Known for their bold printed leggings, Terez is making their debut appearance on this site! The balayage leggings caught my eye when I was placing an order through Carbon38. They’re bright and fun, and I love the texture of the foil print. I decided to try the raspberry haze balayage, though Terez has made quite a few different colors, including solids, ombres, and rainbow. At $120, the unique finish makes these a pricey pair. Here’s what I thought of them.
Let’s start with the positive: the hot pink is so cute! Although it’s called “raspberry”, it’s a very bright, neon shade of true pink. It’s definitely a candy tone more than a berry, if you ask me.
The balayage leggings use Terez’s “tall band” waistband. Terez advertises these as “mid-rise”, but depending on your point of reference, some might consider them high rise. For me, they fall about an inch below my belly button. It’s a one-piece waistband, which means the only seam is at the back. It’s extra-wide and has firm elastic material inside it to provide structure. There is no top seam, which is something I really like to prevent uncomfortable digging into skin.
Besides the unique waistband elements, the design of the leggings is simple. There are no pockets or other special features. The inseam is not too long, more of a 7/8 length. At 5’3″, there is barely any extra fabric at the ankles, so these may not reach the ankles on taller women.
I purchased these in a size XS. I normally wear a size XXS or XS, depending on the brand. Generally, these run pretty true to size. However, the fit feels a bit off. The fit around the lower leg feels tight, but the thighs and hips don’t feel as secure. It feels uneven, rather than the uniform “hug” of most performance tights. I couldn’t do a full test workout without committing to keep them, but as I moved around lightly, the fit didn’t feel dialed in.
You can see in the photos that there’s wrinkling around the knees. I couldn’t get the material to sit flush no matter how much I adjusted. Normally, in a neutral stance, well-fitting leggings should have minimal or no wrinkling around the knees. Consider these Ultracor tights or these from K-Deer as counterpoints.
Also on the fit topic: the gusset is a bit awkward. As you can see, the gusset is visible from the back while I’m standing upright, which is a look I don’t personally care for. I don’t see the same issue in model photos, so it may be dependent on body type. On top of that, the gusset is very noticeable in a bend due to the stretch of the fabric, which draws attention to the crotch in a way that I found quite unappealing.
Next: fabric.
The feel of the fabric is slick and smooth, but not especially silky or plush. It’s not compressive and locked-in enough for high impact, but also not soft and plush like a lot of lower impact gear. The fabric is not tight knit enough to offer any real sculpting. The fabric doesn’t really wow me in any attribute, it’s just sort of in the middle.
Unfortunately, the material on these leggings, despite looking really cool, falls short on quality. I found the fabric to be see-through, even though I am in the larger of my two usual sizes. While standing upright, I could see the outline of darker-colored underwear through the leggings.
Also, the fabric is white on the inside, which means that it lightens when stretched. I was surprised by this, since the print is just a foil overlay. You can see in the photos that the color isn’t quite as saturated across the hips/bum and my calves. The lightening effect and the sheerness issues are quite dramatic in a squat or bend.
Taking all of this together, I didn’t feel these leggings looked and felt good to wear. The material is fashion for sure, but it does not meet my expectations for function, especially considering the high price tag. I don’t feel like these leggings hold their own against other active leggings at a similar price point. It was an easy decision to send these back, though I wish I’d liked them better!
If you’d like to try the balayage leggings out for yourself, you can find them via Carbon38 or the Terez website.
Oh, they sure were pretty though! That’s too much to spend for leggings you don’t love though especially with all the current options :)
Exactly!! Not for me, but there are plenty out there that are. :)
Even if the material had been better: as much as that is such a cute and funky take on pink, I don’t think (personally) I could have the nerve to just saunter into a coffee shop or other “non-gym-place” (lol) wearing those without feeling everybody was staring at my saddlebag hips(!). I’d only would (probably) have tried pairing them with an 80s-style, off-the-shoulder, REALLY baggy black sweater (if it was an impulse purchase I later regretted but felt beholden to trying to justify the price of them SOMEHOW — aaarrgghh!).