TGIF, lovelies! Celebrating payday today? Take a quick trip with me down indulgence lane to check out Chanel’s newest cleanser, Mousse Exfoliante Purete ($45), a gentle exfoliator for oily-to-combination skin.
Project TURN INTO A MORNING KAREN is still in full gear, and this little luxury jump starts my early day with a nice treat.
Tiny exfoliating beads in this creamy cleanser mildly slough off excess skin without rubbing me raw. After rinsing, my face and neck feel soft, clean and refreshed, not itchy or tight.
As the day wears on, Mousse Exfoliante continues working its mojo, reducing the greasy look and feel of Oil Slick City, aka my forehead and nose. Perhaps it’s the extract of meadowsweet (a fragrant herb containing chemicals used to make aspirin), a botanical ingredient Chanel added to control excess oil.
Mousse Exfoliante Purete isn’t cheap, but that’s bidness as usual for Chanel. One great upside, though, is that it’s very concentrated.
A teeny amount of product produces plenty of rich foam. To cleanse my face and neck thoroughly, I use a blueberry-sized pinch. I’m guessing this bottle could last at least eight months.
For drugstore divas desiring something similar, consider Clean & Clear’s Soft Purifying Cleanser Scrub, a mild exfoliating cleanser at the pocketbook-friendly price of $7.
Food for my soul
I needed some new running music last night, so I downloaded a couple of random songs from rapper Talib Kweli. Have you heard his music before? My hip-hop teacher played a few songs during earlier this week, and I was moved by his amazing lyrics. A few of my favorites so far are his songs Get By and I Try.
If words were food, I would gobble every last bit of his music right up.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Hey Karen,
You and your Chanel! LOL! Good review, per usual. 🙂 I love the Clean and Clear scrub; their whole “soft” line works well for me. I can understand the appeal of the Chanel scrub, too, I always feel nice applying luxury items in the morning. Makes me feel more professional, as silly as that sounds.
On that note, have you ever tried Chanel’s powder blushes? I know they’re out of my price range, but I’m really interested in Rose Bronze and am wondering if it’s worth saving up for.
Hope your Friday is going well. 🙂
Hi Karen,
Thanks for sharing the drugstore version. I need a good scrub too!
I really love Tabs collar, he is too cute.
TGIF
.-= Sarah’s last blog post… Winkers =-.
Hi Sarah,
TGIF indeed!
Ugh, I wish he still had that collar! I loved it on him. Unfortch Tabs has an uncanny knack for losing his “jewelry,” boo!
Got any exciting plans for the weekend?
If you like Talib Kweli check out Black Star which is his collaboration with Mos Def that originally put him in the spotlight. They are dynamite together!!
.-= Megan’s last blog post… Nail of the Day-Essie Rock the Croc =-.
Hi Megan,
Thanks for the music rec! Do you have any songs to recommend from Black Star? What should I listen to first?
Oh this sounds good! Do you think it would work for acne-prone girls?
And I love Talib Kweli, especially Get By, I used to listen to that all the time 🙂
.-= Hafsa’s last blog post… Hanging around =-.
Hi Hafsa,
I think so. I have acne-prone skin and it didn’t break me out at all.
Funny you should mention that song — I’ve been bumping it all day!
I use Channel Mascara and love it. Would love to win the Mousse Exfolliant. Hi Karen from your #1 fan.
Hi Joyce,
Which one do you use? Exceptionnel? Isn’t it the best?
I love chanel, but I’ve never tried their skincare. Someone suggested it to me the other day. As much as I love Chanel makeup, I need to try their other products. My neutrogena can take a backseat for a minute.
Hi Shontay,
I love, LOVE their Sublimage Eye Cream. Unfortch it’s $200. 🙁 I survive on samples from my favorite Chanel MUA’s. 🙂
As for other Chanel skin care, I really like their Precision cream cleanser and toner.
Neutrogena is one of my fall back brands. Their Visibly Even stuff is the shizz! What products do you use from their line?
Hey karen,
I love visibly even, too!!! Also, their invigorating scrub is incredible. It smells SO good and it really does invigorate. You should check it out. i have backups of that and visibly even.
Hi Shontay,
I need serious invigoration at 6 am, LOL! I will put it on my list!
The Visibly Even scrub is one of my faves mostly because of the scent. 🙂
Awwwww, look at Tabsy’s collar! That is so cute! Zena was sleeping like that until a minute ago and she curled into her ball tucking her muzzle into her back leg like a bird tucking its beak into its wing. It’s so cute when she sleeps like that!
I’m not sure if it’s TGIF for me. I have tons of homework. :looks at Leaning Tower of Material: Did I mention my book didn’t come today like it was supposed to? It better be here tomorrow or there are going to be some choice words between the courier company and me. I need my pysch book!
My favorite scrub is Biore’s skin preservation exfoliating scrub. That stuff works wonders on dry, chappy skin days. I think today is going to be Pore Strip Day. My nose is harboring Blackhead City.
Hi Kate & Zena,
Ah, the life of the student. I remember the feeling of knowing your entire Saturday would be spent READING! Is it interesting, at least? I hope so!
So, I gotta tell you I’m very cranky about that collar. I LOVED that one on him, and he lost it! Bad kitty!
Karen! Talib is my dude! And I’m so happy you’re getting into him! You should listen to all of Ear Drum, great album, especially his collab with Justin Timberlake (“The Nature”). As far as Black Star is concerned, they only have one album, and the single off of it (“Definition”) is a great starter.
Hi Patty,
Thank you for these recommendations — I’m totally on it. 🙂
It’s weird to see Kanye in these old videos… he seems way less cocky than he is now.
From the songs I have heard, I really like Talib Kweli. Have a great weekend!
.-= Marisol’s last blog post… Products I am Using =-.
Hi Marisol,
I’ve been listening to I Try on repeat for the last hour. I hope he comes to the Bay soon! I bet he would be awesome live.
Ooooh, Tabs is in the kittyhouse. Tabs better start sucking up. He is microchipped just in case he decides to “run away,” right?
Zena gets herself in the doghouse sometimes, usually when she decides to go al fresco sans leash. We only have the purple collar for Zena. We have about 5 different sweaters for her though!
Well, I have to read three chapters out of my Physical Geography book (which is like 180 pages of sheer boredom). I have a feeling P.G is going to be a very hard book to read. The authors have a habit of making everything more confusing than it is. I finally had to break down and e-mail my teacher so I knew what to pay attention to. It makes reading the darn book that much easier!
I have two chapters to read out of my Social Psychology book but that’s hard to do when FedEx/UPS (don’t know which) doesn’t deliver my book on time!!! I’m still psych book-less. I have a chapter to read out of the Critical Theory book for Gender & Sexuality. I finished the stories for G&S and all my homework for Children’s Lit. Can I just say I love reading children’s books for homework? It’s fabulous!
Ahhh Talib. He is awesome. We saw him at a music festival down in Tennessee called Bonnaroo this summer and he was awesome. Cool that you have found him. Good music is such a treasure. Hope you have a great weekend. Best, Kelly
Of course! Talib Kweli ft MJB in I Try! It has the potential to go somewhere, he has some mad beats, yo.
I love Talib Kweli — I’m trying to see him in a few weeks, but I can’t find anyone who wants to go with me :(. Oh well. I may have work that night anyway!
Yay, welcome to the wonderful world of Talib Kweli, Might Mos Def, Black Star. Check out Jean Grae on Talib’s Blacksmith label (Female MC). And somewhere on the internets is a good Mick Boogie Talib Kweli mixtape for free… I think that has a “Get By” with Jay Z, Mos, Kanye and Busta (I think). Grown folks hiphop ftw!
Also (re)rent “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party” to see Mos + Talib rocking it live.