The £300 Hair Dryer - Is It Worth It?

Of all the tech products we own at home, the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer seems the most extravagant. After all, my eyes bulge at the thought of spending even £80 on a curling iron, let alone £300 (the Dyson Supersonic currently retails at £299.99 at John Lewis) for a hair dryer.

But one year on, what do I really think about it?

We were driving up to my father-in-law's last weekend, when I mentioned that I'd "packed the Dyson". John frowned. "What do you mean?" He thought I meant our vacuum cleaner (that's "hoover" to you Brits), which would have been funny - showing up at his dad's house with a vacuum in hand. "I mean the hair dryer," I said.

Because really, if we're travelling within the UK, I take it with me everywhere (I even took it with us to Lime Wood). As luxe as any hotel may be, I know the hair dryers in the rooms and spa just won't cut it against the Dyson Supersonic.

Just to give you a bit of context, I have short/shoulder-length thick, straight hair. It takes quite a while to dry, but I use one of those quick-dry turban towel things as soon as I step out of the shower to absorb most of the moisture.

I also wash my hair most days, so that's something to consider as well as you read my review. John hated the sound of my Babyliss hair dryer and the length of time it took me to dry my hair, particularly as I shower in the evenings and it would often drag bed time into the late hours, despite him having to get up for work at 5:30 a.m.

So, one day, he marched us over to John Lewis and demanded (more like, asked politely, because it's John) to try the Dyson Supersonic. The funny thing was, their display model wasn't working that day, but we were so insistent about trying it that the John Lewis staff ended up calling an electrician to fix the electrical outlet so we could give it a test run!

A few minutes later, John headed to the till, Dyson Supersonic tucked under his arm.

So, here are some facts about this pricey gadget:

- 3 precise settings for fast drying, regular drying, and styling
- 4 precise heat settings 
- Airflow of 41 litres per second
- Weight of 618 grams
- Negative ions to reduce static

The Dyson Supersonic comes with a non-slip mat and a storage hanger, plus three diffusers (one for curly hair).

Pros:

- Significantly reduces drying time. While it previously took me about 10 - 15 minutes to thoroughly dry my hair, it now takes approximately 4 - 5 minutes (I've timed it!).

- Comfortable to hold. As the motor's in the handle, the dryer has a nice balance to it - my arm doesn't get tired holding it up!

- Relatively compact and stylish in design. It's easy to pack because it's not long or heavy.

- Magnetic nozzles/diffusers. I love the magnetic nozzles that are easy to pop on/off. On most days, I don't bother using the narrow diffuser (because I'm lazy), so I keep the wider nozzle on (though John takes it off every time he uses it, grr!). But when I want my hair to be shiny, sleek, and pin straight, the narrow nozzle really does the trick.

- Quieter than most hair dryers. The noise is definitely more pleasant than the roar of my previous hair dryer.

Cons:

- Chips easily. If you're clumsy like me, then you'll need to be careful - I've dropped this twice by my dressing table and a bit of the paint has chipped off (don't tell John!).

- It's not that quiet. I think one of the earlier claims (though I'm too lazy to Google the quote/article to support this claim) about the Dyson Supersonic was that you could hold a conversation with someone at a "normal" volume while using it. You can certainly do that at the lowest setting, though you do need to raise your voice on the middle setting (which I use most) and you'd certainly be shouting if you were chatting on the highest setting. Still, it's much quieter compared to the previous hair dryers I've owned (plus, because the drying time is significantly reduced, you're using it for less time).

So, would I recommend the Dyson Supersonic? Yes, yes, yes - a thousand times yes. Especially if you have thick hair like me and you spend a lot of your time washing, drying, and styling it. Is it worth the price point? If you use it to the extent that I do, then yes, but if not, then maybe stick with a Babyliss or GHD model.

Do you own a Dyson Supersonic hair dryer? What do you think of it? If not, would you think about buying it? I'm curious to know!

Floral Street

Nestled between Petersham Nurseries and Sandro on Covent Garden's fashionable King Street is the newest kid on the block, Floral Street - a gorgeous fragrance boutique founded by Michelle Feeney (best known for her role in bringing MAC cosmetics and that St Tropez glow-in-a-bottle to the UK).

You might have seen their beautifully designed bottles on Instagram already (which is where I originally spotted them), but the store itself is a treat to explore, especially if - like me - you've grown tired of the same fragrance brands popping up everywhere.

I've been wearing Neon Rose lately: a fresh, clean fragrance that's wearable in every season. Not too sweet or overly floral, it smells sophisticated - the kind of scent that makes your head turn when someone walks by. Its "hero flowers" are cyclamen, apple blossom, and bergamot, but its ingredients also contain a delicate blend of peach nectar, crisp amber, juniper berry, cassis kir, jasmine Egypt, white cedarwood and Sichuan pepper, for added depth and dimension.

Floral Street's fragrances range from fresh and flirty to dark and intriguing. I sat at their fragrance "bar" last week and sampled every bottle, wrinkling my nose at the thought of "Wild Vanilla Orchid" but exclaiming, "Wow!" as soon as I tried it, as none of the scents in Floral Street's collection can be placed in the box their names suggest. In this instance, the sweetness of vanilla is offset by bamboo, jasmine, sandalwood, lemon, patchouli fraction and red orchid, making it one of those scents you return to sniff again and again, because you couldn't quite believe it the first time around.

So, if you've been pounding the streets and department stores searching in vain for a new "signature" fragrance, I'd highly recommend a visit to Floral Street for something a bit different - and something you'll fall in love with, as I did.

Did I mention they also make scented stationery? The Wonderland Peony scented notebook smells like a dream and would make a great gift (the candles are on my wishlist too, and the perfume is sold in a purse-friendly 10 ml size as well).

What are your favorite fragrances?

Neon Rose perfume courtesy of Floral Street. All opinions are my own. Shop the collection online and at Floral Street, 30 King Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8JD.

Skincare for the Stars: Erno Laszlo

I've always suffered from problematic skin: from ezcema when I was young, which left dry, scaly red patches on the apples of my cheeks, to hormonal cystic acne, which plagued me as a teen and well into adulthood. At the moment, I'm the not-so-proud owner of classic combination skin: oily in the T-zone and dry everywhere else.

The kind folks over at Erno Laszlo (the famed skincare brand beloved by Hollywood celebrities like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe) caught wind of my skincare drama and sent over a collection of products for me to try, which was super exciting for me, as I've been a long-time admirer of the brand, having seen it stocked at Harrods and Harvey Nichols. 

Dr. Laszlo is perhaps most well known for his "double cleanse" method. The two-piece oil and soap bar sets target different skincare concerns and I tried the Hydra-Therapy duo to "hydrate and nourish". Unlike other cleansing oils, this one doesn't emulsify into a milky substance. Instead, you're supposed to massage the oil onto dry skin first, then - wet the bar of soap - and directly apply the bar to your face.

It felt a little strange to do this at first, but Dr. Laszlo clearly knew what he was doing, because together, the oil and soap are the magic combination - leaving my skin soft and cleansed, ready for the next step.

Of course, by day four of my Erno Laszlo trial, I was feeling lazy and wanted to skip the cleansing in favor of a quick swipe of hot-water-on-a-cloth, but was immediately reminded of Dr. Laszlo's stern adage, "Beautiful skin requires commitment, not a miracle." Which I found both cutting and highly amusing. It reminded of that time I went to get a facial and the aesthetician asked me how many glasses of water I drank and how many "leafy green vegetables" I consumed per day and I mumbled something like, "1, 2 ... like, I mean, I eat salad and stuff ... sometimes ..." and she barked, "How can you expect to improve the outside if you're not helping the inside?" before I shrank into the treatment room like a crab disappearing under a rock.

But I digress.

After a full week of using the double cleanse method, I noticed that my skin stopped getting so oily in the afternoon and dry in the evenings. It looked and felt more balanced.

But for me, the real winner was the Hydra-Therapy Refresh Infusion Serum - a light, non-sticky (it's almost like water) serum that claims to "work on three levels to restore and preserve precious moisture". I typically apply serums and facial oils after my toner and before my moisturiser, so I tried this shortly after cleansing and, you know what? My face felt incredibly smooth and lasted that way for the whole day (definitely just touched my cheeks right now to test it out again). I typically use one pump of this in the morning, but it's something I'll definitely be purchasing when I run out.

Lastly, I've been using the Hydra-Therapy Memory Sleep Mask at night to help give me that extra moisture boost I need at the end of the day. I'm a huge fan of sleep masks (as long as I give them a minute or two to sink in, they don't leave any residue on my pillow and I wake up with nourished, glowing skin) and this one, though a little less effective than the one I normally use, was a great alternative to have on hand. My skin drank it up and I still woke with some dry patches in the morning, so I might need to work on drinking more water towards the end of the day (probably) and perhaps use a bit more product, as I've been a little conservative in my application.

An important lesson I learned when I was in my twenties was that investing in good, quality skincare is worth it - whether it's one dedicated set of products you return to again and again with no parabens or phthalates, or a range of cleansers, moisturisers and mists on rotation that just work for you.

What's your skincare routine like? I'd love to know! My mom has amazing skin ... and she just washes with a hot flannel and uses cold cream after! I wish mine was as low-maintenance, but alas ... I didn't inherit her glow.

All products provided courtesy of Erno Laszlo, a brand I love and use. All opinions are my own. Shop Erno Laszlo in the UK here.