I got a tumblr question (I love tumblr questions! Feel free to ask, they may become a post!):
Can you talk about perfume in Japan on your blog? I heard Japanese people[sic] are not fans of perfume at all, and it’s better to not wear it when visiting.
First of all, in my experience scents are HUGE in Japan and perfume is very popular. People list their favorite brand of perfume on their blog, many people carry a body spray or tiny perfume in their bag, and they’re big on owning more than one item. Japanese deodorant is especially horrible and so I think the scent issue becomes even more popular during summertime. I often get complimented on my perfume in Japan, rarely so in America.
For gyaru the popularity of brand scents has really risen. Back in 2010 I talked about DIA coming out with a fragrance while the short-lived MA*RS scent was on the market. Since then Rienda, Murua, Laguna Moon, Jouetie, Emoda, Liz Lisa and Sly have all put out some kind of scent.
My friend Alice and I used to say the reason we walked into a Liz Lisa store and came out with so much clothing was because the store smelled so good. Other stores are also aware of the power of scent. You can see Murua shop staff constantly misting their store to imprint their brand’s scent on their clientele
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Songuer Dia “Love Essence”
Fabulous Oneegyaru Rii is in love with DIA’s perfume (post here). Maybe we can bug her pretty self to describe it?
DIA shop staff looking great with the posters and bottles of “Love Essence” by DIA.
Murua – Deep Amethyst, Pearl Rose and Sugar Citrine
Deep Amethyst by Murua is probably the most popular gyaru brand perfume and with good reason. It smells feminine and exotic without being overpowering. I’ve previously reviewed Murua’s Deep Amethyst scented shampoo and conditioner with glowing remarks especially about its scent. The other two smell nice, Pearl Rose is a rose scent but not a delicate one. Sugar Citrine reminds me of a lighter Clinque’s “Happy”.
Mitsu’s review: I love Deep Amethyst. It smells like jasmine and ylang ylang with other exotic scents mixed in. It’s very light and I’ve gotten a lot of compliments wearing it out. However, my bottle dropped from bathroom sink to my floor and the plastic cracked leaving me with 3/4 on the floor. I can’t believe it cracked from such a low distance. I’m really disappointed by the plastic container and decided not to buy again even if I do love the scent.
Tags: body mist, fragrance, perfume
This is a Gyaru University post. A series of posts aimed at laying down the foundation for a well rounded knowledge of current Japanese gyaru street style.
I talk a lot about gyaru clothing (hell this blog is 80% clothing, 20% travel, and the rest of the 10% is beauty, food and randomness) but I’m going to try to define what exactly is a gyaru brand. Gyaru brands are very big and profitable businesses, these giant clothing conglomerates that prove that gyaru just isn’t about make-up and hair.
Most of your favorite gyaru brands are part of conglomerates. Vent International owns Jugeetta, Liz Lisa, Liz Lisa Doll, Tralala and Killwatch. Runway Channel owns Emoda, Jouetie, Dazzlin, Murua, Laguna Moon, Gyda and other non-gyaru brands. Another group owns Mars, MeJane and Princess Melody. Another Sly, Rodeo Crows, Rienda, Miel Christnaut and more. They’re huge.
That’s my definition to describe gyaru brands. Why Shibuya 109 and not say Machida 109 or Fukuoka Tenjin core or any other the other gyaru malls in Japan? Because Shibuya 109 has only gyaru brands for the most part, they’re known as the mecca of gyaru. So they make the best example of a gyaru mall.
If it’s in Shibuya 109, you can say it’s a gyaru brand. What brands are in Shibuya 109? Well check out their website and webstore (shopping service only). Their current stock is current gyaru clothing.
What are gyaru magazines? Oh girls you know I wrote about about this earlier: gyaru magazine encyclopedia. 
What do gyaru models wear? Well search on crooz or popular blogs on amoeba. Usually you can view their off duty outfits and see what they wear. Popteen and other magazines also show their off-duty style, too. Why gyaru models? Because they’re wearing the trends a few months before everyone else often because they had to do magazine shoots in them, and they go to exhibitions of the clothing, they are the trendsetters. I decided to put this in for many of the web and hime brands. Web brands like Yumetenbo don’t often get a lot of magazine love except for Popteen ads, but they are popular with gyaru. Same for hime brands.
So let’s try my theory out!
JSG – It’s in LA Foret, but was in Shibuya 109. Gyaru models wear it (Egg model Kanako Kawabata loves it), and it’s in gyaru magazines. BOOM! It’s a gyaru brand. 
Liz Lisa – It’s in Shibuya 109. Gyaru models wear it. It’s in gyaru magazines.
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Posted by Mitsu | make-up | | Friday 3 May 2013 4:37 pm
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I’ve been wanting to talk about the change in gyaru make-up for a while, but I couldn’t nail down the right pictures to show and make-up trends are very slow to evolve. I don’t know about you, but changing my eyeliner flick is a serious life choice. Changing how I do a whole face, that’s going to take some time. And for gyaru trends, the same thing has happened.
I’m using two magazine models to show how they looked two years ago and how they look now. Egg’s Aina Tanaka (田中愛奈 blog) and Happie Nuts’ Akane Satomi (里見茜 blog). Now Aina Tanaka’s change is drastic and well known, but take another model who’s style has not changed much and you’ll still notice the changes.
Satomi Akane and What’s changed in Gyaru make-up
This is Satomi from 2011 April exactly 2 years ago. While not the best angle it shows her make-up and she did a close-up of her eye make-up back then. I feel 2011 was more popular to do eye make-up close-ups and such to discuss make-up, now not so much.
Here are two pictures from 2013 and you can see how much is changed.
Some of the trends for 2013 gyaru make-up worth pointing out:
OPA in Shinsaibashi Osaka is forever my favorite gyaru mall and full of the the most stylish gyaru shop staff. I try to specifically stay in Shinsaibashi when I’m in Osaka because it’s closest to the nightlife and Shinsaibashi OPA. Hep 5 is a little further away from the fun and too many other non-gyaru brands cloud up the mall, even if their food court is quite nice. I’m always impressed by the shop staff in OPA every store I go into, these two from Glad News and Murua are no exception.
Glad News – Hep 5 – Osaka
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Posted by Mitsu | open post | | Wednesday 24 April 2013 4:28 pm
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Gyaru takes up a bunch of time. Less time than blogging, but it takes work to get fabulous. But outside of that there’s still a lot of fun and I’m hoping to connect like minds. (Pictures above from the awesome magazine I Love Mama)
This topic came up because the NBA Playoffs are on and while my man casually enjoys NBA basketball, I’m a fan. I love watching sports, all sports! I’d love to gather a bunch of sports loving gals or fashion lovers together. Our gender nor I love for fabulous clothes should stop us from enjoying sport. 
If you want to chat about the playoffs please @me on twitter or tumblr or in the comments 
Or anything I love chatting with others 
My other hobbies are travel (as short lived as it is), deco, healthy cooking, working out, playing with my cats, walking my dog, and nails.
Chat it up! 
What do you do with your free time?
Did gyaru influence one of your hobbies?
Do you dress gyaru when enjoying any of them?
I’ll do an open post about other fandoms (like music or tv) so bring those up here or I’ll have a special one for those later. 
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