[unpaid/sample] Let me start with the bare fact that any hair dryer will dry your hair. A super swishy one isn’t one of life’s essentials but if you’re in the mood to upgrade, Dyson has competition. I am a die-hard Dyson fan, having fully expected this expensive upstart to be just like any other in performance albeit with a slightly different shape but that’s not the case. It’s quiet, it’s fast and I genuinely do think it helps to keep my hair in better condition. It’s lasted six years with no sign of falling silent and was £299 back then (it was a sample).

The MDLondon Blow is the first one of this newer, more ergonomically shaped breed that has come under my radar but it’s by no means the only one. This is the new shape and a quick Google of ‘newest hair dryers’ will bring up a whole host of similarly shaped designs. Hersheson’s has just brought out an incredibly similar version to the MDLondon – in fact, it’s hard for the lay person to know what might be different not least because their measuring metrics are slightly different. Hersheson’s is £295, MDLondon Blow is £195 and the former is slightly lighter. Both are far less weighty than a ‘normal’ dryer.

The MDLondon Blow is much quieter than your regular hair dryer – it’s on a par with Dyson, perhaps a little quieter but ‘sings’ at a slightly higher pitch. Neither are what you would call noisy so there isn’t really a comparison with the usual jet take-off sound that comes from many dryers. The speed and weight is what swings it for me – this is so light (and small, smaller than a Dyson by some way) which makes it eminently packable for when you know the hotel dryer won’t do. You can breeze this around your head without the familiar shoulder ache setting in and that makes it advantageous for mobility issues where holding heavy things, and holding them up, is very difficult. I would give it room in my carry-on whereas I never take my Dyson away because that space is needed for another pair of shoes.

Although it feels like a crazy price for a hair dryer, the fact is that dryers have gone super luxe and got better at the same time. It’s not just a question of a nice colour or shape – performance is certainly enhanced. The MDLondon Blow Hair Dryer has three heat settings, 1600w for speed, a three year guarantee, two smoothing nozzles and three air flow settings (I’ve never been on anything less than full!). The diffuser attachment is £25 extra (Hersheson’s comes within the set). The timing is great for the Christmas market – these will be all over TikTok and Instagram like a rash so I’d expect high demand. There are two shades – khaki and blue – which again, I like – they’re more interior shades than gadget shades and if you’ve got a perfectly serviceable dryer that you love, you won’t ‘need’ this. But if you adore gadgets and ergonomic tools, it’s hard to resist. You can find it HERE.