Look Like a Ganguro Girl

Ganguro is a modern fashion/make up style from Japan which became popular in the mid '90s. It is mainly worn by girls in their teens or early 20's, there is a male equivalent however known as 'centre guy'. The look described below is a combination of ganguro (shown right) and it's more extreme form yamanba (not pictured).

Steps

  1. Dye your hair: either blonde, orange, silver, gray, gold or white, the choice is yours. You may also like to add complimentary highlights or pink hair extensions. If you don't want to dye your hair, you could always buy a wig. Dyed hair in Japan is known as Chapatsu hair. Also, it is popular to not wash your hair often.
  2. Apply a dark fake tan on your entire body, and then use a dark powder, foundation or bronzer to make your face look even darker. If you already have very dark skin, then you can skip this step.
  3. Smooth on some glitter or sparking face powder. Be careful not to use too much.
  4. Add white eye shadow: either just on the top lids or around your entire eye. You should apply it very heavily, and you could also use white eyeliner over the top to make it show up even more. Some ganguro use white concealer instead of/as-well-as eyeshadow. The overall look you should aim for is raccoon or panda eyes. (optional)
  5. Apply thick liquid black eyeliner to your top lids, making the line thicker towards the outer corner. Some ganguro use black ink for a very black look.
  6. Add some large fake lashes.
  7. Use either a black or white mascara, depending on the look you want.
  8. Use brightly colored (particularly blue) flat color or starburst contact lens
  9. Stick on some jewels, gems, heart or star shaped stickers and/or fake teardrops under one or both of your eyes. You can use lots or a select few depending on your preference.
  10. Brush a soft line of white powder down the center of your nose. (optional)
  11. Apply white or very light pink lipstick, it helps to put some concealer or foundation on your lips first, to make the color stick.
  12. Get glamorous nails; the more nail art and jewels the better.
  13. Wear lots of necklaces, bracelets and rings, try to choose girlie, cute or surfer chick items.
  14. Stick one or more large fake hibiscus flowers in your hair, or alternatively wear a string of them as a necklace.
  15. Wear bright colors, especially pink.
  16. Vinyl and plastic are popular fabric choices.
  17. Miniskirts combined with incredibly large platform boots are a staple of the Ganguro style.
  18. You may like to compliment your look with a tie-dye sarong.
  19. Wear platform boots/shoes.

Tips

  • Some manga which include ganguro girls and which may be of use are Peach Girl and GALS!
  • Ganguro have a culture all of their own: they are well known party girls. Often they gather in groups called gal-cir (cir=circle) and perform synchronized dances or songs to para para music.
  • Get some purikura stickers (photo stickers) made of you and your friends. Ganguro commonly use these to decorate mobile phones, bags and other accessories and many carry around special purikura books that contain their collections. Although you will probably not be able to get proper purikura unless you live in japan or the far east, there are a number of similar photo booths in the west, which will give you around 8 to 10 stamp-sized stickers, perhaps with an exciting background, for about £1.50-2.00 or $3-$4. They are usually found in shopping centers, malls and arcades. You could also print out some at home if you have a digital camera, computer, printer and some sticker paper.
  • It may be best to use a different type of fake tan for both your body and face to get a good color.
  • Check out magazines such as Egg and Cawaii, they are practically bibles for ganguro style.
  • No ganguro is seen without a cutting edge mobile phone.
  • If you are not yet a fully-fledged ganguro/yamanba yet you are known as Gyaru-shuugyouchuu
  • Use Japanese slang, here are a few common words; baka - stupid person or idea, idiot; chikkushou - damn it, drat, shoot; kawaii - cute; ikasu – cool; maji de – no way, really, is that right. Check out the Japanese section of www.coolslang.com or www.urbandictionary.com for more words.
  • Google ganguro, yamanba or kogyaru for inspiration.

Warnings

  • Expect shocked expressions when walking down the street.
  • Overexposure to the sun can promote skin cancer. Please, don't risk your health for a fashion trend.
  • be careful bleaching hair to the point of damage. (Black to bleach blonde)
  • Wigs may work better if you don't want to dye your hair.
  • When applying your tan, it may be best to start light and then build up over a few days - so that you don't turn out darker than you would like.
  • You may be considered racist for wearing ganguro, as it resembles blackface. Be prepared to explain, or just use minor tan.

Things You'll Need

  • Super Dark Fake tan
  • Dyed Hair/Bleached to Milky Blonde (optional unless you have dark hair)
  • Extensions (optional)
  • White eyeshadow/eyeliner/concealer
  • White/black mascara
  • Jewels, gems, stickers, fake teardrops
  • Glitter/sparkling face powder
  • White/pink lipstick
  • Fake hibiscus flowers
  • Assorted Accessories
  • Bright Clothes
  • Platform shoes
  • Detailed/Decorative Nails

Related Articles

References

  • www.geocities.com/starlit501/yamamba/Yama
  • www.ganguro.skyrock.com
  • www.livemusicstudio.com/mac/pages/ganguro
  • www.coolslang.com
  • www.urbandictionary.com

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