Photo: blissworld.com

Purple Lab has come out with a lip gloss that promises to plump your lips and not your hips, aptly named Huge Lips Skinny Hips ($20). It's a great idea, born when creator Karen Robinovitz ate too many delicious appetizers at a fancy soiree and had to leave before her belly busted out of her Herve Leger bandage dress. Like we haven't all been there, right?

The products contain moisturizing ingredients as well as lemon peel oil, which can act to irritate your lips (thus plumping them) without causing a sting. Moisturizing and irritating are the two main ways most (temporary) lip plumpers work. Additionally, the product contains a small amount of orange peel extract to boost your metabolism as well as Hoodia, which acts as an appetite suppressant.

I tried it out, and received a tube in Lychee Martini (a light, pretty peachy pink), which definitely had me off to a good start! It looked gorgeous on, had a smooth application, and the flavor was pleasant without being overwhelming.

Here's a pretty reliable rule of thumb: If it's too good to be true, it probably is. Translated into weight loss terms? If someone tells you that all you need to do to lose weight is consume a certain product, it's a scam. The thing is, real, long-term weight loss comes only from making healthy, sustainable changes to your diet, including eating well and exercising.

So it's a pretty safe bet that Slim Coffee--a product that promises effortless weightloss of 5 lbs a week just by drinking a supplement-fortified coffee--is a scam, even though they have so-called 'clinical tests' to back up their claims.

And it's true, according to Diet Blog. The FTC recently pursued the manufacturers of Slim Coffee, resulting in a settlement of $923,000. So, it should go without saying but in case you were momentarily charmed by flashy ads and empty promises: Don't believe everything you see on TV.

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Good news for those of us whose inboxes are bombarded with endless spam offering the ultimate weight-loss solution (read: everyone with an email address), here's been a small victory in the form of this lawsuit. A judge has issues a restraining order against a Nevada-based neutraceuticals company that's been making false or unsubstantiated weight-loss claims against it's products, which include ones containing Hoodia Gordini, via Email spam. Apparently, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) logged over 85,000 Emails from the defendant, Sili Neutraceuticals LLC and owner Brian McDaid, doing business as Kaycon Ltd.

What do you think about this ruling -- should freedom of speech prevail or should we be working harder to shut down all scammers and spammers?

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When it comes to losing weight, using a quick-fix method like a diet pill seems almost too good to be true. Usually it is, but the weight loss supplement industry is worth millions, so there must be something to it, some sort of science behind the claims that these pills can help you lose the pounds for good .... at least I hope there is. Luckily eDiets is here to save the day -- they've busted common 'diet pill' mistakes in this article. Their final say? There's no such thing as a quick-fix -- weight loss involved hard work. Sorry folks, I know it's disappointing news.

What's your take on diet pills?

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Are most of the hoodia gordonii supplements and pills sold in the U.S. counterfeit or otherwise lacking in the actual component of hoodia itself?

As always, you usually get what you pay for. I am always skeptical with supplements unless the manufacturer can supply verifiable data and research that shows where their raw materials come from. In other words, I rarely buy vitamins and supplements at a grocery store, since I believe most of those products are a waste of time and money.

There are many fillers manufacturers can use to stuff pills with while including a tiny amount of actual vitamins or minerals, so you are best to research your chosen supplements very carefully or you could be swallowing sawdust for all you know.

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