I bought these by mistake. I wanted to buy the "Hide & Sleek panty" (at the recommendation of my new-mom-of-twins friend Beth) but I somehow ended up paying for the "Power Panties." By the time I realized my mistake I was home, and with just 30 mins to feed the kids, hide mess before sitter arrived, and shower and dress, it was power panties or bloated menstrual belly in unforgiving dress. I had no time to swap a mumu for the dress, so power panties it was!

When I pulled what looked like a pair of nude bicycle-shorts out of the pack I sighed at the waste of $25 on such a pair of unglamorous knickers. The packaging promised to slim tummy, thighs, and rear so I took a long deep breath as I dragged them up my leg, sure I wouldn't be able to breathe easy again for the rest of the evening. I read the 4-step directions after I had the panties firmly in place, refusing to be told how to put a pair of panties on (they didn't come with a plug so I assumed I could figure them out.) Just in case there was something to the science, I decided to follow instruction no.4 which directed that I "wiggle immediately and dance around your room. (This part will ensure not only a better fit, but a better day!)" I have since decided to incorporate this step into my daily-dressing routine, even with my unpowerful panties, and I'll surely live longer as a result.

I dropped the dress over my power panties and admired my less-bloated physique in the mirror. I couldn't be sure if my $25 spent made me imagine the power of these panties so I modeled my dress several times: panties on, panties off, panties on + belly pulled in, panties off + belly pulled in... and there definitely was a difference. The tight knit didn't cut off circulation to my lower body, nor did they make my thighs look like encased sausages, but they did make my sore bloated belly look so much less bloated. I worried that our dinner dates might see or feel a panty line when hugging hello, but some aggressive self-hugging and a few exasperated-husband "are-you-really-sure-you-can't-see-anything?" tests assured me that these power panties really were seamless.