Spigen Liquid Crystal Glitter case for Galaxy S10 review: Shining, shimmering, splendid case

You may think that you have no interest in this case because it's a girly, frou-frou glitter case. You may think Spigen's Liquid Crystal Glitter case is only fit for text-crazy tweens who like boy bands and bedazzlers, but you're dead wrong. Just as Supergirl is stronger than her straightedge cousin, the Liquid Crystal Glitter is longer-lasting while being every bit as protective and durable as its Liquid Crystal Air cousin, and it looks 20% better while hiding more blemishes and critical information from the judging eyes of the world.

In short, the Spigen Liquid Crystal Glitter is a badass beauty.

And you should rock one with me.

The Good

  • Glitter hides fingerprints, smudges, and IMEI info
  • Slim but protective
  • Reactive button covers
  • Wide bottom port cutouts

The Bad

  • Could use more color options

Shimmer and glimmer

Spigen Liquid Crystal Glitter case for Galaxy S10 What shines brightest

The Spigen Liquid Crystal Glitter is a single-layer TPU case with glitter embedded straight into the Thermoplastic PolyUrethane. While that sounds like a simple thing to do, let me assure you that this is an impressive feat! Spigen has selected a glitter that isn't so small that it becomes invisible, but the flakes aren't so big as to detract from the shiny flagship inside. The density of glitter is even and compact enough that not a single square centimeter of this phone lacks for glitter, but the phone is still easily visible underneath.

It's perfectly balanced, as all things should be. The port cutouts on the bottom edge allow ample room for fat USB-C adapters and aux cables, but the cutouts around the cameras and pinhole mics are tight and wonderfully sculpted. Side grip is decent, and while the back could be a tiny bit more grippy, it's not bad on its own, and once I got one of my precious few Swappable PopSockets installed, I had zero issues gripping the back to twist the PopTop off for wireless charging at night.

As mentioned before, the glitter has many uses besides being pretty as a princess, and chief among them is hiding blemishes, both on the S10 and on the case itself. You don't see smudges or small scratches on the Liquid Crystal Glitter case the way you would on the Liquid Crystal Air, and if your S10 already has some scratches or small spiderwebbed corners because — well, let's just say mistakes were made and leave it at that — then you can hide them underneath the shining, shimmering distraction that is prismatic glitter.

The glitter also obscures the IMEI and FCC information that Samsung just had to stick permanently on the back of the phone rather than hiding it in the SIM/SD tray, which I am very thankful for. Stealing your IMEI might not get unsavory characters too much, I prefer to obscure any device information that could be used to blacklist or brick the device if a prankster gets bored and mean.

Spigen Liquid Crystal Glitter case for Galaxy S10 The smudges

Rainbows and smudges

The glitter hides the appearance of fingerprints and dirt on your Spigen Liquid Crystal Glitter, but it doesn't hide the feel said grime will build up on your clear case over time. It's easy enough to wipe the case down every few weeks — it's not an overnight buildup the way it is on some inferior clear cases — but I wish antimicrobial coatings on cases were a more widespread and effective thing.

About the only other complaint I could make of the Liquid Crystal Glitter is a complaint I make of most Spigen cases: I want more color options. The Liquid Crystal Glitter comes in two flavors: clear Crystal Quartz and a cheery pink Rose Quartz. If you have a black, white, or Flamingo Pink Galaxy S10, the Rose Quartz is great, and it doesn't look too out of place on my Prism Blue model, but I'd really love a green, blue, or a nice lavender for these cases to help spice things up.

A nice shimmery green with the Prism Blue S10 would make for a killer mermaid case, am I right? Am I right??

Spigen Liquid Crystal Glitter case for Galaxy S10

Glittery

This case may be glittery and girly, and you know what? That's perfectly fine. This case is just as powerful as its plain clear cousin while being better looking and better at hiding flaws, which makes the Spigen Liquid Crystal Glitter the only clear case you should buy. Rock the glitter instead of sweaty fingerprints!

5 out of 5

The Spigen Liquid Crystal Glitter is more than worth the extra couple of bucks to get a glitter case that hides scratches, scuffs, smudges, and shatters with grace and guile. And if you want to give it a one-two knockout punch of pizzazz, pair it with a Metallic Diamond PopSocket, like I have. Glitter and grip go hand in hand, after all!

Spigen Liquid Crystal Glitter case for Galaxy S10

This diamond of a case shines bright enough to obscure scuffs, scratches and smudges while still letting the S10's natural beauty shine through. The Liquid Crystal Glitter improves on the original in every way.

Ara Wagoner

Ara Wagoner was a staff writer at Android Central. She themes phones and pokes YouTube Music with a stick. When she's not writing about cases, Chromebooks, or customization, she's wandering around Walt Disney World. If you see her without headphones, RUN. You can follow her on Twitter at @arawagco.