Sophistication Sundays - Volum' Express One by One Mascara

My sophistication muse, Audrey Hepburn
Photo Source

Sophistication Sundays will revolve around my favorite beauty finds, techniques, fashion trends and anything else "pretty" that catches my eye. I look forward to sharing these ideas with you and hope to hear your suggestions and feedback as well! I am no expert at beauty or fashion by any means but perhaps that will make my thoughts more relatable. Simply put, I'm just a girly-girl navigating my way through the fabulous finds I come across.

...

I don't know about you but one of my favorite beauty products to try out is mascara. It probably lands in second place next to my love for trying new nail polish colors.

Photo Source

I was intrigued by Maybelline's Volum' Express One by One and have been meaning to try it for awhile. I am already a fan of the Volum' Express mascara line and figured this new kind might become a favorite in my beauty arsenal. I figured that it would provide powerful, voluminous lashes with the added bonus of avoiding that "spider legs" look. Yes, some fashion houses are pushing this spidery look as a hot new trend (i.e. 3 coats of mascara followed by pushing lashes together in clumps with tweezers) but I am not a fan!

So here is a shot of the product:

Nice, bright packaging as usual for Maybelline mascaras.

The wand came separately and not in the tube (as is common with many mascaras now).

The head of the wand has the rubbery bristles that have been more and more common among all the cosmetic brands.

The Verdict

The first thing I noticed was the smell. It was REALLY strong! It almost made my eyes water because the smell was so potent.
The mascara applied easily and did not clump as promised. If you're looking for a good everyday mascara it's not a bad choice. However, I was thinking I would use it like I use the regular Maybelline Volum' Express: for a more dramatic nighttime look. It just didn't work that way. I'll use it for a little while but I don't plan on making it one of my "regulars."

Everyone wants something different from mascara. For example there is a cult following for Maybelline's Great Lash. To this day I have no idea why. I HATE it and it doesn't impress me. Personally, I look for a mascara that will give a dramatic impact to my lashes with lots of volume and thickness. I didn't really get that from the One By One mascara so I wouldn't buy it again. That being said, some of you may love this new product and it may give you just the look you want. To each his own!

Have you tried any mascaras lately that you LOVE or HATE? I would love to hear your feedback!

~Christi

Midmonth Motivation #6

Welcome to Midmonth Motivation! Every 15th of the month we will host a link party that will last for five days. For us, blogging always starts out as a bang at the beginning of the month and seems to dwindle down towards the middle. By hosting a party mid-month we are hoping to have some great ideas from fellow bloggers that will inspire us to keep on creating and maybe you too!

As always, we decided to pick a few posts from last month's link party and feature them! You know...spread the love.

Our most clicked on for the month was Master Bedroom Spiff from The Cannary Family. With spring cleaning in full swing, I am sure some of you would love to makeover that bedroom!

Luci's pick for last month was The Quiet Book from Making Messes: One Project (or more) at a time. It's a cute project to make with your kids that will be a keepsake for life!

Christi's pick for last month was the Breakfast Nook Bead Board from The Inspired Housewife. She just loved the look of bead board and it makes this breakfast nook so charming. Adding the shelves gave the area the perfect touch!

Beth's pick for last month was the Chocolate Mouse Cake from Newly Dependent. Even though she has been trying to lose the baby weight, she put this on her list of things to make once she is back to her old size!

And our Got 5 Minutes pick was...The Frame Transformation from A Woman's Haven. All the posts were great and thanks so much for linking up with us!!


AND here's this weeks party!
I don't know about you, but when it hits midweek it always seems that we lose our motivation and just can't wait till the weekend is here. This link party is designed to motivate fellow bloggers and readers out there. We will host it every 15th thru the 20th for the maximum motivation possible! Each week we will highlight some of our favs!

Here are the rules:
1. Become a follower of Between3Sisters.
If you decide to follow us let us know so we can follow you back!
2. Please link up a post about project, DIY, craft, recipes, or whatever you want that may motivate someone out there to try something new. (As many as you want!
3. As always, please link directly to your post and not your blog URL, so that everyone can find the recipe months from now.
4. Also, we would love if you would grab our party button to spread the news of our party! This is not required, but it would be great if you would place it in your post or sidebar.





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Enjoy visiting other post link ups and remember
"Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes"

Uncorked #9: 2010 Casillero del Diablo Malbec

Welcome to Uncorked! Where I feature a wine that I've tried and let you know my thoughts on it. There is a little disclaimer: I am by far no wine expert --I am just going to tell my thoughts on a wine. Some wine snobs out there might turn their nose up at my opinion and that's fine with me! Wine is meant to be savored and enjoyed! I might throw out some wine terms here and there and if I do, I will make sure that I give you the definition and try to explain them to the best of my abilities. My goal is to share some tasty wine picks with the world and hopefully encourage some of you out there to try a new wine. No bottle shall be discriminated against, price is no matter (with in reason), and this is just going to be all about exploring the world of wine.

We spent this last weekend as a mini vacation in Minneapolis and had such a great time! Here's is our view of downtown from our hotel room. We had two great bottles of wine while there and I will post one this week and the other next week.

This week's wine is:

2010 Casillero del Diablo Malbec

Description: Sorry guys, forgot to copy down the wording on the bottle

Price: $11.99 per bottle
Region: Rapel Valley, Chile

Our lovely bottle model is Melissa, a family friend (or practically an adopted sister) of my husband. Anyways, she has recently been diving into Malbecs, so we picked out this one to try. We were staying in a hotel room, so we poured the wine into the classiest plastic cups (you know the ones that come wrapped in plastic in your hotel room) and headed down to the hot tub with wine in hand. Upon trying the wine, my first thought was "WOW! This thing is sharp*!!" I set it down and decided to let it breathe*. After about 10 minutes we picked it back up and it was amazing the change in the wine! As Melissa said "The wine was bright at first, then fruity with a hint of spice. It's better when allowed to breath for a while."

Would I buy it again? Yes, we all agreed that we would buy it again. In fact, shortly after this wine I was a local wine store and met a girl who was pretty fond of this wine. She told me the translation of name is the Devil's Cellar. Interesting name, considering the sharpness at first. The wine is a nice mid-ranged price and well worth a try.

Fun Wine Fact: The original Malbec vineyards were located mainly in France but a hard freeze in 1956 wiped out approximately 75% of the Malbec grapes. Now most of the Malbec vineyards are located in Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States.

Pairs Well With: Spicy foods such as Mexican, Latin, Cajun, Indian, and Italian dishes. They also pair well with grilled steaks, BBQ, sausage, and chili.

Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.
– Benjamin Franklin

*Sharp- Sharp and its opposite, smooth, are words used to describe the acidic taste in a wine. Sharp wines are those in which the acidity is an overpowering characteristic. Also called Acrid.
*Breathe- Letting a wine breathe simply means allowing the wine to contact oxygen. Helps soften the tannins and acidity and develops the nose.

~Beth

Master Bathroom Remodel

We have been very busy on the removing the wallpapaper from the last two bathrooms in our house. We have already redone three of our five bathrooms(see posts 1, 2, & 3) and we are so happy to now be finished with all five! I thought I would reveal the results in two posts. This post is master bathroom. We removed the wallpaper and resurfaced the wood. You will notice that we still have carpet in our master bedroom, which we would love to remove but we decided not to do that at this point and time.
Here is the bathroom before:
Lots of lovely blue wallpaper. There is a shower area, opposite of the closet doors, but I didn't take pictures of it.
And here is the picture of after!
And the shower area

No more ugly blue wallpaper, but still the ugly carpet...
And a before and after pic
Stay tuned for the post on the final bathroom!

~Beth

Sophistication Sundays - The Haircut

My sophistication muse, Audrey Hepburn
Photo Source

Sophistication Sundays will revolve around my favorite beauty finds, techniques, fashion trends and anything else "pretty" that catches my eye. I look forward to sharing these ideas with you and hope to hear your suggestions and feedback as well! I am no expert at beauty or fashion by any means but perhaps that will make my thoughts more relatable. Simply put, I'm just a girly-girl navigating my way through the fabulous finds I come across.

...

Photo Source

Well I have to start off by apologizing for my noticeable absence the last 3 weeks. With the end of the semester closing in on me and projects and papers to finish I was simply swamped. So needless to say I finally finished with finals this last Monday and for the rest of the week I was out of town participating in some very fun UST Choral Alumni events. It was a great chance to relax and reconnect with college friends and one of my life's truest loves, choral singing.

So now that I've made my peace it's time to address the real subject of the post: my haircut. To give you the back story, I have always had long hair. I grew up with my mom quoting the bible verse about a woman's hair being her "crowning glory." Needless to say I eventually cut my hair just to my shoulders in 7th grade, without asking, and was subsequently grounded. :)

After all those years of long hair I became quite attached to my own. I was careful to never cut it too short but often heard a voice in the back of my mind saying, "I'm kind of tired of long hair... this is boring." Still when I thought about cutting it I kept thinking I would somehow lose my "femininity." It's funny how much hair can become a part of you (or rather, what you believe is a part of you).

I had been putting off cutting my hair for what seemed like a long while. Finally I was feeling sick of it and decided well I should just cut it! For inspiration and a haircut that wouldn't shock me too much I looked to this Jessica Simpson cut from a few years back & a very talented youtube "vlogger":

Jessica Simpson

I thought this cut was pretty simple and incorporated bangs (a must for my lovely, somewhat large forehead haha) and would help my hair appear thicker.

Lola Marie 7

Would you believe I just recently started looking to YouTube for beauty and hair tutorials? Lola Marie 7 is by far my favorite. She has great tips and always makes me laugh. I loved how voluminous her hair looked here and I loved her bangs.

So here is a "before" pic. Not the greatest because my hair was ratted and pieces were crimped for Beth's 80's themed birthday party. You can see how dark it is and although the picture only shows the front layers, it all came down to just below my chest.

Annnnnnnd After:

In the end I had 8.5 inches cut off. The most I've EVER cut! I felt like the final product was a happy medium because it was a tad longer (just below my collar bone) than the original pictures.
I quickly realized it wasn't that drastic but it was definitely a change. My hair felt healthier and thicker and I kept asking myself, why didn't I try this before?!! Nathan even noticed RIGHT AWAY (yes, big deal for a guy) and commented more than once that he really liked it. You know that's what every girl wants to hear from her man after a haircut! ;)

So the lesson I learned here is not to be so afraid of taking risks, particularly when it comes to fashion and beauty. Maybe you're hesitant to try a crazy nail polish color or a bright red lip. Perhaps you've been eying the trendy jumpers or feather hair extensions. Why not give it a try? In my experience I've learned that I usually don't regret trying something new and fun.

~Christi

Happy Mother's Day

Being a Mom is one of the most important jobs in the world! So from all of us sisters,
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!

To the prettiest Mom!

For putting up with three rambunctious little girls.

From Luci,

From Beth,

and From Christi!
Thanks for all that you have done for us and being the best mom in the world!!

Love,
Luci, Beth, & Christi

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.
-- Washington Irving

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education I received from her.
-- George Washington

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
-- Tenneva Jordan

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.
-- Agatha Christie

"M" is for the million things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her heart of purest gold;
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.

10 Reasons To Go For A Walk

Even though the first day of Spring is March 21st, I finally feel that spring is here! Today I took my kids for a walk (Gizmo and my little guy) and it was such a nice day out! The warm weather is a great reminder to all of us to get off that couch (or computer in my case) and go enjoy the outside.

Need some more motivation to get out for a walk?
Here are 10 reasons why you should go for a walk today!

1. Feeling Good- We all know that when you exercise it stimulates the release of endorphins and you get that awesome runners high, which makes you feel great!
2. Free Entertainment- You can observe so many things on a walk. A neighbors new garden, a kite stuck in a tree (can you see it in the pic above?), kids playing at a park...I mean the list goes on and on. It's a great way to be entertained and costs you nothing!
3. Great Thinking Time- It's usually just you and nature on a walk, so it is a great time to think about things going on in life. It's a much needed break from the noise of day to day life.
4. Meet People- I talk to anyone- anywhere. I can't help it, I love to talk! When I see people walking by me I put on a big smile and say "Hi". Some people stop for a chat, some people smile back and keep on walking. Either way, it's a good opportunity to meet people or just spread cheer of your smile.
5. Slow Down- I don't know about you, but I feel like some days fly by so fast. Walking is a pretty slow form of transportation, so it provides great opportunity for you to slow down your day and take a break.
6. Mother Nature- Feel the wind on your face, smell flowers in the air, hear the birds chirping. Mother nature has given us such a beautiful outdoors, it's a shame not to enjoy them.
7. Your Dog- The dog is man's best friend and they will love you even more when you take them for a walk! Dogs get pretty bored sitting around the house staring out the windows. They love to smell new smells and run around.
8. Your Kid(s)- Healthy habits start from a very young age. Little things like taking walks are an easy and fun way to introduce you children to the health benefits of exercise.
9. Your family- Even though my husband was working today, I enjoyed talking to Gizmo and explaining things to our little guy. Taking a walk with the family is a great way to spend time together and interact. Our little guy just loved looking around and seeing new sights. Plus, I think it wore him out as he has napped pretty good for me today.
10. It's fun!

~Beth