We tried the viral TikTok leggings on different body types
The results were not what we expected.
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Reviewed
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There are a lot of things you can get from TikTok, like easy-to-use stampable blush, chic Bala Bands—and a better-looking butt. Or rather, leggings that claim to give you a better-looking butt.
Meet the Seasum leggings, more commonly known as the TikTok leggings. With a scrunch-butt design that's engineered to boost your booty, they're the mullet of leggings: business in the front, party in the back. This particular pair of leggings went viral on TikTok over the last few months and have since garnered over 57,000 rave reviews on Amazon.
A few Reviewed staffers were curious about the supposed butt-lifting effect of the leggings every influencer seems to own. So curious, in fact, that we decided to test them out for ourselves, on a variety of body shapes and sizes. We wore them for multiple days and multiple workouts to see how the leggings looked, felt, and held up.
The verdict? You either love 'em or hate 'em, according to our testing. Here are our individual thoughts on the TikTok leggings, ranked on a scale of peach emojis.
Amanda
My butt (left) vs. the butt I was promised (right).
Title: Style Editor Size ordered: S Peaches: 🍑
There are people who like leggings—and then there's me. I own over 40 pairs, so I can confidently call myself an expert in the field of all pants stretchy and spandex-y. Given my love of leggings, I was very excited to try these out. I lift heavy (squats and deadlifts included!) five times a week so, not to brag, but I have a pretty good butt already. But I'll take any extra help I can get. Unfortunately, said help will not be coming in the form of these leggings.
From the second I put the leggings on, I hated them. The fabric feels very thin and low quality and the ruching in the rear feels like a mild wedgie that you can't get rid of. Even more appalling, the center seam creates a very dramatic—and very unwelcome—camel-toe effect in the front.
Things got worse when I wore them to the gym. First, I felt very uncomfortable, like everyone was staring at my backside the entire time. (The scrunch-butt effect is not subtle at all.) Second, I had to constantly pull up the waistband—it's too loose and falls down often—and adjust the front to minimize the camel toe. I also don't feel like the leggings provide any support or compression for higher impact activities or running.
The only plus? They make my butt look nice. But not like "OMG Becky, look at her butt" good. Just "slightly above average" good, i.e., the slight booty plumping does not make up for the flimsy material and uncomfortable fit.
Courtney
I'll wear these around the house for sure (but maybe not in public).
Title: Commerce Editor Size ordered: S Peaches: 🍑🍑🍑
Personally, I love my butt. Squats and good genetics have blessed me with a rear end that I’m proud of—but it could always use a little definition, which is why I wanted to try out these famous TikTok leggings. I got the leggings in a size small (I usually prefer my leggings tight and form-fitting), but I still found them to be too big for my liking. They’re incredibly stretchy and I feel like they don't suck everything in as well as my Lululemon leggings.
That said, the leggings elevate my booty to a level I could only image Barry’s giving me. The scrunch is well placed to give a rounder look to my cheeks for that perfect peach look. I walked around the house with them and my roommates instantly noticed them, remarking on my butt and asking if I got the TikTok leggings. But the leggings might have done too good of a job, and I don’t think I would wear them in the real world for fear of the ever-annoying catcalling I’ve gotten on the streets of Boston. It’s just not worth it.
Plus, the $30 leggings aren’t the best quality. After just one wash, I’ve noticed some pilling on some of the ruffles, so I don't think they’ll hold up in the long run. Working out with them wasn’t great, either. Like I said earlier, the leggings are quite loose, so I have to pull them up throughout my bodyweight workout, which distracts me from getting in the zone.
If anything, I will say the leggings were fun, and I love casually wearing them around my home for a little confidence boost. But I don’t recommend working out while wearing them—ever.
Shayna
My butt has never looked better.
Title: Senior Staff Writer Size ordered: L Peaches: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
I don’t want to mince words here—I hate the way my butt looks. It’s basically like two slabs of white bread smooshed together, side-by-side. Maybe it’s my love of junk food that sealed my fate, or the fact that I spend so much of my time sitting at a desk and not exercising as much as I know I should. Even though I’m curvy (I’m 5-foot-7 and usually wear a size 12), it’s never translated over to my glutes. No matter what I do, I’m just not the kind of baby who’s got back.
Or so I thought. Initially, I offered to test these to represent for my fellow flat-butt queens out there. But also, because a small part of myself was hopeful. What if these actually worked, and for less than $30, I could get the dump-truck booty I’ve always longed for without having to do a million squats or—horror of horrors—give up my love of junk food?
It was a prospect too tempting to resist, so I chose black for my leggings, thinking they’d be the easiest to blend into my everyday wardrobe. And I wore them for all kinds of things: running errands, cleaning my house, doing some yoga, and even sleeping. Over the course of my two-week testing period, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that not only are they comfortable and easy to move around in, but they deliver on their promise: the illusion of a better backside.
My butt didn’t magically become peach-emoji levels of juicy or anything, but because of the way these leggings are ruched in the back, my derriere seems rounder and more pronounced. Compared to my favorite leggings, an old pair of Spanx, they’re a lot less restrictive, and I haven’t noticed any pilling, either. Alas, the real moment of truth came at the, ahem, tail-end of my testing period, when my roommate walked past me in the kitchen as I was crouched over, picking up a dust pail.
“Hey,” he began. “Not to be like, weird or anything, but um... you look good. Like, really good. Back there,” he added, with a gesture. “Sorry if that’s... awkward.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” I replied, rising to my feet and popping my butt out a little, just to showcase it more. At first, I joked that I’d been working out, barely keeping a straight face as I fibbed, before coming clean. But with that one exchange, my appreciation was sealed forever more. These might not be the leggings that style experts or fitness buffs swear by, but for regular folks like me who just want to have a nicer-looking butt, they’re worth a try.
Madison
I like the bright colors but not so much the fit.
Title: Kitchen & Cooking Editor Size ordered: XL Peaches: 🍑🍑
As someone who hates doing squats but loves the idea of a bigger butt, these leggings seemed like the perfect solution for me. Plus, I basically live in leggings now that I exclusively work from home (what are “jeans?”). I opted for a bright red pair because I love a zany color, and I was pleased to find that these leggings aren't see-through, unlike other colorful leggings I’ve worn in the past.
I’m 6 feet tall, so the other issue I typically face with any pant is length—and in the size XL I ordered, these leggings are long enough for my legs, reaching the top of my ankle. However, that’s about where my pleasant experiences stopped. I had an instant wedgie when I put them on, thanks to the butt-crack ruching. And while, yes, said ruching does accentuate my curves, it isn't worth the discomfort. Also my butt doesn't really look bigger in them, anyways.
Exercising in them is the same story—big-time wedgie, plus the material isn’t super breathable, so it's not great for sweating. My favorite leggings are a basic black pair from Old Navy circa 2015 that somehow still haven't quit on me, and I would absolutely never choose these butt-shaping leggings over those.
Should you buy the TikTok leggings?
We're split right down the middle on whether or not the TikTok leggings are worth buying. Madison and Amanda give them a big N-O because of how lackluster the booty-shaping effect is and how uncomfortable they are—Amanda hates the camel toe in the front while Madison says they're even worse than a thong in the back. Even Courtney agrees that they aren't practical for long-term—or out-in-public—wear.
But both Courtney and Shayna say agree that for some people, the TikTok leggings are a must-buy. For less than $30, they're a fun alternative to your basic black leggings and, in Shayna's opinion, make flat butts look a lot perkier (and peachier)—no squats required.