First (posted) Gyaru attempt! :3

So! I meant to say that I've joined the ever-growing Facebook group, Black Gyaru of the World! I've been there for almost a month now? O.e. The people there are super friendly and are quick to give advice when you ask for it. I had been just watching the main page of this group for FOREVER! I was so concerned about many numerous things, such as:
1. "I'm too fricking old to join!"
2. "I'm flat broke, I can't afford this lifestyle."
3. "I don't wanna be a n00b!!"
4. "Will they accept me?"

And the list goes on... but let me tell you, these people ARE AMAZING. They respect your inexperience (and experience). And aren't afraid to point out little mistakes or adjustments you can make. I swear I check this page every 10 - 20 minutes because there is always something being updated! For any wish-to-be black Gyaru, I highly recommend you check out this group, you won't regret it! :)

As the title would suggest, I attempted a  full Gyaru look for church this past Sunday (the first attempt was only for the eyes). I skimmed Google for a collage maker and threw this together:

Cutie! ^O^ 

I was really proud of myself! ^O^ I think this is the most makeup I've ever put on for church lol, a lot of people noticed it too, I never realized the difference until I wanted to follow the Gyaru styles. Before, I'd line my top lid, brush on some cheapy foundation, slick on the gloss and be out the door. I'm so lazy! Lol! But now... HOLY CRAP I see a major difference! :)

I posted my collage to my group on FB, in hopes to get some feedback, and boy did I ever!! I think I'll just post here as a note to remember what everyone said! ^O^

1. HEAVIER/DARKER CONTOURING, mix contour powder with a matte grey if possible to avoid harsher lines! - It's not visible enough, only @ the tip of my nose

2. Begin the contouring at the edge of the eyebrows and work your way down, stronger highlight on the bridge! - I always started in the hallow underneath my eyebrows >n<

3. Use a brush!! - I tend to over-blend, so all the highlight/contour powder ends up on my fingers instead >w<

4. Curl your lashes!! - I never understood how a 'clamp' works to curl your lashes, but I'm definitely going to invest in one of these!

5. Heavier concealer! - I recently bought NYX concealer in Yellow, the crap I used before was SUPER thick and irritated my eye :(

As I'll probably keep gushing on forever, I'm so glad I joined this group! <3

Upcoming Reviews:
1. GEO Forest Brown Circle Lenses!
2. Cherry Culture Crazy Review!
3. Replica eBay lashes!
4. Quick 1-Step eBay Nails!

I'll be doing some more posting throughout the day, it's kind of slow here at work finally... haha. <3

Mega Updating! Lens Reviews!

Hey Everyone!! Just making posts for my Lens Reviews! More are on the way!! :D

Ah..... my very FIRST Youtube video!! Such nostalgia indeed!! XD This video I played a part in me wanting to do the gyaru lifestyle. I remember trolling around for me contacts and eventually ran into circle lenses!

I had accidentally ripped one of my Sterling Gray lenses so I ordered the original gray instead ^.^ Needless to say, I missed my Sterling pair, but these are still very nice :)

My first unnatural colored contacts were purple, made by Universal Vision. The contacts were ridiculously thick and had no enlargement properties whatsoever. No too long  after buying them, I threw them out :( They were still pretty though!

My first official pair of circle lenses ^O^ I am  absolutely in LOVE with these lenses!!! The color is freaking amazing and they're so comfy!! Because of how natural they look, I can pull off a dramatic or simple everyday look :) I had also bought a new webcam, but my editing software hates my videos for some reason... -___-;

All my other videos will have their own respective posts, I promise :3 I'm currently working on something now so maybe I'll get it done today or tomorrow?

The Challenge Pt 1: Skin

1. Skin

The Challenge: I'll admit, time and my own inexperience hasn't been very good to my skin. Poor eating habits have wreaked havoc, I walk to work and never wear any type of SPF lotion, and stress has taken its toll. And I'm only 22! I know that the only permanent and quick solutions would cost a ton (plus I'd be terrified of someone else messing with my face x_x), so I'm researching natural treatments that I'll be sure to update everyone on!

Thank goodness for foundation! LOL! A pic B4 I chopped my hair off

The Fix: The first obvious fix is eating right! But good Lord, I hate veggies! I think I'll stick to eating fruit more often for now :) I'm attempting to start a nightly Dove routine, since I don't have a lot of time in the morning. Dove facial soap products feel amazing on my skin, I am currently using their exfoliating facial soap and sadly use it on an 'oops-almost-forgot' basis. I also plan to buy some SPF lotion, I'll have to look into what is suitable for the face and body. I know I'm bound to spoil myself on some overpriced product eventually, but for now I think I'll be sticking to some good ol' fashion DIY remedies from a youtuber I've been following for quite some time ;)

(AllNatural28 is one of the people I follow for healthy, feel-good hair and skin care!)

Some Useful Links! (Updated 9/10/12)

Sooooo I'm definitely procrastinating on my Biology paper which is due in about.... three hours -____-; I absolutely HATE the class, but the teacher is so cute and little it breaks my heart to suck so much at Biology! DX Anyways, I haven't died or anything, not yet at least lol, I figured I'd share a few places I've stumbled (some, not all) upon for my research and inspirations!!

Don't hate. Even us college students need to cut a few corners! I've been an ebay-holic for years now, and it doesn't help that paypal = credit card! I occasionally sit back and wonder how I manage to pay my bills off! I've come across quite a few lovelies that I hope to *ahem* buy into somewhere in the near future... in fact, I already have!

Dolly Wink No. 1 Dolly Sweet

Lashes I bought from the ebay seller

These little lovelies I can't take credit for... I was browsing one of the bloggers I follow, Naijabarbie and saw her posting for them... I bought them the next day! As you can see, they remind me of the Dolly Wink No. 1 Dolly Sweet lashes that I see pop up freaking EVERYWHERE! Yes, yes I am aware of  the differences but come on... 10 pairs for about 10 bucks? Do you really think I'd pass that up?! Maybe somewhere down the line I'll do a comparison review, but until then... I'll keep it cheap! Because I don't want to steal spotlight, I HIGHLY recommend you check out Naija's blog for the link to the seller!!! <3

Purple and black = my weakness -____-;

I came across these nails also on eBay, I don't feel that the picture does them justice though. I may buy them, and if I do I'll make sure to do a quick review on them! (Update: I hated these nails when I ordered them, quality was as cheap as their price ToT but that's what I get lol so I won't complain XD) 

Maybe not Gyaru, but still super cute! <3

Japanesestreets.com is another place that I occasionally like to drop-in on. Granted, most of these fashion statements are from Gyaru, it's still intriguing to see how fashion is evolving. And occasionally I can't help but wonder how I can find something similar that some of these people wear and incorporate it into my eventual full-time Gyaru lifestyle. The picture above is just one a many pictures you'll find on their site. They also have a magazine listing that gives popular circulations and provides general themes, as well as appropriate age ranges.  

The next website I want to go over is Zasshiko.com, a Japanese magazine archive with tons of fashion magazines as well as circulations on brides, music, children, and my favorites, cosplay! ^O^ The catch however is that free users have to wait about 2 hours per magazine to completely download a magazine, a good portion of which have been seized because of the Megaupload Megashutdown ;~;... the brighter side is that donators (about $8 in USD) get access to the more recent circulations that and can be downloaded directly from the website at about 5-10 minutes each. 

J-Magazine Scans @ Livejournal

CLICK HERE FOR THE WEBSITE!!

J-Magazine Scans is the source where I found the Zasshiko website. Different users upload the links their respective websites with archives of various magazines to choose from! It's updated on a regular basis so you'll always be in the loop. :)

*Note, remember to support the people who put effort into these magazines and buy whenever you can! :D* 

I've been a member on Beautylish for a good while, trolling all the amazing photos and makeup tutorials that they have to offer. While there only a few 'gyaru' labeled videos, there are tons and tons of other useful articles videos on topic such as contouring and highlighting, appropriate blushes, nail tuts, hair tuts, and many more! Since makeup is an important chunk of the Gyaru lifestyle, I HIGHLY recommend this website for anyone looking to improve their makeup skill! o.~

One of the girls from the Black Gyaru FB group mentioned this website a few weeks ago and I must say a lot of the stuff was nice, granted, I would have no idea where to start first!! But I do want to try some of their skin care products, especially the facial masks :) You can find stuff for men, women, and babies, as well as gifts... just don't be too surprised about the shipping rates!

I'm already in love with this website, I'm just biding my time looking at the plethora of beauty products they have available and making mental check marks in my head. Like the website above, KKCenterHK has skincare, makeup, and a few items, but they also have a few closer-to-home brands such as Revlon, Red Cherry, and China Glaze. So far, this has been one of my favorite beauty-centered websites and if/when I do order from here, I'll be sure to do a haul of all the goodies I plan to spend myself on.... maybe one day (er, more like a year later), I'll do a giveaway? You never know! ^O^

The Challenge Pt 2: Hair

As I have probably said before, I have a lot of research to do when it comes to learning what it takes to be Gyaru, but I do want to do some hands on pre-Gyaru work until then. Hence why I've made this blog and maybe when I feel confident enough I'll post some videos of what I'll know thus far. I am making this post because I want to address all the steps I'll be taking throughout this journey.

2. Hair
The Challenge: First off, I want to say how much I absolutely love Love LOVE decision to do the Big Chop! My hair is thicker and healthier now, and it's growing so fast!! However, I have no intention whatsoever to straighten it now, I want it to grow without putting any unnecessary strain on it until it reaches my desirable length.

The Fix: Despite my love of my natural, curly hair, it's grown to a point where it occasionally becomes unruly and difficult to manage, even with my usual barrage of detangling and moisturizing.  I plan on buying a wig (or two, or three!), something suitable for everyday wear (especially work). I most likely will go for something short, although the whole reason I cut my hair was to help it grow longer! Granted, I could opt for a long curly wig, but it wouldn't suit my current style. I think this is why I love looking at pictures and reading blogs about Himegyaru, but I could NEVER follow such a style. Also, wearing a wig means I can get my hair braided and that makes moisturizing treatments much easier. :)

Speaking of which......

Click for a bigger picture! :)

I think I'm in love *____*. This wig is super cute and I love the versatility! Despite the fact that it's an eBay wig, I think it would frame rounder faces like mine nicely. My only issue is that the wig wouldn't look natural, and you know how people talk! >< 

Happy (almost) 6 month Anniversary Big Chop! :D Eck, gotta clean up mah room too!

So,  as many of you know (or don't know), it's almost been 6 months and a few weeks since I did my big chop back in February! <3 I've come a long way for sure, but I still have a while to go before I get my length back. My mom is FINALLY starting to like my hair now that it has some length to it, and my little sister enjoys 'petting' it! It's amazing to see how far I've come, I reeeeeaaally wanted to relax it and be done with it, but that's damaging and NOT in my budget!

The first part mf my hair routine, my hair crack I use every other day :D...

Then a spritz of this every morning and my hair stays soft all day!!

I confess I was a product junkie the moment I got all my hair cut, but now I've successfully reached a point where I have a regular hair care regimen. Oyin handmade is ALL NATURAL, that makes it ALL AWESOME!!! :D

More hair updates to come!!! <3