Boss Level Gyaru (•̀ᴗ•́ )و

     Egg ® briefly did videos making the models choose which side they stand on.  I thought this topic in particular would be fun to discuss on the blog.  The question roughly translates to "What maintenance is required (every month) for Gal?"  The choices are hair salon or nails?

     Personally, I pick hair.  And maybe that's just because I do like to change my hair a lot.  It's still ingrained in me that if my hair doesn't look nice, then I don't look nice.

     Erika said it best!  "Hair . . . I can't serve if it's gross 💅".  And I'm paraphrasing from a weird translation but, sis meant that exactly (lol).  How can I serve looks if my hair is not up to par?  (Side note : I LOVE her blue chunky highlight hair!)  Out of 7, 6 gals picked hair!  Momoa stood alone when choosing nails.

Her shocked face sent me rolling!

    I don't tend to focus on my nails at all to be honest.  Although I am trying to get more into having my nails done.  I do think nails are a higher expense to keep up with monthly.  (It does depend on what you're getting done though ....in both hair and nails.)  One of the models stated "you can do (gal) without nails" and I remember someone saying "these are press ons".  And I think that's the route I'm about to take.  I tested something out recently, and I think it may become my new norm.

     While I do agree with the "you can do gal without nails" statement, I want to feel like a 'full' gal.  When you have your nails, hair and makeup done up regularly, it's like you've reached the final form of gal.  Boss level Gyaru, if you will.  ٩̋(๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑)hhhh

So where do you stand on this debate?

Loalo JP🌺

Hello Cuties~~

     Curse these lazy bones and mind of mine~  I wanted to write much sooner about this, but have you heard the news?  The debut of a new Gal magazine :  Loalo!  Papillon wrote a post for the initial announcement here.  It features a few Gals you may recognize and some new faces we'll get to know!

     Based on the captions from their Instagram posts, Loalo promises lots of attractive women with a healthy tan 🤭.  They also mentioned a collection of photos focused on gravure — had to look this up because I lack knowledge on these kinds of terms.  

        "Gravure idols, in most cases, emphasize their sexual

        attractiveness and often model in swimsuits" (UD).

So I guess we shall expect lots of bikini clad Gals~  Perhaps they'll be some fashion shots too?  I'd love to see just a big range of styles in this magazine.  We are getting a lot of different vibes with the roster of models; their styles are all significantly different.  So what models have been announced so far?

     Sora Fujiki — the covergirl!  She's a DJ next to modeling and her style outside of photoshoots is very minimalistic.  Swapping between simplistic or mature, for sure Onee gyaru.

     Harutamu — (this photo was used for nostalgic reasons (T_T)  But the queen herself was announced as the second model!  Her style has changed a lot since her Black Diamond gyarusa days.  She's still glamorous as ever!  I suppose her style is more Onee too now.  I don't get to see many images of her not modeling swimwear or clothing brands.  Harutamu is also a DJ!

     Asami Natsuki — a new face for me!  I took a journey down her Instagram page and it's mostly swimwear or lingerie modeling.  But if you did a little deeper, you'll see her style outside of that is pretty casual.  You'll also find a bit of kyabajo influence in some of her photoshoots.

     Machirin — yet another iconic queen!!!  So excited to see her in this magazine~  She's known for tsuyome and ganguro style.  You may recognize her from the group -from 2000!  (They were interviewed for Papillon magazine too~)  Her makeup is always next level and although -from 2000 has disbanded, Machirin still makes music!

     Pacha — another new face!  She's so cute, I really love her style!  Just from her Instagram, I'd say she mostly follows American fashion trends.  Looking forward to seeing and learning more about her!

     Yuuramomo — I am psyched to see her in a magazine!  I've been following her for a while before hearing about Loalo.  She is such a cool chica!  Her entire Instagram is full of great looks, talk about #goals.  Very much so an ora ora gal!  I love pictures of her on her motorbike (the car pics are great too).  The girl can drift and look hot while doing it~

     Runa Yatsuki aka Shimoruna — I just about screamed when she was announced as a model for Loalo.  Gorgeous and sexy 👀 (not sure if she's still in adult video) I just really love her style!  She was one of the reasons I got that LV multi pochette; I can't help but be influenced by her alluring looks and lifestyle!

     Overall I'm just excited for a new magazine!  I can't wait to see what the first issue brings!  And who knows, maybe more familiar faces may show up for the next volumes?  

Word on the J-Street | Gal Going Dark?

     Hi Cuties!  I feel like I've been losing sight of what I wanted for this blog.  I said I didn't want it to just be a log of my looks and makeup.  I wanted my blog to be informational, and inspirational as well.  I want it to be a fun read!  And I seem to have fallen back into routine so I'm here to break that up a bit with this post.

     I noticed something changing a week or so back and thought it would be cool to write about.  That change being a sort of trend within Gyaru.  When I first got into Gyaru fashion there was a certain look.  I remember back then majority of the "it" girls had flouncy, wavy blonde hair; strawberry blonde, orange-y blonde, dirty blonde.  Point is blonde hair was IN.

     Recently, I took notice of an adaptation to the gal look.  Darker hair has become more prevalent.  More hair colors are also seems to becoming the norm.  Gals are straying away from the typical blonde hair color.  I think what struck me most was when I took note of the more iconic and memorable Gal models that took on darker hair color.

- Reipom

- Izumi Mana

- Harutamu

- Ayaka Ishiyama

 - Kirei

- Machirin

     I thought hell froze over when I saw Izumi rocking black hair!  I don't think she's strayed away from her known blonde tresses since her early days on the scene with brown hair.  So what do you think of this trend?  Would you agree and say the hand-in-hand combination of Gyaru and blonde hair is sort of over?  

~ Love you x Amiman ~

4 Eye-catching J-fashion Trends

Hello Cuties!~

Fifteen days of Winter remain before the arrival of Spring!  While I am excited, I'm sad to see certain winter trends and recent Japanese street trends go.  There are plenty of J-fashion trends to go around and I'd love to ramble on about all of them but today I'll share 4 of the most eye-catching looks on the streets today.

Dark Kawaii: Menhera + Yamikawaii

Now I know, I know "it's been around for a while now!"  But "dark kawaii" is gaining more takers with exposure.  Early this February, Tokyo Fashion shared a video project created by Refinery29.  The video talks about the taboos of mental health awareness / expression and focuses on the visuals of Menhera, Yamikawaii, and figures like Kuua Oyasumi.

Hey everyone, @Refinery29 just released a new 10 minute video exploring the dark-cute Japanese subcultures of Yami Kawaii / Menhera with two of the most popular artists in the genre @kuua_oyasumi & @5623v. It’s a difficult topic to cover because it involves depression, mental health issues, and self harm. But it’s also become a popular art and fashion subculture in Japan. Kuua & Bisuko Ezaki are both popular artists and fashion icons in the Harajuku scene. If you’re interested, check out the full video at @Refinery29 & let us know what you think.

A post shared by Harajuku Japan (@tokyofashion) on Feb 5, 2018 at 2:47pm PST

Sheer / Tulle Skirts

Nothing like a nice sheer over skirt to set off a coordinate.  I noticed that most that incorporate elegant sheer skirts, combine them with contrasting styled pieces (like jeans, hoodies, tees, etc.).

Vintage Pieces

Vintage fashion has played a huge part in Harajuku street fashion seeing that vintage shops seem to be a crowd favorite with teens and young adults.  It seems to stay relevant in some way as other trends come and go.  Isn't it captivating?  Whenever I see street snaps of people in vintage lacy, airy layers of clothing, they appear to be from another time period just walking among simple people.

Über Long Coats

 I actually mentioned this trend in a previous post!  It's still a hit!  I think it can be argued that the sheath or narrow silhouette is definitely a trend as well.  There aren't too many cinched looks lately when it comes to outerwear.

I think out of all the trends, my favorites are vintage clothing and long coats.  Which trend catches your eye? 

~ Love you! x Amiman ~