm for the teen/tween set – or for the inner child within a grown woman. It's tapping into the playful side, the young side, the side that likes to go for tarot readings and call the psychic hotline. It's the makeup equivalent of a fortune cookie – it has the element of surprise."

Bottom line:  Much like mood rings, Mood Swing lip gloss was fun to play with, but I'd have to say it's not a product I'd use regularly. The strawberry smell was a bit too reminiscent of those Bonne Bell Lip Smackers my classmates used to wear in seventh grade and the various shades of shimmery pink were far too cotton candy-ish for my taste – or my age. It did do a good job with moisturizing; I used much less lip balm with it than when I wore my normal lipstick. And it was definitely a fun conversation starter, which may be more in keeping with its true intent. All in all, I'd have to say Mood Swing wasn't exactly a sophisticated mood indicator (seriously, going to the dentist makes me hot?), but it did manage to keep my lips moist and colorful and to capture a fair amount of attention. Particularly that of the cute guy sitting next to me at the bar who asked me out.

By Kristin Kalning, senior technology editor for msnbc.com

What they are: Gu Energy Gel (approximately $8 for a 6-pack), Clif Shot Energy Gel (about $30 for a 24-pack) and Luna Sport Moons energy chews ($14.99 for 12 packets).

What they claim to do: The companies behind the three products (Luna is the women-targeted brand of Clif) say that the products provide easy-to-digest carbohydrates for endurance athletes. The main difference between the products is where these carbohydrates come from: Clif Shots come from brown rice syrup, Luna chews also come from brown rice syrup with some cane sugar and Gu is comprised of maltodextrin and fructose.

All three products contain approximately 100 calories, 25 grams of carbohydrates and little or no fiber, fat or protein. According to the companies who make the products, this streamlined makeup helps speed the carbohydrates to the bloodstream. Gu is the one product that I tried that has caffeine – 20 milligrams for the flavor I tried. That's less than a Diet Pepsi, but more than a single Hershey's Chocolate Kiss. Clif's Shots have flavors with caffeine, but not in the one I tried.

guenergy.com

The instructions for all three products recommend eating one serving before start your activity, and about every 45 minutes thereafter. Usually, they suggest having another serving when you finish, to aid in recovery.

Our experience:  I'm hardly a hard-core athlete. I started running about 20 years ago to take off weight, and I've kept it up because it's convenient and inexpensive. But exercising to be thin gets boring after awhile, so I started participating in races — 5Ks and 10Ks to start, but now I'm doing half-marathons and short triathlons.

In my first half-marathon, I heard people at the starting line talking about their "goo," and I didn't have any idea what they were talking about. Midway through the race, I noticed participants with tiny foil packets sticking out of their mouths, running as they sucked at whatever magic elixir was inside. I wanted in on the secret, so I bought a couple of packets and then promptly forgot about them, until a race last year.

At the starting line of that race, I too had my Gu – Chocolate Outrage flavor – which I sucked down 15 minutes prior to starting with a little water, as per the instructions. I didn't notice anything other than adrenaline and some butterflies, but I ate more gel about an hour into the race. I wouldn't seek it out if I needed a chocolate fix, but it tasted OK: very sweet, with a pudding-like consistency.

Trying something new like an energy gel or even a sports drink during a race can be a recipe for disaster – something I didn't know at the time. If your stomach doesn't appreciate the new substance, you're in trouble – with just a Port-a-Let for comfort. It's best to experiment when you're training, and you can call your husband to come fetch you if your tummy's revolting.

My tummy didn't revolt – in fact, I totally forgot about eating the gel until about 15 minutes later, when I felt like I was getting my second wind. My legs felt lighter and faster. That's when I remembered that little packet of sweet I'd slurped a few minutes before. It was the Gu! It had to be the Gu.

After that, I was a convert. I used Gu during training runs and the phenomenon I'd experienced during my race wasn't an isolated one: If I had a packet before my run and then during, I would feel a little lift about 10 to 15 minutes after eating it. But I didn't love the flavor, so I thought I'd try something else. Enter Clif Shots, in Chocolate (I've got no use for vanilla as a general rule).

Clif Shots have a thinner consistency than Gu, and a lighter flavor. I followed the instructions faithfully, eating a packet prior to running and then again about an hour into my run.  And though I felt a slight bump to my performance after consuming, it wasn't as noticeable as the one I'd felt with Gu.

Next up, the Luna Moon energy chews, which I bought in Blueberry. Each packet contains two servings, and a serving equals about six pieces. The instructions on these were a bit different, suggesting that athletes eat half the packet 30 minutes prior to activity, and every 30 minutes thereafter. So I did.

From an operational standpoint, the chews were more work. With a gel, you just rip open the packet, jam the opening in your mouth, and make like a Hoover. With chews, you've got to extract them from the packaging. A small thing, certainly, but here's another: The chews have the consistency of Dots candy. I adore Dots candy, but they're thick and they stick to my teeth. Awesome if you're watching a movie. Not so awesome if you're in the middle of a 10-mile run.

Still, the chews gave me a mild pick-me-up, about the same intensity as the Clif Shot. And I really did prefer the taste of the chews over the energy gels. The gels are definitely more convenient if you're running and especially if you're on a bike, but the sweetness can be too much for some.

What the experts say:  Studies have shown that athletes can experience performance benefits from replenishing glucose during hard workouts, says Celia Framson, Registered Dietitian. But she cautions that some formulas can cause stomach upset by drawing water out of the body into the gastrointestinal tract and delaying the movement of fluid out of the gastrointestinal tract into the body.

"How much carbohydrate replenishment an athlete needs is highly individual. The trick is to maximize energy repletion while minimizing GI discomfort," she says. "An optimal intake in studies is 60 grams per hour (which gives you 240 calories), but your best bet is to start low and experiment."

I didn't experience any stomach upset while using these products, but I did wonder why I felt slightly more juiced after taking Gu than the other products. "Scientifically, it is plausible that Gu works better in the body because it gets its carbohydrates from a combination of glucose and fructose in a proportion that could be better absorbed by the body than the proportion in the Luna chews," she says. But, "there isn't a ton of science on the subject."

Framson also points out that both the Luna chews and the Clif Shots contain brown rice syrup, which is a complex carbohydrate that takes longer for the body to digest and absorb. "That might not be the best choice for quick energy for your muscles and body tissues, but it may help you if you are running a marathon."

Both Gu and the Clif Shots contain a small amount of electrolytes, which help to regulate hydration in the body. But Framson says the amounts are so small that "they wouldn't make a dent in the amount you lose during endurance exercise."

Bottom line: Gels and energy chews aren't for everyone, and as Framson pointed out, "each individual has to experiment to find the optimal amount and product." Many of my running buddies don't use gels at all – "Can't stand the taste," shuddered my friend Karen. But others – like me – swear they improve performance. The first day I tried Gu I shaved nine minutes – nine minutes! – from my personal best half-marathon time. Was it the energy gel, the flat course or my dogged determination? I don't know, and for $1.25 per pack, I don't much care.  I plan to have my energy helpers with me during every training run, and every race for as long as I can put one Saucony in front of the other. In the middle of a lonely 12-miler, I need all the help I can get.

By Diane Mapes

By Jim Ray

What it is: RipTFusion, $58.00

What it claims to do: A T-shirt on steroids, RipTFusion claims to be a "body-sculpting undershirt designed to support your core, shave inches off your belly and enhance your posture."

Our experience: I'll admit that I'm not necessarily the person that RipTFusion had in mind when they designed the "have your six-pack and drink it, too" undergarment. I've always been fairly slim, I exercise (though inconsistently) and try to watch my diet. I do love to cook and eat, however, and regularly partake in the rich microbrews that the Pacific Northwest is known for — you could say these forces are constantly at odds. Just as, if not more, importantly, I'm vain enough to honestly consider buying a $60 T-shirt, on the off chance that it would give my average physique a leg up. That last quality is probably what lands me square in the RipTFusion demographic.

riptfusion.com

The first clue that you're in for something different is the instructions on the box. That would be the instructions for how to put on, and take off, a T-shirt. ("How to put shirt on: Pull on all the way to your underarm, then pull over your head.") Men have celebrated the T-shirt for generations, from the brilliance of Brando to the hipster uniforms of Threadless, and now we're being told that we've been doing it wrong? You almost have to admire the chutzpah.

And what of the shirt once it's on? The best description I could give is that it's what I imagine wearing a girdle must have felt like, only less so. Or, as my pal Briana, the one who first turned me on to RipTFusion, so brilliantly put it, "It's like Spanx for men who are trying to pretend they don't have body shame."

The shirt itself is made of two different materials that make up three different zones. The top and bottom are traditional cotton, while the middle core is an elastic, synthetic material that compresses your abdomen. It's this core component that's supposed to give you that physique you're willing to pay, if not necessarily work, for. As for the claim that it shaves inches off your belly, my autumnal paunch was still there when I stopped sucking in and finally exhaled.

I tested my RipTFusion in a variety of environments — at work, where I sit in front of a computer between going to meetings, at a wedding in Philadelphia in August (for that perfect combination of heat and humidity) and a night of eating and drinking around Seattle. The first and most obvious thing you notice is that this is the most form-fitting undershirt you've ever worn. Even well fitting T-shirts are going to hang loose, bunch up underneath a dress shirt, come untucked and need adjusting. Not so with the RipTFusion, it stays put once it's on.

However, that form-hugging fit means that you always notice that you're wearing it. I like my clothes to fit properly without constantly reminding me that they're there. The RipTFusion is more like John the Baptist's shirt of camel hair, prickling to remind you not to be penitent but to suck in, sit up straight and look good.

I don't know that it actually helped improve my posture or figure over the course of a day at work, but it was downright uncomfortable underneath a suit and the under the strain of East Coast humidity.

As for reactions from my friends and coworkers — the crowd was disappointingly silent. No one seemed to notice that my breathing was a bit more shallow or that I was cutting a slimmer figure. Until, that is, word about this very article got out around the office (newsrooms are allergic to secrets), at which point the response ranged from incredulity to jocular ribbing to constantly being asked whether I was wearing my "man Spanx." My advice, should you decide that RipTFusion is for you, is to guard that skeleton in your wardrobe with your life.

I also noticed that wearing the RipTFusion lead to some unexpected indigestion. I could have been imagining things, but every time I wore the shirt, I noticed some discomfort after I ate — not full-on heartburn, just a degree of irritation that I'm not accustomed to.

What the experts say: Given that RipTFusion is ultimately about looking good, I consulted an expert on that very matter: Adam Lisagor, one half of the excellent duo from Put This On, "a Web series about dressing like a grownup."

Lisagor said he's noticed the trend of middle-aged men embracing these combinations of traditional and active wear to help them slim down. He assumed, though, that the synthetic fabric was because it "breathes easy for fat guy pits" and was not necessarily functional.

"I think they're absolutely terrible," Lisagor told me. "Especially paired with jeans."

Bottom line: If you're the kind of guy who's willing to drop $60 on a T-shirt designed by one of P. Diddy's previous stylists, then you've probably wasted plenty more money in the pursuit of self-admiration. It won't transform you, Bruce Banner-style, into something you're not, but it might prompt you sit up straight a little more often. No word on whether the next version will also remind you to call your mother.

By Linda Dahlstrom

What it is: Crave Relief by Bath and Body Works, $10

What it claims to do: The manufacturer says the blend of grapefruit and sweet fennel essential oils is "known to help curb cravings for sweets and stave off hunger."

My experience: To be fair, the lipstick-sized tube of essential oils was no match for the trifecta of triple-chocolate fudge cake, chocolate chip cookies and spongy white cake with gooey frosting. The week I tested Crave Relief was a particularly celebratory one in the msnbc.com newsroom, each happy occasion accompanied by a tempting dessert.

Bath & Body Works

I've always had a weakness for sweets. As the daughter of a cake maker who came home from school to the cozy smell of baked goods on many afternoons, my love for goodies runs deep. Crave Relief seemed like a good candidate to bolster my willpower to resist.

Except it didn't. I suspected I was in trouble the first time I applied the citrus-scented potion to my wrists and it reminded me of the homemade lemon meringue pie my mother had brought over the night before.

Things never got much better. I found myself in a weird cycle of trying to fight the temptation of a sugary sweet by frantically snorting my wrists, a poor substitute for a bite of tiramisu or whatever it was I was trying to forget about. And then, eventually, every time I smelled Crave Relief it made me think of goodies.

Maybe I just wasn't committed enough to resisting. I don't generally indulge in sweets to excess, so when there's something really extraordinary, I let myself have a small piece. Crave Relief probably would have worked just fine if I was being wooed by a piece of hard candy or a stale Red Vine.

What the expert said: While Crave Relief didn't work for me, in theory, it could work, said Dr. Tanya Edwards, medical director for the center for integrative medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.

The main active ingredients in Crave Relief are sweet fennel and grapefruit oil, and studies in rats have shown that grapefruit oil can act as an appetite suppressant. (Edwards couldn't find any research on sweet fennel acting as an appetite suppressant or helping fight a sugar craving.)

But for people who have a true sugar addiction, there's only one way out, said Edwards: Quit cold turkey.

"I treat sweet cravings the same way I treat crack cravings," she said. "Sugar and sweets affect receptors in brains very similarly to the ways that crack and morphine and addictive substances do ... You wouldn't tell a crack addict to cut down on the number of rocks per week."

Edwards said a true sugar addict is someone who can't keep from eating sugar once they start, regardless of potential detrimental outcomes.

But for those who have a more run-of-the-mill fondness for sweets, a periodic indulgence on a special occasion is fine, said Edwards. "Just don't have five special occasions a week!"

Bottom line: Triple-chocolate fudge cake is more powerful than Crave Relief.

By Melissa Dahl

What it is: JolieLips Lip Plumping & Enhancement System, $27.95.

What it claims to do: It's supposed to give you full, Angelina Jolie-style lips – and I'm guessing that the name "JolieLips" is meant to not-so-subtly push the Angie connection. The Web site promises that this device make your lips "fuller and sexier" without using injections, causing pain or "nonsense tingling cream" to do so.

skymall.com

My experience: When the device arrived in the mail, I excitedly ripped the box open. And then promptly closed it. Something about an oversized, oddly-shaped pump arriving in an unmarked box made the whole thing seem vaguely dirty, and I guiltily looked around my apartment to make sure my roommate wasn't home. She wasn't. It was clearly time to pump things up.

The instructions say to relax your lips and give the softball-sized doodad several short squeezes for 10 seconds. (They do not, however, say how to deal with the disgusting amount of slobber that will result from using a suction device on your mouth.)

It did hurt a little, but I sort of expected that – I was, after all, essentially applying a hand-pump vacuum to my lips. But I remembered it also took me a while to get used to the sting from plumping glosses like Lip Venom. Plus, the pain seemed beside the point, because it appeared that JolieLips actually delivered on its promise. My lips really did look fuller – and redder – than they normally do. I was so happy with the results at that point that I tried it again a few hours later, since the instructions suggest using the pump several times a day. (Side note: Really? Several times a day? Pulling a gigantic pump out of your purse and affixing it to your face isn't quite the same thing as subtly reapplying lip gloss.)

But when I looked in the mirror the next morning, my lips looked … odd. To be precise: It looked like I had been punched in the mouth. The center of both my lower and upper lips had turned a deep bluish-purple that refused to be hidden, no many how many layers of lipstick I slathered on. My lips were visibly bruised that entire weekend, meaning I had to endure hilarious taunts from my friends. ("What up, Blue Lips?" and "Heh, did you just eat a blue raspberry Otter Pop?" were among my favorites.)

I do wonder if I was a little too aggressive the first time I tried JolieLips, because a few weeks later I summoned the courage to try it again (very, very gently this time) and didn't experience any bruising.

What the expert says: Plastic surgeon Dr. John Canady said he wasn't surprised by my experience with JolieLips. He explained that the pump creates a vacuum around the lips, and "this negative pressure is a type of trauma to the lip that causes it to swell," says Canady, who is the president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. While JolieLips could cause fuller lips, he noted "so could getting punched in the mouth."

He said it probably could work, albeit briefly; you really would have to commit to using this thing several times a day, as the instructions suggest. Canady did say that it would be helpful if there was some way to adjust or keep track of exactly how much pressure you're applying.

"There probably is some place in that pressure curve where you can induce a little bit of short-term lip swelling if you're going out on a date or something and you just want to pump that up a bit without them getting bruised," says Canady, who's also a professor of plastic surgery at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

Bottom line: Fuller lips just weren't worth the physical and emotional pain I experienced with JolieLips. I'll stick with my lip gloss.

More on skin and beauty:
15 ultimate age erasers
In lust for lashes, few bat an eye at odd risks
Solving embarrassing skin problems

 

by Diane Mapes, contributing writer

by Diane Mapes, contributing writer

By Kristin Kalning, tech editor

What it is: The iPosture, $64.95 from www.iposture.com.

What it claims to do: This little electronic gizmo is designed to improve your posture. The monitor, which is the size of a silver dollar, senses when you slouch and gives you a gentle electric zap to remind you to sit up straight. If proper posture isn't enough of a draw for you, the manufacturer also claims that sitting up straight can reduce an average of two inches off your waist and make you more successful, attractive and productive.

My experience: During my teen years, I think I heard my mom tell me to stand up straight about 4,286 times. And if she didn't say it, she'd pantomime it with embarrassing gestures –
usually in front of my friends.

iPosture

As I got older – and caught my reflection in a few store windows – I realized that I still slouch like a sullen adolescent.  So the iPosture, a sensor designed to zap me into standing up straight, sounded like an experiment worth trying. It was designed by two doctors – and the packaging promised tantalizing side benefits to a ramrod spine. For one thing, better posture would not only "maximize my height," but also trim my love handles and belly bulges. I'd develop greater confidence and a winning attitude. And, most persuasively, I could look younger and sexier.

I was a little nervous about the zapping thing, though.

The device can be worn on a thin necklace or another close-fitting piece of clothing, like a bra strap. The iPosture also comes with its own stickers, called EZ Sticks, so you can attach it to your skin. The key is to keep it close the collarbone or chest bone.

The iPosture contains a microchip that measures the angle of your body. You tell the sensor what posture you want to maintain, and if you slouch – even a measly inch – you get a buzz. 

I wasn't keen to wear the iPosture as a necklace, so used the EZ Sticks to attach it to my skin. Once the device was secured, I stood up and found a good posture that I knew I could maintain. (iPosture's literature recommends baby steps, not an all-out assault on slouching.) Once I'd figured out something achievable, I pressed the center of the sensor, waited for an answering vibration, and we were set.

The iPosture won't buzz you unless you've been slouching for 60 seconds, so you can sneeze or scratch your ankle without fear of being zapped. And really, the "zap" feels more like a cell phone set on vibrate than the jolt I'd been bracing for.

Not that I got many of those. In one eight-hour workday, I got only about 10 gentle buzzes that my spine was less-than-straight. But at the end of the day, when I took the thing off, my back was slightly sore and I felt tired from all that sitting-up-straight-business.

As it turns out, I'd been overdoing my iPosture sessions. According to the instructions, you're only supposed to wear it four hours per day in the first couple of weeks. This helps train the muscles, joints and nerves to "learn new patterns," says the Web site. After that, you're a posture pro, and need only wear the sensor every couple of days to maintain it. 

I've been wearing the iPosture faithfully for a couple of weeks, and I'm pleased to report that I'm down to about a buzz an hour when I'm at work. If you know you're going to be leaning over a salad bar or hanging out on the couch, you can put the thing to sleep for 15 minutes. Or take it off altogether.

You shouldn't wear the iPosture when you're exercising or doing other heavy physical activity and the literature cautions against wearing it when sleeping or driving (too distracting). But there's nothing that says you shouldn't wear it to a cocktail party, so I thought I'd try that experiment: iPosture, a few glasses of wine and 3-inch heels.

Unfortunately, the iPosture spent the party in my evening bag, next to my lipstick. The bra-strap thing didn't work. I tried sticking it to my skin, but the room was warm, and it slid a couple of times. Party fail. 

What the expert says: Dr. William Madosky, a chiropractic physician in Richmond Heights, Mo., likes the basic idea of the iPosture; he thinks it could do some good in reminding folks to sit up straight. But he fears that it may be tough to live up to the gizmo's demands for very long. 

 "I would guess unless you are highly, highly motivated, you'll use this for a week, maybe a month, and then it will fall by the wayside," he says. 

That's because while the iPosture is a great gadget for maintaining good posture when you're keeping still, it's probably not as useful when you're moving around during your daily activities.

But there are some easier ways to keep picture-perfect posture, Madosky says. If you work in front of a computer all day, instead of concentrating on keeping your back stiff and straight, he recommends taking a few breaks to get up and move around. And throughout the day, do some easy moves, such as pulling your shoulders back, doing small circles with your shoulders and moving your head from side to side and up and down.

Bottom line:  Did the iPosture improve my posture? Definitely. I hold myself straighter, even when I'm not wearing it. It did not, however, magically melt away my love handles and other midriff bulges. And I don't, regrettably, look any younger.

But good posture brings more than just aesthetic benefits. I'm warding off potential back pain in my later years. I'm making it easier for my internal organs to do their thing. And I feel like my breathing is easier now that I'm not crunching my lungs.

Is it worth $65? That depends on how serious you are about improving your posture – and how much you want to impress mom.

By Helen A.S. Popkin, tech editor

What it is: YogaToes by YogaPro, $49.95 plus shipping

What it claims to do: According to the manufacturer's Web site, YogaToes do the following:

• Exercise your feet to stay healthy & in shape.
• Improve and prevent foot problems by stretching & aligning your toes.
• Ease the discomfort of hammertoes, bunions & plantar fasciitis.
• Recover from stress, strain and overuse. Improve foot strength, flexibility and appearance.
• Increase circulation, straighten bent toes, and realign joints.
• Improve and reduce the aches and pains associated with poor posture.

My experience: "Make sure that you are getting the authentic YogaToes," warns the YogaPro Web site. "Beware of imitations." And indeed there are imitators; Pampered Toes ($9.99) and Healthytoes ($34.99) to name two. You get what you pay for, seems to be the implication. Upon casual inspection however, YogaToes and its imitators seem at least superficially the same.

yogapro.com

No matter, for this review I'm trying out the $49.95 name brand – my poor tired tootsies deserve the alleged-best. They've had a tough time of it the past decade or so. My feet, once blessed with a symmetrical loveliness, now suffer the lumpy indignities of congenital flat-footedness. (Thanks, Mom!)

The $400 medical orthotics (that insurance doesn't cover) did nothing to prevent – yeech – bunions. These hideous lumps cause my big toes to push inward, crowding the space of the second toes and leaving my dogs barking at the end of every day – even though I wear pretty sensible shoes.

So, when I first happened upon an advertisement for YogaToes, I was instantly drawn to the product that claimed it could align my unruly big toes. When my YogaToes arrived in the mail, I ripped open the package to find a surprisingly gelatinous set of  tootsie grates resembling the toe separators used for pedicures, only much larger and fully enclosed. Overall, the YogaToes didn't much resemble the sparkling "sapphire blue" product on the Web site, nor were they as firm as they appeared.

The YogaToes came with only the most basic of instructions. It's advised to wet the YogaToes so you can more easily place each toe in its individual slot and wear for 10 minutes a day at first so your muscles can get used to stretching. I found it fairly easy to put the YogaToes on my feet without wetting them first, and they were quite comfortable. I observed the 10 minute limit at first, somewhat worried about charley horses. However, throughout my first two weeks with YogaToes, I suffered no discomfort during and after use.

As the first week progressed, I began to use the YogaToes up to an hour or so at a time while watching television because I found them so comfortable.  Removing the YogaToes is simple, even if they aren't pre-moistened. After each use, my toes felt nicely separated for at least an hour – a happy change from the achy bunched feet that come out of my shoes each evening when I come home from work. I've tried warming YogaToes with hot water, and chilling them in the refrigerator, as suggested by the manufacturer – both ways were tolerable. However, I prefer YogaToes at room temperature.

What the expert says: "I really like YogaToes," Dr. Carol Frey told me. Seeing as Dr. Frey is assistant clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at UCLA, as well as co-director and West Coast Sports Medicine Foundation director of orthopedic foot and ankle surgery in Manhattan Beach, Calif., I figure she knows what she's talking about.

Still, Frey didn't learn about YogaToes at some high falutin' foot doctor convention, but from her patients. YogaToes are perfect for the foot-strengthening exercises Frey prescribes for her patients –  much better than the pedicure toe separators she had been using. "And you can use them hot or cold," added Dr. Frey, who has used chilled YogaToes on post-operative patients.

Fray says YogaToes are helpful in preventing or relieving mild corns or bunion pain, especially for those who wear tight shoes or high heels which squeeze the feet into unnatural positions. YogaToes would not be helpful for those suffering from moderate to severe foot pain or deformities, she added.

And what about those cheap YogaToes knockoffs? "It's a very simple, straight-forward design, so even the knockoffs get it right, as long as they stretch the toes just enough without being painful."

Bottom line: After several weeks of use, my feet still have their various flat-footed issues, and my bunions still ache at the end of the day – not that I expected them to be "cured." However, the YogaToes did and do leave my feet feeling relaxed after use, and I look forward to using them at the end of each day. Still, I can't reconcile the nearly $50 price tag for a pair of rubber grates that undoubtedly cost a fraction of that amount to produce. Now that I have them, however, I will continue to use them on a regular basis.

By Diane Mapes, contributing writer

What it is: The Diet Plate (sale price $40, plus postage and handling)

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What it claims to do: According to the Web site, the Diet Plate system is "the world's first, original portion control method of weight management" – and with it, you'll avoid all the guesswork of maintaining a healthy, balanced diet "whilst losing weight" (as you might have guessed by that "whilst," the company is in England). The Diet Plate weight management system does this by providing you with "visual management of your daily intake of food." In other words, the 11-inch plate and the accompanying Calibrated Breakfast Bowl are cluttered with visual clues (illustrations of food, tape measures, arrows, circles, etc.) that tell you how much you should eat of what. Diet Plates come in three "sizes" – male, female and child (this last has a wizard motif) – and are microwave and dishwasher safe.

My experience: When I first opened the box containing my Diet Plate and Breakfast Bowl (they're a set), I thought they were adorable. Rimmed by a band of light blue (inside of which were affirming messages like "You can do it. Exercise daily. Diet with a friend."), the plate was cleverly divvied up into different sections. Protein, represented by illustrations of ham and fish, went here; starch, marked by bowls of rice and potatoes, went there. A circle around the outside showed how much pasta you could dish up; a smaller circle in the middle helped solve the sauce dilemma. The Breakfast Bowl was less ornate but still helpful. Colored bands indicated how many cups of cornflakes or shredded wheat you should eat each morning (the booklet offered a breakdown of what line to use for a 200-calorie serving of various cereals). The whole system seemed cute, colorful and ingenious, and I sort of regretted having to cover it all up with food.

Cover it up, I did, though, nearly every night for two weeks (I did not tote my Diet Plate with me while dining out). When I ate a traditional meal like salmon, green beans and baked potato, the plate was an easy way to figure out just how much meat and starch made up an appropriate serving (you're allowed to eat as many "free vegetables" as you like). I didn't have to worry about calories or points or weighing my food on an awkward little scale. Nor did I have to hold a sizzling chicken breast next to that woman's magazine standard – a deck of cards – to figure out the size of a proper serving. There was no gambling with the Diet Plate; I just had to cut a piece the approximate size of the wedge on my plate and I was good to go.

Of course, I still had questions, usually with regard to all-in-one meals like stir-fry chicken-and-veggies or steak tacos. According to the booklet, I was supposed to use the protein section for "mixed" entrees like steak pie, pork pie, Beef Wellington, salmon encroute, and sausage rolls (none of which were on my menu – much less my continent) and the starch section to measure lasagna, cannelloni, cottage pie, moussaka or pizza. But where did tacos fit into the equation? Was one a proper serving? Was two too much? It was a small but niggling issue that baffled my inner systems analyst. The plate also tempted my inner rule-bender. Some evenings, I would diligently stay within its tape-measure boundaries, but pile the starch or protein high. I'm not sure who exactly I was trying to fool with this gambit, but I did notice the booklet addressed this issue, so it may be a common Diet Plate ploy.

What the expert says:  In a 2007 study conducted at the University of Calgary, 130 people with type 2 diabetes used the Diet Plate for six months in an attempt to lose weight. At the end of six months, 17 percent of the participants using the plate lost 5 percent or more of their body weight as compared to 4.6 percent of the people in the plate-free control group who lost the same amount of weight. In an article published in the Archive of Internal Medicine, researchers concluded that "the portion control tool studied was effective in inducing weight loss."

Rebecca Solomon, registered dietician with Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, says portion control is critical for those seeking to lose weight, but other factors such as snacking habits, food choices, food preparation and support play a role, as well.

"Portion control works when people actually do it," she says. "The problem is when people do things like portion control at their three meals a day and then endless grazing and snacking between meals."

She also wondered if some people might be tempted to push the Diet Plate envelope: counting calorie-laden macaroni and cheese as if it were plain brown rice.

"In a society where our portion sizes have gotten out of control, I think a tool like this can be very effective, but I always think it's critical to have a support and counseling component where you deal with the underlying eating issues," she says. "Anyone can diet for a short period of time, but you need to keep these habits for life."

Bottom line:  All in all, I liked the autonomy of the Diet Plate system, which doesn't preach at you to load up on Brussels sprouts or decry corn. The visual clues – like a 1-inch cube of Swiss cheese – were enough to let me know when I was overindulging. But while my Diet Plate worked fairly well at dinner (I'm a 200-calorie instant oatmeal fan so I didn't need the Breakfast Bowl), I did fall victim to the late night snack habit so aptly illustrated by Solomon. I liked this product, but it did not help me lose the estimated one to four pounds a week mentioned on the Web site. Support seemed to be the missing ingredient on my plate. I looked for that support at ClubDietPlate.com but alas, that section of the site was under construction. Perhaps when it's up and running, it will provide a portal to the kind of community (and accountability) a rule-bender like me clearly needs. If not, the folks at Diet Plate may want to develop a new component to their system: the Snack Sack.

By Anna Chan, health editor

What it is: Victoria's Secret Beauty Secret Bust-Firming Bra ($48-$68 plus shipping from VictoriasSecret.com) 

What it claims to do: Give your bust a more uplifted effect by diminishing signs of aging and improving the skin's ability to retain moisture with DermalRX HydroSeal and Dermaxyl. All you have to do is wear the bra for at least four weeks, eight hours a day, to see an 18 percent boost in skin firmness with results at a peak after eight weeks.

victoriassecret.com

My experience: As a woman who is not so blessed in the chest area and not interested at all in surgical enhancements, I nearly jumped for joy when two readers wrote to us in January and asked us to test this new bust-firming bra. The "more uplifted effect" promised in the product's description means I look bigger, right? Without surgery? For less than $100? And all I have to do is wear the same bra for four to eight weeks? Well, that part's a little icky, but still – sign me up!

I ordered the demi bra in whisper pink, then waited not so patiently for it to arrive. When it did, I ripped open the package and gazed happily at the pretty pink garment. A tag that came with the bra indicated that the garment feels just like any other and doesn't require inserts, creams or lotions, though the strap of the bra noted that the fabric was 83 percent nylon and 17 percent spandex. (So where are DermalRX and Dermaxyl?) The bra felt incredibly cool and smooth to the touch – almost slick. I could tell right away it was going to be a comfy undergarment.

And it is, though I was a smidge disappointed when I first put it on. There isn't any extra padding on the demi bra, which was fine with me, but most bras I have that don't come with the extra "enhancements" still give me a little extra oomph, but this one didn't. I looked extra small, which was disappointing for a bra that was supposed to help me look "more uplifted." (Should've gone for the push-up, which I missed when submitting my order.) But that's OK, I thought. It has four weeks to firm up the area to make it look more impressive!

Wearing the same bra for that long gets kind of gross after a while, especially when you can see the dirt start to build up in the light-colored fabric. (And yes, I did hand wash it several times. I also showered daily, if you must know.) Also, after about three weeks, the underwire on one side started to move around a bit and poked me relentlessly until I learned how to wrestle it back into place each morning. I gave it almost seven weeks before I gave up.

So did I notice any increased firmness or diminished signs of aging? Nope. Victoria's Secret says that women who tested the product experienced on average an 18 percent boost in firmness, but honestly, I had no idea how I could even measure that in myself. A few totally unscientific tests on my own seemed to indicate that I was just as buoyant after testing the bra as before I got it. (To be fair, I'm reasonably young and am not experiencing any droopage or visible signs of aged skin, so I wasn't expecting miracles.)

I tried to contact Victoria's Secret to get some specifics about the tests they did so I could more accurately compare my results to theirs, but no luck. So I tracked down the company that supplied VS with the DermalRX HydroSeal. I was unable to talk to anyone at Applied DNA Sciences in a timely matter, but a press release from October 2008 about its work with Victoria's Secret explained things a bit: DermalRX HydroSeal is a "complex of a novel yeast ferment, soy proteins and soy peptides." The ingredients allegedly repair damaged skin and restore the skin surface to refine texture and radiance, and the effect promotes a youthful skin appearance and contributes to skin health, according to the press release.

What the expert says: "It doesn't make a lot of sense to me," said Dr. Anthony Youn, a Michigan-based board certified plastic surgeon who has not tested the bust-firming bra. "It sounds like they're thinking combining [Dermaxyl] with nylons and spandex might help thicken the skin," he continued. "I can't explain how they put [Dermaxyl] in the fabric."

Youn noted that Dermaxyl is a peptide used in makeup and some anti-aging creams, and that some believe it could be an alternative to Retin-A, a prescription-strength anti-wrinkle cream scientifically proven to increase the collagen in the skin and tighten it, which is why in some people, it can firm up the skin and decrease wrinkles. He is not familiar with DermalRX HydroSeal.

So why wouldn't the Dermaxyl in the bra – however they get it in there – help increase breast firmness? He explained that breasts droop with age and become less firm because of changes in the tissue. "As they age, the tissue that makes up the breast turns from thick, Styrofoam-like density in an 18-year-old into fat. Fat has no strength, and that's why breasts will droop with time. … It's not because of the skin," said Youn, who is also the author of the Celebrity Cosmetic Surgery Blog. He hypothesized that if the bra is very occlusive, "it's possible that it may allow the skin to retain the moisture better, and it may feel firmer."

Bottom line: If you're in the market for a new bra that feels nice on your skin, go for it. Otherwise, I might skip this purchase if obvious bust-firming and uplifted effects are expected. (Keep in mind that you have to wear it for four weeks straight, so you may want to buy two or three to avoid feeling grossed out.)

Youn said that if you're really interested in making your breasts look firmer, you'll have to go the surgery route and get a breast lift. No anti-wrinkle, skin-firming cream on the market "is going to firm up the skin that you get a significant difference in how the breast looks and feels," he noted.

As for this particular bra, Youn wouldn't refute its claims, though he can't explain how it might work. "It's a nice idea if a company can significantly firm and lift the breast. Then I should close my practice and open a lingerie store."