My Favorite Travel Blow Dryer Is Under $100 Right Now

My first attempt to travel internationally with a hot tool ended in tragedy. I was on a student exchange program in Spain, naively unaware that the outlet voltage in Europe is not the same as in the U.S. Eager to put my best strands forward for my first day in Almería, I plugged in my brand new Paul Mitchell flat iron... which sparked once and never turned on again. Eighteen years later, dual voltage capability is thankfully fairly standard in stylers, so I moved on to a new struggle: finding a travel blow dryer worth the luggage space.Right before an October trip to Italy, my hot tool prayers were answered in the form of an email pitch. Following in the footsteps of another vacuum company that starts with D, home technology brand Dreame has is getting into the hair styling business. Its most recent beauty launch is the Pocket Cake Hair Dryer, a travel-size blow dryer that comes in “three macaron-inspired shades.” I could tell from the press release that the tool was very cute, but I’ve had enough experience with travel dryers that lack power to be skeptical. I called in a sample, threw it in my checked bag, and put it to the test in Bologna.Reader, I was thrilled with the results. In honor of the Pocket Cake Hair Dryer being on sale for most of November, here’s my full review.My review of the Dreame Pocket Cake Hair DryerOn top of the international outlet capabilities, the I’m looking for three things in a travel blow dryer: It needs to be lightweight (for packing purposes), close to as powerful as my at-home tool (I’m not trying to spend more time doing my hair on vacation), and it needs to have a diffuser attachment (I usually wear my natural waves when I’m traveling). I was please to find the Pocket Cake does all three.The brand claims that the Pocket Cake folds down to the size of a phone, to which I say, “Wow, you guys must have massive phones.” It is comparable in size to my Kindle Paperwhite, which is still pretty small by hair dryer standards.Kara McGrath for CosmopolitanMy Pocket Cake, with Kindle for scale.I don’t own a scale so I can’t verify the brand’s claim that this weighs less than a pound, but it’s definitely lightweight. The set also comes with a smoothing and diffusing attachment, both of which are slightly smaller than a full-size version and also don’t weigh much. There’s also a nice zip up bag included; I packed everything inside of that bag and it fit easily into my checked luggage.Kara McGrath for CosmopolitanThe full Pocket Cake set.In terms of power, the brand says that this tool is capable of drying short hair “in as little as 40 seconds.” My hair is pretty long and medium density, but I still felt like this worked about as quickly as the blow dryers I use at home: To get to 70% dry (my preferred stopping point when I’m wearing my waves) it took about seven minutes. The diffuser adds weight, so I’d say that in the end it was comparable to how heavy my home dryers are too.Kara McGrath for CosmopolitanDiffusing my heart out.Another claim is that this dryer has “350 million plasma ions to help reduce static and smooth flyaways.” I’m not totally clear on what a plasma ion is, nor is “smoothing” generally the goal when I’m using a diffuser, but my hair did look nice and shiny once it had fully dried.Kara McGrath for CosmopolitanBathroom selfie-worthy waves.Best of all: No outlet meltdown. My high school trauma is finally healed!The final verdictOverall, I honestly have no notes on this device. It’s everything I need in a travel hair dryer (and leaps and bounds better than anything you’ll find in a hotel bathroom) and very cute to boot. If you’re looking for a compact, lightweight blow dryer with a diffuser attachment to bring on your next trip, I highly suggest scooping this up. Which leads me to...Early Bird and Black Friday deals on the Dreame Pocket Cake Hair DryerThe Dreame Pocket Cake usually goes for $129.99, but it’s on sale for most of November. From now through the 18th, you can snag it for $$109.99; from the 19th to the 30th (I guess Black Friday is 11 days long now?) you can get it for $99.99. I think it’s definitely worth the full price, but even better to get it for under a hundred bucks.Why trust Cosmopolitan?Kara McGrath is a contributing beauty editor at Cosmo. She has over 15 years of experience as a beauty reporter, a job that’s included testing as many new hot tools as possible every year.Kara McGrath is a writer and editor with over 17 years of experience covering the beauty industry, women’s health, and a wide range of other lifestyle and wellness topics. After most recently serving as content director at Allure (2019-2025) and executive editor at Bustle (2014-2019), she is now fully freelance. In addition to Cosmo, her writing has appeared in Allure, The New York Times, Marie Claire, Business of Fashion, Playboy, NH Magazine, and more. Kara lives in New Hampshire with her dog, four cats, and a rotating cast of foster animals. You can find more of her work at karamcgrath.com.