It is the time of the year when we pause to reflect back…blah blah blah, here’s the stuff I was most obsessed with over the past 12 months. :)
HANA Air Dryer Review
Recently I was contacted by Misikko about reviewing the HANA Air Dryer. I’ve been using it for a little while and I’m ready to share my thoughts with you!
First let me just tell you a little about the dryer itself. This is a premium, top of the line salon tool! It has 2 speeds and 3 heat settings plus cold shot. They claim the tourmaline-lined ceramic heater will dry your hair up to 60% faster, and that the antibacterial ion technology conditions your hair and adds shine. The motor is extremely powerful– producing the equivalent of 2300 watts, and low noise. It comes with a fiberglass concentrator attachment, but I don’t see a diffuser that is made for it. That’s not a huge deal for me, but for you curly girls out there or for those of you who like to use one, that is something to consider. Here are my thoughts on the dryer itself up against what I expect/desire from a hair dryer:
Weight/Feel
I definitely don’t want a tool to feel cheap in my hand, but I don’t want it to feel like I’m holding a brick either. Let’s be honest, your arms can get tired if you’re stuck drying your hair with a massive beast of a hair dryer! This dryer is definitely bigger and heavier than my T3, but it’s not so heavy that it causes problems or discomfort. According to HANA it’s “gyroscopically balanced” – no idea what that means, but apparently it makes it easier to work with. It also has a very long (12′) cord that swivels.
Settings
This dryer has one of the coolest features of any dryer I’ve used – the cold shot button can be turned on and off without having to hold it down. I LOVE that. The speeds are good, nothing out of the ordinary, and the heat settings are perfect. The warm setting is a true warm. It’s not too hot. I’m kind of a sissy; if it’s too hot I won’t use it. This is comfortable. :)
Performance
This dryer is insane. It dries my hair really fast. Now I freaking love my T3 Pro, but this dryer is more powerful and dries my hair faster. However, it’s heavier and much louder than my T3. The product description for the HANA Air says it’s quiet, and that’s just not true. It’s loud. It’s very loud. Quiet compared to what I wonder?? The good qualities far outweigh the loudness for me, but your priorities may be different.
Bottom line is this is a BAMF hair dryer. It’s pretty amazeballs. I’m a fan. I’d never heard of HANA before being contacted by Misikko, but this is a great dryer and if their flat irons are anything like the dryer they’re probably wonderful too. I also received the HANA ShineShield serum, but I’ve decided I actually want to review that separately so that will be upcoming. I’m not completely sold on it yet so I want to play around with using it before I do a review. ;)
The price of this dryer is going to be a deal-breaker for some. Retail price is $334.99. It’s currently on sale for $194.99, but even at the sale price that’s still a large chunk of change. The HANA Air dryer is not out of the realm of normal prices for a high-end hair dryer, and performs well enough to stand up to the high price, however.
Misikko
My experience with Misikko has been great! My dryer arrived packaged very nicely with some sweet extra goodies. They generously included the Paul Mitchell Awapuhi shampoo & conditioner. I don’t know if this product line was handpicked exactly for me or if it was just selected at random, but after reading up on it I think I will really like it! *fingers crossed* According to the website these products are ideal for adding body to fine hair, safe for color-treated hair, and moisturizing. I have dry, fine, color-treated hair. So if these were picked at random, lucky me! And if they weren’t, well then Misikko gets big hugs from me, because that’s really thoughtful. Either way I’m super appreciative and look forward to trying it out when I finish my Redken Smooth Down, which will be pretty soon!
This experience with Misikko has definitely made a good impression with me, but it did not in any way affect my review of the dryer. If your aim is to invest in the best professional hair dryer, this one would be a great choice.
Stuff I’m Trying Out
Helloooooo everyone! Just wanted to do a little update about stuff that I’m trying out right now or have tried recently. Sometimes products aren’t worth writing an entire review about but I still want to give you some quick thoughts in case you are considering them. But I will also have full in-depth reviews coming on a few of these as well.
Makeup!
I just got a bunch of Make Up For Ever Aqua Shadows – their new shadow pencils. LOVE so far!! I received 3 and they’re all lovely shades but I’ve really only had a chance to play with one of them, so a full review will come once I have been able to play with them all. But these are awesome!! If you’re thinking of trying one out, do it. :)
Earlier this month I randomly decided to buy some goodies from Tarte. I’ve been really into their Lipsurgence pencils lately, and I plan to do an overview/review of the ones I have soon (I have 3, soon to be more since I swapped for some). I also have a couple of new Amazonian Clay blushes to review, and one of their new (?) maracuja blush tints. Reviews reviews reviews!
The folks at Blanc to Noir sent me NYX‘s glide-on pencil in Jewel to review, and I quite like it. When I get a chance to take some pictures of it, I’ll have a review up. *crosses fingers* I really hope I have time to take product pics this weekend. Don’t worry poppets, they’re coming soon!!!!
Also going to be trying out a couple of lipsticks from Beauty Without Cruelty. I’ve only swatched these so far but the colors are lovely. And last but not least in the makeup category, I’m reviewing a lip product from It Cosmetics that I adore.
Hair!
Oooooohhh you guys. I have recently had the joy of receiving the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer to review from Misikko. The peeps at Misikko are SO nice, and so is this hair dryer. Holy cow. I believe with tools that you do get what you pay for, and though this dryer is expensive, it’s AWESOME. Definitely watch out for a full review coming soon! I’ll also be reviewing the HANA Shine Shield Thermal Protectant at the same time.
Skin!
I bit the bullet. Big time. I don’t know if I’m an idiot or just brave, LOL. But during the Lancome Friends & Family sale I decided to finally break down and try Visionnaire. Visionnaire is their advanced skin corrector that claims to target wrinkles, pores, and uneven skin tone. It retails for a whopping $84 though, so uh who wants to shell out that kind of cash?! For 20% off though I thought okay, fine. I’ll give it a shot. My first impression is that it seems to have a calming effect on my skin, which I like. It’s way too soon to tell if it’s doing anything for me though. I also got a large sample of their Clarifying Toner, which I really like even though it’s kind of “stingy” – do not get this stuff in your eyes – FOR REAL. It’ll hurt! But it makes my skin feel really clean and fresh.
Recently I tried Beauty Without Cruelty aromatherapy AHA lotion, which is said to be for face or body. I have a love hate relationship with the product, so I’ll be reviewing that in full later – too much to talk about now. It deserves its own review.
Of the things I mentioned I’m reviewing soon, what should I do first? Tell me!
