Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba and Kate Perry are three celebrities who have admitted they are fans of Spanx. Spanx is the new girdle, or 'body-shaping underwear' that was made famous by Oprah.

There is an entertaining recent review of Spanx at The Times. Here's an excerpt;

Spanx was recently endorsed by Cosmo editor Vanessa Raphaely, who says that women can discard exercise in favour of a pair.

But, unlike makeup, which is simply supposed to act as an enhancer, the panel-beating girdle is a self-defeating act of deception because, at midnight (or whenever it is you decide to take it off), you turn back into a pumpkin. This must be disheartening for a member of the opposite sex who thinks he is bedding Beyoncé but, when the lekunutu comes off, he is really saddled with Bridget Jones.

It turns out Beyonce probably wears Spanx too.

The Czech Republic is facing such a shortage of nurses at their private clinics that they've started offering free plastic surgery to nurses who sign a three year contract.

It's not surprising they have a shortage of nurses as nurses are paid less than bus drivers in the Czech Republic. Their average monthly pay is about $1,270.

The free plastic surgery perks has proven to be much more popular than other perks offered, such as free German lessons.

See the full story here.

The photo above is the ISCARE private clinic, one location that offers these free plastic surgery incentives to nurses.