Now, you may remember me sharing a certain Mario themed wallpaper I made a few days ago. Well on that same day, I encountered Gelaskins, who promise to create skins for iPhones (and a plethora of other devices) using your own designs. Taking this as a sign, I decided to see how my Mario design would look  as an iPhone skin.

It’s finally arrived all the way from Canada eh, taking just over a week, though I’m sure this was not helped by the recent Royal Mail postal strikes. Thoughts and photos after the break.

Your Gelaskin will come well packaged inside a hard, cardboard envelope and attached to some backing paper. Don’t throw this away, because your skin can be reused if you reattach it to the backing.

You’ll get some other documentation in the envelope as well, including an option to download various free iPhone wallpapers from the Gelaskins website, or via their free iPhone Application. If you’ve ordered one of their many listed artist designs, and not a custom one, you’ll be able to get the matching wallpaper this way. I’ll provide a brief run through of the application procedure:

After giving the back of my iPhone a good clean, so that there’s no dirt to cause any lumps or other imperfections, I’m ready to apply the skin. Simply a matter of removing it from its backing and then lining up the precut hole for the camera lens. Once that’s all done, press down. It’s probably a good idea to start with the two top corners and then work your way down.

In honesty, it took me four attempts to get it perfect. It’s a bit fiddly lining up the sides so the skin covers the entire thing symmetrically. But then i’m also a bit of a perfectionist.

Due to the rounded corners of the iPhone, these can be a bit finnicky to get completely smooth, but a bit of perseverence and you should be able to succeed. You can see in the photo below where it’s slightly raised – using a finger nail I was able to ‘iron’ this out eventually.And here’s the end result for my trials.

Having had the skin on my iPhone for the past day, I must say the experience has been rather positive. Originally, I had my iPhone in a Griffin Reveal case, which, although a relatively thin case, did add some bulk to the form factor. Since applying the skin, I’ve now removed the case, so getting used to the iPhone’s svelte body has taken some getting used to again. It’s a shame that the skin doesn’t cover the entirety of the iPhone’s back, specifically the top and bottom. You can see why this is the case though, as being able to apply a skin to the entirety of a curved surface is nigh on impossible without it being some kind of hardened shell. As it stands, the skin adds no bulk whatsoever, and will protect the back of your iPhone from surface scratches when laying it on tables and the like. Of course, it also adds a touch of personality.

I found the print quality to be very good; Gelaskin prints on 3M vinyl, and this feels robust. I would say the print is a touch on the dark side, and I can say this with a degree of confidence having had my monitor calibrated using professional tools. It’s only a slight niggle, and obviously is more noticable due to my design being on the bright side of the spectrum. The 3M vinyl also has some texture to it, a sort of checkered feel, which is something I like. It gives the back of the iPhone more grip, which is a good thing for such an expensive device. I tried to take a photo with close-up filters to show this ‘texture’ but it did a better job of showing the dust around my window.

Other than a few minor detractions, I’m pleased with the quality of Gelaskin’s iPhone skin. I just wish my iPhone was white now, so it would blend in more seamlessly. I’ll make sure my next design is on black for this very reason.

A custom Gelaskin will set you back $14.95 with an additional $5.95 for postage and packing to the UK.