Welcome welcome!!! This might be a one-off, might be a new series. Let me know if you want more of these!! TODAY we are discussing how to transition from lolita or cosplay into gyaru! There has been a huge influx of newbie gals lately, so I thought a post like this might be super helpful!
But before we get into the tips and tricks for converting from lolita and cosplay into gal, let’s talk lifestyle! When it comes to cosplay and lolita, those are both things you perhaps wear any chance you get. On weekends out with friends or conventions, any time you’re able! For most people, these act more as hobbies, in that they may not be part of your everyday life. Gyaru, on the other hand, is a lifestyle. It isn't something you do once a month, it isn't a costume, and it isn't something us gals put on for shock value. Now, that does not mean you need to get up and do extreme hair and makeup every single day! Definitely not, even I do not do that! However, my nails are gyaru. My car is gyaru. My bedroom is gyaru.
This is not a fashion for you to try on whenever I want to be extra crazy. There is something bigger behind it: A strong community.
Tips for beginners in gyaru coming from lolita and cosplay:
- Lolita makeup tends to be very girly, but not very extreme. Throw all of that out for gyaru. Gyaru is flashy and in your face. Even “calmer” styles like onee and himekaji are still more flashy than some lolita makeup. Especially with the lashes!
- Similarly, cosplay may focus on "anime eyes" or drastically altering your eyeshape. The same is true with gyaru, however in a MUCH different way. For anime eyes you may line the whole undereye in white. However with most gyaru styles, only your inner half of your eye will be in white. Really focus on eye makeup when watching tutorials!
- Wigs do not suit a lot of gyaru styles unless you can invest in high quality lacefronts, so focus on hair! I’ll include some tutorials below, so don’t hesitate to spend some time just focusing on hair and figuring out what styles suit your look! The main focus with gyaru hair is that it needs to be styled. Whether it is straight or crimped or curly, gyaru hair needs to look like time was spent on it.
- START BIG. It is so much easier to master styles like manba and tsuyome, then you can tone it down. Once you have the basics down you can really change it to suit you. Mastering the extreme looks makes sure you can make even the simplest look read as gyaru.
- In lolita it is a huge thing that you need brand. But in gyaru it is not necessary. You can buy it if you wish, but otherwise check out your local stores, or online sites like mercari, depop, and ebay. Look for pieces similar to brand items, or anything that you truly love and want to add to your gal wardrobe!
- Accessories are hugely important to both lolita and gyaru! The style differs, but accessories are still just as important for gyaru.
Here is some advice from gyaru and gyaruo in our community!
I used to buy cosplay wigs for my gyaru looks too but it looked too cosplay-like so I started buying front lace wigs to look more natural so it actually looked like my fashion style and not a costume.
My tip would be to wear gyaru makeup everyday for at least a week, ask for constructive crit for every day's look and incorporate the advice you received the day before in your next look. -Ko (Instagram koko_gal)
Some advice for if you want to transition from (sweet) lolita into hime gyaru / himekaji:
While lolita is in recent days often about rather soft and cutesy makeup, step up your game by learning how to contour and using white highlights. It doesn’t need to be a shiny highlighter, but a fine line of matte white eyeshadow looks amazing on a nicely contoured nose.
Also, use fake lashes. Stack them if you like for a dramatic look. Use bottom liner or dark eyeshadow to balance it out, preferably use bottom lashes too. You can use white or cream eyeliner in your waterline to make your look pop. Feel free to be creative though, use glitter or even a small diamanté sticker if you’re fancy. For himekaji you don’t need to go overboard with your makeup, but make sure it’s a prominent feature in your coord. And use a good amount of pink blush.
When it comes to fashion and you are used to wearing lolita and like the aesthetic, it’s easiest to start out with hime gyaru / himekaji. You can reuse parts of your wardrobe, like cardigans, boleros or certain dresses that are not very poofy and have a rather short length on you. They should be solid pastel coloured or black, maybe with a simple floral theme. Don’t wear knee high or otk socks, but opt for lace tights or nude pantyhoses and wear a nice non-chunky heeled shoe.
For hair, if talking about hime gyaru, it’s about volume. But it should be rather at the top of your head. If you are not fond of beehives / bouffants, you can do high pigtails/ponytails, but they need to be voluminous at the top. Hair pieces are perfect for this. Better try to avoid cosplay or lolita wigs because your hair should somewhat look like real hair. You can use a high quality wig if you already know how to style it nicely.
The bigger the hair, the better for hime gyaru. You can go more natural for himekaji. But I have seen great examples with straight, flat hair too where the outfit and makeup was impeccable. It’s all about balance in the end.
Personally I started gyaru by buying Jesus Diamante & La Pafait items which I incorporated into my lolita looks until they gradually became fully hime. Or I wore my La Pafait dress with a bodyline cardigan. Then I did agejo, because I could use a lot of my hime items for that, then ane agejo, and so on.
-Nostique (Instagram nostique_hime)
Honestly pushing myself to get better at gyaru makeup translated back into visual kei because now I feel like I can transform my face and eye shape better. Especially since these days in visual kei, you see a lot more strong contour, drooped eye shapes, and sometimes similar lashes. To me, they're very connected styles. Almost anything you learn from one can help the other. Plus, a lot of casual visual kei styles could even be considered gyaruo or rokku gyaru.
Basically if you can learn to do one of these, you know how to do both.
-Tristan (Instagram dragonwingmakeup and Twitter dragonwing_hm)
I used to be both a Lolita and a cosplayer. I wasn’t the best at either but I was really interested in them both. When I got into Gyaru, I realized a lot of the things in each didn’t apply anymore. Lolita - I was into sweet and sometimes gothic. I’m from the older gen of Lolita so makeup was a part of your look. But I felt that there were a lot of rules. You had to follow the styles as they were otherwise you would be labeled as an “ita” and people looked down on that. As a sweet or gothic, you had to have a certain silhouette. Mostly everything was covered. As a sweet you could use fun wigs that went with your coord. Sometimes my looks slightly crossed into fairy-kei. But gothic was always more doll-like or even v-kei.
In Gyaru, yes there are styles. But I feel that there is a lot more room to experiment. Gal make is meant to be OTT. Which gives you a lot more freedom to experiment and almost do anything you want. You can go as dark as you want with liner and foundation. You can stack lashes. You don’t have to look like a doll. In fact, it was quite relieving that even if you weren’t the best at the gal style but have a decent idea about makeup, that you could still look cute! I also don’t have to keep covered up if I don’t want to! No need for pettis unless you feel like having more of a poof in hime!
I like the older styles of Gal so there are a lot of options for hair. But it really depends on the style you’re going with. I’m lucky to have the hair I have so I don’t really have to depend on wigs. But when I feel like changing it up, I can still use certain wigs. And yes, I have quite a few wigs. Because I was also a cosplayer...or tried to be. In cosplay, you try to look like the character as much as possible. Or sometimes you have a vision of a version that is your own but still is reminiscent of said character. When I started getting into cosplay, EVERYONE was terrible at it. But we had fun. Now, it’s all about who can do it the sexiest or who has the best craft or sewing skills. But it’s mainly about becoming the character. So there isn’t much room in doing something creative with your makeup unless it’s to make your facial features exactly like said character. I’ve seen a ton of videos and tips on getting “anime eyes”. If you don’t have certain things like at least the basic outfit or a specific hair style, no one will understand what you’re trying to do.
In Gal, you definitely need to have the basics down. But I feel like it’s not limited to a cookie cutter look. You have to have the basic parts in there and go with it. You put the original parts in and mix it with your own being. What I mean to say is you don’t need to look like anyone or anything in particular. You judge your final look by what you put into it. So if you wanna be a certain style, you should definitely put things that work for it. Don’t throw in a random thing like Victorian skirt and expect to call it Manba. That just doesn’t work. Lenses are not needed but they can really change your eye make. You can make your own things but it’s not necessary for Gal. You don’t need a ton of money to be gal and you most certainly don’t need brand! We are not anime or video game characters so please do not go trying to make “anime eyes”. Like Lolita is a Jfashion, Gyaru is also a Jfashion. NOT COSPLAY. Learn the basics and then own it. You have so much freedom that the amount of things you can do is almost endless! Experiment and have fun!
-Kieli (Instagram gyarukieli)
One thing I saw often in my old gyaru circle was a girl who was into cosplay and was trying to make the gyaru style too much like harajuku fashion by adding accessories from other styles such as tiny hats; or didn't understand the style properly and focused on the fact it's Japanese (like going around with paper umbrellas.) So my tips would be to research the style properly, and before mixing the style with other things get the basics down like any newbies (often people coming from other jfashion/cosplay thinks they are going to be good in any style.)
Like I had girls whose everyday style (outside of cosplay or lolita) looked gyaru already but once they tried to fit into gyaru and changed it to make it look more "Japanese" they failed.
Also with lolita it's easy to coord outfits and when I started I struggled a lot, so maybe starting by copying outfits that you see in magazines or worn by other gals in the community is the way to start out.
-Lillie-Joe (Instagram lillie_joe)
Tutorials!!!
Makeup:
Basic oldschool makeup - Georgie
10 Minutes Gyaru Makeup (1999 Style) - Georgie
Cute Himekaji Makeup Tutorial - Lizzie
Gyaru Makeup Tutorial (Without Circle Lenses!) - Lizzie
Gyaru Beginners Makeup - Chris
Basic Yamanba Makeup Tutorial - Kelsey
Hair:
4 Super Easy No-Heat Hair Tutorials (That Anyone Can Do!) - Lizzie
Easy Gyaru Hair Tutorial - Kelsey
Would you like to see another post like this on building your gyaru wardrobe? Drop a comment below and let me know!!
