An updated list of Gal styles 2009

Every list of gal styles I see has really outdated pictures so I thought I'd have a go at amending that. I'll explain everything properly but first a quick overview of the names of styles

The list:
Shiroi/Ganjiro
Gyaru kei/Ganguro
Manba
Rokku
Banba
Hime
Hime Kaji
Yanki/Amekaji
Bibinba
Kogal
Gyaru-o
Sentaa
Saike (Psyche)
Bohemian
Haady
B-Gal
Onee gal
Agejo
Tsuyome
Serebu

Now I know other lists include Romanba and a few other bits but they tend to be one off styles or less common and I'm really going for the main ones here but if you want to know what they are then other lists will tell you.

Shiroi/Ganjiro.
This style is basically gals that don't tan but still wear a gyaru style. From my experience here has been slight controversy in the west about it because gals in western countries tend to be pale anyway and some have said that unless you go for the tan, you just look like you're going for western fashion. However, Gyaru fashion is still distinct enough in it's own right in my opinion so I think if you want to be a pale gal then go for it. You can't be manba or banba and be shiroi though because of the distinctive make.


Gyaru Kei/Ganguro

Gyaru is the modern form of fashion that most gals wear today. It was born from ganguro but I've read that some gals still call it ganguro since this is really the modern version of it. Good places to get style tips are from the fashion magazines created for this style and it's subsets. These magazines include Egg, Ranzuki, Jelly, Happi NUTS and so on. You can download the scans and take inspiration but remember that gyaru is a street fashion so don't be afraid to mix it up and put your own twist on it.


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Manba

This is an extreme gal style and probably the most recognisable and distinct. Manba tend to have the darkest tans and use very dark foundation and a white panstick or concealer as the basis for their look. These are the gals with 'panda' faces and eahc gal does her make in her own unique way but all manba have a white nose stripe and white on their eyes. Some take the white down to their cheeks and others don't. It's really a matter of choice. You can also use bright neon eyeshadows if you want as an accent on top of the white. They also use eyeliner to heavily contour their eyes. Their fashion stule tends to be bright primary and neon colours. A popular Manba brand is Alba Rosa. This style was born from Yamamba which died out around 2002/03 if I remeber correctly. There is a more extreme style of Manba emerging now called Tsuyome Manba but it's not to be confused with the Tsuyome style of Banba which is a much lighter and relaxed style.


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Rokku
This is a sub style of gyaru kei that has recently become very popular in 09. It's basically a rocker type style that's a bit more edgy than guaru and incorporates band tshirts, stylish leather jackets and studded belts or ankle boots. This is one of my favourite styles personally and good if you like alternative or tomboyish styles anyway.


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Banba
This is really the lighter version of Manba. The nose stripe and white make up is a lot more sublte and less blocky. Tans tend to be a bit lighter too although that's not always the case. From what I've seen they don't tend to wear as bright colours either as manba but is still quite distinct. It's brighter than regular gyaru I'd day but not as wild as Manba although I've seen one or two pictures of Banba gals wearing the same things is Manba gals so it probably can be done. The hair is also not usually as wild or as bright as Manba gals.


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Hime
Hime is the only properly dedicated pale faced gal style where gals try to stay pale and not tan. This is the princess style which characterized by floral prints, fur coats, cute high heeled shoes and big bouffant, curly hair. Tiaras and bows are a common theme in Hime and the style itself is very sophistacated. Pink and white tend to be the main colours for this style with hair being a milk tea colour but black can be used as an accent colour. Magazines like Vanilla girl and HimeStyle are good inspiration and brands like Tralala, Jesus Diamante and La Parfait are extremely popular


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Hime-kaji
This is the casual hime style. Hair is usually not as big but is still in an updo and curly. It's still very sophisticated but hime-kaji girls do wear smart trousers and skirts too and not just dresses. high heels are still a must though as is the princess theme but this style is probably more practical for everyday.


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Yanki/Amekaji
Another sub style of gyaru-kei. This is kind of an american/military style. Stilleto boots, cargo pants and other things like that tend to be popular and in my experience this style always makes an appearence during the winter season. Miruteri (millitary) style is very similar to this but they tend to be one piece outfites like khaki coloured cotton dresses instead.

Bibinba

There aren't too many resources on this style but it seems to be a a B-gal and banba cross over. From the very few pictures I've seen, the style tends to go with banba/Tsuyome make up and a more R'n'B style of dress but keeping things bright and short hehe. It's kind of a sporty style really.

Kogal

This is probably one of the oldest surviving styles but it's changed a lot. Originally it was bright clothes and clumpy boots and very 90's lol but now it's more of a school girl style with slouchy socks and cardigans, short black or navy pleated skirts and blouses. It's a cool persons school uniform pretty much. A tan and everyday make up is a staple but nails tend to be less crazy than other styles from what I've seen.


Gyaru-o

This is the male version of gyaru-kei. Casual yet stylish. Dark colours, check prints and teased hair seem to be the staples for this fashion along with a smart pair of boots or winklepickers. Egg magazine do another one for men called Men's Egg.


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Sentaa Guy

This is the male version of Manba. The hair and clothes are wild and some of them wear the the block white make up but not so much these days from what I've seen in recent pictures. Sentaa Guy's still have a bit of the hawaiian theme going on too but no where near like they used to.



Saike

Saike seems to be a kind of hippy raver kind of style. Tie die and bright prints seem to be the theme for this style. I've never come across this style much though so feel free to help me out on this one.




Bohemian

Fairly self explainitary really. Most of us know what the boho style is. Kinda hippy but with quite neautral and earthy colours. Long skirts and crochet style tops are the way forward in the style and it's fairly relaxed.



Haady

This style was invented a few years ago by Egg magazine and it's basically an 80's style of thing. Bright colours and slogans, baseball caps and hi-tops feature a lot in this style and brands like Cocolulu are quite popular. It's more of a lesser style these days but seems ot be quite popular come spring and summer amoungst younger gals.


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B-Gal

B-gals or B-gyaru basically rock the R'n'B and hip hip style but with a gyaru feel too it. Magazines like Woofin girl are great to read for this style.




Onee Gyaru

This is for all you older gals who are getting into your late teens and early 20's. It's a bit more sophisticated and understated than Gyaru-kei and is considered a bit more grown up. From my experience Onee gyaru tend to go for more high end brands too and blacks and golds seem to be staple colours along with a classy stilleto shoe or boot.

Agejo

I've heard a few arguments that this isn't really gyaru but I think it is since the Agejo is similar to Gal styles anyway. To me Agejo is kind of like a cross between gyaru and hime-kaji. Big doll like eyes and curled are the staples in this fashion. This is another fairly recent fashion that was born from Ageha magazine and is starting to gain a strong following.

Tsuyome

This is the light version on Banba. Clothing style is the same but the make up is a lot lighter although it's a bit of a blurred line as to when Tsuyome actually turns into Banba. There's not really any rules when it comes to this make up and it's fun to do if you want something a bit different from Gyaru-kei but don't quite have the stones to do Banba or Manba. Not to be confused with Tsuyome Manba.


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Serebu
This fashion is basically about celebrity fashion so a lot of it seems to be western oriented. It's also kind of high end in terms of lables so if you're skint, not the fashion to pick lol.


Ok so there you have it! I've only really covered the major well known Gyaru sub fashions at the moment but I may well add to this list at a later date. Feel free to copy it as long as you credit/link to me. I typed all this by hand and the wording is my own. Feel free to comment if you think I've missed something or got something wrong. This resource is for all of you and I want you all to feel part of it. I would just quickly like to thank the gal_style community on LiveJournal coz you guys find the best pictures and I want to thank anyone that helps or contributes to this in any way.

Ja ne!
Ko xxx

I'm not dead

So I'm sure you've all been wondering where I've been. Well I've been really unwell recently so I've been unable to keep up with the blogging but I'm going to try and get it going again.

Dear Diary 28/12/08

Busy, busy, busy week. I should have updated sooner but I've been quite tired and having a rest.
Ok so 2 major events this week! Firstly the Red Neko Gals miitsu and then Christmas! Both were really awesome and I had a great time with my gals.

23/12 - Red Neko Gals Miitsu

Our final miitsu of the year was held in Manchester this month. There was only 4 of us in total but that was to be expected because of family commitments at this time of year. I met the gals (KeiKei, Chou Chou, Awa-chan) in the train station and I nearly walked right past them lol. They had to shout at me so I'd see them XD. I'm pretty dozy sometimes. Anyway, we were feeling lazy so we got onto to the free bus to china town and headed over to a sushi bar called Wasabi which does £1 a plate sushi at lunch times. It took a while for us to be seated because it was busy but we danced around to the Japanese pop the had on the TV and got talking about hot guys.
When we got seated it was time for gifts. I had been shopping at the beginning of the month and I saw a ton of cute phone charms in one of the Chinese shops so I bought a load for the gals but to make it a bit more interesting, I decided to do it lucky dip style. So they all took turns in putting their hands into the bag and picking a gift. Then I handed out cards as well and then it was time to eat! I put away 7 plates of sushi (because I'm a greedy panda), washed down with green tea. The others didn't eat as much as me so I felt like a fatty XD.
After lunch, we went to a Japanese shop across the road that has soooooo much Sanrio stuff in it. I almost peed myself in excitement looking at all the stuff. Chou Chou and Awa-chan were also very excited by the Naruto stuff they had in there and KeiKei was happy because she found a copy of Non-no magazine which she bought for Hikitty (another member) for Christmas. Next stop was Afflecks Palace where the gals did a bit of shopping and found some Death Note bags which received squeals of excitement and were promptly bought. We also found a Lolita shop and we were having fun deciding what dresses we would wear if we could. We also went to the place that sells rave and club wear and danced to the music like spoons lol. We decided that we were so buying matching outfits to para para in someday like for a DVD or something.
Our next port of call was Harvey Nichols (extremely posh department store) to visit our mascot, Nommy the fish. On the way there, the streets were packed with people so to clear out a little room for us to walk, I started shouting penis really loud and then telling the world I was a leper so unless the wanted their arm to drop off, the had better move out the way XD. We love going into Harvey Nics to scare people XD and I was pleasantly surprised when the woman at the Creme De La Mer counter remembered us from last time. We spent some time taking some pictures of the fish and saying hello to Nommy but time was getting on a bit so we had to go. The woman wished us Merry Christmas and we did the same to her. Then we headed back to the train station and the gals had to run to catch their train while I strolled to mine lol

25/12 - Christmas Day

Christmas was nice and chilled. It was just me and mum as Dave was visiting family. We got up in the morning and had tea and breakfast before opening our gifts.
I got:

• A Lilo and Stitch coin purse
• A bag charm
• Para Para Paradise DVD and CD
• A hot chocolate gift set
• some money
• Ipod shuffle

I'm still waiting on a few things in the post so I'm excited about them and I wish they'd get here faster lol
Anyway, we chilled out in our dressing gowns for a bit and mum was sat reading the books I got her before having a bit of lunch and organizing going to see our friend Jen who lives round the corner. She was on her own and wasn't feeling too health so we went round to make her cups of tea and cheer her up with silly conversation. It was loads of fun and I think she felt a bit better for having seen us.
Mum put in some party food into the oven for dinner because neither of us fancied doing some proper cooking. Then we watched a DVD and generally had a nice evening. I enjoyed a bottle of beer to myself to wind down with and all in all it was a pleasant day.

The next day, my aunt and uncle came to visit for a bit which was cool and I was happy to see them. Yesterday was spent tidying up. So that's everything really. Now I just need to make quick and dirty plans for new year lol

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and I'll see you all in the new year!

Ja Ne!
Kotoko xoxoxox

Review: Barry M Shimmering Lip and Eye Crayon

I bought this a while a go after watching Panacea81 on Youtube and I thought I'd give it a go.

Stats
Cost - £4.50
Colour - 1 Gold (1st one at the top of the picture)
Available from Boots, Superdrug and www.barrym.com

First Impressions

When I first saw this, I thought it was just your average everyday chunky eye pencil. It doesn't come in any special packaging but that's fine as it means less waste. There's not really much to say about the look of it except that it's the same colour as the product itself which is something I like about Barry M as it means you can find what you're looking for quite quickly. The product has no smell except for the wood. The only thing I couldn't find written on it or the website was it's weight but that's not really essential. One thing I love about Barry M (besides the fact that they don't test on animals) is they go for simple yet colourful packaging.
The instant plus about this product is that it's multipurpose which saves you money and time which is always great for a gal trying to save on the pennies. It also maneas it's a space saver in your make up bag or traincase

Application and wear

One tip I would recommend with this pencil is warm it up first. I tend to hold it between my thighs (no rude comments please =P ) while I'm applying my foundation so that by the time you get to starting on your eyes, it's softened enough to apply. You don't have to do this but I find it tugs on my eyes a bit if I don't, especially on a cold morning.
My main use for this pencil is an eye base and it does the job pretty well as long as you don't apply too much. It does have a slight stickyness to it once it's applied so it's good at grabbing the eyeshadow and keeping it there. It's not as long wearing as UDPP or Two Faced Eyeshdow Insurance but I get a good 7-8 hours before I notice any creasing which is more than enough for me. It's got the staying power I need and adds a little extra bit of shimmer. The name of it is a little misleading though as it's not really a gold colour, more like a white/champagne colour which is why I picked this one so I could use it with any shadow colour but you could use the other colours as colour bases to bring out the colour of your shadow more and add a bit more depth.
I have to say that I love this on the lips under a gloss. It makes your lips look fuller and shinier. I used this yesterday in conjunction with Benefit's Her Glossiness lipgloss in Your People, My People and it was so pretty. It gave m lips this gold/pink/silver sheen that made my lips look like polished glass. The other added benefit of using this under a gloss is that it'll make your gloss wear longer too. For this reason alone I would buy it again.
This colour also makes a great brow highlight. If you're in a hurry to get out the door and you don't want to faff about with a shadow and a brush, just grab this, put some of the colour under your arch and blend slightly with our finger and voila! you have a pretty subtle gold highlight that will show off your brows nicely

All in all, I would recommend this. If you need a hardcore eeyshadow base then this might not be for you but if you want something easy to highlight your brow or accentuate your lips then this is your baby. You can throw it in your purse and take it anywhere with you and because it's such a fat pencil, it'll last you a while.

My Rating - 4/5

Dear Diary 18/12/08

Like a lot of gals I am skint hahah. There's never enough money to buy the clothes or the make especially when you're young or unable to work. I fall into the latter so I have to be careful aout my spending habbits anyway.

Today it got that little bit harder. The Job Center decided in their infinite wisdom, to suspend my benefit payments. You can imagine how ecstatic this made me. Still I didn't let it ruin my day. To celebrate my misery, I went into town and ate sushi for £1 a plate for lunch, washed down with green tea, and then finished off my christmas shopping. Now I just have to wrap everything and hope for the bloody best.

The worst bit was going into a nail salon to buy some OPI nail lacquers and some of the sample nails they had where AMAZING. I very nearly blew £30 I didn't have on getting my nails done. I've made a mental note of the place and I'm going to go in there again when I have the cash to get them done and decoed up. I was also happy to note that this place sells China Glaze and Essie nail polish too so I suspect much money will be spent on those...well if I have any money.

Ja Ne!
Kotoko xoxo

Review: Sleek Creme to Powder foundation

This was recomended to me by my good friend Koneko (leader of Hibiscgyaru) after I told her I wanted to experiment with doing Manba make for fun. Because you have to do it for at least a few miitsus right? XD

Stats
Cost - £6.99
Colour - 462 Hot Chocolate (as show in picture above)
Weight - 9g or 0.31oz
Available from Superdrug in the UK or afro hair shops

First Impressions
I love the packaging on this. The casing is matte black so no pesky finger print marks. The writing on it is gold so it creates a nice contrast and gives it a nice gal feel. When you open it up, it's got a mirror on the inside of the lid which is really useful when you're on the go and need to touch up your make. Then there's the pan of make itself. It's such a great colour. Perfect for doing Manba if you don't want to go super dark although this is a colour darker than this one but I went for Hot Chocolate instead because it's a slightly warmer colour. Underneath the pan is a make up sponge. It's really up to you if you use this. I personally prefer using a brush to apply with as it's more hygienic but the sponge is useful for blending. Just make sure you wash it after use gals.

So far so good

Application and wear

I put this on over a primer just out of habit so everything I tell you will be based on that.
When I first put this on, I struggled a bit as I've never used a creme foundation before but once I got used to the texture it was fine. It does take a little bit of time though if you use a brush and want to get good coverage. The only problem I really had with application is blending it so it didn't look patchy i.e darker in some spots and lighter everywhere else. Now this could be down to the primer mind you but I've never had this problem before now. I'll do a patch test though without a primer and see what happens and I'll update this. So most of my time was spending blending it out using a foundation brush and the sponge it came with. Eventually though, I got it the way I wanted it and set with powder although Koneko gave me a great tip which is to set with a bronzer which will help take away any unevenness.

As for wear, I can't fault it. Once it's on, it stays on. In fact it stays on so well that when I wash it off, I have to do a double cleanse just to get my face completely clean. The colour stays true throughout the day. It doesn't have any kind of smell to it which I LOVE because some foundations have an odd smell which assaults your nose for the first hour of wear lol.

Overall I'd say this was a great foundation to use for everyday or occational Manba. Even though it seems like you're putting loads on, you don't actually use that much so it'll last you a while. As with all Creme products though, be sure to throw it out after a year of use or if it changes colour/smell/texture. I definitely recommend it though. The coverage is brilliant even for those who are pale like me.

My Rating - 4 out of 5

Dear Diary 15/12/08

Ahhhh!

So this morning I was supposed to go out to the job center. Only I had I slept through my alarm so I woke up when I was supposed to e there for my appointment. Not a great start to the day. I would have had to tone down being gal though and wear more smart clothes so I'd look a bit more serious. So instead of shorts or skinny jeans, it was pin stripe trousers. Still I made a new appointment for slightly later in the week so it's all good.

A good thing did happen today though. I've been looking for a great eyebrow colour for some time now as must eyebrow pencils are warm toned rather than ashy. I do have an eyebrow pencil but it really doesn't look right on me. So anyway, then I remembered about this max factor eyeshadow I have that I've yet to use so I take it out and try it and low and behold, it's perfect. The only problem is the shimmer in it but it's not noticeable at all except really really up close.

The colour is 495 Smokey Gold. It does have gold tones in it but again it's not noticeable on your brows. I'm happy with it anyway.

So that's really my news for today. For now I'm going to continue eating my chicken noodles and drinking green tea which is my favourite snack.

Ja Ne!
Ko-chan