Things that suck

Well, wow. Just when I thought the Swedish mail couldn't disappoint me more than it already has... It did. 

I bought these Flexies in two orders, one back on the black Friday sale (!!) and that one didn't show up until two weeks ago! That is how incompetent, awful and deliberately useless the Swedish mail is. 

I thought of composing the timeline of exactly how bad this has been, including multiple rude and useless customer "service" reps contacts and a customs website that plain didn't work in any way whatsoever, but I think I have made my point. 3 months to get my order. 3! 

So that was one thing that has sucked really, really badly. 

The next thing is Lilla Rose.

They suck too.

They sucked as Flexi 8, and they suck as Lilla Rose.

All the way back in 2011, I wrote this to Flexi 8:

A fairly reasonable thought from a super-longhair, right? Like, a big part of their market... Right?

And... Basically what has turned into their Flexi Flip today... Right?

So, a really good idea from a customer, right?

Nope.

I received the following reply:

Basically: "LOL, are you sure you're not just too stupid to work our product correctly?!"

So condescending. They can hide behind nice words, but that's their message.

I especially liked the part where I'm being informed that the stick curves like it does because it "provides more comfort" despite me contacting them because it doesn't. 

Basically:

Me: "Hey, your product hurts me, but here is an idea to make it better"

Flexi 8: "No, you're wrong. Also, you're probably too stupid to use the product right. Here's how to use it correctly."

I refused to buy another Flexi for almost 10 years after this. 

Anyways. I was dumb enough to order more Flexies through their new website (New owner?) and using an affiliate link from someone I thought was a nice person, someone I had even talked to through Instagram before. Someone who even took the time to thank me directly for the order using her link.

The first order I received was actually the last one I ordered:

Two Flexi Flips, a hairstick and an XXL Flexi.

Notice how neatly all the products have been hand-crossed out on the order form. Check, check, check and check.

The flips are super tiny, even thought I bought the largest they had.

"EX compares to MD, LG, XL"

Meh. More like large maybe, definitely not the XL. 

In fact, it was so small that it hurt my hand trying to push it into my hair. Look at the bruising in my palm! Ouch.

They work for two smaller buns, not for a single one for me.

Begrudgingly I have to admit that the Flexi flip has amazing hold once it's forced in place.

I tried my best to get some good photos of the Flip-construction. 

Part of why it can "flip" is that it doesn't have a decorative centerpiece like the regular Flexies.

I would however be a little worried that the "semi-open" construction of the center piece would be really good at catching on hair. It would have been nice if it had been closed, but I can see how it's impossible to construct the Flexi without having an open centerpiece. I would want to turn the open part away from my hair.

Second part of why it can "flip" is that they have little indents to secure the "8" into on both sides of the stick-part.

It's nice to have the option of doing this.

But as I wrote in my original mail to Flexi almost a decade ago, this is something more needed for the extra large Flexies. As in: Not this size. More and heavier hair needs a larger and studier tool to hold it, and then you really need to distribute the weight a lot better. You especially need to stay clear of having a single contact point for the tool on your scalp. That's a lot of pressure on your scalp and hair. 

Still though. The "flip" is good for hold and stability.

A "true" XL and XXL Flexi flip would be very welcome though.

The hairstick I got for free was actually the prettiest part of the order, and the one I was most excited about. Simple with a nice choice of wood and a cute little bee-dangle.

Anyways. Back to things that suck. 

Remember how someone had neatly crossed out the products on the order form?

Yep. 

Someone put this abomination of a Flexi together without noticing how badly they had screwed the construction up. 

Someone packed it in a little plastic bag. 

Someone put it in my package.

Someone crossed it out on the order form.

And no one noticed the problem?

The stick can barely reach the decoration in the middle! How could they not have noticed it? It can't even close on itself, much less with any hair inside it.

And worst of all: When I contacted Flexi about this obvious production error, they ignored me.

I contacted the person with the affiliate link. She ignored me. Repeatedly. 

I contacted Lilla Rose by the email on their website. They ignored me. Repeatedly. 

I contacted them on Instagram. They ignored me. Repeatedly. 

And just to clarify: I went something like a week between each attempt to contact them.

Lilla Rose has a return policy with a time span for how long you can return your items, and since the Swedish mail was so useless and awful, I was over that time. Hence, why I needed to talk to them before returning the production error Flexi.

Not until I contacted them on Facebook, did they react. And then only to first "defend" themselves by saying they had nothing to do with my lack of replies the other places. After that, magically I got a reply by email from the website. 

Whatever.

I was obviously right to judge them for being awful back in 2011 and I should not have given them a second chance.

I will not ever give Lilla Rose/Flexi 8/whatever any of my money ever again. They have taken too much of my time, effort and money already.

The order I placed first was the order that I received last thanks to the Swedish mail:

The size difference in the Flexies is pretty fascinating to me.

Regular XXL (Gingerbread man design)

Flip EX (Green and blue beads)

Regular medium (Fly Agaric design)

Regular Small (Seahorse)

The medium and small are almost identical in sizes!

And look at the size difference between the XXL and the Flip EX, which "compares to MD, LG, XL" according to Lilla Rose. 

According to Lady Igor, the Flexi Flip compares to a large regular Flexi. No more, no less.

The ones I was most interested in were the leather or fabric based Flexies, and they turned out to be pretty nice. The wooden sticks actually match the colours really well. 

I really like that this one doesn't have any weird bling or details that can get caught in your hair!