International Toothpaste Museum

Mu'min is certainly one of the more unique members of the International Toothpaste Museum. Why? It's halal - the Muslim equivalent of Kosher. You see, the majority population of Malaysia is Muslims. A friend who normally lives in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, brought over this tube as a wonderful addition to the museum. (I won't say that was his only reason for visiting Colorado!) Review? white paste. Flavor? complex. My 13-year old son called it similar to Stride gum's sweet mint flavor. My 8-year old daughter said it was a mix between mint and bubblegum. I couldn't figure out what I thought it tastes like. To me, the toothpaste is a winner because of the picture of the happy kids on the box.

This is a departure from the norm - a toothbrush review! Colgate came out with a totally new concept, as far as I could discover... a tiny brush that has built-in paste. It's a great idea. You just pack it in your purse (ladies) or pocket (men) - and when you need more of a clean mouth than breath mints can provide, voila! It's only about 3.5" (90 mm) long. The "paste" is contained in that little red blob you see in the middle of the brush area. It gets released when you use it. Red is cinnamon and blue is peppermint. Flavor? fine. Clean mouth? yes. Idea: A+ Execution: C+. It fails in that it's just too short. I realized after using one that my mouth makes a seal around a brush's stem when I brush. The Wisp is too short to allow this. So I get saliva all over, unless I'm really careful. Finally, the packaging is excessive and wasteful. I'd vote for a longer stem that has interchangeable refill heads.