School really kicked my ass last semester, so having a break has been insanely nice. I've been able to do a lot of creative projects since I've had a bit of time on my hands. Unfortunately, it's been less writing (hi blog. hi trash fics >_>) and more makeup and video work. I'm not sure why that's been a huge thing but I think it's because it's more time consuming. Videos might be harder to do in the fall since I'm officially going to school full time this and next semester to prepare for my transfer to a State University next fall. AHHH! Applications are in October. So with that said, I've been really trying to relax and enjoy my summer before I have to buckle down.
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| Sailor Moon nail set I designed |
That day was also the time that Nor*Gal had their first premeet. It was fun meeting up with other lovelies that were into gyaru fashion. I felt less alone which is a big deal, because usually I am a lone gyaru! I don't have friends that dress up with me or that are into gyaru; so sometimes it's lonely!
Representing the style on stage was something that I could truly take pride in because I really gave my all when it came to the whole outfit, hair, nails, and makeup. It had been the most gyaru I had been in awhile.
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We went for dinner and tea with some of the girls from the fashion show and Nor*Gal premeet. No lie, I'm so excited to do more Nor*Gal stuff in the future. I don't know if I can call Nor*Gal a full on gyaru circle because we haven't actually planned a huge event yet. I'm trying to plan a premeet in Sacramento since I did one for San Francisco already to give the gals further up north their time to shine as well. I also want to do a Galoween meet in San Francisco for everyone from both SF and Sac (and other places-all CA gyaru are welcome!) to come to. I dunno what all I'd plan for that yet but I'm trying to slowly hash out a plan. It honestly depends on my school semester and how busy it gets as well.
Continuing on into summer; the season started out for me in a oddly strange way. I don't really go out before finals but more so after. This year I decided to not to attend Fanime. It felt super strange not partaking it what would have been a ten year long tradition. I felt lack of reason to go honestly. I don't really cosplay anymore. The music guests this year while relevant weren't up my alley. As I've gotten older, the less in tune with the 'youngins'. I'm just not up and with it when it comes to anime and cosplay stuff..or even trends. I kind of do my own thing and stumble into somewhat relevant things. LOL.
I'm thinking about my convention presence and what I want to do in the future. I've certainly retired in a sense. Pondering on it though, there is a space for J-Fashion at these events. I truly do want to revive gyaru fashion up in my area and maybe bring a huge resurgence/event up to my home con. I'm not quite sure yet. I need to see if people are interested in Nor*Gal and planning something with me. I also need to see if my expenses during spring semester would allow me to head to Fanime. If I did it would be for whatever music event there is if it's up my alley and for Nor*Gal. I kind of want to do a gyaru panel with a couple gals that could help me co-host it and that are familiar with doing panels. Just a thought for the future to give me more reason to stay active in a way! I need more purpose!
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My outfit was dumbly casual for all of my SF outings after CBF because I commuted on the BARTfor the first time in three years. For the first trip I took, I wore an off-brand top, a Dig-Deep maxi-skirt, F21 boots, and carried an offbrand bag~
It was a rather comfy outfit until I got to be standing on a very crowded BART train on the way back home and wanted to die. Which fucking reminds me-I was trying to blend in that day by wearing all black in hopes of NOT being hit on/talked to. Which totally created the opposite effect. I got a weirdo walking with me up on Powell street. I ended up dipping into the Sephora to shake the guy off of me and walked out with a Stila glitter eyeshadow set because lord knows I needed retail therapy after enduring that dude's weak ass attempt at spitting game.
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While in San Francisco, I went into Kinokuniya to see if they had an gyaru magazines. Sadly there wasn't much of a selection. With Kera, GLB, and Ageha/Egg not being physically around there's less reason to sometimes hit up Kinokuniya. Occasionally, I get entertained by flipping through Popteen and Larme magazine. Both aren't my style but sometimes I have a glimmer of hope that they'll be a gyaru movement in Popteen again one day.
While I passed by, I saw some Namie Amuro goods!! I was so shocked to see music goods/Namie Amuro stuff. There isn't a lot of music magazines or music stuff in Japan Town like there used to be in the hey-day of my high school years. Way back when there used to be a couple of record shops and even Kinokuniya sold a lot of J-Pop and J-Rock stuff. I remember a store selling w-inds and Johnnys goods wayyy back when!
Anyway, here are the Namie Amuro books I found. They feature pictures and listings from her tours as well as all of the singles and albums she's done over the years.
Other than heading out to SF, I've been delving into make up. I've posted a couple of different make up looked on my YouTube channel. I've had a lot of fun trying out new eyeshadow palettes that have dropped from the Hush app!
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I honestly ADORE all of these palettes so much. I literally reach for the more than any of my high end palettes-which is a bit mind blowing. I've created a bunch of different makeup looks using the eye shadow products that I've used from the Hush app. I've really enjoyed experimenting with different colors and textures-and for an affordable price. If you're interested in the pigmentation and gyaru looks I've done-check out my YouTube channel!
Here is a look I've done a tutorial on with a Hush palette!
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| Sky Rose coordinate |
I indulged in one last adventure this past weekend with my friends in Sacramento. I dressed to the nines yet again because I didn't get to wear the dress I wanted to wear for Cherry Blossom Festival. I took advantage of the extremely warm weather and decided to wear it out on this outing. The dress and shoes are from the now defunct brand Sky Rose. It was an insanely gorgeous and very PINK short-lived brand that existed for a season or two. I adored it and snagged some pieces from their collection before they went out of business. The bag was a gifted Samantha Vega bag that I adore wearing. I have a La Pafait piece that matches that bag too and I really want to eventually coordinate a look with those pieces as well!My friends and I indulged in Korean food (I've been on a Korean kick lately, I'll explain why in a bit), boba, goodies from 85c bakery (which is one of my favorite bakeries), shaved ice, and karaoke!
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I also can't pour drinks worth a shit. Can I just be a model instead? LMAO.
Speaking of model shit; here's a heavily edited pic I did of that outfit. I tried to edit it in an old school Popteen/Koakuma Ageha -like way with the sparkles and bright colors. I don't usually edit my pictures like this but I wanted to experiment a little bit. I'm sure a lot of girls on instagram filter and edit heavily but I'm always super afraid to do it. Usually, I use good lighting ( a ring light or window light), well thought out angles, and merely edit the brightness and contrast of a photo. I'll admit that lately I've been using Snow because my current foundation (the Urban Decay All Nighter) is doing my skin type no favors but I have to use it because I spent the $$ on it. As always I'm too pale and everything oxidizes into a weird undertone on me and this foundation is super toothpasty. It was good swatched but on my face it sunk into my pores and lines super quick... It looked cakey. I need high coverage without the cake. I'm going back to NARS next chance I get and pairing it with a damn good primer. Snow has helped it look a little bit more forgiving. I work way too hard on my eye make up for the rest of it to go to waste in pictures. I hope none of you mind.
Other than that, I've been keeping occupied with a lot of manga reading, television shows, and good music! I'm going to quickly skim over the manga I've been reading very quickly because I'm closet fujoshi trash and trying to be more open about it. Lately my fix has been between Caste Heaven (which is on a slight hiatus) and 19 Days (which isn't exactly a manga but I love it and it sort of counts). They are both series that I always look forward to reading each week/month! I'm really intrigued with the Azusa/Karino relationship in Caste Heaven-SO INTRIGUED that I have a fanfic on AO3 that's floating in plot limbo right now (I am so fucking sorry). Their dynamic is really amusing and I really hope they truly end up falling in love with each other without the Caste game being a front for it. Azusa does seem a little attached to Karino and we all know that Karino is being secretly protective over his little target! Mwahaha!
If you're looking for really good yaoi manga to read this summer season I highly recommend Ogeretsu Tanaka's 'Neon Sign Amber'~ It takes place during the summer and the main character is a gyaru-o (which no lie, is super sexy ;D ). It has a summery club vibe but focuses on a serious subject-facing one's sexuality. It's a sweet manga but also is realistic at the same time. I enjoyed reading it. There's not a lot of manga like this out and about but I'm glad I found this one. I've recommended it on several different platforms and to a couple of different friends as well; but I realized that I should feature it here too because it somewhat has to do with J-Fashion in the sense that a gay gyaru-o is in it!
Going onto J-Dramas, when I went to Kinokuniya with my friend I discovered that Hana Yori Dango's continuation manga "Hana Nochi Hare" got a J-Drama! I had no idea that it had gotten one! I was so excited to see it! Soon after my classes ended I ended up occupying my time marathoning it as it aired.
It's such a sweet/cute series and I'M SO TORN. Things I like about the J-Drama so far (I'm waiting for the last few episodes to come out subtitled, I'm aware it's completed!):
1. I LOVE that Hikaru Utada is yet again, featured as the insert song for this drama. Her song "Hatsukoi" (not to be mistaken for her debut single "First Love" from the late 90s) gives me so many feels every time it plays in this drama. Much like "Flavor of Life" did in Hana Yori Dango 2, "Hatsukoi" plays at pivotal moments in the series' plot. It can literally make you tear up. I can't listen to "Hatsukoi" now without associating with with Hana Nochi Hare~!
2. Perhaps this is a spoiler but there are SO MANY connections to the original Hana Yori Dango universe. I honestly felt like I was going to dislike this drama because these are different characters. It was really hard to read the manga and pay attention because of this. However, in the format of a J-Drama this continuation series truly sucks you into the characters' lives and makes them lovable. There's also many appearances and easter eggs to the original series that I'm always screaming with joy when certain scenes appear. If you love the original HanaDan then you MUST give the continuation a shot just for this fact alone!
3. Another spoiler but I really think this is honestly a positive thing that needs to be discussed on here-Hana Yori Dango had a lot "evil" girls in the series. There were the three Eitoku girls who would set Makino up a lot or bully her. There was also Sakurako at a point as well who even turned against Makino despite being a friend at first. There was a constant female rivalry becoming present in Hana Yori Dango. This exists but in a different but much more positive way. It's refreshing (and also something I loved about Macross Frontier and Delta on an unrelated note). The rivalry in love or the bitchy female side characters are such a negative and stereotypical trope that's constantly over used in movies, books, and TV shows. We as an audience do not see many healthy female rivalries or interactions. Hana Nochi depicts this! It's refreshing and I love it. For those of you who have already watched the drama, I know many people would argue that Airi is a representation of that negative trope. However, Airi later on redeems herself and becomes rather lovable. She's acts like a bratty little princess but it grows to be lovable because her intention is to support and protect the people that she loves. That's something to admire. She eventually gains a very cute friendship with the leading girl and rival in love Oto~ There's also Megumi who is a rival but also friends with Oto. All three of these girls eventually become friends (Airi begrudgingly with Megumi lmao) and it's such a sweet and refreshing scene. They all have loved the same person-thus have a something in common and can respect each other because of that. They make it less about what they want and what they want for the good/happiness of Haruto. They all support each other for the sake of Haruto in their own way. That's truly selfless love.
4. I love that Oto didn't start out poor. She was actually a poised, proper, rich girl-thus she's not nearly as brash as our beloved Makino. I love this because despite her family falling from grace financially, she still works very hard and has the the manners of a true lady. She's still intune with herself money or not and knows there's a time and place for everything.
5. Not really a plus to this if you like Haruto but--AHHHH I LOVE TENMA. HE'S PERFECT. I NEED SOMEONE LIKE THIS IN MY LIFE. LIKE HI. WTF. PERFECTION DOES EXIST. ahaha. He's so friggin' sweet and I'm so torn on him and Haruto because they're both equally as good of candidates for Oto. Tenma wins a little bit more because he's truly selfless and doesn't need to be pushed into a corner to be made to be selfless. Haruto does have his charm though; his imperfect, clumsy, and his naive boyishness makes him adorable. It's all terms of preference honestly. Tenma could be comparable to Rui but honestly, Rui is shitty in comparison to Tenma. Makino was a rebound for Rui after Shizuka got married. Tenma's love is solely towards Oto because they're childhood friends and he wants to protect her from hardship...tho he eventually learns to have some faith in her.
I've probably spoiled some parts to this series quite a bit but I feel like these are some of the positive points to this J-Drama and make it worth watching. I haven't marathoned or watched a J-Drama in a very long while. Hana Nochi Hare reminded me of why I used to love watching drama series. I brought me back to my freshman year of high school when I marathoned both Hana Yori Dango and Hana Yori Dango...and then in my sophomore/junior year anticipated to the release of the HYD movie which was the finale to the series. It made me feel young again!!!
I've also been watching a Korean broadcast called Produce48 but actually has to do with J-Pop as well. I am by no means huge on idol girls. I followed Morning Musume in middle school when Say Yeah!, Renai Revolution, and Be Ambitious were a thing (it was a certain era of time), as well as a bit of Buono! but nothing really more. I only know two AKB48 songs. "Heavy Rotation" and "10 Nen Sakura/Zakura" from way back in my Junior year of HS. LOL. Hearing that they were going to participate in a K-Pop survival show to create a huge girl group was super worrying. The meaning of 'idol' in South Korea and Japan are two totally different things. The music is two absolutely different genres.
However, I found myself unable to look away and have ended up watching every single episode that's came out thus far. It truly amused me. At first I was frustrated. Honestly, AVEX signed trainees stood a better chance against the K-Pop trainees rather than the AKB48 girls skill wise. Avex has E-Girls, Faky, the three friggin queens Ayu, Koda, Namie (tho Namie signed off to her own label and is retiring now). However, as the show continued the Japanese girls worked extremely hard to catch up.
Seeing the all of the girls overcome culture different, help others, and form friendships with one another was truly heartwarming. I had such a love for both the Korean trainees and the Japanese idols. I don't care for AKB48 like I mentioned but Sakura has a gaming channel and is quite personable and pretty. I dunno if Noe will truly make it onto the unit but I LOVE HER PERSONALITY. She's like the cheerleading mom of the team and I love it. I have an immense respect for the former After School member who is also bilingual and can communicate in Japanese (her name isn't sticking with me right now jfc) but I truly hope she gained the number one spot because she's super deserving of it. I also think Jurina is super pretty. I have a thing for girls like her and Kahi! They have warm eyes and pretty smiles but are older looking? Kahi (who is also a former After School member) is a judge on the show and is also what encouraged me to watch.
Here is the promo song for the show... the center is Sakura and the second center is the girl from After School. <3
Anyway, this has been my summer. :) I hope that catching up up as been a somewhat entertaining read. I hope to be writing again (even if it's trash fic) more frequently and hopefully I have some more video and photo projects up in the future!
