Pale is the old tan: When gyaru is too weird for the real world.

Check out this cool manba pic I took in Shibuya... like forever ago!  I love how their dressed more subtly than how we think of manba.  No wacky Alba Rosa or Cocolulu.  They almost look... dare I say... natural?  :D

they don't run with the pack

Thanks everyone for your kind words about my manba attempt!  I expected hate but I got love!  Or maybe you were just patronizing me.  I'll take it!  haha!


I'm gonna try fake tanning again.  I had success the first few times  I tried.  I've since gotten the advice that you should "double dip" so I bought some L'Oreal spray tan AND L'Oreal tan wipes.  Each was like $12.  Not so bad!

There's a tanning place near my home that does the spray tan (mystic tan?) and they said it's $30, plus $5 for "double dip".  At the time, it didn't seem like a lot of money but then I remembered it'd only last like a week... yeah, not so cheap anymore.

TAN back in April.  I have an upper lip, you just can't see it!

Ok, blah blah blah.  Where am I going with this?  I am now working full time.  (Yay me!)  In an office.  Is it ok to have a fake tan?  Is that something normal people do?  Like, if you think of a woman in business, do you think of fake tan?  Not really, right?


I feel like the things that 'work' for gyaru style dont 'work' in the real world.  Like wigs.  And fake nails.  Even circle lenses and false lashes are a stretch.


Maybe I'm getting to be too much of a grown up for fun gyaru stuff.  I am considering moving into "OL" style.  I bought some Ray magazines  (recommended to me by Minami Princess! thanks!) at Kinokuniya.  I'll have to post some scans...


Yeah, I might have to be a pale OL instead of a tan rokku gyaru like I dream of becoming.  I guess pale works with hime gyaru, which I also love.  Ok, maybe I have to make some fashion decisions.  Which way am I going?  First I have to use up all the tanning stuff I bought!  Like expensive alcohol, I can't just let it go to waste!!!!  XD

Manba attempt... with terrifying results

For Manba day, I decided to be brave and try out manba make. I thought an official Manba day would be a good excuse to try it out since I'd been wanting to try manba make anyway.


So, here is my attempt...

 

Orange you glad your face isn't this color?  Derp.  Seriously, why is my face orange?  I'm sure the lighting didn't help.  I probably should have adjusted it.  Oh well.  :p


Actually, it looks best with the grey wig.  I tried it with a blonde wig and, ugh, it is so ugly!  Grey looks a billion times better!


The foundation is L'Oreal True Match in the shade "Soft Sable."  It's the shade Beyonce (supposedly) uses in the ads.  Why do I not look like Beyonce?

I'm kinda embarassed (but not surprised) that it turned out so freaking ugly!  There are girls on the Manba Day event page who posted pics and they look adorable!


I chose an inspiration pic that didn't have a lot of color.  Unfortunately, it did have a lot of white.  I don't have a lot of white makeup.  I just have white contouring powder and a small white eyeliner pencil.  If I decided to go manba full-time (which would never ever happen) I'd have to invest in some big white eye pencils.


Also, I obviously did not go as droopy as she did.  I should have!  :P

One more pic, just because I think it's funny....


     I present to you......


          Hobo Bouncy!

Yep, I've been living on a train and carrying a bindle-stick!  haha!

In case you're wondering why it's so small, it's because I don't want it to end up on gyaru_secrets!  Haha!  Actually, the community looks like it's dead.  Hopefully the mods are ok.  Maybe they're just on vacation.  Death to g_s!  Long live the mods!

Have you ever tried manba?  How did it turn out?

cute gyaru iPhone apps

The other day, I was feeling really down in the dumps*.  So much so that I had no energy, so I just laid down.  But lying down was boring, so I stared playing on my phone, looking through the iTunes store.

I found some fun, random apps for Gyaru.

Yumetenbo

Yes, Yumetenbo, the cheap clothes for cheap ladies! 

They have a fun paper doll-like feature where you can create outfits of your own…

Then you can go buy the items you used in the outfit!  Actually… I haven’t tried shopping through this app but I imagine you might have problems with shopping overseas.

You can also do it with your own photo!  Or snap strangers on the bus and give them a Gyaru makeover!

Gal Star

Another cheap brand for cheap gals!  Gal Star doesn’t have a cute feature like the Yumetenbo one, but you can browse their online shop.

The Gal Star app also has an area for commenting... which is cool for the Japanese-literate!

Rakuten Camera

Yes, rakuten, like the shop!  This is actually a really great purikura app!  

It has a ton of cute stamps, stickers and borders.  The downside is that I can’t figure out how to use photos from my photo album.  I think you may only be able to you photos you take with their in-app camera.  That sucks if you want to deco later on.

As you might be able to tell, I made a really attractive picture of myself but unfortunately I forgot to save it!  Oh well.

Free is good...

As you may be able to tell, I only like FREE apps!  There's actually some cool looking gyaru apps in the iTunes store but they all cost money and there's no ratings, so I don't want to risk buying them and hating them.  If you have $1.99 to spend, buy the Galism apps and then tell me if they're worth it!  :P


What I don't understand is why the big gyaru brands (Ma*rs, Glad News, Cocolulu) don't have apps.  Well, maybe they do, but I couldn't find them.  If anyone knows about more gyaru apps, please let me know! 

KiraKira-World recommends the Shibuya Cam... looks like it's free but I didn't get it.  (iTunes store reviews say it's very low resolution.)

http://kirakira-world.blogspot.de/2012/07/purikura-app-for-iphone-ipod-shibuya.html

If you like... 

If you like my awesome, studly iphone wallpaper… I got it from Murua (the mode Gyaru brand)!   They tweeted a few phone wallpapers recently.

https://twitter.com/murua_care/

oooh!  shiny!

*  I’d been selected as a candidate for a job a REALLY wanted.  They made candidates take a series of tests but I didn’t score high enough on the second test.  I was so disappointed and felt like a failure.  Before that second test, I tooooootally thought I’d get the job!  I mean, I’d already mentally planned my outfit for my first day of work and all the cute bric-a-brac I’d put on my desk. :P

Liebster Award 2

Miss Daniela of Alternative Kei gave me a Liebster Award!  Thank you Daniela!

I love Daniela.  I think she, like me, has a rock and roll heart.  We both started blogging around the same time. [Although I don’t think she reads MY blog anymore!  I forgive her!]  She has always been very open and candid about things like insecurities, which I find very refreshing.  A lot of bloggers try to project themselves as 2 cool 4 school and write as though they are an authority on everything.  Daniela seems very real and I appreciate that.

****************

I’ve already done this Liebster thing back in April.  The post is here!  I’m doing it again because I want to write about ("showcase," if you will) my awesome amiga…

Minami Princess!

We met at a Gyaru meet here in SF and I liked her right away!  She is COOL and SMART and HILARIOUS, unlike the majority of humans on earth.  And she’s really good at Gyaru style; she’s been doing it for a long time and has a great wardrobe.

She’s moving to Osaka… tomorrow!  Literally!  She just started her blog, you should follow her!

http://minamiprincess.blogspot.com 

****************

Now I'll answer the questions Daniela gave me.  I'm actually in a really sh*tty mood, so my answers will probably be very pessimistic...

Why did you decide to start blogging?

This may sound dorky but I started blogging to meet people who are also interested in Japanese alternative fashion.

If you could have an unlimited supply of something, what would it be?

Money! Or Adderall, so I can get skinny!  I’ve been reading too much Cat Marnell. 

What would be the "soundtrack" or theme song to your life currently, and why?

Um… How about “Snow Blind” by Kiss?  I’ve had a frustrating couple of weeks.  I do feel a little like I’m lost in space-ace-ace-ace…

Your favorite sweet/candy?

Bubblegum

If you could learn only one new thing, what would it be?

New languages, especially Japanese... fluently!

What would you like to achieve in the future?

I’d like to have a job I really love.  Either that, or extreme wealth.
I also want to get better at gyaru style.  Gyaru is one thing that makes me really happy and it'd make sense to get good at it!

You're a superhero, what would your name be and why?

I’d like to be mystique from X-Men, so I can look however I want to look!
Sorry, I'm not feeling creative.  

If you were given three wishes, what would they be?

I’d probably feel really guilty wishing for things for myself.  I’d wish for world peace and end to poverty.  And THEN, I’d wish for something for myself.  Um... I'd wish for eternal thinness!

What is the one piece of advice that has helped you along the way?

"Don't compromise yourself, you're all you've got." ~Janis Joplin

What are your biggest influences?

Alcohol, sugar, insecurity...

What is your biggest inspiration and why?

Anvil!!  The documentary on the band Anvil is so inspiring!  Those guys never gave up on their dream.  Most people get a little older and then decide that dreams are foolish.  Those guys are still pounding!  I’ve seen them in concert twice.  I want to be like Anvil and never lose sight of my dreams!  Assuming I still had dreams!

Lips from Anvil  :)

...ok, that's it.  I have a few blog posts planned.  One I'm pretty excited about!  I just need to shake off my bad attitude.  I've been feeling really frustrated and hopeless lately.  Gotta snap out of it!

 

Find your fragrance

This was really fun!  I got this catalog from Sephora in my last order. It's not a catalog so much as it is a workbook. There are a few different categories. In each category, you get two scent flaps to choose. You aren't told the name so you aren't influenced by the branding and packaging. You should try to get your hands on a copy! It's really cool!

Sorry for the ghetto scans, I didn't use my normal scanner!

 I went through it with my husband and we picked our favorites. It turns out we have differing tastes. Some of the scents that I loved, he thought were nauseating.

Playful

Chic

Addictive

Casual

It was very enlightening. I was surprised by some of my choices. One of my favorites was Coach's Poppy. I was a so disappointed in my self! I would never, ever in a million years buy a Coach perfume. Coach is for preps!

Even though I found the tests enlightening, I know I wouldn't buy a perfume based on scent alone.  I guess I like the image that goes along with the perfume?  Maybe that's the point.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

I think the idea of letting your mate choose is kinda cool.  I have a friend who picked her perfume out with her bf. They went to Sephora and sniffed (she claims) every single perfume. Turns out he liked D&G's Light Blue the best. It's a beautiful scent in a boring bottle--I don't think I could do it!

My favorite perfume of the moment is still Kat Von D's Sinner.  Last summer, it was KvD's Saint. I broke the bottle the morning I went to Paris as I was scrambling to get to the airport on time! Argh! She actually has four perfumes through Sephora. I bought set that has of all of them. I should open it up before they go bad...

Kat Von D perfumes and eyeshadow... I admit I'm a huge KvD fangirl nerd.

For years, my favorite perfume was She by Giorgio Armani (in a hideous bottle). Then I liked Princess by Vera Wang (one of the cutest bottles ever). I still like them but they remind me of the past too much. I like to focus on the future!

That's the bad thing about scents--even if they smell good, they can really transport you to another time whether you like it or not.  Smelling perfumes in duty free shops is one of my favorite airport activities.  However, I never buy perfume in the airport because I don't want the scent to remind me of the airport every time I smell it!


So what is your favorite perfume?  Did you buy it because the packaging is cute?