Luxury activewear stockist Carbon38 has recently gotten into the business of making their own activewear label. They started off with a few basics, but recently released a more style-focused capsule. The polonium leggings are in collaboration with Goldsheep, a small leggings label. The print is Carbon38’s design, but the fabric and manufacturing are by Goldsheep out of Laguna Beach, CA.
The polonium leggings sold out in just a couple of days when they were first released. When I got the email that they were restocked a couple weeks ago, I didn’t want to miss out again! I love neutrals, so of course I was drawn to the high-contrast look of this monochrome wave print. It has a sorta Ansel Adams vibe to it. Here’s my review.
I ordered these in XS and would say these are true to size. I wish there was an XXS available, because I think that would be perfect. This size does get a little bit wrinkly on me in places (i.e., behind the knee). I would go with your smaller size if you’re unsure. The fabric is extremely stretchy, so between that and the feel of the fabric, these are crazy comfortable. They aren’t really compressive on me, but that may be a sizing thing.
The rise is actually slightly lower on me than on Carbon38’s stock photos, but still a hair higher than most of my bottoms. On the model, the rise reaches her belly button, but on me, it’s about an inch below. The waistband and rise is very comfortable. Speaking of the waistband: there are no pockets, if you were wondering.
The fabric is a polyester/spandex blend with a unique finish that feels almost velvety to the touch. That said, it’s not cottony, and is still slick enough to repel the ever-present dog hair that rules my house. I did a workout in these and have no complaints. The ultra-stretchy fabric is great for comfortable mobility.
Because of the lighter color and the printed fabric, I was worried these would be a recipe for sheerness disaster. I was surprised and very pleased to find that my pair had no sheerness issues, even in a deep squat. Yesssss. If you’re sizing down though, just be sure you double-check yourself in the opacity department.
The one (potentially) negative thing about these leggings is that the seams are not flatlocked. They are overlocked seams, which means there is a tab of fabric on the inside that I’ve tried to show here. In practice, this is not a big deal for me. I don’t notice any chaffing or discomfort from overlocked seams. However, with a price tag of $130, I would’ve expected flat seams, so this was a bit surprising to me.
Overall, I’m happy with my purchase and am keeping these. Though there are some things you might consider functional negatives (lack of pockets, overlocked seams), neither of those are important to me and they don’t make me love them any less.
After selling out twice already, the polonium leggings are back in stock as of this morning!! They’ve sold out completely within a couple days each time, so make your decision quickly if you’ve had your eye on these!
Ahhhh I’m so jealous that yours weren’t sheer! Jealous jealous jealous. I even got the larger of my in between sizes!
I ordered them immediately when they were restocked last time (and randomly got 30% off cause that extra 30% off sale stuff that they had recently discounted the full price stuff in my cart too – score!) BUT they were TOTALLY see through. I don’t even care that much about see through since I work out in my living room and/or run and I like longer tops, but these were unacceptably see through. How strange that they vary so much. I felt so sad handing them back to the UPS guy :*(
Side note: As part of the same order I got the sukishufu shooting star leggings. They were awesome but also pretty sheer (unlike the metallic ones I have). I was so bummed since I scored such a good deal on both of these leggings! My third item ordered (also full price but 30% off!) was the Vimmia cropped joggers. They are darling and I love them. So at least I had one success :)
Thanks for your review as always!
Thanks for this feedback. No to the sheerness. And also thanks, AA, for the photo of the inside. I don’t need another hand wash only pant. This has helped me decide NOT to get them. Woohoo!
Did you order size small for Polonium leggings? I have feeling I will get yours if it was size small…I snatched the last one when it magically appeared on the site last week! hope it is not sheer on me!
I hope so too!
No, I got a M. I’m between S and M and went up to reduce sheerness risk (so much for that!)
I second AA’s comment that they are very comfortable. A S would have been fine but the M also didn’t feel huge or anything.
Good luck!
Hm that’s odd. I wonder what the variation was all about. Clearly sizing wasn’t the issue. Sorry to hear they’re inconsistent! :( Same for the Sukishufu. Hooray for not a total strikeout order though.
After wearing a pink lemonade lululemon tank yesterday and getting barbell stains on it, I’m wondering if you have any special washing techniques for bright colors (all my light clothes get armpit stains and I don’t like my current treatment product)? Also have you ever had barbells rip any of your bottoms? I’m very antsy about wearing my luxtreme bottoms on deadlift, clean, or snatch days.
i totally wrap a towel around the bar for the risk of the bar scratching up my pants…
uggh I hate that! I have even had dumbell stains on a brand new lulu tank…sadness :( I found that I could get the stain out pretty well with bunchafarmers stain remover stick and usual lulu laundering procedures.
Oddly, I’ve never actually had any damage from barbells/gym equipment.
As far as the stain though, my favorite two methods are:
1) Get an empty spray bottle. Add some water that’s as hot as possible from the faucet. Add a ton of powdered Oxiclean and mix to dissolve. I usually make a very small volume at a time. Spray it straight on the stain. The heat is very helpful, and using a spray bottle means it won’t shrink your whole shirt.
2) Similarly, you can also fill your sink up with slightly warm water and, again, dissolve some powdered Oxiclean in it. Let the tank soak in it for a LONG time. At least an hour, or even overnight. Then, wash it as normal.
Overall, I find powdered Oxi to always be the most effective. It’s pretty much my go-to for anything from general dirt stains to dog vomit on my carpet. Good luck!!
Thank you! I’ll try this with the gorgeous new mint blue UA shirt I just drenched in pit stains :’)
for pit stains you want to use white vinegar, and also don’t dry them in the dryer…that sets the stain.
I would never put any workout item in the dryer *ever*, so that’s definitely not a problem. Should I use a spray bottle with white vinegar or just put some on a wash cloth and rub it in gently?
sorry i just saw this! spray bottle is best i think! you can also add white vinegar to any load with the normal detergent; helps keep brights brighter and if you have a front loader it will keep away any smells that can build up in some.
Your review convinced me to buy these. I’m hoping mine aren’t sheer, I am wary about the length since I’m very short. But I dislike hand washing. I’m thinking the delicate cycle will be fine if put inside a mesh bag?
I’m probably going to go the delicate cycle route. I’m not really sure what the hazard is of washing it in the machine, since there’s nothing on the pants that seems all that out of the ordinary to me. That is, there’s no unusual finish that feels like it would wear off. We’ll see!
How did the delicate cycle work out? I heard they get balls of fabric easily if you machine wash…
I only used the machine wash one or two times, but they didn’t ball up. That said, I’ve since passed them on to another leggings lover, so I can’t speak for how machine washing works as a long-term solution.
THANK YOU!
Great review! The leggings look great on you. I find it so frustrating when high-end brands leave out the little details like wait pockets and flat-locked seams. Even Old Navy does that stuff right. I guess these are the things that have made lulu so famous, they just do the little stuff right, consistently. I liked the breast cancer awareness leggings they did with the pink roses, those were beautiful. Glad I didn’t order though because if xs fits you, it would definitely be too small on me, I’m a solid 4 in lulu, and I know I would have ordered xs. Thanks!
@Maya- I ordered the C38 Sprint Capris- the black ones. They have all the flat locked seams and I love them. I am a size 4 in LLL, and the XS is a great fit. I’d say that their core line (black) must run bigger, because I feel like they fit perfectly, even a little roomy through the hips. Hope that helps!
You could probably go either way with sizing, just depends on how tight you want them to be. An S will be a less compressive fit but probably would still work. Also, I agree, it’s kind of odd and somewhat frustrating when activewear brands forget that the point of activewear is the function, not just the fashion!
AA – have you by chance tried the InknBurn shorts? Similar to speeds. Wondering if you have and what you thought of the fit/function. They have some really cute and fun designs and I’m tempted to cheat on Lulu :|
I haven’t, no. Not sure their print style appeals to me (at least not the ones they have at the moment), but I’ll have to try to remember to check back once in a while. I’ve been interested in trying these, too: http://fabbactivewear.com/collections/bottoms/products/womens-running-short-with-phone-pocket-1
sorel.com has some 25% off deals… :)
No Joan of Arctic wedges in grill… Safe! Thanks for sharing.
These are beautiful!! But no flat seams is a deal breaker for me, thanks so much for mentioning this!
You’re welcome, glad to save you the trouble. :)
Thank you! I also bought these due to your review. Can’t wait to get them!
Nice, I hope you like them too!!! :)
I have had the worst luck with the polonium leggings by C38/Goldsheep. I’ve bought three pairs so far in hopes the pattern placement would be improved from the first pair I ordered and this “mustache” (see pic) is so prominent across the pelvic area there is no way I’d be caught dead in them. Each pair was slightly different with the length of the “mustache” but it was always across the pelvic area so maybe it’s in all the size larges? It’s quite humorous but I don’t have the guts to wear them, and most other pics I see of them don’t have this but somehow all 3 I purchased did. The first pair I got the mustache was a lot like their stock photo but the dark clouds met at the seam forming the longest of the 3 mustaches and it was curly looking to boot! LOL – such an awesome pattern otherwise!
Ugh that sucks! Actually, I can kind of see little eyes on either side above the mustache too, lol. That is kind of funny, but I definitely don’t blame you for not wanting to wear them! Alas. :
I noticed on C38’s website that my first review was posted, and when I posted my 2nd review of the leggings they removed both of my reviews and instead only posted 2 favorable 5 star reviews. The review “counter” shows 6 reviews but they only give details for 2 of the reviews. I wonder why they deleted my reviews after they posted the first one…just seems a bit misleading if they ask for feedback, then reject it if the review isn’t favorable. I know they just opened their website for reviews recently but wonder if anyone else has had this happen?
Actually, I do see all 6 reviews on there, you just have to click “show more”. Your 3 star review is on there too. That makes me feel better, since I’d also be a bit uneasy if they were rejecting negative reviews.
On the mobile website there is not a “show more” link, but maybe it’s just my software version. I did check the desktop web version and you are correct that there is a show more link. I posted two reviews, and only the 1st one was “accepted” and is there (my 2nd was an update to confirm that it must be a problem with the size large specifically). I wrote C38 to find out why and apparently the language of “mustache” and “pelvis” to describe the area of placement may make people feel uneasy. Here was their response:
Thank you for reaching out to us.
We located the review you posted updated from your prior review of the Polonium Legging, stating that all three of the pairs of leggings you received had this “mustache” across the pelvis.
Please do not be mistaken in believing that we only post favorable reviews. However, we do reserve the right to field our reviews based on language and the nature of the review, and if we feel that the review is worded in such a way that may make people feel uncomfortable, it will not be approved.
We completely understand that you are dissatisfied with the placement of the pattern on this particular legging, which seems to be an issue only with the size large. If you wish to submit another review expressing the same opinion in a more concise manner, so that our other customers can understand your concern and forewarning regarding the product, we absolutely will review it once again and we are sure there will be no problem posting it on the website.
Huh, go figure. Thanks for the update!