Drybar Buttercup Dryer review: a beauty editor assesses the sunny yellow tool

With its standout sunny yellow design, Drybar’s full-size dryer is an eye-catching hair tool that I assume has piqued your interest, given that you’ve arrived at this Drybar Buttercup Blow-Dryer review. Here I've shared my personal experience of using this dryer, drawing on my years of beauty editor experience testing hair tools.

Founded in 2010 in the States, Drybar began as a blow dry chain before expanding into hair tools and styling products a couple of years later. Today, many of these tools are well-loved among beauty experts (the Double Shot Blow Dryer Brush is one of my personal favourite hot brushes to style my hair at home and I also own The Wrap Party Curling Wand).

The Buttercup hair dryer is another of Drybar's well-designed tools that has amassed lots of positive reviews online. So, for a more in-depth look at this tool – and to see if it’s a contender for the best hair dryers – I put it through its paces for a thorough test to bring you a dedicated Drybar Buttercup Blow-Dryer review. Here’s what I make of the sunny yellow dryer. 

Drybar Buttercup Dryer specifications

• RRP: £139 
• Added extras: 2 narrow nozzles of different widths
• Weight: 510g
• Power: 1875W
• Cable length: 2.74m
• Warranty: 2 years

My first impressions of the Drybar Buttercup Dryer

Now, technically my first impressions were made ahead of the testing process, as it's a tool I'd used a while before writing this review. I’m a fan of Drybar’s cheerful yellow colour scheme and remember that, as with any of the brand's tools I've tried, this was the case when I first opened the box. Not only is it a nice, uplifting choice, but it stands out from its competitors on the market due to its fairly unique and recognisable branding.

Despite its fairly standard larger size (it wouldn't make one of the best travel hair dryers in terms of space-saving, but the Baby Buttercup Blow-Dryer has that covered), at just over 500g it's very light. This is something you can't help but notice the first time you pick it up, though I'd stress it's by no means flimsy. 

How does the Drybar Buttercup Dryer perform?

Full disclosure: in my usual styling routine, I don’t use a hair dryer if I’m creating a straighter style in my hair. It's naturally curly and so drying it completely smooth requires a good bit of tension. As my skills are nowhere near those of a professional hairdresser, I tend to use a 2-in-1 tool like one of the best hair dryer brushes to dry my hair in this way – and I personally prefer this method to drying and then styling with the best hair straighteners. 

But for the purpose of this feature and testing the results of the Buttercup Blow-Dryer's smoothing nozzles, I used the larger of the two and a separate (perhaps too small) round brush to dry my hair. My rudimentary styling skills aside, I was able to achieve a fairly smooth finish on each section while retaining a little of my hair’s natural volume in the process. 

I’ve also previously used the Buttercup dryer and Bouncer Diffuser (which doesn’t come as part of the bundle, but we’ll get to that later) as part of my testing for the best diffusers for curly hair. In other words, I’m pretty familiar with its results when drying my curly hair, too – for me, it yields bouncy and defined loose ringlets. 

Having very frizz-prone hair, I also never rough dry my hair as this encourages lots of it, so I can’t comment on how quickly this would blast hair dry in this way based on personal experience. As far as I can tell, though, this dries reasonably quickly and shouldn’t add time on to your usual styling routine if this is your usual blow-drying M.O.

Does the Drybar Buttercup Dryer come with any attachments?

The Drybar Buttercup Dryer comes with two attachments in the box. Both are concentrator nozzles, one slightly wider than the other, presumably to cater to different styling needs and preferences. Though this is fairly standard, a downside – and something that is very common with current hair dryers – is that you have to purchase the compatible diffuser, The Bouncer, separately. It is a good diffuser that works with some other dryers, but it’s a shame that it’s an additional £29 on top of the £139 for the hair dryer (and at the time of writing no comb attachment is available). This is a downside when you compare it to competitors like the Dyson Supersonic and BaByliss 2300 hair dryers, which include both of these attachments in the box as standard.

How does the Drybar Buttercup Dryer compare?

As mentioned, this dryer doesn’t go above and beyond with its attachments; two concentrator nozzles is pretty standard but far from the most add-ons you'll get with a hair dryer. But it is impressively light, especially considering it doesn’t look particularly so at a glance. 

Power-wise, the Buttercup Blow-Dryer's motor comes in a fairly impressive 1875 watts – not as much as the ultra-powerful 2200-watt ghd Helios Hair Dryer, but more than the Dyson Supersonic's 1600 watts. Because of this, while it's not excessively loud, it's far from one of the quietest hair dryers on the market, which is worth noting if you're hoping to purchase a tool that's not too noisy.

Another plus is the inclusion of ionic technology, which balances positive ions in water to reduce frizz. No matter which attachment I use to style my hair it isn't left excessively frizzy after using the Buttercup dryer, something that’s a priority for me having hair that’s prone to both dryness and frizz – so it clearly does its job.

Being completely honest, it’s not replaced my go-to Dyson Supersonic as the one I use when I’m not testing tools for work. But, given the smooth results and its well-designed compatible diffuser, should anything happen to the Supersonic I’d happily use it in the interim. There aren't many dryers I’d place above it in a list of my top 10 favourites. 

Should you buy the Drybar Buttercup Dryer?

If you want a tool that performs well but you can’t quite stretch to the price tag of the Dyson Supersonic (which is more than double the price of the Drybar Buttercup Dryer), this is a great all-rounder that costs under the £150 mark. It’s easy to manoeuvre, thanks to its lightweight design, and achieves nice smooth results. In the case of drying my hair curly when using the add-on diffuser attachment, using it yielded bouncy, well-defined curls. All in all, it’s a good dryer from a brand whose tools I’ve only ever had positive experiences with. 

About this review and the reviewer

Lucy has been writing for magazines for just shy of eight years, covering all things beauty for most of that time. During her career, she’s covered backstage of several London Fashion Weeks, picked the brains of some of the country’s leading hairdressers, dermatologists and makeup artists, and interviewed many a celebrity about the contents of their makeup bags – not to mention reviewed hundreds of beauty products. Hair tools are her bread and butter, and she’s tried dozens of hair dryers, straighteners, curling wands, tongs and co in her time, from the Dyson Airwrap to the ghd Glide. In other words, she’s very experienced in assessing these styling tools’ capabilities and knows what makes a great one (as well as a not-so-great one). She used the Drybar Buttercup Dryer on multiple occasions to dry her hair both smooth and straight and naturally curly.