Does it lift your breasts like a wire bra would?

No. If you're looking for lift and separate, this is not the bra for that job. However, I'm a 33D, and I love it! No underwire involved! And it visibly reduces my size so that there aren't two big lumps staring you in the face.

I wear a size 42C bra and 1X shirts, 5’5” and 172 lbs, what size should I order?

I would purchase it in the same size as your shirt. That’s how I usually decide my size unless the description says to order a size up or down. I hope this helps.

is this a sports bra?

It feels as comfortable as a sports bra but has padding so nipples won't show

Actually Bali? Are yours 2 layers layers glued together without a way to remove padding?

It sounds like we are writing about 2 different bras. Yes, mine is glued together with no slits, as they would put holes in the bra. The padding, if that’s what they call it amounts to the sticky portion of a bandaid. It can’t be removed but mine started peeling after a few washes. I wash on cool, in a wash bag or hand wash, always air dry. This bra offered no support, wasn’t comfortable and I would not recommend. Bali has plenty of great bras, not sure why they thought they should release this inferior bra under the Bali label.