Lululemon’s New Line of Shapewear Leggings Finally Gave Me a Perky Butt

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they wish for a bit of a glow-up. Mine often comes when I’m at the gym, and every single human around me somehow looks like a J.Crew model who does a thousand burpees before breakfast every day. I don’t want to do anything but look at TikTok before I eat my eggs, so you can imagine how pumped I was to learn about Lululemon’s new line of shapewear leggings and tops. 

The aptly named Glow Up line consists of a medium-support tank and high-waisted leggings (so far) specifically designed to make your body look snatched without sacrificing comfort. The design “minimizes the belly and waist and accentuates the glutes,” according to Melanie Anayiotos, Lululemon’s VP of women’s design. “There’s also a center seam in the front and curved seam in the back that tricks the eye.”

As a wellness editor who works out quite a lot, I know more than necessary about athleisure, so I was skeptical but excited to test these before release. When I first saw the leggings, I was scared. The cinched waistband made the bottoms look like they were designed for a toddler rather than a fully grown woman. But, to my surprise, they slipped up on my body (with some light tugging), and va va voom, I was suddenly an hourglass figure. I looked in the mirror and saw something I never thought possible: a curvy, perky butt…on my body.

The super high waist is made with bonded construction and minimal seaming that essentially hugs and smooths the tummy area without restricting your breathing. Most compression leggings make me feel claustrophobic the second I put them on, but these felt really good. Yes, there’s some pressure, but it’s completely doable, and I forgot about it the second I started moving. 

I’ve worn these during Pilates, lifting, walking, HIIT workouts, and while on cardio machines, and they’ve felt solid throughout. There’s minimal waistband rolling even when doing crunches or other on-the-ground exercises, and I love how sweat-wicking they are. The top is medium support, so if you have larger breasts like me, you probably won’t love jumping in it, but they kept my girls in place pretty well. Oh, and you should size up. I went true to size, and there was a bit too much boob-age for my liking, though my boyfriend enjoyed it. 

In addition to performance, I loved how this set made me feel. Some days it’s hard to get to the gym when I don’t feel great about how I look, but even on those bad days, this set gave me confidence and helped me get out the door. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way because the whole new line was designed with customers’ desires at the forefront.

“There’s a shift in what people want—a lot more women are training and focused on strength, and what you want from leggings is now different. More support, more contour, and more smoothing are essential,” Anayiotos said, adding that the insight of customers and ambassadors helped make this curve-creating line a reality.

All in all, I recommend this to anyone who wants to feel more confident during their workouts. The shaping, comfort, and quality are truly unmatched compared to other leggings and tops—trust me, I’ve tested hundreds of pairs for my job. My only qualm is that I wish it were more size-inclusive (hopefully, this is coming).