Project Gal Week One

I'm so grateful for being in a facebook group that I can connect with on such a personal level, they never cease to amaze me :D. With that being said, one of the members, Chaudie, came up with this great rubric to follow to help someone achieve gyaru status based on a 6-month, week-by-week schedule. I think I'll start in September and work from there, granted I already have a crap ton of supplies, as well as practiced a few times, but I think having a guideline will make the journey a bit easier. Here's what's listed for the first month of the Project:

Important Note: I no longer follow this rubric, I kinda do my own thing for now, it's much more flexible and less money consuming!

Stage 1: Makeup

Month 1: discovery & Study

week 1: Inspo Pic Farming

week 2: Honing in on What’s Preferred

week 3: Watching videos

week 4: deciding on What to Start with (Shopping)

So far, I've quickly skimmed the descriptions of these magazines and made a list of beauty magazines I'll be looking into. The descriptions are taken from japanesestreets.com for anyone who's interested :)

1. bea's up - Beauty and cosmetics for women in their 20s
2. BITEKI - Beauty for working women in their 20s, 30s
3. CanCam -  Sexy elegance for young women – mote-kei
4. Happie nuts -  For young women who want to look sexy
5. MAQUIA -  High quality beauty magazine
6. Ray -  Mote-kei magazine for women in their 10s and 20s
7. SCawaii! -  The magazine for graduated gyaru
8. Woofin' Girl - will obtain more info when I can!

Here's a few definitions of Gyaru, including my own personal opinion:

1. My opinion - Gyaru is a form of style originating from Japan with various sub-styles. It focuses on enhanced beauty with the use of makeup, hair, and fashion based on a specific category. Gyaru styles can range from eccentric and random, to cute and sexy.
2. Wiki Definition: Gyaru fashion is a type of Japanese street fashion that originated in the 1970s. Gyaru is most commonly referred to as ganguro, but it is actually a subculture of gyaru. It was popular in the 1990s, but shortly died out in the early 2000s. Gyaru is a girly-glam style, breaking away from traditional standards of beauty by dwelling on the man-made (wigs, fake eyelashes, fake nails, etc.). Gyaru fashion neither fit well with the Japanese traditional culture nor how the media portray ideals of Japanese women. It is often classified as a sign of youth rebellion. Gyaru fashion is typically characterized by having heavily bleached or dyed hair (mostly shades from dark brown to blonde), excessively decorated nails, and dramatic makeup. The makeup typically consists of dark eyeliner, fake eyelashes and cosmetic circle lenses so as to create the illusion of large, anime-like eyes. Extremist tend to get vivid color hair wigs, for example, neon pink or lime green. Clothing pieces for gyaru fashion differ depending on which gyaru style the individual chooses. Popular gyaru models include Tsubasa Masuwaka, Sakurina, and Wakatsuki Chinatsu, just to name a few.

The following pictures are my top 10 looks that just happened to catch my eye, some came from FB some Google, some from some magazine scans :) It's all a random mess of picture I know, but hey, I'm STILL LEARNING :D

Sayoko Ozaki

Romihi

Might not qualify as gyaru, but I love it anyway!

Shizuka Takeda

Ena Matsumoto

Another Gyaru Attempt :)

Just a a follow up to my activity in the Black Gyaru group, I posted another look to be critiqued by the girls. To be honest, I'm  really proud of this look, although I freaked when I put the lashes on before putting the lenses in. I thought they were creepy XD. Once I put in the lenses though, everything was all better! <3 I feel like I'm making solid but small baby steps, in which I can't complain. Hopefully very soon I'll be putting up my inspiration posts!!

Here's what I used for this look:

1. Eyelashes from special-match, an eBay seller
2. Geo Forest Brown Circle Lenses
3. Blue Haven Eyeliner for the lower lids
4. Avon Spectra Define and-
5. L.A. Girl Fine Line for the upper lids
6. MAC NW45 Foundation
7. MAC Embark Eye shadow for contour
8. NYC Highlight side for highlight
9. NYX Cinnamon Blush
10. Wet N' Wild Lipstick in Arrest Me Copper!

Aaaaand..... now for the pictures!! <3

Random Note: Yes, I am quite aware that the lashes magically lifted themselves in the picture lol, hence why it's only a failed newbie attempt. Nonetheless, I am proud ^3^ and this only gives me an excuse to do it again! XD

The picture I uploaded to the Group

Any additional tips are always useful!!!! :D

Cherry Culture Haul! (Part 1) ^O^

Hello my loves! <3

I apologize for not updating in forever! So much has been going on! >w< for one thing, I've started paying for my Fall Semester classes X.x but! I'll be heading to Tennessee/Mississippi (actually, this has already happened lol) with my mom all next week! ^O^ I've never been to either state before, but I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures! :D

I have for you all today a haul I'm finally putting together for Cherry Culture <3 I can't remember where I first heard about the website but I've become an addict that's for sure! There are two parts to this haul, representing two different orders that I placed, there's a potential third one on the way, but I haven't decided on all that I wanted just yet! o.~

*I AM IN NO WAY BEING COMPENSATED FOR MY OPINION!!*

1. NYX Powder Blush in Cinnamon - After a few days of research, I finally decided that I needed to invest in some blush - it's an important asset for the Gyaru look! I came across a video that recommended NYX's Cinnamon blush as a nice color for warmer skin tones. Soooo naturally I just HAD to have it! The color is absolutely amazing, I have no regrets in buying it whatsoever :)

• Color: *****
• Price: *****
• Quality: *****
• Overall: *****

2. NYX Long Lip Pencil in Natural - For the longest time, I've been determined to find a lip color that best matches my skin to to create the perfect nude lip, sad to say that all the browns I've come across so far have an underlying red to them so while the color is still pretty, it's still not the color I've been searching for ;~;. Despite that fact, I did come across this nice lip pencil that I like to use as a base with my other colors, or slick with clear gloss. 

• Color: ****
• Price:*****
• Quality: *****
• Overall: *****

3. NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in Plush Red - As of late, I feel as if the stereotype of "Hooker Red" Lips on darker women needed to be abolished. I recently wore this gorgeous color to my church anniversary (the colors were red and white anyway XD) and man, did I get some compliments! This richness of this bold color really lets me get into a sophisticated or sexy mode, I just won't be kissing m boyfriend anytime soon with it on! XD

• Color: *****
• Price: *****
• Quality: *****
• Overall: *****

4. LA Girl Fine Line in Black - Felt tip eyeliners in my opinion, are always good staples for any eye make from natural to bold. It also acts as a guideline as you build from beginning to end when doing gyaru make. I like to use this as a base, then add on my pencil eyeliners. Also, it's good for eye tattoo detailing, which I've been recently wanting to try! XD However, I don't recommend this product for extremely oily skin types, or if you're sweating a lot. The color can come off ridiculously easy at times.

• Color: *****
• Price: *****
• Quality: ****
• Overall: ****

5. LA Girl Mark My Eyes in Black - This is basically the fat tip version of Fine Line. It still comes to a sharp point, and you get more color deposit from it, making it more hot temperature friendly <3. A must for anyone  who does the thick top lid in one stroke. It can also be a base for building up with other products, but I don't ever recall needing to do that with this pen.

• Color: *****
• Price: *****
• Quality: *****
• Overall: *****

6. NYX Highlight and Contour Combo in HCP01 - I think the concept of this product is good, but the fact that it only comes in ONE color is very disappointing! The texture of this powder in this cute compact is fine and blends nicely, it doesn't cause much buildup on my skin. While the highlight powder has a mild effect on my skin, the contour powder blends in with my natural skin tone, which explains why my contours could never be seen Also, this palette can get quite messy, more often then not I get loose powder in all the wrong places ;o;. I'll be consulting with Mac or somebody soon and get their recommendations, since I love their foundation and now swear by it >w<. I can't dismiss this product altogether, but I don't recommend it for darker skin.

• Color: **
• Price: ****
• Quality: ***
• Overall: ***

7. Cherry Culture Lip Balm in Peach - A simple, yet amazing smelling balm I take EVERYWHERE. It was a free gift with my order <3 I love to use this when I don't want to weigh my lips down with gloss or lipstick. Despite having no color (or taste x.x), it has a nice shine and keeps my lips moisturized, it just makes me crazy hungry!

• Color: *****
• Price: N/A - It was free with order :D
• Quality: *****
• Overall: *****

This will get updated and prettified later! XD