This is my unsponsored, brutally honest review of the Balance Athletica Quartz Collection! The Quartz Collection is their new seamless line and I review the energy pant and the energy top! This is my 100% honest opinion and I am not affiliated with Balance in any way!
I think Balance Athletica is a really innovative brand, but I think the Quartz Collection didn't quite live up to my expectations! The seamless design has a diamond knit texture and is a medium compression legging, and the top is a racer back adjustable strap design with very low support.. I love the jewel tones but the outfit wasn't as functional as I would have liked!
MY MEASUREMENTS
Chest: 29 in, 73cm
Bust: 35 in, 89cm
Bra size: 32 DDD
Waist: 25 in, 64 cm
Hip: 37.5 in, 95 cm(widest part)
Thigh: 22.5 in, 57cm
Calf: 15 in, 38 cm
Height: 5’9”, 175cm
Weight: approx. 145 lbs (changes all the time tbh)
I think Balance Athletica is a really innovative brand, but I think the Quartz Collection didn't quite live up to my expectations! The seamless design has a diamond knit texture and is a medium compression legging, and the top is a racer back adjustable strap design with very low support.. I love the jewel tones but the outfit wasn't as functional as I would have liked!
MY MEASUREMENTS
Chest: 29 in, 73cm
Bust: 35 in, 89cm
Bra size: 32 DDD
Waist: 25 in, 64 cm
Hip: 37.5 in, 95 cm(widest part)
Thigh: 22.5 in, 57cm
Calf: 15 in, 38 cm
Height: 5’9”, 175cm
Weight: approx. 145 lbs (changes all the time tbh)
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Peach, oh cute.
00:01 So if you haven't heard of Balance Athletica,
00:04 they've really been making a name for themselves lately.
00:06 I believe the brand only started last year
00:08 and they're already like literally huge.
00:10 They're making so many new collections
00:12 and they're definitely like an upscale high-end brand.
00:14 By the way, this review is unsponsored,
00:16 unaffiliated in any way.
00:18 So if you like my brutally honest reviews,
00:20 please make sure to give this video a thumbs up.
00:22 And if you're not subscribed already,
00:23 you might as well just do it.
00:24 So this launch, they actually didn't sell out of everything
00:27 and I believe even a week later or more,
00:29 they still have some sizes in most of their items,
00:31 which is just kind of nice to know
00:33 that you don't always have to be at a launch
00:34 like the minute it happens to get their items.
00:37 So this is their first launch of a seamless collection,
00:39 which is definitely different
00:40 than what they've been doing in the past.
00:41 In the past, they had a more like Lululemon
00:43 dupe style situation.
00:45 I have to say, I really appreciate that Balance
00:47 is coming out with a lot of unique collections.
00:49 There's so many new activewear brands these days
00:51 and a lot of them just do the same kind of thing.
00:53 I think that this is one of their less unique launches
00:56 because it is just a seamless collection,
00:58 but I think it's nice to have some good basics too.
01:00 My personal favorite launch from them
01:02 was their Kingdom collection.
01:03 It was just so unique and no one had done like crazy,
01:05 high quality animal prints like that so far.
01:08 So I'm starting off this review
01:09 by taking the set to the gym.
01:10 Okay, so I just got to the gym.
01:12 I'm wearing a little shirt
01:14 over the bra top sports bra thing.
01:18 So I got this version of the sports bra
01:20 instead of the lighter color version
01:21 because I thought it would have more support
01:23 and there is like so little support in the sports bra.
01:26 I tightened the straps literally all the way
01:28 and I feel like I'm jiggling like walking around.
01:31 I was going to do a little like cardio
01:33 to maybe test sweat proofness.
01:36 I still think I'm gonna try to do that,
01:38 but I just feel like I'm gonna be jiggling a little bit.
01:40 So definitely super, super light sports bra,
01:43 not for any like high impact days,
01:46 not even really like too much like intense walking honestly.
01:50 But yeah, first impression of the leggings
01:51 is that they're really, really soft.
01:53 I feel like they have a good amount of compression,
01:55 but they're not squishing me down.
01:56 Everyone was saying to size up
01:58 because they have so much compression,
02:00 but I think the sizing is just off
02:01 because I feel like the medium is my right size
02:03 and they don't actually have that much compression.
02:05 They're actually very, very stretchy leggings.
02:07 They just really didn't fit me in a small.
02:09 So I would definitely go with a full size up.
02:11 I'm doing a little back and bice today, a little pole day.
02:15 So nothing too crazy, but we'll see how it works.
02:18 I almost never include like a little workout portion
02:20 in my reviews.
02:21 So thumbs up if you're enjoying it so far.
02:22 Okay, so let's test these bad boys out in the gym.
02:25 (upbeat music)
02:28 ♪ Baby ♪
02:41 ♪ Don't touch me ♪
02:46 ♪ It's crazy ♪
02:52 ♪ How you lost it ♪
02:57 ♪ Oh baby stop calling me dumb, dumb, dumb ♪
03:01 ♪ It's none of your business ♪
03:03 ♪ I'll run, run, run ♪
03:04 ♪ When did you quit being fun, fun, fun ♪
03:07 ♪ Should've known better ♪
03:08 ♪ I'm done, done, done ♪
03:12 ♪ Nothing can faster than my love ♪
03:14 Okay, so just finished my workout.
03:16 And actually, so everything like moves really well.
03:18 I feel like this collection is really good for performance
03:20 so I could definitely see doing a leg day in these leggings
03:23 because they're really like stretchy and everything.
03:25 I just like had no support the whole time.
03:27 And I was pulling this up like every two seconds.
03:29 Like these straps are completely tightened.
03:31 I couldn't even tighten them anymore if I wanted to.
03:34 So that's a little frustrating.
03:36 Also, I feel like these leggings pick up fuzz very easily.
03:40 I wasn't even around any fuzz
03:41 and like somehow I have some fuzz on them.
03:43 So yeah, I didn't sweat like a ton,
03:45 but I really don't see any like sweat marks in the leggings.
03:48 So I feel like they're like sweat proof-ish.
03:50 I wouldn't say completely sweat proof
03:51 'cause like I'm not sweating buckets.
03:53 But yeah, that's the update.
03:55 Now that we're done with first impressions,
03:57 let's go over all the details about these leggings.
03:59 Price of the leggings is $85,
04:02 which definitely hurts me
04:03 because we know how I like my affordable active wear.
04:06 And shipping isn't even free.
04:08 Also, I ordered these leggings the minute they launched,
04:10 like literally within the first like 60 seconds, I think.
04:13 And mine didn't come for like a week and a half
04:16 because the FedEx shipping got messed up.
04:18 So they actually refunded my shipping, which was nice.
04:21 But also this review should have been up
04:22 like a week and a half ago if it arrived on time.
04:25 So I was a little sad.
04:27 So yeah, Balance is definitely a high price point,
04:30 more than Gymshark, more than Alphalete,
04:32 more than Buffbunny.
04:33 I think this is the second most expensive brand
04:35 I've ever tried besides Lululemon,
04:37 which I don't know how I feel about it.
04:39 The fabric of the leggings is 90% polyamide, 10% elastane.
04:43 It feels really soft and plush,
04:45 like kind of like a cottony knit material.
04:47 It's not quite brushed,
04:48 but it does have the tendency to pick up some fuzz
04:50 and give off a little bit of fuzz too.
04:52 So as for pilling, I'm not so sure.
04:54 I feel like these could potentially pill.
04:56 So yeah, these leggings could be prone to pilling
04:58 and snagging, so I would be careful.
05:00 I usually like to compare my leggings to something,
05:02 but it's kind of hard to tell what these compare to.
05:04 They also have a very unique diamond knit texture,
05:07 which just adds some texture to the leggings
05:10 and a little bit of a unique feel.
05:11 I'd give these leggings a medium compression.
05:13 They really don't squish my butt down at all,
05:15 but they do kind of like hold my legs in
05:17 and make me feel secure.
05:19 Now for some details.
05:20 As I mentioned before,
05:21 they have a really nice diamond knit texture.
05:23 And this diamond knit texture is great
05:25 for concealing imperfections like cellulite and all that.
05:28 And this also adds some cute little details.
05:30 Most seamless leggings are just plain,
05:32 so I definitely think this is a little unique.
05:34 The waistband is a four inch ribbed
05:36 double thickness waistband.
05:37 The waistband is not diamond knit, it's just ribbed.
05:40 It feels a little more performance,
05:42 a little less fuzzy than the actual legging material.
05:44 There's pretty good compression in the waistband,
05:46 but mine had a little bit of extra room
05:48 because I sized up to the medium.
05:50 And the leggings are high-waisted
05:51 and they hit me above my belly button,
05:53 which I think is the perfect height for a pair of leggings.
05:55 The leggings are totally a full length on me
05:57 and I'm about 5'9",
05:58 so they actually hit right at my ankle,
06:00 if not cover my ankle a little bit.
06:02 As for logos, they have their little triangle,
06:05 like balance logo,
06:06 embroidered into the waistband of the leggings.
06:08 I like when the logos are actually embroidered
06:10 into the fabric.
06:11 I just think it seems a little more luxurious
06:13 and it's less likely to peel off with washes, obviously.
06:15 There was a little stitching issue in the back
06:18 and I know they had to sew in a label somehow,
06:21 but I really just didn't like that you could see it
06:23 on the actual back of the leggings
06:24 because these leggings are $85.
06:27 So I don't really want any little threads
06:29 or anything to be showing.
06:30 I think they should probably try to find a different way
06:32 to add the label into the leggings
06:34 that doesn't disrupt the appearance
06:36 of the outside of the legging.
06:37 As for the seams, I had no restriction at all on the seams.
06:40 It was very easy to move around, to squat, to stretch.
06:44 I didn't feel any tightness
06:45 or that it was going to rip or anything.
06:46 The seams are also very thick
06:48 and look like they're not going to have any issues
06:50 like ripping or anything.
06:51 Now for sizing.
06:53 These are not true to size.
06:55 I was warned before to size up,
06:57 so I actually got the small and the medium
06:58 when I made my order.
06:59 And I tried to put on the smalls
07:01 for like a solid two minutes
07:02 and I really just couldn't do it.
07:04 I was getting frustrated and I was like,
07:05 "Whatever, I'm just gonna give up."
07:07 Like I could barely even get them over my knees.
07:09 They were just like really, really tight.
07:11 It was just not accommodating for like bulkier legs.
07:13 I was also worried that all of my like pulling up
07:15 was going to damage the fabric.
07:16 So I just kind of gave up and then went with the medium.
07:19 The medium had much more stretch to it.
07:21 It was much easier to get on.
07:22 I had no extra material in the medium.
07:24 Everything fit really well.
07:25 I could probably have like a little bit less room
07:28 in the waistband, but it wasn't gaping.
07:30 It was just like,
07:31 I like my waistbands really tight and snug.
07:33 I didn't get a ton of waistband compression
07:35 just because I did do that size up.
07:37 I just wish their sizing was a little more consistent
07:40 with their last collection
07:41 because I felt like their last collection
07:43 sizing was very true to size.
07:44 And you would just think that since they're the same brand,
07:46 they would have very similar sizing.
07:48 So I feel like that could have thrown a lot of people off
07:49 with the order.
07:50 Yeah, so I have my measurements down below.
07:52 I'm pretty much universally a small.
07:53 I'm almost never a medium,
07:55 but I do prefer the medium in these leggings.
07:57 A little sizing comparison.
07:58 So I have the waistbands kind of like lined up over here.
08:02 The small is on top.
08:04 And actually the waistbands aren't that different.
08:06 So I guess if I size down to the small,
08:09 I honestly really wouldn't get that much more compression
08:11 in the waistband.
08:12 As for their size range,
08:13 they have a pretty incredible size range.
08:15 I've also noticed that a lot of their larger sizes
08:17 sell out very quickly.
08:19 So that's really telling me that this brand
08:20 isn't disappealing to like smaller people.
08:22 I think it's great to have a brand
08:23 that really accommodates a lot of sizes
08:25 and is flattering on all body types
08:27 because I do think these leggings would be very flattering
08:29 any size you are.
08:30 Like I said, the diamond knit texture
08:32 hides cellulite very well.
08:33 So if you want to cover up cellulite,
08:34 these leggings would be great.
08:35 As for sweat proofness,
08:37 I did sweat a little bit in the gym
08:38 and I couldn't really see any sweat.
08:40 I probably wouldn't say they're entirely sweat proof
08:42 because they do have a kind of cottony type feel.
08:44 But I think for moderate workouts, you're totally fine.
08:46 As for camel toe, I had no camel toe at all.
08:48 There are no front seams.
08:50 I didn't have any fabric collecting
08:51 as like Barbie crotch area either.
08:54 That can tend to be an issue on seamless leggings
08:56 and I didn't have that problem with these.
08:57 As for the booty scale, I give these a medium to high.
09:00 The waistband snatches in the waist nicely
09:02 and it doesn't compress your butt down too much.
09:05 And also it didn't give me a lot of unibutt,
09:07 which sometimes seamless leggings
09:08 can give you a lot of unibutt, if you know what I mean.
09:10 And they're actually so stretchy and conforming to your body
09:12 that I feel like I had a little bit of booty separation.
09:15 So you could definitely see that there were two butts,
09:17 not just one.
09:18 In general, all of Balance's collections
09:19 have been very flattering on the booty.
09:21 So if you're into making that booty look fire,
09:24 Balance, it's got you.
09:26 As for squat test, I give these a nine out of 10.
09:28 I could start to see a little bit of shadowing
09:30 at the bottom of my squat and this is a darker color.
09:33 So I suspect in some of the lighter colors,
09:35 like maybe the amber or the topaz shade,
09:37 you might get a little less squat proofness.
09:40 But considering that these were still pretty squat proof,
09:42 I bet that they would still all be okay
09:44 for squatting at the gym.
09:46 Just if you're being really picky,
09:47 they're not going to be 100% can't see anything opaque.
09:51 So yeah, that's it on the leggings.
09:52 Overall for the leggings, I really liked them
09:54 and I thought they felt really nice.
09:56 I just have a lot of seamless leggings
09:58 and I'm not sure that these impressed me
09:59 like so much more than my other seamless leggings.
10:02 I did like that they felt very form fitting
10:04 and they also allowed for a lot of stretch,
10:06 which I tend to like wearing seamless leggings on leg days.
10:08 So I don't like to feel restricted in squats or anything.
10:11 So I think it's great for that.
10:12 I think the diamond knit texture is really unique.
10:14 I just personally don't think they're so unique
10:16 that I would spend $85 on these.
10:18 I think you can get a lot of great seamless leggings
10:20 for like $40 range or less.
10:23 But if you want to indulge,
10:24 I still think this collection is really great
10:25 and they have a lot of cute stuff.
10:26 As for the sports bra, the sports bra is $50,
10:29 which is a lot for a sports bra.
10:31 The material is slightly different.
10:32 It's 93% polyamide and 7% elastane.
10:36 Some details of the sports bra.
10:37 It has a racer back spaghetti strap style shape.
10:41 It has the general bra shape
10:43 and then the little like rib cage band
10:45 extends down a few inches
10:46 to kind of cover a little more space.
10:48 So it's more of a crop top than a sports bra.
10:50 So I think this is perfect
10:51 if you don't like having to double up
10:53 with like a sports bra crop top.
10:55 This is just kind of like a longer sports bra.
10:57 The little below boob part is thinner.
11:00 It feels very similar to the actual waistband,
11:02 except it's not ribbed and it's a little less compressive,
11:05 which I think a little more compression
11:07 and like squeezing this would be nice for under this band
11:10 because it would just provide
11:11 a little more support to the bra.
11:13 These straps are adjustable,
11:14 which I always like when a strap is adjustable.
11:16 I just, I tightened mine all the way though
11:18 and it still didn't quite offer me a lot of support.
11:21 So I wish they were even a little bit more adjustable.
11:23 This bra also has removable cup pads,
11:26 which you could see a little bit when you're wearing it,
11:28 which I don't love.
11:30 But it wasn't too bad because of the texture and the color,
11:32 but just saying,
11:33 it's not like a totally invisible pad structure.
11:36 And like I said before,
11:37 they have the Balance logo embroidered
11:39 into the back of the bra,
11:40 which feels very high quality and luxurious.
11:43 I also have an issue with the sizing on the sports bras.
11:45 So on their little sizing highlight on their Instagram,
11:48 they said that anything in the 32 range
11:50 from 32A to 32DDD should be a size small sports bra.
11:54 And I am on the high end.
11:56 I am a 32DDD and the sports bra was too big on me.
11:59 I really should have gone down with the XS
12:01 because honestly the sports bra gave me zero support.
12:03 Any step I took, we were jiggling.
12:05 So I would say if you wanted more support compression
12:08 to size down, but honestly, I think size down anyway,
12:10 because I also have a friend who has a smaller chest.
12:13 She's a 32 band size too, and it was also too big on her.
12:16 So I don't love how you have to like size up in the leggings
12:18 and size down in the sports bra.
12:20 It's just like a little weird to me,
12:22 but that's just how it is, I guess.
12:23 Like I said, it's very, very low support.
12:26 I basically was pulling this bra up every two seconds
12:29 and it wasn't doing my boobs any favors
12:30 in terms of looking nice.
12:32 I'm not really sure if it's a sizing issue, like I said,
12:35 like maybe I should be an extra small
12:37 or if it's just the nature of the sports bra
12:38 because no one said to size down on the sports bra,
12:41 but I just really wasn't getting any support from it.
12:43 So maybe the fabric is just a little softer
12:45 on the sports bra and it's just not as supportive.
12:47 For a brand that caters to all size ranges,
12:49 I really think that they should try to make
12:50 some more supportive bras, maybe with a tank style strap
12:53 because the spaghetti straps just really don't offer
12:56 a lot of support for larger chest.
12:57 And if you're going to make like three XL sizing,
13:00 you need to make a bra for people
13:01 who have larger chest as well
13:03 because the spaghetti strap just really
13:04 wasn't cutting it for me.
13:05 I haven't purchased any of their bras in the past,
13:08 but I did purchase it this time
13:09 and it just wasn't, it wasn't my fave.
13:11 All right, that's it for the Balance Athletica Quartz review.
13:14 I hope you enjoyed this video.
13:15 I really think that Balance is a really cool brand.
13:17 I like that they're making their own designs
13:19 and they're really putting a lot of thought into everything.
13:21 I think this collection fell just a little bit short
13:23 to my expectations.
13:24 I still really liked everything,
13:26 but it just didn't wow me like I was
13:28 with the Kingdom collection.
13:29 Thank you guys so much for watching.
13:30 If you didn't already, please make sure
13:31 to give this video a thumbs up and subscribe
13:33 and I will see you next time.
13:35 Bye.