Carmen Electra‘s faking out fans … revealing she didn’t get her nipples pierced despite appearances — ’cause she’s just wearing a gift from Kim Kardashian.

The actress and model was hanging out in West Hollywood this weekend … and, she stopped to tell a photographer she didn’t really stick any metal into her chest — the bra’s doing all the work.

Carmen says she got the Skims Pierced Nipple Push-Up Bra … a gift courtesy of her pal Kim — and, she’s grinning big, clearly loving the present.

Carmen had her picture taken a ton in the ensemble, BTW … and, we gotta say, the bra does look pretty realistic, click into our gallery to see for yourself.

It usually costs about $74 … but, we’d guess Carmen got the friends and family discount from Kim K in this situation — with Kim getting some pretty great free advertising in return.