Melissa in Star magazine, October 5th, 1999

Twenty-three-year-old Melissa, already a slim 108 pounds, was horrified when told she'd have to lose more weight for her new big-screen flick Drive Me Crazy "They told me I had to lose 10 pounds, and I was so upset, I almost dropped out of the movie." says the petite, 5-foot, 2-inch actress. She eventually gave in, but found it so hard that she resorted to desperate measures like popping pills and purging. "I want to be chosen based on my talent, not my looks, but unfortunately that doesn't happen in Hollywood." She quickly packed it all back on after filming because she thought her new supermodel-skinny look was unhealthy. "As of now, I'm totally happy with my body." says the Sabrina the Teenage Witch star. "I'm trying to be more secure with myself, and take more care of myself. Life's too short to worry about your body."

WARDROBE:

Melissa admits that one of the biggest perks of having a hit TV show is the clothes, "I get to have a whole second wardrobe." she says. "I get to wear the clothes out, and even keep some." But she adds, "When it comes to getting colthes for myself, I'm a T-shirt and jeans girl. I always wear jeans or corduroys. I'd just rather feel comfortable. That way, I feel like I look good." She also likes to wear cut-off tops to show off her favourite accessory, "my navel ring - a little silver hoop with a hermatite ball."

When she's going out on the town, "I don't like to be gaudy or overdo it too much." she says. Her favourite designers are Valentino and Richard Tyler, but she adds you don't need to spend a lot to look good. "A cranberry-coloured dress I bought on the street in Italy last year helped me land on one best-dressed list. Compare that with a $700 Mark Wong Nark dress that put me on someone's worst-dressed list!"

BEAUTY:

Melissa's beauty routine consists of "curling my eyelashes and lip gloss. That's about it, I'm quick." For nights on the town, she likes Bobbi Brown Essentials Pale Pink Eye Shadow, MAC blue and silver eyeliner and Clinique's glossy Ruby Melt Almost Lipstick -- and she always wears SPF 30 under her makeup. For her shiny blonde locks, she uses Aveda products, especially their Rosemary/Mint conditioning rinse. She adds, "Everything I put on my body -- shower gel, body lotion, face scrub -- is from Taut Cosmetics."

DIET:

Melissa admits she loves to chow down, so she eats frequently but sticks to smaller portions to keep slim. "Like one day I had two little smoked turkey quesadillas for dinner or two little cheese pizzas or chicken with raspberry sauce. And I love vegetables -- zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower." she says. "And I'm drinking more water and taking more vitamins." Melissa has a weakness for shellfish, especially at her favourite Los Angeles restaurant, Killer Shrimp. "I love shrimp. Clams are my absolute favourite." she says "My dad owns a plant on Long Island where he purifies shellfish. Whenever I go there I have the cleanest clams, oysters, lobsters." During the week, Melissa drinks protein shakes for lunch, and on weekends, she always goes to her mum's house for homemade tomato soup and crackers. "I try to eat well, which makes you feel better than when you eat crap."

EXERCISE:

"When I'm on Sabrina, I work some crazy hours, and 16 hours bouncing off the walls and being goofy takes a lot of energy. So during lunch I do yoga because it's relaxing and it gives me energy to get through the rest of the day," she says. "Then once a week I like to walk around Lake Hollywood, and that's like 3.2 miles." Melissa also likes to go skiing in the winter and snowboarding. "I've been doing it for eight years now, and I love it."


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