It's the biggest curse of womankind—eclipsing PMS, childbirth, bikini waxing, mandatory starvation, sharing a gender with Gwyneth Paltrow, and earning 75 cents to a man's dollar—and yet modern technology still hasn't figured out a way to eradicate cellulite. It is, however, doing its best, and the latest gizmo that promises to de-ripple butts and thighs is the Smoothshapes laser, which is being promoted by dermatologist Neil Sadick and which Oprah magazine's Valerie Monroe road-tests for our edification.

It's no surprise to hear that plastic surgeons are hurting in this economy: A survey by the American Society for Aesthetic Surgery shows that cosmetic surgeries are down 15 percent over the past year. But don't worry, it's not like society is suddenly becoming less shallow and image obsessed. It turns out that more young people are getting stuff done than ever before, and boob jobs and liposuction are the most popular procedures. And plenty of new stuff is on the horizon, too, like the new fat-busting machine that performs a very creepy-sounding procedure called "cryolipolysis."

Neil Sadick