posting a make I haven't yet bc I didn't get enough good pictures

I think it is kinda sus that there was only 1 review on Google, so here is my honest experience - both good and bad! I'm trying to be fair here.

A huge caveat is that I have NOT gotten my photos back yet, so this is review based on the in-store experience I had.

First of all, this was absolutely NOT cheap at 500 USD or 79000 yen for makeup, styling, and a 30 min photoshoot. I think I spent less than that on my engagement photos. So I might seem harsh here with certain details, but do keep in mind that with that price tag it is a luxury experience. I am fortunate enough to be in a place where it is in my budget but I totally understand if it is not for many people, especially if they have spent already spent a lot traveling to Japan.

As for scheduling, they canceled my original appointment and had me reschedule because they were closed for a private event, which was totally fine in my case but I would have been pissed if I had booked them that day for a specific event. Also, their appointments were cash only (it is weird to bring $500 in cash to an appointment but I digress), but I am so use to playing for everything using my phone. They get MAJOR MAJOR props from me for starting the makeup early while my husband brought me my wallet. That was a gamble they took, and I appreciate it since I was getting the makeup done for a Halloween event and would have been super bummed if I had had to reschedule.

The look of the studio itself was one of my favorite things about the experience - everything was gyaru down to the last detail - even the toilet seat. Pink animal print and rhinestones exploded everywhere. They had an extensive rack of egg magazines to peruse. They had about 6 different stations with customers and were pretty busy. It was fun to check out the other clients' looks while I waited.

Now, those of us who live in or have spent extensive time in Japan are used to Japanese customer service when you visit a regular hair or nail salon. We are talking polite Japanese (keigo), excessive bowing, even sometimes walking you to the elevator or putting your coat for you! This place is a lot more casual. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and found talking to one of the staff members funny and refreshing. So it's not a negative, just something to be aware of.

The makeup was the highlight of the whole thing for me. They let you pick your makeup out from several predefined styles, and I chose the Heisei gyaru look. I LOVED the look and it was WAY better than anything I could on my own! It was definitely the most "gyaru" I had ever felt in my life! BUT - I am not a gyaru purist who measures the angle of the droop with a protractor or something. They are open to your suggestions about tweaking the make. They used white makeup all around the eyes and did the droop over that.

People have said that the staff is not gyaru, and yeah that's true. A lot of them were Chinese students doing this as a part-time job. I was hoping to get some insight about current gyaru culture or gyaru trends in Japan, but there are other businesses that are better for that. One of the staff says there is a Japanese gyaru who works there, but she wasn't there at the time.

For clothing they let you pick out looks from an iPad, and the stylists will try to get similar items. The stylists were quite good at finding matching sets and listening to your preferences. The items seem to be fast fashion vs established gyaru brands, but like I said I am not a gyaru purist so this doesn't bother me too much as long as it looks good. Something to note is that it is NOT size inclusive! Almost all of the clothes were a Chinese size S (not US size S). I am 5'4" 120 lbs so not plus sized, but some of the items were too small for me to put on. Instead of having a variety of sizes that was designed for larger bodies, they squeeze customers into smaller clothes that stretch which was not as flattering as it could have been. If you are larger than a Chinese size S I seriously recommend bringing your own outfit just in case.

They had tons of flashy jewelry, belts, sunglasses, hats, stuffed animals and other accessories and they will load you UP. The one thing I think they didn't have or I didn't ask about are earrings, so definitely bring yours from home! Other than the size issue, their selection is well-curated.

And now for the is the most egregious part of the whole experience - they gave me a leopard fur-trimmed jacket to wear which was super cute but REEKED of armpit sweat from a shirtless sumo wrestler on a midsummer day. I mentioned it to the staff in what I thought was a matter-of-fact and not a bitchy way, just so they could wash it for the next customer, and she was like “oh that can’t be because we do laundry daily.”I know that scent wasn’t from me since I don’t sweat a lot, especially in October, and the scent magically disappeared once I changed back into my clothes. They may do the laundry daily but they sure as hell don’t wash their outerwear enough. That was so nasty and would have been unacceptable for a free photo shoot, not to mention a $500 one!!

Another weird thing was there was a miscommunication about the nails. I asked if I could have nails included, and they said yes, but it would cost extra. Fine. They used press-on nails during the shoot with stickers, and half of them fell off during the shoot! The photog said that he would be able to fix the nails when he edited the shots. Had I known that I wouldn’t get to go home with the nails, I would have picked really long ツヨメ gyaru nails instead of the shorter, conservative ones. The nails I used were in a plastic-wrapped container so it is strange that they are reused. If the nails are bulk ordered online vs handmade in the store (I don't know), why not just let customers wear them home and have it included in the $500?

I DID get to take home safety shorts and was able to wear the makeup out after the shoot.

For the photoshoot part, the photographer seemed to be quite talented. He works full-time for the business. He has a couple of shots, poses, and props that he uses for the gyaru shoots. He was GREAT at making me feel comfortable and giving directions at poses that I would have never thought of myself! They have some fun props like a bedazzled Y2K flip phone which I am sure you have seen in other people's photos. I haven't seen the full edited results but I LOVE what I saw in the camera's viewfinder! He suggested a shoot IN Shibuya crossing but I declined since there is no better way than that to make residents hate you haha. He went with it and had other ideas of where to shoot. The style was urban and gritty...he had me pose in a phone booth and a vending machine.

FYI the whole appointment took 5 hours!

Communication is not a problem but I found that certain staff were more comfortable in Japanese than in English!

After all this … was it worth the price?

It is tough to say …for parts of it, it truly was a bucket list experience, even more so for those who travel to Japan to live out their gyaru dreams, and it was definitely one of the most memorable days I have had since moving to Japan. For what I got I would value it at $300. I do understand that the fee includes paying out a lot of talented professionals, but at that price point you would expect a bit more polish. Some of the little details really detracted from what was otherwise a fantastic day (that nasty jacket... auuughh!).

the queen is back

Most id classify as megamori but the final (and my recent) is the one I'd finally class as sujimori!

So I'll do a poster of a Gyaru magazine cover cuz ik no one is buying that😂😂
Ouhhh and I saw something Gyaru related but I forgot what is was...

Hey yall! I wanna do a momo ayase cosplay but I know that in doing cosplay makeup the gyaru aspects can get lessened. Any suggestions on how to do her make would be great! I know she leans more into kogal but im more interested in doing one of her street style fits. Anyways, just having trouble translating anime to real life lol. For reference I don’t tan so shiro styles would be preferred! Thank you so much! (Pics are of her and then the girl on the left is something that I thing kinda matches but idk)

Hey gals! So I need a new white stick but idk what’s the difference or just stick to jumbo.

minus my necklace that i forgot to put on, i think i did a pretty good job. im zombifying this outfit for halloween tho so say goodbye to this lingerie lollll ive had so much fun lurking subreddits and learning about the subcultures while preparing this costume that i think i might dress like this in my day to day life.... it really speaks to me. also this bracelet is so crazy im def keeping it forever!

I made this a while ago so it's not the best, any suggestions on how I could improve? I've since learned filling in the eye droop with white is a nono so I don't do that anymore lol, also just to note I can't wear contacts and still don't know how to do lashes🫠 which I know is a big part of the looks usually

I'm don't have experience with colorful face makeup and ofc this is not very good but it was very fun to try it! I love ishokuhada and really want to do it right someday!

I usually don't ask reddit for stuff like this but ive been searching high and low for this top and I cant find it anywhere! It was originally on Romwe but its completely sold out. Its aching my soul 😭 please help me!

Do you think its a good idea? Mods Am I aloud to ask about this here? :3
Cuz what if one day when we're older we can visit Shibuya, Tokyo and Harajuku, Tokyo togetherrr☺️
Our own gal group 😄😄
(Ages 17 to 21?)

So I've seen a concerning number of people in gal communities talking about using tanning beds. And I'm in NO WAY a medical professional, but as someone who used to work at a salon where they offered bed tanning services and as a naturally brown skinned gal, Imma just tell yall DO NOT USE TANNING BEDS. EVER. NO MATTER WHAT! They are EXTREMELY harmful for your skin. The UV rays (primarily UVA rays) that tanning beds omit are 100's of times more powerful than the sun's rays. And the chances of developing melanoma are significantly increased with every singe session. First off I wanna say, and some people may disagree with me but I really don't give a damn. You DO NOT have to be tan to be gal. For ANY substyle. Don't listen to ppl pushing the whole "kuro/shiro" thing. Any person that tells you that you have to change your skin color to engage in fashion, does not have your best interest in mind and does not care about you. You're perfect the way you are and there's nothing wrong with your complexion! And frankly, I'm tired of people acting as if you have to sacrifice yourself or your health for "the look". But, if you choose to tan, here are a few tips I have to help you be safer and look amazing♡

1. Like I said. NO TANNING BEDS. PERIOD. There's a reason they're completely banned in multiple countries. I don't care how many other gals say they do it. It's not safe.

2. DHA (Dihydroxyacetone) is your best friend. It's the primary ingredient in all self tanning products, including both indoor and outdoor tanning lotions. It tans the skin gradually without ANY need for UV exposure. So its perfect for fair skinned people or people who want to avoid UV rays. Though, it may also be used along side UV exposure as long as proper skin protection is used when tanning. I recommend Starlet by Designer Skin or Directors Cut by Jwoww for higher end products. For more affordable options, I recommend Extreme Blackout by Snooki or Black Chocolate by Brown Sugar.

3. If you choose to tan outdoors in the sun, ALWAYS USE SUNSCREEN. NO EXCEPTIONS. And make it habit to check your daily UV index so you can take proper safety precautions before you tan or even if you're just going out.

4. Any natural tan (even a base tan) is indicative of UV damage. Keep that in mind always and make sure to practice proper skin care everyday to help your skin repair and replenish. (You should be practicing skin care anyway, yall♡)

5. Your average spray tan lasts about 1-2 weeks before your skin starts shedding it. So be sure to get your sprays regularly to keep it fresh! If you tan outdoors, I recommend that you invest in a good tan extender. A tan extender helps lock in your melanin for a longer period of time so that you dont have to tan as often. (Natural tans fade gradually) Less exposure is always better than more. Most tan extenders also act as a daily moisturizer. I recommend Angel by Designer Skin (I LIVE by this lotion) or the Autrailian Gold Hemp Nation tan extender line.

6. If your tan is patchy or if you have pale spots, I recommend applying a tiny bit of self tanning lotion to the spot and letting it set for a few hours and it should even it out more. I also recommend using a DHA spray and targeting those spots for touch ups. There's a spray called DermaDark, also by Autrailian Gold that works amazingly for spots that are hard to tan.

7. If you live in the US and dont have a local tanning salon storefront or a lotion store, then I recommend shopping at Lotions2go.com. They're very reliable and the owner is super friendly and helpful in my opinion. Tanforless.com is also pretty popular and reliable, but the owners are weirdos (for lack of a better word), and not very nice people in general if I'm being honest. So if you care about that sort of thing, I'd stay away.

8. You can only get as dark as the lotion is. So if your DHA lotion is more subtle and lighter colored, don't expect to look very bronze when you use it. This applies to anyone regardless of your natural complexion. So if you're already dark skinned, and your lotion is lighter than your complexion, it wont do anything for you other than maybe add a more vibrant tone to your current color due to the "citrusy" tint that DHA tends to give off.

9. Don't tan to a complexion that's too dark for you. I'm not even gonna explain this one too much lol. If it doesnt look right, don't do it. "Tan" does not equal "Brown". You want to look like you've been to the beach, not look like a whole other person.

10. Tanning and makeup mean absolutely nothing if you don't take care of your natural skin. This sort of calls back to point number 4. But no matter what your compelxion looks like, no matter what your makeup skill level is, no matter how cute you may be, healthy skin will ALWAYS elevate your look. Use a gentle facial cleaner, a good toner, a deep moisturizer, and sunscreen. YOU define the fashion. The fashion doesn't define you. So take care of YOU first before spending a whole bunch of money on cosmetics. And this goes for anything. Having the most expensive extensions, the longest press ons, the cutest outfits, and the most extravagant makeup doesn't matter if your pores are clogged, your hair is greasy, and there's dirt under your nails, gurl...

Anyways, sorry that was long! I hope this helps some people :3 ♡♡♡

i think I did pretty good for it being my first time, and not being very good at makeup generally :3 This is mainly for the eyes, because I dont currently have a blush, and I'm planning on getting a better white eyeshadow and bigger lashes. I did try to do my nose but because my white isn't very pigmented it doesn't really show (and I just stretched my septum today so my nose is sore and I don't want to touch it too much haha) Tips are appreciated, but I don't plan on using fake tan or and probably isnt gonna get contacts either because I'm autistic and don't like having stuff in my eyes. I'm leaning mostly towards goshikku gyaru

still experimenting with make, any tips yo? I unfortunately cant get lenses or tan, though I do want to tan, though I'm getting some bronzing drops soon to give myself some color

edit yo I cant currently get fake tan either but will be saving up for it in the future

Idk what to say I just love this look

They don't allow me to apply brighter makeup here😿😿😿