Enrapture Encode Totem Styler: Part I

Enrapture Encode Totem Styler · $96 (eBay)

After countless hours of trying to find the best curling iron out there, I was introduced to the Enrapture Totem. Lots of UK bloggers and vloggers have raved about how incredible this tool is so I decided that I needed to try it. The downside of this was that it's not readily available in the US so I had to order from overseas and finding a seller who had one was kind of a nightmare. It also has a UK plug, but luckily we still had some UK to US adapters in the house, ha.

From first glance you can see that this isn't just an ordinary curling iron. There are three separate chambers in the barrel that have their own heat settings allowing you to create tons of different styles. Setting the iron to 1-1-1 will give you soft boho-like curls and waves whereas 3-3-3 would give you super tight curls (almost like banana curls). Setting it to 1-1-3 would give you soft curls at the top and middle and tighter curls at the bottom. There are so many different choices to play with which is why this is such a fun and lovely tool. It heats up quickly, has a stand, and also comes with an adorable carrying case which doubles as a heat mat (clever!).

My first trial with this didn't go so well (but I was also having a bad hair day/was trying on just washed hair which never works well for me) so I'm going to give it another chance. I'm also just not used to using this which I'm sure is a huge part of the problem.  Everyone says second day hair is better for curling, so as day two rolls around I'll give it another go an post my results here. I do really love this so far, so my fingers are crossed that it works out.

Finding the perfect flat iron (Part I): GHD Purple Peacock

 GHD Gold Series Purple Peacock · $225 @ Sephora 

I've had my CHI Turbo for since 2003 — it still works perfectly but I'm afraid that it'll die on me any day now and I won't have a backup. My hair is sooo thick and curly and sometimes wearing it natural just isn't an option.

While at Sephora I spotted this little beauty which happened to be the last one and really wanted to give it a try. I've heard nothing but good reviews so I figured why not (also Sephora's return policy is amazing).

I was immediately impressed with how fast it heated up; it took less than a minute!  Once I started to straighten I noticed that my hair was definitely very straight but also very dry (and not soft at all!). After doing a semi-big section + my bangs I just had to stop — my ends felt like straw and I didn't want to do any more damage than I already had. I was honestly soooo upset because I had read so many amazing reviews but this iron was just not working with my hair AT ALL. I do think main reason was that I didn't have control over the temperature and with hair like mine, I've got to have that control.

I wasn't about to risk the health of my hair for this gorgeous straightener, so I took it back to Sephora today and exchanged it for a few other things (I mean, this is only part 1) ;)

All in all, while the GHDs seem to get great reviews I'm not sure they're the right tool me and my hair temperamental hair type. However, this does seem like a tool that would be great for straight/wavy haired girls who don't really need the all the extra settings. What do you guys think of GHDs?