good japanese makeup brands

GUIDE TO JAPANESE SUBSTYLES

This is a list of various substyles within fashion, along with their definitions. Keep in mind that styles often overlap and mix, so don’t worry too much about labeling your outfit under one specific substyle. In the end, it’s all still girly kei!

Core Styles

CASUAL GIRLY

As the name implies, this substyle is casual girly kei. The clothing is often oversized and made from comfortable materials, promoting a relaxed vibe. Hairstyles, makeup, and accessories tend to be simple, with braids and twintails commonly seen. This versatile substyle can range from modest to flashy, depending on how you choose to coordinate your outfit.

SWEET GIRLY

The most popular substyle is known for its playful, over-the-top details like lace, ribbons, and plenty of cute prints. Pastel shades dominate, though darker colors can also be found. Decorative elements are more extravagant compared to other styles, and hair accessories like headbands and ribbons woven into ornate hairstyles are common. Accessories and even main pieces often feature bijou detailing, adding a touch of sparkle. When it comes to footwear, platforms are the most popular choice, though tea party shoes and Mary Janes are also frequently seen. During winter, ankle boots become a stylish and practical option.

FRENCH GIRLY

French girly is a substyle that embodies the romanticized image of a young French woman, similar to the popular “French model aesthetic” seen on TikTok. Outfits typically feature lower platforms and a monochromatic palette of black, white, and gray, often mixed with creams and off-whites. Key elements include hairbands, pearl and gold accents, curled hair, berets, tweed, and ruffled sleeves. Many wearers incorporate high-end European fashion designers into their looks through accessories or cosmetics. While French text is common on accessories, it’s rarely found on clothing.

NATURAL GIRLY

At first glance, natural girly may resemble mori fashion, sharing a vintage-inspired aesthetic. It features a soft silhouette with longer skirts and delicate embroidery. Earth tones are popular, along with square-toed shoes, loafers, canvas bags, and minimal or no-makeup looks. Thrifting is a common practice among natural girly wearers, who often prefer pieces made from all-natural fabrics.

OTONA GIRLY

This substyle caters to those looking for a more mature look. Outfits typically feature longer skirts and a toned-down aesthetic with fewer details. While not always the case, colors tend to be muted, creating a more understated appearance compared to other styles. Solid colors, simple floral patterns, and polka dots are common, along with designer handbags and high heels. Newcomers may find it challenging to distinguish otona from general feminine fashion, as the style emphasizes subtle cute details, even in its simplicity!

RETRO GIRLY

This substyle draws inspiration from retro fashions, making you look as though you’ve stepped right out of the past! It often includes outfits resembling old-fashioned school uniforms, with browns, creams, and lots of plaid being key elements. Folded socks, tights, Mary Janes, and hats are also common accessories. Despite the vintage feel, the clothes in this style aren’t actually vintage but are designed to have a retro aesthetic. It’s all about capturing the charm of old-school fashion while keeping it fresh and modern!

DARK GIRLY

Despite its name, this substyle isn’t just girly kei in dark colors—it has a distinctly edgy vibe. Unlike sweet girly, which focuses on cuteness, dark girly embraces a bolder, more rebellious atmosphere. Key elements include heavy makeup, bondage-inspired accessories, and dramatic platform shoes. Religious iconography, like crosses, hexagrams, and rosaries, is commonly featured. Lace socks and fishnet stockings are popular in this style, with ripped fishnets being a common touch to add to the edgy aesthetic. This substyle blends a sense of mystery with a tough, fashion-forward attitude.

Related Styles

HIMEKAJI

Contrary to what some in the West may believe, himekaji is not solely a gyaru substyle! This fashion is defined by floral prints and abundant lace. While short skirts were prevalent during the gyaru boom, longer garments are now popular and can also be styled for girly kei. Pearl details and accessories are just as common as bijou elements, with an emphasis on keeping accessories elegant and cute.

MENHERA

If you’re not familiar with the menhera subculture, it’s a good idea to start with articles by Menheratic. The style often features vent art prints, with a variety of clothing options, including girly pieces. Outfits typically consist of an oversized top worn as a dress, minimal accessories, platform shoes, simple hairstyles, and byojaku makeup. However, it’s important to remember that menhera primarily focuses on mental health awareness, and the true essence of a coord lies in the meaning assigned to it by the wearer!

JERSEY MAID

Since around 2020, Japanese alternative fashion enthusiasts have embraced (often kawaii-fied) tracksuits and a general gopnik attitude, which has influenced various styles, including girly kei. Although the term suggests a maid-like appearance, it applies to all sorts of frilly tracksuit-inspired outfits, regardless of whether they feature an apron. It’s worth noting that searching for “tracksuit” won’t yield the desired results; they’re referred to as “jersey” in this context. This trend is closely tied to the mizuiro aesthetic, popularized by Tenshi Zyoshi.

CHINA KEI

This style has been around for some time but is often unfamiliar by name. China kei is a kawaii-inspired take on traditional Chinese clothing, including tangzhuang, qipao, and hanfu. Accessories like bun covers, hair sticks, and Chinese knots are common. While Japanese brands may occasionally release similar items, it’s much more prevalent among Chinese indie brands on platforms like Taobao.

OtherJAPANESE TRADITIONAL

JAPANESE TRADITIONAL

Many reinterpretations of traditional Japanese clothing exist across various styles, and girly kei is no exception. This aesthetic includes numerous kimono and yukata designs, as well as girly kei brand releases that incorporate iconic collars and sleeves while maintaining the fashion’s essence. Wearers often pair these outfits with girly kei accessories, intricate hair ribbons, and decorative nails to complete the look. Some may even choose non-traditional platform shoes instead of tabi and geta!

GIRLY-INSPIRED COSTUMES

Given the fashion’s popularity, it’s no surprise that there are costumes inspired by the girly kei style. Themes like jiangshi, nurses, maids, and nuns often receive a girly kei twist, especially in Halloween specials of Larme magazine. Essentially, if you can imagine it, you can make it girly! While not always shown, it’s also common to see idol costumes infused with girly elements.

conclusion

While this may not be an exhaustive list, I hope you found it informative! If there’s a specific substyle you feel is missing and deserves attention, don’t hesitate to reach out to me in my inbox!

Looking Flawless with 8 Best Concealers for Dry Skin

Are you not satisfied with how your makeup looks at the end because the base doesn’t seem flawless? Then concealers are what you’re missing. Concealer is a cosmetic product used in makeup to camouflage imperfections on the skin. It is typically a thicker, highly pigmented formula that comes in various shades to match different skin tones. And we know that it’s very hard for those with dry skin as their makeup starts getting flaky the moment they put on concealers. You know what, you can totally say goodbye to cakey, dehydrated makeup now because we’re here to help you. If you really want to improve your makeup look, you need hydrating products. Let us dive into our list of 8 best concealers for dry skin.

What is Concealer for

Covering Blemishes: Concealer helps to hide acne, pimples, scars, and other blemishes that may be visible on the skin. It provides concentrated coverage to the specific area, making it less noticeable.

Concealing Dark Circles: Many people experience dark circles or discoloration under their eyes due to lack of sleep, genetics, or other factors. Concealer can brighten the under-eye area, making you look more awake and refreshed. If you want to lessen the dark color under your eyes, opt for concealers that are red, pink, orange, or yellow, depending on your skin tone.

Reducing Redness: Whether it’s from acne, rosacea, or irritation, redness on the skin can be effectively concealed using a color-correcting concealer. Green-tinted concealers are commonly used to neutralize redness.

Correcting Uneven Skin Tone: Concealers do wonders in evening out the skin tone by covering areas of hyperpigmentation, sunspots, or birthmarks. By applying concealer to these areas, you can achieve a more uniform complexion.

Highlighting and Contouring: Concealers are also used in the process of highlighting and contouring the face. A lighter shade of concealer can be applied to the high points of the face, such as the bridge of the nose, under the brow bone, and on the tops of the cheekbones, to create a more dimensional look.

Top 8 Concealers for Dry Skin

Il Makiage F*ck I’m Flawless Concealer

If you’re finding a vegan, cruelty-free concealer with no oil or paraben that still works amazingly on dry skin, Il Makiage F*ck I’m Flawless concealer can satisfy you. It is a smooth, blendable concealer suitable for most skin types. It’s perfect for color-correcting and concealing hyperpigmentation, acne, and under-eye circles.

You can find Il Makiage concealer reviews on their official website but we can sum them up here for you. Overall, most customers have a quite nice experience with this product as it gives them a flawless, smooth effect on their skin without any irritations or buildups. However, many people find the price of this item is quite expensive and it’s not an inclusive concealer as the range of colors is not very large.

Milk Future Fluid Concealer

The formula of this product is extremely customizable. You can use it as a traditional concealer to cover breakouts and dark circles, or all over the face as a sheer foundation. It also has a versatile packaging, with a pointed tip for more targeted application, and a flat edge for broader coverage. 

People who have used this product praise it for its natural yet full-coverage finish. This concealer from Milk can perfectly cover any acne scar with only a few dots which is very economical. But when it comes to active acne, the finish might end up quite crusty so if you’re having acne issues, you can check our next product.

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

NARS has always been a famous high-end cosmetic brand with one of their favorite products being NARS Radiant Creamy concealer. The brand declares that it’s a multipurpose concealer that brightens, corrects and lasts 16 hours with a creamy medium-to-buildable coverage and natural, radiant finish.

This product is an amazing product that is suitable for every skin type, especially those with dry skin as it has a very blendable, smooth formula. If coverage is what you’re after, the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer is worth buying. However, this product tends to oxidize with time and looks quite heavy if you put on too much of it.

Tarte Shape Tape Concealer

While known for its full coverage, the Shape Tape Concealer also has a hydrating formula that works well for dry skin when applied sparingly. This concealer was chosen to be the best Concealer by Allure Readers’ Choice Award 2021 so you can totally trust the quality that it can provide.

Tarte Shape Tape concealer has a very good color payoff that covers any hyperpigmentation under the eyes smoothly. Besides, it doesn’t require much touch-up as it can last all day. It also has a very blendable texture but you should blend it as fast as possible if you want to achieve your wanted look. 

IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer

Formulated with anti-aging peptides, hydrolyzed collagen, hyaluronic acid and vitamin E, this skin-loving product won’t crease or crack and helps to improve the appearance of wrinkles. For those who don’t know, IT Cosmetics partners with plastic surgeons and dermatologists to develop skin-loving solutions and clinically tested formulas so you don’t have to worry about any irritation.

If you haven’t found a concealer that is hydrating enough, this might be the one you need. It provides users with a very smooth, natural finish without making them feel too dry on the skin. You can also put on many layers as its formula is very buildable without appearing cakey. However, this product can be too “Hydrating” to many people and leaves them with a pretty sticky result.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer

Maybelline is one of the most chosen drugstore brands with many affordable yet effective products. This concealer is praised for its creamy formula that doesn’t accentuate dryness and helps to brighten the under-eye area.

This product isn’t billed as hydrating, this product never leaves consumers with dry skin. It has high coverage and great texture and wear. You can highlight, conceal, and even contour with this item. But the shade range of it is not very inclusive and the packaging with a sponge on top of it are 2 cons of Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer.

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer

Another high-end concealer on our list is from Bobbi Brown. This best-selling, cult-favorite duo is a hero product for the brand, and it shows. The portable kit concealer offers a skin-smoothing cream concealer alongside a super-fine pressed powder. It can also deliver waterproof and sweat- and humidity-resistant coverage. 

This product is claimed to be creamy and easy to apply with a finger or a brush and it doesn’t cause any breakout, and completely covers very dark hyperpigmentation. This is an amazing product for people who are willing to spend on a quite expensive item with amazing qualities.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer

Last but not least on our list is a weightless with amazing coverage concealer from Urban Decay. It’s loaded with lots of ingredients that are skin-loving. Matrixyl 3000 contains anti-wrinkle peptides to improve the skin’s youthful appearance and elasticity. Japanese green tea revitalizes and helps reduce the appearance of fine lines. Litchiderm from lychee fruit protects against dehydration, resulting in a brighter, more radiant complexion. And sodium hyaluronate to attract and retain moisture.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage concealer gives users a smooth, flawless finish that is hydrating and irritation-free on their skin. While doing a pretty great job as a safe, gentle concealer, this item is quite expensive so you should consider it carefully before making a purchase.

This is our list of concealers for dry skin. Before settling down on a certain product, you should try out various items on the market to find the one that works best for you. With a little help from us, you can totally say goodbye to cakey, unnatural makeup and welcome the perfect “clean girl”, all natural makeup look.