Women at 30

If you're a 30-year-old woman in Brazil, you are probably driven to have a successful career. After Brazil became a democracy 16 years ago, many women here were inspired to step out of their homes and into the workforce. But 33-year-old Luciana says being a Brazilian beauty is still a top priority. "For most of the women here, having a nice body is more important than being married at 30," says Luciana. "Since we were like little girls, we grew up with the idea that you must have a nice body, because the guys always look at your body first. Bikini fashion in Brazil is a big business, as everybody knows. It seems like our sizes are not as small as they used to be, but they're still much smaller than American sizes. That's why we need to get waxed to go to the beach. Usually we'll spend about $10–20 to get everything done. Feels better. Looks better. And is definitely sexually better."

Brazil is also known as a mecca for plastic surgery because of the number of operations performed…largely on American women! Lisa Ling says, "I've traveled throughout South America—Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil—and I'm always shocked by how many American women I encounter there because [plastic surgery] is less expensive…and you can vacation in Rio while you're recovering." They also do more bottom implants there than anywhere else in the world!