Blue Skies☁

Super late post, but I wore this during my birthday celebration weekend when my family and I stayed in SF for the 4th of July. It was an absolutely amazing time and it was so great to spend quality time with my parents since college has kept me from home for so long. We stayed at one of the oldest hotels in the city atop this huge (and scarily steep) hill. The hotel's interior felt so luxurious! I truly felt like royalty for a night during my stay there.

After staying up late watching the fireworks (which were delayed due to the classic SF fog), we made it our mission to hunt down some quality ice cream that next morning. But first! Breakfast. We ate at a cafe near Union Square which had some bomb fresh-squeezed OJ and warm, toasty french toast. 

Back to our hunt for ice cream! We decided to check out Mitchell's in the Mission District on our way home because we heard they had lots of filipino ice cream flavors (and being filipino and prideful of course we had to go try it out). I got the halo-halo flavor which honestly did emulate similar flavors that you would get in halo-halo : ube, coconut, even the jellies! It definitely was a perfect end to a short but sweet trip back home. 

Intro✼

Welcome to my blog! My sweet, humble internet abode for all my creative urges and, well, whatever else comes to mind. And yes, I realize that this blog is a year or so old but I really feel like over the last couple of months I've figured out what exactly I intend to do with it. Seeing as how the limited space in the sidebar doesn't give nearly enough room to properly introduce my blog and everything I put into it, I figured that I should make a formal post about it! 

My name is Katrina and I'm a certified internet addict. I started on Tumblr but realized that Blogspot was a much better medium for putting forth the things I wanted to post (but Tumblr will always be in my teenage heart). In this blog, you can hope to find posts on fashion, skincare, makeup, lifestyle, and, my favorite of all, FOOD! Ootds, deep posts about some things I've learned in life thus far, and reviews on products I've used are just a few samples of some posts which I've already done. Writing is truly a passion of mine, especially writing about the things that I love, and my greatest hope is for my writing to help inspire other people worldwide in any way possible. 

♡ Katrina

Style Profile : Natasha - Summertime Sophistication

Summer style usually tends to consist of casual shorts, skirts, crop tops, and the like, but who says that we have to sacrifice sophistication for comfort? As the summer temperatures start to rise, formal events begin to grow increasingly daunting as the hot weather competes with our need to accessorize and dress up. My good friend Natasha shows us exactly how to solve this dilemma by ditching those bothersome dangling accessories and, instead, utilizing intricate patterns as well as unique structures to polish up her summer outfit.

Her style is simplistic, consisting of a blue patterned peplum top from Zara paired with an ultra-chic asymmetrical white skort and comfy white sandals. The abstract blue pattern on her top adds boldness as the focal point of the outfit. Its black, white, and blue randomized slashes adds movement and complexity to this piece atop her plain, white skort. The high neckline exudes an aura of elegance while the peplum cut helps to accentuate her curves. But what really caught my attention was her trendy skort which really embodies the beauty in simplicity with its layered asymmetrical structure which adds further definition to the unique streamlining in this outfit. The white skort complements the entire composition of the outfit by acting as a blank, white canvas underlining her vivacious peplum top. For all you ladies (or gentlemen) out there looking for inspiration for a comfortable yet polished summer outfit for more dressy summer festivities, give Natasha's style a try!

♡♡ Katrina

SUMMER FASHION ❤

Hey guys! Here's a video I made for you guys for some summer fashion inspiration! Enjoy :)

❤ Katrina

❤Check out my YouTube

❤Lookbook : http://lookbook.nu/katrinaisabelle

❤Tweet me : @ohhhkatrina

❤Instagram : @katrinaisabelle

Movie Review : Maybe This Time (2014)

     Today I had the opportunity to watch my very first Tagalog movie in the movie theater. I've seen a couple Tagalog movies before but never in a theater setting. It was truly a magical moment of getting back to my roots and witnessing the corny yet heartstring-pulling moments we all love and hate in Asian dramas. I won't talk much about the story because it's truly one you should see and experience for yourself. The adorable Sarah Geronimo, the sexy Ruffa Gutierrez, former Miss Philippines, and the studly Coco Martin come together to create an epic love triangle. The story starts out extremely corny and so cliche that it just seems like a Hollywood love story, but then circumstances drive them apart and the story switches up and eases into a more comfortable storyline letting you know love can't be that perfect so easily and simply. The story not only focuses on their love triangle, but also upon family values and friendship as well. The comic relief comes predominantly from Tonio (Coco Martin)'s gay housekeeper who is so flamboyant and witty I couldn't help but break down in laughter every time he spoke. From the minute he met Steph (Sarah Geronimo), he knew she had a thing for Tonio and teased the two of them about it. Steph's friends prove as an added comic relief as well as they naggingly teased her about her past with Tonio. 
     As a huge Sarah Geronimo fan, I'm obviously a little biased but the theme song, "Maybe This Time", is simply amazing. Her true vocal talent is really expressed well in this song and went along perfectly with the movie. The song is entirely in English but regardless of language it is a truly beautiful song. You can listen to it in the video above which is the music video for the song as well. The best part of it was that there were English subtitles for us folk who are not quite so fluent in Tagalog. Overall, I would really recommend this to people of all ages. I loved it, and I watched this with my mom and she loved it as well. If you'd like to watch a Tagalog movie full of cheesy romance, a love triangle, and, of course, tear-jerking scenes, then give 'Maybe This Time' a try!

Review : Skinfood Acai Berry Mask

"A wash-off mask with a delightful jelly-like texture, making it easy to spread all over face. Packed with Vitamin C and antioxidants, Amazon Acai Berry intensely hydrates skin from deep within to combat premature skin aging and its accompanying symptoms. Apply a generous amount of Acai Berry Mask on cleansed skin, leave on for 5 minutes and then rinse off with warm water. Recommended for dry and normal skin types" (Skinfood).

     

Pros : 

• Brightening
• Deep moisturizing
• Leaves skin feeling supple and bouncy
• Shrank my pores
• Quick 5-minute mask
• Exfoliating bits mixed into mask
• Cute packaging
• Evened out my complexion

Cons : 

• ????

Rating : 10/10

I truly love this mask. I couldn't even think of any cons for it because I was so happy with the results. My skin has still been facing the aftereffects of my sleepless finals week, but after using this mask, it left my skin looking smooth and bright and much more awake. My skin has also been facing dry patches and just a general lack of moisture in general which this mask helped to fix as well. The consistency is somewhat of a thicker gel with little exfoliating bits that I wasn't quite expecting because it didn't explicitly describe in the product description. It takes a thorough wash with lukewarm water to really get the mask off but it's truly worth it. I would definitely recommend this to people with sensitive, dry skin who tend to get enlarged pores and skin that loses its brightness very easily. And the best part about it is that it only takes about 5 minutes and then voila! 

Hollywood dream✰

     This outfit is perfect for a stylish summer day out. Ever wanted to wear a turtleneck while it was hot out? Well, me neither, but this American Apparel crop turtleneck in burgundy is one of my favorite summer pieces! It provides a sophisticated silhouette while exposing the shoulders for a more summer-y feel. Because this top is cropped, it provides a quaint contrast between the covered up neck region and the slightly exposed stomach. I paired this with cream lace tiered shorts as well as a gold statement necklace and my favorite Michael Kors watch. When putting the colors burgundy and gold together, it gives off a very regal effect on the outfit, which is really what I was striving for since I wore this outfit while walking around all the famous places in Hollywood. This outfit is great if you want to look polished on a hot summer day without sacrificing comfort!