Hot to tote: I Nuovi Cream blushes, the PERFECT blush on the go!

"Perfect" may seem a little over the top, but I promise I cannot rave enough about these little tubes of joy. They have single-handedly ended my quest for the "perfect-on-the-go" blush, and helped sooth the wounds of my failure with Etude House's Peach Cheek Blush. (It's gone to a better place where it is more appreciated!)

But it's a CREAM blush, you screech in harpy-tones. How can anyone use it during the day? Won't it combine with powder to form pinky icing? Well here's the glory of this blush. It's a magical formula (I suspect silicone - but so far no breakouts!) that can be used over freshly applied powder. I kid you not! Unlike most cream blushes, these feel dry (not sticky!) and smooth out easily with the lightest of touches.

Packaging
When you plan to tote something around, packaging is important. And these tubes are nice and sturdy - highly unlikely to rupture and go boom in your bag. Also although they pack 10g of product they're not in the least bulky - about the size and shape of a chubby tube of gloss.

They have lip-gloss like openings, the slanted tip really is rather pointless, but the nice small hole makes for easy control. Also, the dry and non-oozy texture of the blush makes it easy to control. Which is good. Since you only need the smidgiest of smidges.

See that below? That's too much for both cheeks. It has to be smidgier. (Yes I invented new tenses. Blogger's license!)

Colours
I own the blushes in two shades: Urbanista (top swatch) is a neutral-based pink that goes with just about any look, and Dolly a fresh coral shade that goes well with warmer looks and imparts a really lovely glow. I received Urbanista (to my squealy delight) in the gift-bag each of us received at the I Nuovi blogger event, and I bought Dolly recently thanks to Connie's temptation inspiring review at 40% off during the sale.

The top swatch is Urabanista and the bottom one is Dolly. As you can see they have a faint sheen - not quite a shimmer - but it makes for a lovely glowy look.

And oh I should add that the blushes are scented with Lavender - which I love, but if you dislike the scent you may not dig these blushes. It is quite noticeable when you're applying it - but fades quickly.

Application
As mentioned earlier you can use this over powder, or liquid foundation, or just about anything! The formula spreads so easily that you don't have to rub it out and muss your base makeup.

And just as proof, here's me sporting Dolly applied immediately after a dusting of MAC blot.

You really do need a tiny amount. I just touch my finger to the opening, give the tube a little squeeze until the product touches my finger. That dot is really all you need. If you want more pinky-goodness, just go back for another round.

Even if you over-apply don't worry it won't give you clown cheeks. Take the time to blend it out, dust powder over and you'll just be a tad glowier than usual.

Conclusion
Each blush retails at RM60 each. I'm not sure if I'll repurchase, simply because with the tiny amount needed I don't think I'll ever see the end of a tube. But at present they are both must-haves in my purse.

Hot to tote: Daiso's Makeup Remover Pencil

I bought a teenie tiny makeup remover pen from Sephora when I was in Paris, and it loved it. The felt tip pen with remover in it was just so... logical. So right. And so completely unavailable in Malaysia! Augh!

So yes I was waving it in the faces of everyone hoping someone knew where I could find a replacement, or that someone would see the gap in the market and MAKE one.

Then I found this in Daiso (it's in The Curve by the way), and like everything else in Daiso only costs RM5. Huzzah!

I won't say it's as good, for one thing it's essentially vaseline in a stick. Unlike the felt-tip style it can't really clean up stray liner, mascara, and lipstick on its own. You have to rub this in, and then wipe it off with a tissue or your finger. And be sure to set it with powder over or it may carry on dissolving the rest of your eye makeup.

But, on the other hand, this will never dry up and it's available right here. Which counts for ALOT.

This baby has a permanent place in my handbag as another symptom of oily skin and long days is that even the most resistant of liners may start to travel a little. And if I absentmindedly wipe my eyes - poof, panda!

This lets me remove wandering makeup quickly, easily and cleanly with no excess rubbing. Oh, and don't forget it also works with lipsticks - so be sure you have it whenever you bring on the hot-red lips.

Hot to tote: In2it blotters

Yes it's another blotter post! Muahahahahah! Yes I know, I'm obsessed. But I'd like to preface this post by pointing out that I am unimpressed with the blotting paper - it's the case I like!

It's not the prettiest as it's plastic and a rather institutional pale blue with In2it's logo emblazoned in silver across it. But it's solid, refillable, slim and nicely sized, and best of all, it has a mirror! I love it because not only is it most conveniently placed, it's always clean.

The case comes with 60 sheets of blue blotting paper. The price is a mystery to me as I've seen it for RM8.90 in Guardian and RM5.75 in Watsons.The paper itself isn't impressive - no better than Daiso's far more affordable offerings. So I recommend that you buy it for the case and refill with Daiso blotters or Clean & Clear sheets.

Incidentally I'm adding a new handy dandy label, "Hot to Tote" are for all things that are particularly portable and great for lugging around in your on-the-go beauty bag. If you have any suggestions on great products that help you day to day, let me know!

Silk Naturals Fragrance review: The good (Green Tea) and the bad (Pink Grapefruit)

Silk Naturals released a collection of some 20 fragrances around Valentines this year. These solid fragrances are made from a base of beeswax, and are packaged in lipbalm tubes. I love that they're solid because it makes them perfectly portable for hand-bag touch ups and I can put them precisely on my pulse points. As spray-on perfumes often break me out around my chest, neck and face, roll ons or solids are actually quite the god-send for me. And with Pink Grapefruit one of the releases, you can just imagine how excited I was to get my hands on these!

I bought the fragrance in Green Tea, and won Pink Grapefruit in an online contest SN ran. The fact that I won it, and my love for Green Tea, partially consoles me for the disappointment I felt over Pink Grapefruit. Read on for the full review.

Green Tea
The site's description:

Green Tea is clean and refreshing with just a hint of tartness. I remember the first time I smelled Green Tea- it was in France and it opened my eyes to a completely new experience. It's like a breath of fresh air- clean and light, very refreshing- a great fragrance for daytime.

Now I truly love Green Tea, it is closest to Elizabeth Arden's version but has the warmth and subtle bitterness of Bulgari's that the sweeter, more citrusy Elizabeth Arden lacks.

I find myself sniffing it constantly when I wear it on my wrists as I find it both refreshing, as well as comforting and warm - if that is possible. I'm a fan of subtle fragrances and this is very subtle. SO subtle that some of my friends with less able noses can't detect the fragrance at all. So be warned! If your nose isn't the most sensitive you may want to give this perfume a miss - you may not be able to smell it!

While I love that it is quiet and a perfect office fragrance I could wish for it to be amped up a little more - just so someone sitting right next to me can smell it without sniffing my wrists.

Pink Grapefruit
Because I love the scent of Pink Grapefruit so much, and because I had such high hopes for this fragrance, my disappointment in it runs deep - even though I got it free as a prize.

The site claims:

We searched high and low for a spectacular pink grapefruit scent. It's juicy, tart, a little bit sweet and very very yummy- purely pink grapefruit.

While I get the tartness, which I love, the grapefruitiness - also great, and the faint sweetness there is a strange, overwhelming acridity to this perfume that literally stings my nose. If I wear it, I get a headache - rare in perfumes that don't have an alcohol base or aldehydes for me.

It's hard for me to describe the note I hate so much. It's salty and bitter - while grapefruit should have a hint of bitter, this one actually leaves a bad taste in the back of my mouth. Some girls on the SN forum can smell it, some can't. Karen claims it's the tartness, but I LOVE tart fragrances - I'd wear fresh lemon if it was feasible. She's hoping to tweak it and brighten it up a little, I truly hope she succeeds and gives me a pink grapefruit fragrance I love.

Conclusion
I will definitely repurchase Green Tea even if the fragrance is never amped up. I hope she puts it into a moisturiser or something I can smear over a larger surface area! The fragrances retail for US$5.99 each and it's worth checking out the site as there are dupes of famous scents as well as samples for US$0.75 if you'd prefer to sniff it before buying.