It’s hard to find phone cases I like and I’m picky as hell. I got my iPhone 4S last September (pictured above, taken September 2012, case-less), and for a while I used it without a case. It was, in my opinion, far too pretty to put a case on.

I dropped it a few times. I dropped it flat on tiles, numerous times around my house on carpet and on corkboard floors, and one day I decided to buy a case for it. My previous phone was an Android that wasn’t so crazy glass-like, and was more “plastic”, so I had enough fun throwing that around without it actually getting wrecked. My old iPhone (3GS) was essentially a brick; I had a Speck case for it that was impossible to take off, made it look fat, and I dropped it on floors countless times and witnessed it bounce. The iPhone 4S isn’t like that at all, and could easily get smashed.

You live and learn. I finally decided to invest in a case for my phone. I’ve made this post a Fashion Friday post even though it’s not really fashion, but I’m a sucker for accessories, which I suppose fits under the category of fashion, beauty and style.

Ruby

Let’s call the red one Ruby. It was a jelly case. Shiny, and covered the edges of the phone. Simple, which is just what I wanted, and could provide good protection. It cost $7.50 — I bought two cases for $15 (see below). Red is also my favourite colour.

What I didn’t like about this case was that it looked cheap. It’s perfect for me to throw my phone around but it doesn’t have any appeal.

Translucent

Not a hundred percent clear, but transcluent. I liked this one because it was less cheap-looking and had a rougher sort of feel to it. I bought this along with my red one.

At this point I knew for sure that I did not want a rubbery silicone sort of case unless it was really, really good. I didn’t want a rubber case because I didn’t like the idea of lint getting stuck on it if I happened to put it in my pocket, and I didn’t like the idea of it getting caught on clothing because of its texture.

I also knew that I didn’t really want a case with bling or gems, because I am known to throw my phone around and drop it a lot. I couldn’t afford to spend a lot on a phone case that would just fall apart. Not to mention, those bling cases are only for show, and don’t really provide the phone with adequate protection.

Hello Kitty

Kitty gave me a $10 Amazon gift card and I used it to purchase this little gem. This was almost the perfect phone case, and even now, I don’t think I have the perfect phone case. This Hello Kitty number came with some home button stickers, and came in a range of different colours, but this looked the best. I didn’t realise there was a red one (!!) until a few months later when I browsed Amazon again — but the red didn’t look too appealing anyway.

The sliding style of the case made it a great fit, however, because of the tight fit, the bottom half of the case began to crack from all the stress. Another issue was the bow on the back, which became annoying when I wanted to put my phone face-up on a table and type a text message. As the bow was raised, it meant that with every tap, my phone was just knocking on the table. It’s a small thing, but it irritated me.

However, the case was lovely and I had no issues with it otherwise.

Bee

After my Hello Kitty case cracked, I was disappointed and pondered getting another one, but knew I wasn’t completely happy with it, so decided against it. There was no point getting something I knew wasn’t good enough.

There was a sale at the market and I bought this bee case, a bit on a whim. I had actually dropped my phone twice that day, without a case. I got annoyed and decided to buy one. This one was only $5.

It came with a screen protector, but I don’t use one. I really liked the bee because of the cute ears and it was great that the case covered the front edges (which are already ruined from multiple drops). Because of the soft silicone case, though, it got dirty easily and I couldn’t rub the residue off. I use a black bag and a brown bag regularly so the colour transferred to the yellow and I wasn’t able to wash it off no matter what I used. The plastic backing on the case also peeled off, leaving it pretty ugly.

I liked this case because it was cute and because around the volume and power buttons, the case gave it a smooth covering.

Studded

Getting sick and bored of Ruby (which I began using again), I bought this for $4.95, going against my dislike for bling and cases that don’t cover the edges. I was out with Kim when I bought this and I spent too long looking at the cases that I felt compelled to buy one. This was white, and the bling was subtle, and I needed a change.

The bling also seemed to be stuck on underneath a case layer, basically meaning it was less likely for the gems to fall off.

What disappointed me is that because of the soft-touch silicone, the case caught dirt easily even though I cleaned it every day. I shouldn’t have picked white. Oh well.

Pink

I normally hate pink — though the other day I found out I only hate pink clothes because they’re not so flattering on me. Pink accessories don’t bother me so much.

This case cost $10 and there were many other combinations of colours including red/black, fuchsia/blue, pink/fuchsia. I loved the cool style and the feel of the case, which is similar to the Translucent one I have. The pink lines are just enough to add interest while not looking over-the-top.

The only issue I have had with this case so far is the way it covers the headphone hole. It doesn’t leave any space at all so most headphone jacks have trouble fitting in and I just have to pull the case off. I had a huge whinge to my parents, my brother Brandon, and James, about it… they were all telling me the case was the problem and I should snip or cut it a little bit. I was groaning that I didn’t want to ruin such a nice case and would prefer James cut the rubber around my earphones instead. He did that, but he didn’t want to do it to my Skullcandy headphones because it was not possible to do without ruining the headphones. I guess it’s not a bit deal, but that was a bit annoying.

Is this the perfect phone case? Haha no. I’m willing to bet I’ll have another one next month. I know people get very fussy over phone cases, and other people just like to have a selection so they can change it whenever they wish, but I can’t make up my mind and I’m just awfully picky. Does anyone out there have a preference for phone cases, or have interesting stories to share, or suggestions? Would love to hear them. :)