Twin coordinate….

Tori and I recently decided to do a ‘Mode’ twin coordinate post, after the fabulous WC one she did with Mitsu. I feel so lucky to be able to do a twin post with Tori, as she’s such a gorgeous gal and she always does the latest trends justice.

A teaser ;D
Hair & Make

I went for bronze eyes, using a Chanel palette and Tokyo lashes, with my favourite Ena Matsumoto inspired bun.
Tori choose simple but sexy make-up and ardell lashes #134, with some gorgeous curls – I’m so envious.
The coordinates
My coordinate –
Lace top: H&M
Bandage skirt: H&M
Headband: H&M
Scarf: H&M
Shoes: H&M
Jewlery: Swarovski

I wanted to put together an outfit that was Mode but still accessible to us Western gals, and I was incredibly lucky as H&M has had some amazing stuff recently.
So I decided to show you the basis of my outfit and then how to make it that little bit more Mode by using accessories. The headband and scarf were both inspirations I got from Momoko Ogihara – the gorgeous face of Murua.
I forgot to take a pic with my necklace on, so I did it afterwards for you 😀
…I put a vest top on under the lace top for the close-up. I don’t want to scare anyone haha
Tori’s Coordinate –
Top: GalStar
Skirt: Candie’s
Necklace: Target
Shoes: Used
As you can tell we both made Bandage skirts the theme of this coordinate.
I think this shows just how effective they are. You can make two completely different Mode looks out of one skirt, just by adding a few accessories etc.
I think Tori summed up our outfits perfectly when she said:
“…yours is SO SEXY, very MURUA style since Momoko really likes the see-through lace tops & scarf belts, & I think I went more rock-kei-influenced with the studs & leopard print (& fall EMODA shows a lot of leopard! ;D)


I hope you enjoyed our twin coordinates, and I’d love to see more gals doing it! It’s so much more fun to dress up when you have someone to do it with XD

Shibuya 109 Press…

Just a quick update…
The new issue of the Shibuya 109 Press was released recently and I thought it brought up some interesting points with the staff-chans and upcoming Autumn trends.
Staff-chan questions
MA*RS Staff-chan
In the recent issue of the Shibuya 109 Press, a selection of 109 staff-chans were asked some interesting questions about nails, hair, eyelashes and their work life.
Do you paint your own nails?
Surprisingly 85% of the staff-chans said yes they do.
This is probably due to the current vivid and nude trend which has made fashionable yet easy nails more accessible this season. NAIL CRAFT in 109 are even offering simple nail courses for around £19 ($31), where you can learn tricks to achieving gal nails. I’ve not been to NAIL CRAFT but they have reasonable prices and their work looks good, if a little less eccentric than most nail salons.
Some simple but cute nails by NAIL CRAFT
Do you use fake eyelashes?
Not so surprisingly 95% of the staff-chan said yes, they do.
I am a recent convert to eyelashes, and now I can’t get enough. They really are a Gal essential…so unless you have the most amazingly long and luscious lashes, please invest in some.
Brands currently favoured by 109 staff-chan include: MAC, CANMAKE, RMK, Dolly Wink and SBY – Yesstyle and Ichibankao carry some of the mentioned brands.
Dolly Wink; Dolly Sweet lashes
What is your current hair style?
Out of the 20 staff-chan interviewed the results looked like this:
  • Long hair – 10 staff-chan; milk tea colour, curls, super long, two tone, thick hair with extensions and wigs are popular with this length.
  • Medium – 4 staff-chan; Some Gals find this style easy to maintain – and I agree XD
  • Bob cut – 4 staff-chan; bleached hair and wearing heavy wigs are big right now.
  • Short & Very Short – 2 staff-chans; It can be done, just look at Emina. Gals with short hair are favouring blonde colouring right now.
Emina workin’ the short-do
What is your next ideal hairstyle?
Once again some varied answers, but I love this because it shows that not every Gal MUST have long, blonde, curly hair.
  • Longthick fringes and side partings with a fringe are on the rise.
  • Medium layers, and lots of them – let’s see some volume.
  • Bob cut light and bouncy.
  • Very short Red, with a side parting and a fringe.
I really loved some of the answers the staff-chan gave to working in 109 – ‘I wanted to be able to stand in front of others…’ – and the things that made them happy – ‘when you see a customer really happy after buying clothes that suited them’.
I hope that the 109 press continues to do items like these for their English readers as well as Japanese. It’s always great to see what the people behind the brands wear, and what they think will be trending soon.
Autumn Trends
I was going to write a little something about Autumn trends, but I think Mitsu has done such an amazing job with it that I wouldn’t be able to compare ;D
Once I get to Tokyo and visit 109 again I’ll probably make a post about Autumn trends and my likes/dislikes. But for now enjoy these latest posts by the gorgeous Mitsu:
Sources; 1, 2, 3, 4

Mode hair & Skin care….

Mode Hair
If you haven’t heard about the current MODE trend in Gal, then check out Mitsu’s amazing introduction, or pick up the current issue of Happie Nuts which features Emoda’s Ena Matsumoto.
I really love the look and idea of Mode, because it’s a more sophisticated and stylish kind of Gal without being too boring or old – even if Mode is aimed at the older Gal. By this I mean that whilst chic is always great, I don’t want to look like I’m going to the office (blouses and pencil skirts etc.) or too old for my time whilst I’m still a university student.
Anyway, Mitsu also posted a wonderful hair tutorial to Ena’s Mode style bun. I loved the look of it and thought it could be a more stylised alternative to my usual messy top bun. When I mentioned this she said how she would like to see my version as my hair is the polar opposite to hers – long and thin.
Please excuse the bad webcam pics. I didn’t have any make-up on so I didn’t want to show my ugly half-awake/half-asleep face.

An example of the length of my hair/how thin my hair is.
I was really shocked when I put my hair up into the ponytail because it was so thin. I thought it was getting thicker, but I guess it’s going to take longer D:

My take on the ‘Mode bun’
I should mention that this was rather rushed. It took me about 20mins and I did it as soon as I had woken up. This was because of an impromptu visit to the beach so I was in a bit of a rush to get everything together and get ready. However no more excuses, I plan to have another go next time I want to carry off the Mode look.
I found it very hard to get this style right as my hair is so thin and long.
I found rolling my hair under to be slightly challenging as it was so long, but I managed.
My second dilemma was down to how thin my hair was. Even after back-combing I found that my hair could have been thicker to make it work better. This was probably because it didn’t really have the volume/thickness that Ena and Mitsu managed. Maybe this was due to my lack of time or maybe this style just isn’t meant for those with thin hair. Even so I do want to try it again – maybe using a thickening shampoo just before – as I really liked the overall look of it. I felt as though I looked more like my age, then when I do a messy top bun…don’t ask me how that makes any sense but I have trouble with people always thinking I’m younger than I am haha
I thought my version was too messy to start with, but then I saw the original picture of Ena and I didn’t feel so bad because it seemed that was the look she was going for, albeit with a more sleek outfit than mine ;D
So this style, whilst difficult, is still a winner for me.
Skin Care

In the last few weeks leading up to the end of last term (at uni) I found myself going out to lots of restaurants, comedy clubs (eating food such as nachos etc.) and takeaways with friends. Whilst I enjoyed this immensely I am now suffering from the consequences. My skin and body are at a low. The weight/toning-up post will come later but for now I want to talk about skin.
Thanks to the wonders of the female body (hello PMS) and too much junk food, my skin broke out. This probably isn’t a big deal for most people, but my skin has always been relatively spot free and smooth. So you can understand that this got me down a little bit. Therefore I started eating healthier and I tried out a few skin care products to battle the blemish.
Please note that I have sensitive skin so I don’t usually use spot fighting scrubs/facial moisturisers.
1. Deep Action Facial Scrub – I usually buy this as it is really effective. It can be used as a daily wash or as a mask. But for some reason the bottles always tend to break on me. I wanted to buy it again this time but they didn’t have any so I went for…
2. Tea Tree & Peppermint Cleanser/Toner – I have used Tea Tree before and I know it can have brilliant effects on your hair but I haven’t used it on my skin before. Unfortunately this just made my skin break out even more. I don’t know if this was because my skin disagreed with the product or if it would have done it anyway. I stopped using it as I didn’t find it any help at all D:
3. Deep Action Daily Exfoliating Wash – I thought this may have been the first product I know and love, but re branded so I bought it…but it wasn’t. It had a different feel to it and I couldn’t use it as a mask like the first one. However it did start to clear my skin up, but after using it daily – as it is supposed to be used – I found my skin drying up, and not just a little bit. It caused my skin to flake and it left my face feeling rough and dry. Definitely the worst out of the two.
4. Savlon – What? An antiseptic cream?! It may sound ridiculous but when I told my boyfriends mum how I had dry skin and spots she recommended me this – if anyone is interested she did also give me some Clinique moisturiser but it didn’t work anywhere near as good as this. I never knew you could use it for spots but apparently you can (the website mentions it too), and it works wonders. The majority of the blemishes are gone and my skin feels normal again.
It really makes me wonder why I spend all my money on skin care products when something so simple and universal can help. As you can see I like Superdrug’s range of skin products but after this I think I will either stick to the Savlon when I have a break-out or choose something more natural like The Body Shop’s products.
Do you have any odd cures for blemishes or strange skin care routines?

April gets….

I apologise for my recent absence. This month and the beginning of May are full of deadlines, exams and social events haha. But I am back and I thought I would update with a few of my recent purchases/coordinates…

Whilst I was back home for a few days I hit up the big H&M, and surprisingly I didn’t buy much. I checked out the Garden Collection Jenny has been blogging about, which was cute but they didn’t have anything that really caught my eye. So I only ended up buying two items;
Hair Braid – see it worn.
Ready-made Scarf Bow Headband.
I also bought a plain black dress (New Look’s ‘Skater Dress’) as I don’t actually have one without embellishments of some kind. And as everyone knows the LBD is a girls best friend ;D
It looks great by itself but I also tried pairing it with a belt, and of course the current trend topper, the denim shirt. For a casual everyday look for uni, I quite like the dress-shirt combo and it looks perfect for Spring with the scarf headband.
And then yesterday I went out with my girl Samispo0n and we got our nails did;
I was inspired by EGG’s Nemoyayo (whose new hair I am loving), and her red and white polka dot nails. I went for my own take on it, with crystal polka dots on one finger.
Samispo0n was going to go with these originally but opted for some Gilfy staff-chan inspired nails instead, that suit her look perfectly.
I was surprised to see that the salon actually did 3D designs as well, which is hard to find outside London…and even the ones in London are scarce, and nowhere near as good as those in Japan. Although Koneko has had a few nice sets done.
Finally, here is some simple hair and make-up that I did last night.
I was going to a leaving party and just wanted a cute casual look. I wish my make-up hadn’t looked so bland close-up though. I just used top eyeliner, glitter liner and white liner – to be honest I was running late and wanted to do it quickly haha.
I have also been trying out a different style with my hair, as it is naturally wavy and I usually straighten it like crazy. I’m not sure if it looks a little too messy, and it makes it look shorter when I leave the curls in D:
What do you think?

FHF & Hair Tutorial Scans….

Fashion Hime Friday
A big thank you to Sara Mari, who featured me on this weeks ‘Fashion Hime Friday‘.
I’m sure you all know about Sara’s amazing blog already, but if you don’t then definitely check it out.
Hair Tutorial Scans
I was looking through some scans from April’s issue of AGEHA and I saw some pretty simple, but cute hair tutorials. I plan on trying a few of these out, and maybe posting the images up here soon – if I don’t fail at it completely ;D
So simple and very cute – Looks easy enough for us Gals with thin hair too.
Perfect for this seasons Mori Gal look.
Another simple but effective look.
This last scan is actually from JELLY, but it shows off some of this seasons must-have hair accessories, such as: braid (it doesn’t have to be your own hair)/headband, the scarf, can-can hat. I personally love all 3 of these looks because you can work them into almost all of this season’s trends.
The scarf, and the can-can hat are great for this season’s western trend:
But don’t forget, the scarf is also a great all-round accessory for most of this seasons looks. And a can-can hat is the perfect accent for any feminine coordinate.
And the braid/headband is a great alternative to using your own hair, as seen on the cover of the May issue of JELLY:
Will you be trying out any of these styles this season?
Or wearing any of these accessories?

Remember: If you have any questions about me/the blog or ideas about what you’d like to see on the blog, leave a comment here.

Source; 1, 2, 3

Ageha top 10 meme….

Here is the ‘Ageha Top 10’ meme that Mitsu, Alanna and myself have decided to take up.
It was quite hard to think of a ‘Top 10’ and I realised that I couldn’t properly rank everything. So in no particular order…
Enjoy~
I hope you will all post your top 10’s. I can’t wait to see them.
p.s. Would you guys be interested in seeing some translated scans?
I’m quite busy right now with university but I am hoping to help Mitsu with some translations soon…so let me know.

100 Followers….

100 Followers!!
I would just like to thank everyone who follows this blog.
I can’t believe I now have 100 followers, it seems odd that people would want to read my posts.
To commemorate this I thought it might be funny (for you) and awkward (for me) to see how I have ‘evolved’ over the years haha. The pictures show the changes in my make-up and hair styles.

2006-2008
Wow some of those are pretty shocking, right? But hopefully I have learnt from my past styles…Can you guess at which point I started incorporating Gal into my style?! Or are they all too dismal to tell haha.
As you can see I’ve tried just about everything with my hair. I have had it long (when I was yonger), cut super short and then extensions. I also dyed it blonde/ginger at one point…for those wondering what my original hair colour is; I am a very dark brunette. I am naturally pale though so I opt for a lighter shade.
I also noticed just how much eyeliner I used to wear, that was a shock. I really needed to tone it down back then XD
And here I am now!!
Well 2010 anyways…my hair is a lighter copper now.
Sorry for the lack of make-up in the above picture, but I think this shows just how much I have changed. I am currently very happy with the way I do my hair, make-up and dress. Before Gal was just an interest but now it’s something I think about, do and follow (hopefully well) everyday.
I wish I had pictures of past outfits, but I was never confident enough to take full body shots D:
Well luckily I feel so comfortable with my style now, that I can do so!! Which is helpful for this blog lol
I don’t know if that was any help or interest to anyone, but I think to make this blog more personal it’s important for you guys to see how my style has evolved. I feel a little nervous showing this off here, because some people can be rather harsh with their criticism but I am not claiming to be the best at Gal and I never have. I just have an interest in it and it makes me happy when I dress this way.
SO THANK YOU EVERYONE!!
Hopefully we can work together and evolve into the ‘Gal’ that we want to be 😀