Awesome giveaway by MyKissEnMakeUp!

I need to feed my obsession with nail art and I would love to pamper myself to the ultimate spa treatment at a hotel I love. So, please indulge me here. :3

 
Come on, she's giving away brush sets and nail art kits by Suesh, falsies by Urban Decay, AND (dealmaker here) SEVEN (7) gift cheques for the prestigious Zen Institute!
Please help me win this by clicking on the banner above. XD

Swagger with Swag! Gyaru Giveaways [*constantly updated for as long as I can get online]

If you are reading my blog, you would find that I am currently aspiring to be a gyaru. The best places to start research on it include Wikipedia, Ricoche, and the ever-expansive Gyaru Wiki (yay it's about time!), but you're better off lurking around Livejournal and blogs like the venerable ladies Cherrypop (sorry French only!) and Gal Factory, Gyaru-Raba, Chaigyaru, and Universal Doll off the top of my head. Of course, Google is your friend. Simply put, it's about being a sexy, stylish (post-)modern woman.

Of course, if gyaru fits your interests, you'd also know that it entails expenses. XD;;;

But fret not! There are many gyaru out there who are generous in spreading the love of sexy, stylish (post-)modern life. While sadly I'm not one of them yet, I think I can definitely point you in the right direction. ;P

Here are some blog sites which feature giveaways of make-up and jewelry to help kick-start your gyaru life. Note that the most recent promos are the ones on the top!

Pixie Dust

I have to admit, fairies were never my cup of tea. Not even fairy princesses could distract me from my fascination with angels, witches (!) and princesses, which set in much earlier. However, this stylish, make-up savvy Viennese blogger is starting to make me reconsider. With a touch of whimsy and a spirit of wonder, Frau Pixie Dust makes me want to sprinkle a little magic into my life, from my make-up and my wardrobe to the mundane everydayness of my work. ♥

And with her awesome first-ever make-up and accessories giveaway (fairy-themed of course!), Frau Pixie Dust shares a few items that she swears grants elven charms to her to everyone on an international level! But to do this, there are a few conditions, but I won't go into them - you can read them all in the post. The giveaway began on 10th May and ends 25th June, with 25 being her lucky number. Sorry I shared this late Frau Pixie Dust!

Mika Chan ♥ Sparkles by 美華ちゃん
Mika-chan looks American but has Japanese blood and shuttles her life between Japan and North America. She also has an enviable marriage to a wonderful man and an adorable son, both of which she blogs about as frequently as her make-up and beauty adventures. Oh, and there are many make-up and beauty adventures - mostly of the trial and review kind, but her few-and-far-between tutorials are also awesome (and I wish she'd make more of those). She faces her problems - most recently, her son's problematic vision and health - fearlessly with style and panache. Though not a full gyaru, she is an awesome woman in my book and I wish her well.

Her first-ever blog giveaway is notable because she's not giving away just one (1) prize, but THREE (3) prizes! Yes, that means there's a first, second, and third place! However, there is one serious condition for eligibility in the contest: all blog followers (via Google Friend Connect) must add to their comment, in addition to their names, email addresses and reposts in their blogs/Twitter accounts, their thoughts on her blog plus their suggestions for improvement. You'd better start following her on Google because this contest ends on May 12th!

FINDING TOKYO: fashion food foto by Hana
I meant to do this sooner, but I jetted off to India with the fam for a week (more on that at my next post), so this kinda took a backseat, eheh. XD;;;
This blog is very straightforward, promising nothing but fashion, food and photography in, around and about Tokyo. I personally only really followed it because it had three of my favourite things ever: a solid focus on Tokyo, an end-of-week blog round-up that's done religiously every week, and the cutest yellow layout in the history of EVER. ♥♥♥ (Seriously, yellow is such a bright colour that a layout based on it, no matter if it's on its palest or most burnt shades, is RARE to find online. Hell, I'm trying to make one but I haven't had the time... I digress...). Its owner Hana lives in Tokyo with her Japanese boyfriend.

UPDATE: The winner has been announced. Congratulations to AIN PARFAIT of Dollbot! \^0^/

StyleWalker by StyleGanji/Phi
This unique girl, Phi, is as awesome a gal as they come. She reads manga and is unashamed to admit she's obsessed with bloody Twilight, of all things! While I originally followed her for her awesome hair and make-up and deco tips, I'm definitely still on because of her frankness. She's refreshing and I like her. X3

UPDATE: No announcement yet on the winner, either... or maybe I missed it? LOL! Good news - the contest is still ONGOING, see update here! Thank you SO much for clearing this up Phi! v^_^v

Lizz Buenaventura.com: I draw for a living!
I found this through Health & Beauty Geek, who is made of awesome and who I've been following for quite a while now. ♥ Lizz Buenaventura is a consummate artist - in her own words she's "a designer by day and a painter by night" - although lately she's been going bonkers over the items which draw the human face so well: make-up! ;P

UPDATE: The winner has been announced. Congratulations to DEMENTIA of MukhangPera.com! \^0^/

This Was Forever by Emily Chan
I just discovered this gal (who is enamoured with the wares at Hongkong, a great thing in my book if you ask me ;3) by hopping and skipping through some fashion and beauty blogs here in Blogger. I love her style of mixing old with new and matching run-of-the-mill items with one-of-a-kind finds. She's got great taste in products as well. Plus, I love her wit and honesty as well, which shows in her entries. (Of course, it helps she's also Asian, ehehe, though seriously I swear I don't mean to just limit myself to Asian bloggers... ^^0)

UPDATE: The winner has been announced. Congratulations to FIONA WONG of The Blog World of Fiona! \^0^/

Ann-Mich
Maintained by the lovely Singaporean twins Anne (older) and Michelle (younger), they have giveaways combining authentic Japan goods with their own personal creations almost every month. I love them not because they have tons of giveaways, but because their blogs are entertaining, they are creatively inclined (Michelle runs an Etsy shop featuring handmade jewelry, while Anne's shop showcases handsewn crafts), and they are genuinely interested in the fashion and beauty.

UPDATE: Sadly, still no news on their November-December getaway. Or maybe I didn't win, haha. XD

With these I wish you the best of luck in pursuing your gyaru aspirations! ^0^/

Life & Style

I visited Littlekobaby's blog Koko In Wonderland this weekend and as always, she did not disappoint. She doesn't just recommend which items match or which style should be followed, but she asks questions that few fringe style fashionistas would dare tackle. She's very brave for professing her love for both gyaru and lolita, which is no mean feat because girls from both Japanese street fashion tribes have been at loggerheads since day one. This isn't a unique phenomenon though, as such tribalistic tendencies in fashion can be seen from haute couture to counterfeit culture. The type of mutual disgust that the gyaru and lolita  communities have for each other would make the Cold War look like a campfire where people are singing "Kumbayah." Yes folks, fashion equals serious business.

Gyaru (more likely agejo or hostesses) modelling Gothic Lolita brand dresses in their own style, taken from Vanilla Girl August 2008 issue, through CherryPop.

Thanks to this post and this post, I couldn't resist writing this reply of sorts.

Discuss: Tokyo youth fashion invades Paris! [Updated]

So I am currently online checking out articles for work today, when I stumbled upon this from The Philippine Star's website, PhilStar. I know that Japan has belatedly realised that its fashion is very marketable worldwide, and that its brands have trouble finding a larger, more lucrative (read: international) market especially in the face of the global recession (which, strangely, hasn't been felt within and around the Philippines... yet). With all these things happening at the same time, it's nice to see that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is trying helping its fashion designers gain a foothold abroad. Called Tokyoeye, this ambitious pilot project by METI toured the world, starting at Shanghai and finishing in Paris, just after Fashion Week no less. This endeavour follows other similar moves that aim to promote, quite aggressively, Japanese culture to the world, notably the establishment of the Kansei Value Creation Initiative and the opening of the Kansei Value Creation Museum in Kobe and the launch of “NIPPON MONO ICHI – Spirit of Creation” in cooperation with the Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, Japan (SMRJ) which aims to help SMEs - fashion brands included (they still aren't as big as car companies, banks and electronics corporations, after all) - use consumer-oriented products as mediums for their messages they wish to send to consumers (spirit of creation), by guiding them through the planning and development, distribution and marketing phases.

To quote from the Tokyoeye article on PhilStar:

The closing event in Paris was the highlight of Tokyoeye. From February to March, young Japanese brands like Aula Aila, Valentine’s High, Galaxxxy in Hi-Fi, Sachio Kawasaki, DRESSCAMP, Liz Lisa, Phenomenon, Duck Digger displayed their works at Colette — a boutique known as a bastion of cool.

Also according to the article, the Tranoï Showroom on rue Saint-Honoré opened young designers to deals with fashion buyers and merchandisers. If the designers play their cards right, we can will see some of our favourites in Harvey Nichols, Bloomingdales and Club 21, among others.

I believe that this effort is also related to Tokyoeye:

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will set up a Japan Booth at "MICAM SHOEVENT", the world’s largest-scale international footwear exhibition, and help Japanese companies exhibit their products. The event, taking place in Milan, Italy, is expected to attract about 40,000 buyers.

While Liz Lisa and even Cocolulu (strangely not a part of this line-up ... maybe because it's not highbrow enough?) are already making in-roads in Asia (I really wish I'd been able to go to the Liz Lisa Taipei store while I was in Taiwan last year), I definitely agree that the other brands need more buzz. Outside of the few people I know who have an idea of

However, the more I learn about the METI's past and present efforts, I'm getting the impression that METI is creating and promoting Tokyoeye as a high-end affair. What would happen to the Japanese street fashion brands and the youth subcultures that they inspired then, like Liz Lisa and Galaxxxy in Hi-Fi? Would it be the end of fukubukuro (loot bags) from our favourite stores? Will this turn our beloved "raw" tribe followings into haute couture exhibitions?



UPDATE: Strangely, there seems to be little news about Tokyoeye available online. Hmm. Here are some of the links that I was able to find (I didn't include those already posted earlier):

Article on Modem Mag
Article on the Mainichi Shimbun's English-language website
Thailand-Japan fabric and textile collaboration article on FashionWindows

OMG OMG OMGGGGGGGGGG!!!

I found out from one of my trusted sellers in Multiply that she's offering a personal shopping service from Japanese stores. Now that I'm leaning heavily towards the gyaru style, I'm going nuts because this is the chance to own something, ANYTHING by Cecil McBee, Gilfy, Swordfish, Ego System, Liz Lisa... OHMYGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

Unfortunately, I still owe some other sellers money. And I just finished investing quite a heavy sum in retail treasury bonds, so I have absolutely skint. DX

Not to mention that I feel incredibly guilty since there are so many people out there currently living worse off than I am due to Typhoons Ketsana and Parma, which attacked our part of the country in the last 2 weeks.

I just want to go for it SO badly though...! T.T

God, please, I would like a windfall right about now. Please? I've been really, REALLY good! T_____________________T

I can has Poupee! :D

So thanks to Seme GF-chama, I finally joined PoupeeGirl!

For those on Poupee, please add me! ;D

Merry Christmas again! :P

Koakuma Sailormoon, and other things.

What happens when you cross himegyaru style with Sailormoon? v^V^v

Pretty Gyaru Sailormoon, that's what! XD

1	2	3
4	5	6
7	8	9

I want Neptune's hair the most, I hope it fits me! ♥♥♥ Alas, Uranus doesn't look very pretty here, but I guess that's because she's better off translated in terms of either sentaa (the male version of gyaru, aka those dandy boys with tans and ridiculous hairdos), or in bosozoku (biker gang) culture ala Anna Tsuchiya's character Ichigo in Shimotsuma Monogatari. X3

Scans taken from the September 2008 issue of Koakuma Ageha (Koakuma = little devil, ageha = swallowtail/night butterfly depending on the reading, and the magazine caters primarily to girls in, um, hostess bars so please exercise caution when reading!), made available here - please don't forget to say thank you! X3

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Wow... tomorrow, it will be exactly two years since my sister left for the USA. While I have definitely gotten used to her physical absence, I still feel lonely and helpless without her sometimes.

Right now she's having fun gambling with a friend in Nevada. I hope that she actually wins something. d^V~b

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For those who want to see some large photographs of the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, visit this site! v^_^v