This is my first fancy flat iron. I've had a few cheapies and thought that they were all created equal... but was I wrong! There is no comparison and I will never go back. My first amazement is how soft my hair is after I use it to flatten my hair. My old one made the ends of my hair brittle and prickly. I have pretty coarse asian hair, so I thought this was just the way my hair is naturally after straightening. After one use of the Amika flat iron, my hair is smooth and soft. The floating plates keep from pulling my hair too much but keep a good grip to either flatten or curl my hair. Also the Amika styler's top tip doesn't get so hot where you can't hold it to get an extra grip. My other ones got too hot to handle sometimes. I'll definitely be using this for many different styles from curls to pin straight to waves.

My only complaint about this flat iron is that it doesn't seem to be as warm as the 'max' heat setting says it is. But it works better than the expensive brand flat iron I've used for years and left no static like my old one did. Plus, it's ADORABLE! Who doesn't love peacock feathers!?

This is my favorite tool for styling my hair. It is so easy to use and versatile. Whether I want stick straight hair or shiny spirals, this styler does it perfect and the ceramic plates are gentle on my hair. Amika is an awesome brand, and they have clear tutorials on their website that show how to use their products. It took me a little practice to get the curliing method down, but the time and money were well spent on this tool since it cut down on the amount of tools I have to carry around to get the same desired affects.