From the product photo I thought the case was either purple, or clear & shown on a purple phone. I have the purple iPhone (my previous iPhone was the most perfect, almost nude, shade of sheer pink with champagne gold edges that were rounded instead of flat ? — sorry, I’m still sore about needing to replace it) so it doesn’t match with a lot of the clear covers I like. I wanted the purple edged floral bear cover, but I can only find it for the 13. All that to say this wasn’t my first choice of cover … or my first choice of iPhone color.But when the cover arrived I was very pleasantly surprised. There is an ombré gradient all around the bear cutout, from a light/medium dusty blue, to a a dusty aqua/teal, to pale mint, to “griege.” I LOVE the colors & am super picky about my blues (esp since it is my favorite color). And it’s just sooo so so much cuter than just having the whole back be purple, except for the bear faces of course.The material is a firm, matte plastic. My previous case was a silicone type & I could never slide it in my pocket bc it would always stick to my pants. This case is super smooth, while also having enough texture not to slip out of my hands (which happens a lot thanks to my toddler always trying to gank my phone).My only area of concern is that the lip around the screen is almost flush. I thought I liked that better, until we had an all night blackout & I dropped my phone tripping over something in the dark. My phone just happened to land on its face & the bottom corner that hit first got a crack. Now I think having a deeper case might actually be better … ??‍♀️. I guess I’ll find out the next time I drop it. Oh, I wanted to clean my apple after I put it on, but since it didn’t just pop right off (surprisingly), I decided better not to mess with it. So it stays on pretty well despite being shallow — but it wasn’t difficult to get on either.Oh!!! The buttons. Omg. So they are basically flush with the sides, so you really can’t feel the indentations when you run your finger along them. (Except for silent mode has a tiny hole, but that’s actually more of a switch & not a button.) The case buttons have a tiny bit of texture, prob to give some sort of grip when pressing. I *hate* when cases have buttons that don’t work; it’s been a pet peeve ever since one case that I had to remove to adjust my volume. These buttons are so impressively legit I’ve actually turned my phone to full volume twice already, just by holding my phone. Like I didn’t even press anything, like I normally have to. Didn’t even feel a click of any kind. I mean, yeah, they’re hella sensitive … but I’d rather have that than the opposite.And the left ear (if you’re looking at it from the back; right ear if you’re looking at your screen) is hollow. So if you like to add a handle or hanging charms, you can. It’s also a tiny bit bigger than the other ear, in case asymmetry drives you crazy.Overall, I am super glad I went with this case!! So cliché, I know … but also so true. I am absolutely smitten with this design. Plus being able to actually put my phone in my pocket again is just so satisfying. Win win win all the way around.I will update if it doesn’t protect my phone.