I’m a sucker for chic packaging. I also covet messy, undone, cool-girl hair, so like every other editor at the launch party for Kristin Ess‘s new hot tools line, it was love at first site. Ess, if you’re unfamiliar, caters to the hair of a long list of celebrities you’ve probably used as inspo for a haircut at some point: Jenna Dewan, Lucy Hale, and Lili Reinhart are all among her clients. The tools, like her low-maintenance hair care products, are both her super beautiful and affordable—nothing is over $100—and all available at Target.

The lineup features all the standards. There’s a dryer, flat irons, and curling irons of various sizes—all in a very Instagrammable white and rose gold palette, and all something you’d want to use. But the real standout is her Soft Wave Pivoting Wand Curling Iron. It’s got a 1¼ inch barrel, which is perfect for creating looser waves, and no clamp—like a typical wand. Where things get interesting, though—as the name states—is the fact that the barrel is able to pivot; meaning you can use it as a standard vertical wand, or you can click it into place at a 90 degree angle, converting it into a curling bar.

The iron is designed to pivot to take stress off your arms, and I definitely found it easier to work with than curlers I’ve used in the past. I’m not great at styling my hair and haven’t reached for a curling iron since prom, but using this one was shockingly simple.

I always end up either wrapping my hair too tightly or clamping it in a weird place, resulting in pageant curls or creases. But because of the angle, you’re almost forced to loosely drape your hair around the barrel, creating those cool beachy waves the women on Ess’s Instagram always have.

At the launch event, when the stylist used the iron on me, she actually wrapped my hair around the iron while twisting it (starting with the iron upright and ending with my hair around the barrel at 90 degrees), creating a softer effect she referred to as “bending,” instead of curling. I, however, am not as dexterous or talented, and found it much easier to just keep the iron bent except for when curling the part of my hair that frames my face—there, I use it like a regular wand. It does take a minute to get used to the shape (I burned my finger but I also neglected the included protective glove), but once I got the motions down, I was able to curl my whole head in about 15 minutes.

The results? Those perfect, messy, voluminous waves I’m always chasing. Maybe I’m a curling iron girl after all.

Kristin Ess Soft Wave Pivoting Curling Iron, $60, target.com

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–The 7 Biggest Curling Iron Mistakes You’re Making—And How to Avoid Them

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