Gyaru Progression 2014

In 2014 I began to take gyaru a bit more seriously and thought I'd do that kind of meme where you post what your make-up looks were over the course of a year just to see how I'd improved!


This starts at March 2014.

March 2014

I'd bought my few gyaru brand and my first pair of DreamV shoes and I was in love with them. Although I didn't have the make-up down I still did a bit of light contour on my face and wore Dolly Wink lashes which was my staple throughout the years.

I've always had a love/hate affair with white eyeliner (ick) on the lower lashline and in this phase I was all about it. Yikes.

I was still too nervous to wear circle lenses with my 'gyaru' look because it felt like a big step although I had started being able to wear lenses by this point (also the day I took this selfie I'd been wearing circle lenses as part of a cosplay so I was a bit wary of keeping them in for too long). Also: half wigs. I'd discovered how magical they were a few months prior and loved them as they made hairstyling super quick and easy.

April 2014

I was in London during this time of year. I'd actually started applying the circle lenses to go out in and loved it. I was able to keep them in for a little longer than recommended too and I felt fabulous. Those cat ears... I loved them soooo much and wanted them to be on trend forever so I stubbornly kept wearing them to try and bring them back.

I had no lower lashes at this time because I was still stuck in the era of, "I LOOK STUPID WITH THESE BOO HOO." I also was wearing that GOLDS Infinity dress as it was my most 'gyaruable' item that wasn't himekaji. Shortly after this I went back into the himekaji route only to fall out of it shortly after.

June 2014

May was a terrible return to himekaji and I refuse to talk about it as I feel so dumb looking back at it.

This month was... questionable.

The photo I'm using was from a girls night out where I was too nervous to bring full gyaru out with me but attempted to attempt an eyeshape with black kohl liner which I hadn't worn in years. Coordinate-wise I think there was something a bit 'party-gal' about it but I'm not too impressed with myself.

July 2014

This month was where I started trying to make a serious attempt. I was still relying on wigs for my hair as my hair styling skills are nonexistent. I'd purchased a few of my first ever MA*RS items and applied to an English gyarusa, JEWEL (although I freaked out when they messaged me back and ran away like a coward because I was so nervous and awkward). I put together my first ever agejo coordinate and I'm still in love with it and the items I bought. I think I'll always treasure those first few MA*RS items.

I tried not doing the heavy gyaru make-up I'd began learning but I think that suits me more which is a lesson I'd learnt. By this point I'd stepped away from Dolly Wink and was using JEWERICH lashes which I'd purchased for my Junko cosplay. I also had lower lashes from Diamond Lash at this point so... ~improvement~.

August/September 2014

As much as I loved agejo I went into experimenting with hime for a ball outfit. I learnt a lot during this phase.

I began doing my nails again and I learnt how to use my half wig to make my hair huge and with lots of POOF. I was wearing six types of wigs on my head including two fringes and two rope wigs, it was crazy. I had also gone back to using the eyeshape I really loved and purchased my first Jesus Diamante item.

I had a lot of fun researching hime that month.

October 2014

I put two pictures down as I did a lot that month. Both codes are MA*RS because I was in love; the first code was the same one from July but improved. I had better jewellery and a better understanding of how to use my half-wig to make my hair have more volume. I also became a lot more comfortable with how I posed in photos and what to do!

I also began to experiment how to mix other fashion brands into codes - I wore Harajuku brand KOKOkim with MA*RS and it worked a lot better than I had anticiapted. Codes aren't always my strongest point but I was very proud of that evening. I'd also tried mixing some Shibuhara looks together but I'm not personally sure I liked them.

November 2014

I'd done big gyaru hair but I wanted to try going more relaxed for everyday things, as well as using clothes that didn't look gyaru and making everything look gyaru (that turtleneck is MA*RS I'll have you know!!). Natural hair colours have been making their way back into fashion so I attempted something I'd seen by mode brands but with... well, my natural hair. Still undecided on this. It was a experiment but I think it looks a bit creepy.

Still... I learnt something which is what the point of this is all about. Mixing and matching.

December 2014

OKAY, I lie. This is January 2015 but I wanted to use this photo.

I once again began experimenting with make-up. I'd never used lipliner before, I started using lipliner. I also began on experimenting with how to make my lips look bigger as I'm unfortunate enough to have small, thin lips. I experimented with warmer winter codes and overall I feel satisfied. I also used another pair of false lower lashes I'd never tried and felt super satisfied with the result.

Just need to lose weight as I put a lot on!



To be honest I never felt much of an improvement throughout the year until I've seen everything put together. My peak this year was August - October, definitely. Now, for another year to see how I improve.

Stay sweet! ♥

Make-up Shields

One of the things I've always loved about gyaru is how different it can make you look. Sure, it's fake with the heavy make-up and false hair and all of the other additions but it's different. It almost feels like I'm dressing up in some sort of elaborate costume or as my 'true' self that only the addition of a ton of blusher and false eyelashes can bring out. I know that I'm not the only one.

But I also recently realised that I use gyaru as a shield to protect my true self.

It all stems back to a lack of self-confidence and some self-loathing that sits deep rooted within my very core but am I really the only person who hides behind a layer of foundation? Not really. And it's okay to feel like that (to be honest I'd die if any of my real life friends saw me without make-up and I make a ton of apologies whenever I show up without a scrap of it on!). I think that there's a fraction of us girls who do follow the gyaru style to enable us to hide our ourselves from those around her; it's hard to believe I'm the only one who wears it as warpaint!

Looking around some old books I picked up over the years I found Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno which does cover some of the legacy of Buriteri, one of the most famous gyaru of all time, and this particularly struck a chord with me:

'Buriteri never showed her face without make-up. ...... Buriteri would shout back, "I am too shy to show you my real face!" She said doing herself up like that was a tool to hide her true personality. She was actually really shy and inhibited.'

If Buriteri, one of the most famous gyaru pioneers who helped evolve gyaru into what it would eventually become today, was using the gyaru persona and make-up to hide her true self then how many other people are doing it? How many other gyaru are taking off their make-up at the end of a day and falling into bed and burying underneath the duvets? How many other people are using their make-up as a shield?


Sure, the gyaru make-up in recent times cannot even begin to be compared to the highs of ganguro and gonguro and manba but there's still a lot to it. Even though it's toned down and become less about the bleach blonde hair and the fake tans there's still girls hiding behind their make-up.

And why? Why is that?

Is it the pressures of society? Is it the that we feel as though our own beings have no self-worth but only physical worth? Do we not feel as though our make-upless selves are adequate enough?

I wonder how many girls feel the same under their false eyelashes and cheers of, "Agepoyo~! ✩" I know I'm not on my own when I say my false eyelashes are my sword and my circle lenses are my shield.

Stay sweet! ♥

Gyaru Journey

This is something I've been wanting to do personally for myself and I thought that perhaps some of you girls would be interested in seeing the evolution of my 'gyaru' style. I've been absolutely everywhere the last few years with my fashion choices. I was inspired by gyaru, I decided I wanted to be creepy cute, I decided to be a normal girl, I decided to wear cute Japanese clothes and suddenly I found myself actually embracing gyaru style as a whole after being scared to take the plunge. My favourite bloggers have changed throughout the years too as well as my fashion inspirations which I thinks shows a lot.


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From the beginning I always claimed I was 'gyaru inspired'. I used gyaru fashion as an inspiration for myself to dress better. To be honest I lived in t-shirts and jeans and whilst those are all cool and all, I wanted to look after myself a little better. I stumbled upon what came to be my bias, Liz Lisa, and aspired to dress like that using primarily UK fashion.

Did it work? No, not really.

I didn't think I needed lower lashes as my own lower lashes were long enough with mascara on and circle lenses were something I was in complete denial about. I didn't need those! My vision was also pretty bad and I wasn't confident with getting them incase I order the wrong prescription and my optician would've murdered me if they'd known I wanted to shove those infamous 'Lady Gaga' lenses into my eyes.

I stumbled across gyaru in 2010 to be honest and perhaps my grasp of it was a little better than what it was as 2011 progressed. I started off with curled extensions and false lashes at least! My natural hair was cut into a cutesy bob which was cute for every day wear but no good for gyaru in the slightest. I barely bothered to style my hair! I had no idea how to put a coord together or anything. As a teenager I was never a fashion conscious girl as I was very studies focused and in my early years it showed.

As opposed to what I wanted to be I was a silly girl who was just 'inspired' by it. I knew if I claimed to by gyaru it would be pointed out that I was absolutely, 100% not this thing I claimed to be.


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From here I actually made a bit more of an effort. I was gifted my first set of Dolly Wink lashes, both upper and lower, and I felt thrilled and actually felt a little bit more legitimate. I also stopped biting my nails and letting them grow out which was great. I still loosely followed gyaru trends; during winter 2012 I went crazy trying to get hold of anything that was pastel because that was the new thing. Seriously.

I actually tried doing proper gyaru make-up as I had the lower lashes to do so but I still sucked. Looking back, those eyelashes were no good for the make-up I wanted but they were Dolly Wink so it was okay, right? No. Not at all. I did discover hairpieces other than extensions which helped me spruce things up a little and I was less reluctant to wear wigs. Clothes wise I was still off the mark but I did manage to purchase some key wardrobe staples so everything wasn't a complete loss!


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I barely posted at all during 2013 on my blog due to some personal issues. This is the year things actually started changing and I began making small improvements.

I purchased my first ever pair of circle lenses (for my Christa Renz from SNK cosplay) and found that they weren't as scary as I thought they were. This made me more relaxed and much more receptive to purchasing future lenses. I also purchased clothes from DreamV which was a big shove in my style and made me feel a lot more confident. I also discovered the miracle of half wigs and realised that they weren't as scary as I thought they were. In fact, they were stupidly easy to apply!

I was also approached in public and asked if I was gyaru for the first time which was... well, not something I expected. I still denied that I was and just said the same old line; that I was inspired by the fashion.

I shed what was holding me back and continued experimenting with my make-up although I was never satisfied; it still wasn't what I wanted.


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2014 has been the year of experimenting and pushing myself further and further. I purchased eyelashes other than Dolly Wink which improved my upper eye make-up, I think! I pushed myself to wear agejo style clothes and purchased my first gyaru brand item from GOLDS Infinity and my first pair of gyaru style shoes. Even then I still denied I was gyaru but instead was 'gyaru inspired' because the gyaru community scared me and I still felt inadequate compared to some of the other gyaru I had seen, especially the other UK gyaru.

The biggest changing point for me was May Expo. I was determined to do Junko Enoshima justice and looked up how to do rokku style gyaru make-up and applied it for the first time. For the first time in my life I felt like I looked gyaru which was kinda silly because I was in cosplay! I couldn't believe it.

Even then I noted the changing state of gyaru and tried to follow the make-up trends but no matter what I still didn't feel like I looked gyaru without the rokku style make-up. I purchased MA*RS clothes and cute pumps and even more circle lenses and felt confident in myself for the first time in forever. Even when I had some potentially serious health issues that was marking my body I still felt confidence when I was dressed in my precious MA*RS. I purchased more wigs and hair pieces and began experimenting with my look and image.


I also met some of the UK Gyaru at MCM Expo and following them has helped me a lot, I think. Watching them inspired me to spruce up my own image and I gathered the courage to even apply for a gyaru unit (although I got too scared after to even reply to any of their messages) but even doing that has just helped.

To be honest, 2014 has been one of the worst years of my life so it's almost funny that this is the year I've had the most improvement. The year isn't even over yet! I'm still finding my feet because I don't know if I'm agejo or if I like rokku or hime better or if onee would be better for me but... I'll get there somehow.


Stay sweet! ♥