Japanese Inspired Makeup- Hime Gyaru

Helloooooooooo =)



Okay this is my last entry for the Japanese Gyaru look! Cuz I'm getting sick of this look XD (well for a while at least heehee)

So what is Hime Gyaru? It basically means "Princess Girl." (Gyaru= gal, girl).

Yes, recently in East Asia (well I know at least for sure in Japan and Taiwan, don't know much about Korea and China/Hong Kong), there's this HUGE trend of doll-like makeup look/princess style (I even wrote a 9-page paper on it for my class before XD teehee). Honestly I was pretty into it a few years ago... but not anymore. Just doing it for fun now :P People either love it or hate it haha.

Here are a couple of examples for Hime Gyaru look:





I'm not sure if there's a clear definition/characterization for Hime Gyaru look... cuz you know, things like this just keep evolving. From my research BIG hair used to be part of Hime Gyaru too. But anyway this is just MY TAKE + extremely toned down version on the hime gyaru look :)

Instead of going for the "rimming the waterline with white eyeliner" blah blah blah (if you've read my other Gyaru tutorials before lol), I'm switching it up and going for this approach:


More of the framing your whole eyes/darker eyeliner look :)

So Here it is! :)


Man I couldn't find anything in my closet to go with this look at first O__O I ended up digging through some old clothes that I was planning to donate... XD they're like from 4 years ago. My style changed a lot heehee =P

Here's the eyeliner map:

Red part is where you use your black eyeliner. Line your waterline, and make sure the outer corner is a little bit thicker. The blue part is where you cover the black eyeliner and add/smudge some brown eyeshadow on (I'm using a reddish brown). Highlight your inner corners with shimmery eyeshadow to brighten your eyes up.
Again, since I'm using extravagant falsies, I like to keep my eyes look clean. Therefore I didn't use any eyeshadow for my lids :)

For my lashes, I'm wearing these kind:

They can look a little bit intimidating (at least I never thought about buything these until I saw some Japanese models wearing something like this), but they actually produce a very nice effect :)

I got them from prettyandcute.com (http://prettyandcute.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=932)
Honestly they're not the easiest lashes to work with because they're very rubbery and the stem/rim is VERY thick. Of course you don't have to get yours from here, just find something similar, and possibly easier to use :)

So I trimmed the lashes to fit my eyes, and I keep the lashes I cut off. Then I trimmed the cut-off lashes so there are two bundles of hairs.

I use these as my lower lashes and I put them on the very outer corner.


(Just like the picture below for my blush XD )

Now, the purpose of placing these lower lashes is not only because they open your eyes more so they appear bigger, but they also give the illusion of altered eye shape, like the corner of your eyes are pointed down. This has been a very popular trend in Japan because it gives you that innocent look (the so-called puppy eye effect).

For my cheeks, I'm wearing NARS Multiple Orgasm with this shape:

See how she also has two "chunks" of lashes on the outer corner on her bottom lashes? =) Of course she applied falsies all along her bottom lash line but I'm just too lazy honestly XD... you can totally add some if you like :)  And notice she didn't put the lashes all the way to the very outer corner, she put them slightly more inward so the illusion is even greater. So you can do that too if you like this more. For me I just like them at the corner more because that looks more natural to me.

And on my lips, I'm just wearing a pale pink gloss, nothing else =) Feel free to add colors or nude them out (nude them out? haha) though, cuz makeup is about personal style so just do whatever feels right =D

Wow I am SO tired now! I was having nightmares last night so I didn't sleep at all... =*( I almost zonked out in my morning classes but I survived T__T it's like I knew I was dreaming, but I was sleeping BUT my mind was still working if that makes sense? I still remember everything I dreamed of last night. You guys ever got that?

Good luck if you're trying :D

<3 Frances

Makeup look for my bow/glove style entry

Hey again =)

So for my bow/glove style... here's the makeup look tutorial


Inspired by Taiwanese ViVi model -- 亞蘭:)
(I don't think she has an English name :T)



I didn't really care for the eyeshadow, I was mostly looking at the eyeliner :)

Notice the very thick eyeliner on the outer 1/3, and almost nothing on the inner 2/3 but thin lining on the waterline.
So here's the eyeliner map:

Remebmer to keep the eyeliner only on waterline for inner 2/3!

When drawing this shape I'd advise first do the upper liner but don't do the cat-eye yet, then draw the lower liner, extend the line to join the upper liner to create a very thick, slight cat-eye.

I actually used a brown eyeliner for this look (Bobbi Brown Espresso) but of course you can totally go for black :) I think the model's wearing black.

Also, use a greyish or taupe or dark brown/black eyeshadow to smudge out the outer lower liner AND the thick cat-eye.
Apply shimmery white eyeshadow on the inner corner to brighten up your eyes :)




(My "thin" waterlining turned out to be a bit thicker... oh well XD next time heehee)


That's it =)

Oh I was wearing MAC #7 falsies.



I forgot what I was wearing for cheeks... but on my lips I'm wearing MAC Viva Glam Cyndi :)


Great reddish coral color. Very wearable red lips, I'm loving it :D

Thanks for reading again!

<3 Frances

The glove and the bow style?!

Hello hello! =)

K I admit I don't exactly know how to name this style XD
Sorry sorry! (makes me wanna sing the Super Junior song again XD haha)

So I've been reading a lot of Japanese fashion magazines... like usual :D
(Thanks to Dian for your ViVi magazines :D love you!)

A lot of people know, bows are coming back!
At first I was like... emmm... bows on my head? No thanks... cuz come on! How old am I?!
I gotta say after reading so many I'm brain-washed pretty good... lol!

Few examples:






(I think this hair style is super duper cute!! :D but I don't have enough hair haha)


Then I saw this...



The famous ViVi model, Lena Fujii (藤井リナ) of course :D She's one of my favorites.

OMG I LOVE THIS STYLE!!!!!! >__<

hat+ bling shirt+ long necklace+ leather gloves.... :) hot damn!

>__< Of course you can go for a sexier approach... like lacey gloves ;)

ohhhhh babe!!! haha.
(yes I take notes when I read magazines... lol good ol' post-its haha)
So I got inspired to come up with this look :)




cuz black goes with everything :) usually I never wear gold necklaces




I'm wearing a ring cuz I felt like something's missing lol


With a black, fancy bow as well :)


upper body look


I changed my necklace


My beloved leather glove <3 Wish I could've found a hot pink one like Lena's though *sigh*


Of course you can wear short necklaces too



Ok that's enough. Hope you guys are not too tired of seeing my pictures yet haha!

PS: Some pictures I took with beauty function on my camera, in case you're wondering :)
But I try to take most of them with normal portrait function, keep it real you know lol!

That's it! Hope you guys like this style :P

<3 Frances

Feeling very masculine at the moment....

Sooo... Last night I was washing my face and all getting ready to go to bed... I looked at the mirror in the bathroom and turned off the light to head out THEN I had to go back to the bathroom, turn on the light to do a double-take...

Man, I have mustache!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I've always known that I have moustache... I'm never the girl who cares a lot about facial hair except for my eyebrows... but this... wow... is pretty amazingly long! I never realized or ever fully "appreciated" how long they are O___o




See how long they are!?!?!? O___o wow I feel like a man!!!!

My first reaction was.... whoaaaa... is my testosterone level normal?! XD science-dorkiness kicking in.... 

So I was all like... wtf... then I snatched up my eyebrow razors... but I hesitated... what if I cut myself accidentally?! What if I get razor burn? What if I leave a scar? So I picked up my tweezers instead and then I thought... hell noooo it's gonna hurt like a b****....  0___0

So I just eneded up just not doing anything and went to bed XD Maybe I'll get it "myspringit" and get rid of them someday. HAHA

Wooo I feel so masculine now! XD

Need You Now by Sam Tsui

He is AMAZING :)
I cannot tell you how obsessed I am with his version :P




The original version is by Lady Antebellum. I think Sam's version is so much better XD

Enjoy!

<3 Frances

Music I used in my vids...

In case any of you is curious :)

Yesterday by Leona Lewis



I don't think there's an actually official music video?! Shame... this is such a good song.

もっと... (Motto...) by 西野カナ Kana Nishino



:)

Enjoy!!!

<3 Frances

Make Love by Big Bang

Hello hello!

Just thought I'd share some songs I love :)



Ps. This is a fan-made video, not the officical music video ^__^

Enjoy!

Little announcement?! XD

To my friends who told me that they couldn't leave a comment...
I just changed the setting so everyone's open to leave a comment =) you don't need an account/be a blogger anymore.
Haha sorry I'm still playing with the settings for this blog. Heehee.

Happy Spring Break :D

skincare do's and don'ts!

1. Avoid mineral oil on your skin. Mineral oil can clog your pores, causing breakouts and lead to blackheads. Mineral oils can be found in petrolatum and petroleum jelly (so try not to use vaseline on your face, but of course you can use it on your lips =] ). If you need something to seal your moisturizer, try olive oil.


2. If your skin is oily, be sure to thoroughly cleanse your face before you go to bed, so the oils and dirt trapped in the oils won't clog up your pores. However, NEVER STOP to moisturize your face!  If you don't supply your skin with sufficient amount of moisture, your skin will respond by producing more oils.

3. Avoid fragranted moistures/skincare products. The fragrance might cause skin irritation.

4. Try to use natural skincare products, or use natural remedies. In my experiences, natual remedies work the best, even better than expensive skincare products.

5. When applying skincare products, use just enough of it, don't try to apply a thick layer on your skin. THE MORE IS NOT THE BETTER!!! What I mean by enough, is a comfortable amount of skin product that you actually feel your skin absorb everything, not leaving a layer of the product on your skin. Your skin cannot absorb everything if you apply too much, what's left over on the surface of your skin can lead to breakouts.

6. Drink lots of water!! of course =) Everyone knows why. It'll not only help hydrate you, balance the electrolytes, but also flush out the toxins!

7. Avoid sugary food, chocolate, junk food, and fried food. Blackheads are inevitable, but you will be AMAZED by how much your blackheads improve once you changed your diet.

8. When apply natural remedies, make sure you rinse off your face thoroughly. Natural remedies should never cause your skin to break out, unless there are residues remaining on your skin. ***** ALWAYS CLEANSE YOUR FACE if you want to avoid breakouts!!! Cleansing, in my opinion, is the most important step for good skin care regime*****

9. Always switch up the skincare products, don't just stick with one. I used to use this one line of skin care products from Clinique for 3 straight years because I have very sensitive skin and was suffering allergies then, and Clinique was the one that worked for me, so I just stuck to it. Then after 3 years one day my skin just wouldn't absorb the moisturizer, at all =( like I could literally feel a layer of moisturizer sitting on top of my face, but underneath my skin just feels really tight and dry. What happened is that my skin got so used to the products, it stopped responding to the active ingredients in the moisturizers. So always switch up your products to constantly stimulate your skin =)

10. Is your skin or neck feeling irritated for no reason? (i.e, you haven't changed your skincare routines or didn't do anything different). Try watching out for your hair products. Did you use a new leave-in conditioner? You might be allergic! (I'm allergic to aloe and I once used a leave-in conditioner containing aloe without being aware of it, I started breaking out. I checked the ingrediants and stopped using it. My skin was back to normal in no time). Clay, hair sprays can also irritate your skin. So next time your skin breakouts coincide with change of haircare routine, the hair product is probably the culprit behind all that!

11. Avoid oinments for areas that suffer from rashes. Try cream formula instead. I don't know exactly the reason behind it... just something I discovered.

12. If your skin just feels really really dry and it's like no amount of moisturizer you apply would help... it probably means you're really dehydrated. Drink water!

13. Sleep is when your body repairs itself, so get enough sleep! And getting plenty of sleep is not enough, more importantly, sleep at the RIGHT time. 11pm-2am is when your liver detoxifies, a very important process that takes place in your body, so you want to make sure you're resting while your liver does that, lightening the workload for your liver.

14. Take multiple vitamins regularly. Your body needs all sources of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to maintain its integrity and health, so does your skin, especially when your skin is always turning over and trying to recover from some kind of damages, like free radicals, radiation. ****** It is important to pay attention that your supplements come from a brand that is USP verified-- meaning that the contents are verified not to contain anything harmful/inpurities. Believe it or not, supplements are the only kind of "food" that is not regulated by FDA. If you read carefully, the bottles of supplements usually have this disclaimer: "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." Basically, whatever it "claims" to do on the bottle, they don't need any evidence to back it up, and FDA can only intervene when there is undo harm, like liver damages or death. So be careful when you choose your supplements! ****** PS. In case you're wondering how I know... I learned all this info from my nutrition class, so I'm not just BSing :) Also, when you take your supplements, take it with a meal so they're more bioavailable (meaning more readily available to be digested, absorbed and utilized by your body).

15. When your skin is injured for some reason, like from squeezing your pimple etc., avoid wearing makeup on top of it, because the pigments in your foundation/concealor will settle into the wounds, leaving your wound darkened and will be prone to leave scar marks. I've got scars from wearing concealers before T_T


So as you can see... a lot of the advice is not about taking care of the skin... it's about taking good care of yourself. If you take good care of yourself, naturally, your skin is gonna reflect that =)

Take care!

<3 Frances

Talk about getting too scissor-happy....

Hahahaha.... sooooo....

I got wayyy too happy with my scissors last week... I was trimming my bangs, then it got too short so I just went ahead and chop them all off and gave myself straight bangs



My oops face. AHAHA.

I don't normally like straight bangs... because it's just not me lol. Too cute for me. Well I guess it's good for the next few Japanese looks I'm working on. Another reason why I don't like this kind of bangs is because I'll always have to style it... like scrunch the crown of my head to make my hair more voluminous and have more texture... without scrunching I think head just looks too round?! lol! (And yes I'm lazy like that... usually I don't even do anything with my hair hahaha. occassionally I would use water to fix my hair but that's it lol!!)


A lot of ppl including myself are scared of getting straight bangs in the fear of making their face appear too big/round by doing so... My advice would be to keep the width of your bangs within the ends of your eyebrows. At the end of the eyebrows/or starting at the arches of your eyebrows, start gradually tapering the hair out, so that the longer part of your hair can frame your face and cover up your cheeks. If you have rounder face like me,  you definitely do NOT want to have wide straight bangs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



The most classic (classic? lol!) representation I could think of for straight bangs will be Rainie Yang (YAY!! :D )



This kind of hair style is really cute when you put your hair up too :)



See how her bangs start tapering out at the arch of her eyebrow? (though she already has the perfect face shape for this hairstyle lol...)


Here's an even better example:



To demonstrate my point better, here's the map of the bangs:



The first vertical line marks where her eyebrow arch is, then the second line shows how her hair starts tapering out/transitioning into long strands of hairs. The last line shows how the long hair covers up her cheeks for a smaller face (also creates shadow on your cheeks= face look slimmer! =D).


Hope this helps some of you out there who wants to try something new for your bangs :D If you're trying it out... Good luck!!!!

Have an awesome week guys!! And ps... "style" section is coming up soon :D

<3 Frances

Different ways to apply blushes

Hello hello!

So I went ahead and collected a few different looks of how you can apply your blush.

Let's start :)

1.


This is the most common way to apply blush. Simply apply the blush on the apples of your cheeks. This application is suitable for all blush colors.



Dab or apply in a circular motion to achieve this look.

2.


Apply the blush on your cheek bone. This will emphasize your cheek and give you a more defined, angular face shape. Any color would work for this application too.



3.


This is quite an unusual application? Probably not for daily look lol. But I thought it is a pretty cool look. The blush here also serves the purpose of contouring/shading the face. I noticed this look is very similar to MAC's newest look: Too Fabulous (can check it out at maccosmetics.com), except that in MAC ones, they blend the blush up to the temples as well :) (I think purple blush works great for this kind of look... I tried it at the store and totally wasn't something I expected. If you don't apply too much blush it's actually very wearable. I tried the look with Blush Ombre, Vintage Grape).



4.


I love love love this look! :D You apply the blush on the apples of your cheek, but in a triangular shape. By doing this you also achieve the contouring effect. I think this look works best with bronze blush.



5.



This kind of application gives you a facelift and slimming effect :) Start off with the apples of your cheeks then sweep up and outwards.



PS: This is a Japanese model from Popteen magazine. Her name is Nana Suzuki (鈴木奈々) in case you're wondering :)

6.


This is very similar to the first one, except the blush is applied more closely to the nose, like more to the center, instead of on the side of the apples of your cheeks. Does that make sense?!?!? lol!
This application gives you a cute and young look :) So I think using pink or coral colors would be the best.



(This is another Japanese model from Popteen magazine. Her name is Funayama Kumiko, 舟山久美子)

************************** I DO NOT OWN THESE IMAGES*******************************


I hope you guys found this helpful! :) Again thanks for reading, and have a lovely week!

<3 Frances