I love BBL. I've done a couple of 30 day rotations (mixing in some other workouts) without ankle weights. I didn't feel like I was missing anything; the workouts were still challenging enough, and I hate ankle weights.
I think that "butt lifting" is hard to quantify, since it doesn't necessarily translate to inches lost, just shifting mass around in a more flattering way. My hip/ butt measurement did not change, but I failed the famous pencil test before, and passed it after BBL
. Subjectively, I could see an improvement. I did get more measurable results at my waist and thighs, though.