As someone who graduated high school in the year 2000, I have enjoyed seeing Y2K fashions trending once again. However, I was a little surprised when I saw that this included Japanese gal (gyaru) fashion. I am quite tickled to see girls who hadn’t even been born yet during the gal heyday copy the style from head to toe. It’s definitely making me feel very nostalgic.
I have a confession. I have a few pieces of makeup that I’ve been hoarding from the early 2000’s “just in case” I want to do a gal look. I am not and have never been into gal fashion. I am not a party girl, or wild, or rebellious, or anything even close to that. However, as someone who’s been following Japanese music and fashion since 1999 and dancing ParaPara since 2001, I’m definitely very familiar with the style, and have even taken some inspiration here and there from gal fashion and makeup. I was a little too late for the Namie Amuro boom, but I absolutely remember the days where it seemed like everyone was trying to look like Ayumi Hamasaki. In the early 2000’s, blond hair, thick black eyeliner (with a bit of white shimmer at the inner eye), nude lips, short skirts, and deco nails were the look whether you were into gal or not. I still love all of those things.
So I was cleaning out my makeup and decided to do a test run of an old-school gal look.
When I hear “gal”, this is the look I think of. I know, I’m old, and gal has evolved into a different style. Well, I learned a few things from doing this makeup trial. First, no lipstick color I have is pale enough for this, and I ended up using white pencil anyway, so there was no need for me to hang on to unflatteringly pale shades of lipstick. (True story: I bought MAC’s Myth lipstick and returned it because it was too light, but apparently it’s a popular gal lip color.) Second, the whites I have still aren’t really matte and opaque enough. Third, contouring my nose is silly because I already have the nose others are trying to imitate. Fourth, I am never actually going to use this style of makeup. For one thing, this style required tanning, so it doesn’t look right on me. If I ever have a reason to use a gal look (like for a meetup or ParaPara performance), there are newer styles of gal makeup that are more flattering and glamorous.
So here’s my take on a more modern gal look.
What I used (contains affiliate links):
- Foundation: Neutrogena Matte CC Cream + Neutrogena Hydro Boost Concealer Stick + MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation for a matte base that is typical of gal looks. I also prepped my eyelids with Urban Decay Primer Potion.
- Contour and highlight: Anastasia Contour Stick in Shadow and a matte powder foundation in the lightest color available. The link to the contour says “foundation stick”, but there are three grayish shades meant for contouring (Shadow, Fawn, and Mink) and one for highlight (Banana). For this look I did not use the harsh matte white that early gals used. My skin is oily, so I wanted to use a powder highlight, but highlight colors these days are usually shimmery, so I used a foundation instead. By the way, can you even tell I contoured my nose? I swear I did. Haha.
- Blush: I used an old NYX blush in a matte light pink.
- Eye highlight: NYX Jumbo Multi-Use Face Highlighter Stick in Vanilla Ice Cream. It’s a shimmery white. I used this around my eyes, under my eyes and up to my eyebrows, with emphasis on the inner corners of my eyes.
- Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Sin and Snatch (discontinued shimmery pink) with UD Moondust Glitter Eyeshadow in Space Cowboy layered over it. Actually, the UD Naked Mini Sin Palette looks like it would be great for this gal look, since it also has a white. Modern gals no longer cover their entire eyelids in black, it seems. Not that it really shows on me anyway with my hooded lids.
- Eyeliner: NYX Epic Ink Liner in Black. Liquid liner is a must for drawing those exaggerated eye shapes, and this one is fantastic. It goes on smooth and dark and stays put. I draw a thick upper line and a thin lower line, and extend the liner a little past the outer corner of my eye. I am not a fan of the eye droop, so I don’t do that. I do leave a bit of a gap at the outer lower lash line, though.
I also used an old NYX pencil in Taupe for my eyebrows. This is the color I use when I wear blond wigs. My hair is fine, so my brows don’t take much work. - Glitter: Urban Decay Moondust Liquid Glitter Eyeliner and MAKE UP FOR EVER Star Lit Diamond Powder. I put the glitter liner above my upper eyeliner and at the inner corner of my eye. The Diamond Powder I put all over my eyelids and temples. Unfortunately, they don’t photograph well, but they’re really sparkly in person. Urban Decay Glitter Eyeshadow in Cosmic would be a good alternative to the Diamond Powder. And actually, Stila Glitter Liquid Eye Shadow in Perlina is amazing and would also be great for this look. I don’t know why it doesn’t show in the photos, but Perlina is a rainbow iridescent color.
- Lipstick: MAC Honeylove – a matte nude. I also put a little of the NYX Vanilla Ice Cream highlighter stick over it to give it a bit of a white shimmer. A very light, shimmery pink probably would’ve been nice.
- Top Eyelashes: I used an old pair from Daiso. Unfortunately, giant spiky lashes went out of style in Japan a while ago (it was a very sad day when I could no longer find them at the Japanese market). These Manga Style Lashes are probably the closest thing available for gal lashes. Ardell 106 and Ardell 134 also look like viable options. I place my lashes so they extend a little past the outer corner of my eye and into the wing.
- Bottom lashes: I used Dolly Wink #14 Natural Cute. Dolly Wink #5 Real Nude is also popular. Otherwise these Manga Style Lower Lashes could work, too. Lower lashes seem to be an essential for a modern gal look. Start from the outer corner and place them so there’s no gap between the upper and lower lashes. They should end somewhere around the middle of your lower lash line. I’m not a fan of big lower lashes, but I have seen some gals use upper lashes on the bottom, too (or longer pieces just at the outer edge).
- Lash glue: D-UP 501 Rubber Type. I’ve tried a lot of lash glues, and this one is my favorite. It dries fast and strong and lasts all day. It can actually be a little hard to remove, so be gentle. Rubber Type dries flexible, so it’s more comfortable on the eyes than the Hard Type.
- Finishing Spray: Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. After all that work, you want your look to last!
Since this is a heavy makeup look with a lot of eyeliner, I find a good makeup remover to be absolutely essential at the end of the day. My favorite is Lancome Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover, but Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover is a good less expensive option. I also like Almay Biodegradable Makeup Remover Pads, which are quick and convenient. I try not to use Neutrogena Makeup Remover Wipes too often, as they can irritate your skin, but I find them convenient for when I’m traveling.
By the way, here are both makeup looks with my natural dark hair color. It just doesn’t feel right, although I suppose it would look better if I actually styled my hair.
If you’re interested in watching a tutorial on gal makeup, or J-fashion makeup in general, I like the Kawaii Pateen channel on YouTube. I would recommend this tutorial by HARUTAM, but there are a lot of them, as well as tutorials for Lolita and idol style makeup.