May 14th, 2024

 Its already mid May, and the weather seems to be going a little steady. 

Since this has been on my mind for a while, I had some instances of gyaru style hiatus and became a bit of a weekend gal! (something I thought I'd never do! But due to a new set of circumstances...)

The first time I did this it was a hiatus of sorts around 2013. I had let my eyebrows grow out and return to their natural, black and thick state, stopped perming my hair and using wigs, and took a break from the lashes and nails. It was weird seeing myself so plain yet complete (no need to fill in my brows etc.). I also ended up cutting off all permed parts of my hair as it grew out, and just did twists and such. 

This probably lasted for a few months, until I stopped and decided back to old routines. Taking that time off allowed me to just be reacquainted with myself without all the bells and whistles. 

Several years later,  when I began studying and working at a university, I took another hiatus to forgo the make and hair and things to blend in a little, and focus on work and study points as there were people who had way more time dedicated to understand. Of course, halfway through that period, I did start to do more toned down versions of my style, experimented a bit and kept the bolder looks for events and weekends. (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

Though I have done faux locks before with my banba gyaru make up, I went without it with a blue set. It was a little odd, and perhaps doing gyaru makeup and being creative with my style a large majority of the time made me feel as if the look wasn't complete without the lens and lashes. I looked really tomboy-like again for a while.

With those few breaks, I also noticed I still do my contour the same, but got used to looking how I did before all the heavy makeup.

With having done such extreme styles and doing such bold eye makeup, you can get accustomed to what you look like in those moments. A sense of dysmorphia when you skip out or don't do your makeup routine is a snippet of a conversation I had with someone who loves lashes. 

Spotlight: Atelier Pierrot; Size Range Increase!

I am so excited that a lolita brand, Atelier Pierrot is increasing their size range! As a J-fashion blogger and enthusiast, I am always impressed when brands are inclusive or become inclusive for other body types, whether it be Western ones or Japanese ones. March 11th starts their Plus Sized Fashion Festival and sale to cater to the Western and plus sized fans of their designs. You can now fawn over posts of their latest pieces on their social media.

Ebunny, a twitch streamer, singer and former onee gyaru, modeled for Atelier Pierrot and looks gothically amazing in the tiered skirts and gentle ruffles.

A qoute from her instagram:

"The Japanese elegant gothic lolita fashion community usually doesn't see someone like me representing brand clothing for lolita. As someone who's loved egl fahion for almost 20 years, I cannot tell you how proud I am to be a full figured, plus size, thicc, whatever adjective you like to use (lol) black woman modeling for a lolita brand in Japan. This is a type of representation I would've loved to see as a child, but sometimes you gotta be the change you wanna see!

Thank you to all the hardworking Japanese and non-Japanese staff at Atelier Pierrot for making the investent and effort to produce high quality lolita fawshion clothing in plus sizes. Egl should be for everyone to enjoy regardless of size, race, gender, height, etc. They are taking small steps everyday in the right direction."

You can follow the brand here to keep updated on their designs. And here is a link to the dress modeled by the lovely Ms. Ebunny herself.

You can follow Ms. Ebunny here on her IG.

Have fun!

SHIBUYA! by softboiledegg

softboiledegg of the legendary egg gyaru magazine just dropped a new catchy song four days ago after sharing some behind the scenes clips on their Tiktok. I was curious how it will turn out as there were clips of gals doing parapara to a nonstandard beat in the background while two of them had close ups of them rapping/singing. Its also a bit refreshing to see a more recognizable gal makeup being worn by the main artists of the song. The song is also complete with some wild lyrics, but what could be wilder than opening your song with how fresh and clean.... you are from their song Gal is Mind?

Check it out here:

The Fine Line Between Normal and Special

Having been heavily in the gyaru scene since 2010 after being on a gaming platform around 2007-2009, I experienced moments of pseudo "celebrity". Though small in comparison to some of the well known names out there, and there were others who were cooler or more kawaii, at the time it was a big deal in this little bubble. It was thrilling at times, but the amount of progress I felt was needed, becoming a sell out, and what content should I publish to entertain hundreds of people is something I had to think about constantly.