KANSAS CITY, Mo. - If you have 10 minutes, BodyMagic by Ardyss International promises women they can drop two to three dress sizes, and go on to reshape their body and even lose pounds, by wearing the form-fitting corset faithfully a few hours each day.
The corset manufacturers also make a nutritional drink as part of the one-two punch to a new figure.
With the holidays fast approaching, we thought the instant shrink promise was too good to pass up. We had no trouble finding ladies willing to help us test the BodyMagic corset.
NBC Action News reporter Lisa Benson and producer Elyna Niles-Carnes were among our testers, along with Jenny Surface, mother of 38 the Spot's Holly Starr.
We took our corsets to a well-known formal dress shop in the metro called Natalie M.
First, the girls picked out a dress in two sizes, the size they currently wear and the size they hoped to become.
Our ladies were all different body types, but each fit a dress size 12 and hoped to be transformed into a size 8.
Jenny, the tallest of our women, selected a sleeveless black cocktail dress with lace and a fitted bodice.
Elyna chose a blue strapless cocktail dress that accented her smaller waist and flattered her pear-shaped body.
Lisa found a bold black and white print halter made from a scarfy material with a hemline that draped diagonally from her knees to her ankles.
Satisfied with their formalwear, the girls were anxious to tear open the BodyMagic corset packages from Ardyss.
Ardyss International's Web site describes the company as originating from humble beginnings in Mexico. The family-owned business blossomed in 1991 with a factory to make all models of undergarments, and now boasts sales across the globe through independent network marketing.
The BodyMagic corset has helped fuel sales. While there are distributors here in the metro, we opted to order our corsets on line through eBay to get the most competitive price.
Our Internet search discovered the BodyMagic corset on sale for anywhere from $64 to $180.
We needed three corsets to fit three different body types that included athletic, hourglass and pear shapes.
After following online directions for proper measurement, we ordered our corsets for $87 each including shipping.
"I cannot fit into this," stated producer Elyna Niles-Carnes as she pulled her corset from the bag.
"Oh, my gosh," agreed Jenny Surface, mother of Holly Starr, "It doesn't allow you to breathe."
"I don't think you're supposed to," chuckled reporter Lisa Benson, "I should have had my last meal last night."
All three ladies looked over the stiff corsets that had three rows of hooks in the front, plus hooks from one end to the other on the inside legs.
Heavy boning gave the corsets an hour glass look and the appearance they could stand on their own.
Feeling skeptical, the group of ladies turned next to the Internet for instructions on how to put on their corsets.
