The current trend in smartphone material is to either produce devices with metal encasing like the HTC One line, or offer various finishes like the Moto X. If you decide to go for another brand or model, you are out of luck and have to resort to accessories to personalize your phone. Enter skin decals, and Slickwraps.

When my review LG G2 Gold flake ebony wood skin from Slickwraps arrived, I was quite anxious to try it out. I am personally a case person, and testing a skin for the first time felt like an interesting experiment.

On paper, this seemed like an inexpensive way to glorify the material of the G2, which is unabashedly plastic, slimy, and shiny. It was also an opportunity to stand out and show a unique product. I had to apply it, use it, and form my own opinion.

Installation

Applying the Slickwrap was fast and easy. The LG G2 skin is comprised of three pieces, two that go on both sides of the screen, and one that covers the back. The Slickwrap ships with a cleaning cloth and instructions. I wiped my G2 clean, and simply pealed off the different elements, aligned them well and applied them to the phone. I had to take off the back cover part once because I had placed it in a slightly skewed position, it peeled with a little tug but was quick to readjust and apply.

3 sking elements, a cleaning cloth and a small instructions card

When applied, the skin doesn’t add any perceptible thickness to the phone, unlike the slimmest of cases. The ebony wood model I got didn’t just impersonate the look, but also the slightly rough feel of raw wood.

Slickwraps barely adds any thickness to the phone

Protection and Style

Of course a skin won’t be enough to protect any phone from drops, but it is very useful against scratches. The Slickwrap held well when being thrown in a purse, pocket, on a desk, and so on. The material didn’t scratch or discolor, and obviously the phone below it was still immaculate.

After days of use, the wrap was as good as new

As for the style factor, my G2’s certainly tripled with it on. No longer was it a nondescript phone with odd buttons on the back, it became a classy wooden ebony phone with beautiful golden veins. People would ask if I bought a new smartphone or what model that was, a sign that it was being noticed more often.

Wood. Everywhere.

Imperfections

One issue I faced with the Slickwrap for my LG G2 was its flat design, designed to go against the whole back of the phone, versus the G2’s slightly curved side. This resulted in the skin applying perfectly on most of the phone, but overflowing around the corners. I resorted to cutting a small diagonal on all four corners, smoothing out the skin along the length of each side, then overlapping the corners a bit. That resulted in a visible (if you looked really closely) imperfection.

The overflowing can be mostly seen on the top edges on my LG G2, slightly next to the corners

Another missed aspect was the lack of a skin element for the G2’s sides, although that did allow the phone’s chrome-colored rim to still be visible.

The sides aren’t skinned – both a positive and a negative

I should note though that the overflow issue shouldn’t exist with most other Slickwrap models for phones with flatter backs. Some devices even have more intricate skin elements that wrap around every side, leaving no visual reminder of the original material.

Verdict

Small imperfection aside, Slickwrap is a beautiful and affordable way to protect your phone against scratches without impeding on its design — quite the opposite, it adds style to it. I went for the ebony wood design, but there are more colors on offer on the site, including carbon fiber, leather and metal.

I wouldn’t recommend this as the only protection method if you tend to be clumsy and drop your phone often, but it should do the job if you usually carry your phone naked and don’t want to risk getting it scratched. The personalization options are just cherries on the top.