Though I personally strive every day to love my body, there are millions of women who are on a completely different journey and deal with it in a variety of ways. One relatively harmless (though definitely psychologically impactful) way is by wearing shapewear — and believe me, just about every kind exists under the sun.
For those struggling to love their fanny in a world fixated on larger, "perfect" behinds, these cheeky butt lifts promise an Instagram-worthy rear.
Available in sizes XS-4XL, these panties will give your booty a lift by spreading and separating your cheeks using supporting, sculpting fabric underneath.
The Perfect Sculpt Butt Lift ($15, The Perfect Sculpt)
To see if they were worth all the hype, we decided to give it a shot by testing it on three very different body types.
While you definitely won't be seeing our bare butts, we each tried it out in leggings and jeans to get an overall sense of how they look underneath typical clothes.
And being so vastly different in our sizes and shapes, we discovered that the path to butt-appreciation was wildly different for all of us.
Leilah, who went for a size medium, is overall fond of her fanny. "I'm pretty happy with the way my butt looks," she says.
"My butt doesn't naturally have the most lift or shape," Leilah explains, "but I don't feel the need to enhance anything about it."
So naturally she was a bit skeptical when she saw the underwear's goofy design.
More from CafeMom: I Tried the Lip Plumper Instagram Is Obsessed With — Here's the Verdict
"Upon first glance, I wanted to laugh at the underwear. Then once I put it on, I realized it felt as funny as it looked! The seams around the cheek holes caused a sensation that I'm not really a fan of. I want underwear that's so comfortable I forget that I have it on."
Despite not being the biggest fan, Leilah had to admit she was marginally impressed.
"Once I got past the underwear lines being noticeable under my pants, I really did see a difference. The underwear lifted each side of my butt and gave it a slightly different shape. The shape just didn't look natural to me. Especially with the shelf effect the bottom seam was creating."
And for the record, I personally feel like you could see how much her booty popped in leggings.
But still, she remained unenthused.
"This underwear makes me feel like I'm doing extra to get a shape that I don't need or want. And if I did want a plumper behind, there has to be a better way!"
Next up in a size large was Courtenay, who says that she too has nothing but love for her behind.
"My hips got bigger and I went up a pants size after having my daughter two years ago. But given that all of that happened as part of the incredible process of bringing another human being into the world, my feelings about it are positive."
"At first it was weird and uncomfortable ... you kind of feel like you're on the verge of a wedgie all the time," she says.
And although she noted she was afraid to sit down, she had to admit she saw a difference, too.
"It definitely changed the shape of my butt and gave me a lift."
"I'd say it was an easy way to try a new look and feel secretly sexy -- something I appreciate as a mom of a young 'un."
Despite this positive praise, another thing Courtenay noticed was that the underwear added a little something else to her shape.
"If you don't have the holes positioned just right, you get weird lines in all the wrong places. And the underwear is bound to shift as you move throughout the day, so that seems impractical."
Finally that leaves me in a size 2XL, and I gotta say -- I'm totally not confident about my butt at all.
While I generally feel positive about my body, I'm not totally in love with the shape of my booty — it's not so much "thick" as it is wide, and I'll admit I'm fairly jealous of the bigger gals who have a nice curvature to their behinds.
So color me surprised when I saw the radical difference my butt had from the back...
… and I didn't love it.
Since my cheeks are definitely on the bigger side, they didn't fully fit into the holed slots. Going up two sizes would have meant I'd lose the tight shapewear effects, and judging by the "after," I'd say it would have drastically impacted that. Look how much smaller and tighter it is from behind.
More from Revelist: We tried the viral push-up bra that lifts your boobs with the tug of a string
It looked totally out of place to me.
From the side, things were also looking a little sad for my poor butt.
Do you see that weird lump?! My butt looks simultaneously flat and plump at the same time. Not to mention the awkward lines that were happening under my cheek.
Maybe my booty isn't so bad just as it is?
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Pros:
– It definitely changed the shape of each of our butts.
– It's fairly affordable for shapewear.
– It's good if you feel like a certain dress or outfit needs a little filling out.
Cons:
– Terribly uncomfortable.
– Despite being size inclusive, it really doesn't work for all butt shapes.
– It creates weird lines that can be especially noticeable under certain types of clothing.
Overall no one could deny that the product worked, but none of us could confidently recommend it.
Guess we'll just be thankful for what our mamas gave us.
