My Birthday (✿ ♥‿♥)

 My birthday was a few weeks ago! (✿ ♥‿♥)  

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

My husband and I went to a local cafe for lunch, I got a sakura late that was pretty good! Honestly it didn't really taste much different than a vanilla latte xD 

My birthday gift to myself this year was getting pink exte ★~(◡﹏◕✿) I've always wanted pink highlights but I was always too afraid to bleach my hair, I really know nothing about dying hair since I've never had it done before. So I was super excited when my hair stylist said she could give me colored exte. 

They look so perfect, I'm in love ♥‿♥ 

Next are my birthday presents. I hope this doesn't come across as bragging.. I just really like to see what people buy/get as gifts haha so I thought I would share.

My dad recently traveled to Japan for work and brought me this pearl necklace. It's so perfect, I love it! I've been really into star and cloud patterns lately, so I'm super excited to wear it. 

I was so excited that I got these sandals because I don't own any casual sandals for the summer! We're supposed to have really hot weather this week, which is perfect for sandals. It's going to be around like 85F/29C which is usually weather we don't get here until the middle of the summer. I need to make some hot weather outfits!

Some manga and one of my favorite disney movies ≧◡≦ I am trying to collect some on blu ray so I don't have to rely on Disney+ 

Lashes!! I wore the bottom ones at the tea ceremony which is why they're backwards in the case haha. I can't really wear lashes daily anymore so I usually go for an old school or reiwa look, but I'm hoping maybe I can wear these since they're much lighter than the lashes I've worn in the past! They were super comfortable for the tea ceremony so hopefully that's a good sign. 

New paints! All of my paintings are sparkly/metallic so these are perfect. I can't wait to try them out!

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

That's all for now, thanks for reading! see you soon (✿◠‿◠) 

Ego System inspo part 1

 Hello!! It's been a while since I got my ego system mags... I lost wifi when I moved to a new apartment and then i got lazy. lol. But I wanted to post a few pages from one of the magazines today!! They're just taken on my phone so they aren't super high quality or anything, but I wanted to share them since there's so little old school inspo online that isn't one of the more extreme gal styles. 

I really like Ego System because the gals seem really relatable to me. Don't get me wrong, I do love seeing the "fancier" magazines, but there's something about 2005 and earlier mags that are just really authentic and fun. These Ego Systems in particular feature a few gals without tans as well, which I thought was really cool. I wish more Ego System mags were preserved, but at least I can try to buy them when I see them (⊙﹏⊙✿) 

I really love the black and teal pants :0 

This reminds me that I wanted to buy another pair of lighter baggy jeans for summer!! Due to some of my health issues I can overheat really quickly now, so even when I'm just walking to work I want to have something cooler on. 

This makes me wanna get some capris xD 

It's so interesting to see that Cecil McBee had an old school presence as well. I always associate them with onee looks. 

I love the colorful tops that the gals in the top photo are wearing ♥‿♥ I always look forward to breaking out my bright tops for the summer!

The makeup section in gal mags is always my favorite ♥‿♥ 

I seriously wish that old school clothes weren't so hard to track down bc I NEED that orange print shirt.

I feel like I've seen some pink pants like this being sold somewhere recently.. maybe some of these trends are coming back (at least in the US)? 

It was so cool to see a pale gal with my hair color ≧◡≦  It's funny because in the US I can never find hair extensions or fake braid headbands etc in my hair color, so I was very surprised to find out that gyaru's dye their hair to my color! Maybe I'm genetically destined to be a gyaru xD 

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this brief Ego System inspo post and my commentary! I actually got the new Egg and Ageha for summer 2024, there were some cute trends in there so I'm gonna post them when I can. It's funny that my 2 biggest inspos are super old school or super current. I'm just a magazine hoarder xD 

See you soon!! ★~(◡﹏◕✿)

Japanese Tea Ceremony (✿◠‿◠)

 Hello!! 

I wanted to show you the rest of the photos from the tea ceremony last week! Everything has been kinda crazy in my life recently, I just moved and then I lost wifi for a while. I have so many blog posts planned that I need to catch up on!! 

Anyways!! On to the tea ceremony ♥‿♥

I've been planning for this day for sooo many months now. I found the perfect yukata and I decided to make my own accessories ♥‿♥ 

I was really inspired by this photo of Risa, specifically her purse! 

I spent a long time hunting down the perfect basket purse online ♥‿♥ I added the flowers and I also made hair clips too!

The day of the event was a little crazy. I was able to leave work early, but the event was 1.5 hours away, so I decided to just throw everything in the car and do my hair and makeup when I got there. It wasn't a big deal since the building had a lounge area that was totally empty! 

My friend Hiromi hosted the event, and her mom was able to help me put on my yukata properly. I was on time with my hair and make and sorta tried to put it on myself but it was NOT great, so I really appreciated the help (✿◠‿◠) There's something so magical and happy about getting ready for a special event with your friends. 

I was SO relieved once I got to the actual event on time. There were a few presentations first about Japanese flower arranging, painting, and the history of tea in Japan. I learned so much! I was able to talk to the woman who did the demonstration of the tea ceremony and she said she teaches lessons on traditional dance and music :0 I emailed her, I hope she has space in a class for me!! 

After the demonstration, they had candy and tea for us!! I was so happy that mine matched my yukata ★~(◡﹏◕✿)  I've never had Japanese matcha before, it was pretty bitter but you're supposed to eat the candy and then drink the tea right after, so it mixed together to be sweeter!

I loved these flower arrangements! I've never gotten a chance to see anything like this, so it was really interesting. I wanted to go to a workshop to learn to make these too, but they're only held during the workday (◕︵◕) 

My friend Hiromi and I (◕‿◕✿) Her paintings were on display! 

I felt so beautiful ♥‿♥ I'm so happy I was able to get a big bow for my yukata. 

Low quality phone "scan" lol but I used this hair tutorial from an Ageha mag from like 2022ish. I'm so happy it turned out well bc I did it in a public bathroom and didn't have a mirror to look at the back of my head. I had to use my phone xD 

I went for a soft purple eye make look! I think it looked so cute with my outfit!! 

⭑･ﾟﾟ･*:༅｡.｡༅:*ﾟ:*:✼✿　　✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

Thank you for reading!! See you soon! 

Happy thoughts (✿◠‿◠)

 Hello!! Today I went to a Japanese tea ceremony that my painting teacher hosted. I’ve been looking forward to this for so long now! I’m way too tired to write a whole post but I’m just feeling overwhelmed by gratitude and wanted to write something ❀◕ ‿ ◕❀

Ok here’s one photo but the rest I’m saving for a real post xD 

When this year began, I promised myself that I’d keep pursing my passions, especially things I always dreamed of or have been interested in since I was a child. Ever since I was in middle school, I suppressed my thoughts and interests trying to fit in and make the bullies go away. Thats why I made that promise to myself this year, because giving up on others opinions of me and pursuing my interests has brought me so much joy. It’s like reconnecting with a part of myself that I had hidden for so long. 

I grew up admiring Chinese and Japanese art and I truly feel so grateful that I’m able to learn Japanese painting. It probably seems silly, but I’ve wanted to see a tea ceremony and wear a yukata since I was a kid. I always thought they were so beautiful and never thought I’d get the chance. Other than my wedding, I’ve never felt so beautiful. I was really sitting there thinking “I wish I could tell little Rae that she gets to do this someday”  I really felt like a princess. 

On my drive home I was thinking about how much painting class has had a positive impact on my life. I was truly so lucky to randomly meet my painting teacher at an art fair. I really think it was fate for us to meet and become friends. 

Even my interest in gyaru fashion has brought me so much joy. I’m getting emotional now … I’ve met one of my best friends because of gyaru and it’s given me so much confidence… it just feels like gyaru is an essential part of myself. 

Just looking back on it all makes me emotional and so grateful for the people who have helped me become confident and pursue my passions and just accepted me for who I am. I really feel like this is finally the year that I’m fully embracing who I am

Ok, sappy post over. Lol, 

I hope it doesn’t sound too silly, please stay tuned for normal people blog posts xD  

New make look

 Hello!! 🌸 

I’m just waiting for my morning coffee (✿◠‿◠) I’m later than I wanted to be but that’s ok 

It’s somehow snowing again, so I took the opportunity to wear an outfit i haven’t worn yet! I also tried a different make style and I think this is my new daily liner shape! I really love the big droopy look, even after trying a lot of other gal tutorials 

Ignore that I’m not wearing lipstick xD I just have one of the Dior balms in opalescent pink. I snack and drink water most of the day so I always feel like it’ll just come off anyways 

 

I’ll post my outfit later! Talk soon ★~(◡﹏◕✿)

Spring thoughts

 Hello! 

I don’t have much to say today ●︿● I’m going through something kinda rough rn … but I am standing up for myself. Over the past several months I’ve found my voice and stopped letting people push me around. I’m really proud of myself. I knew there would be conflict coming bc of course people don’t like it when you tell them to stop. It has gotten easier at least, and I feel a lot better when I go into those situations and say what I have to say instead of just hoping it will stop. 

I really feel like this year will be the year I finally find my voice and my confidence. I finally realized my life is mine only and I can do things I want to do without feeling guilty about it. I’m excited for what is ahead even though it’s rough right now. Everything will work out for the better when I protect my peace. 

Anyways. 

I’ve been trying different makeup styles. I got a new pen eyeliner yesterday, I thought it would be smoother than others I’ve tried but I feel like my line still always looks bumpy. xD if you have any tips let me know! 

This is the look I’ve tried a few times. I think I like it but I feel like it isn’t droopy enough?? Idk. I really like that big droop shape and it’s been weird trying to figure out how to make myself “feel” gal without doing my old makeup with a ton of waterline eyeliner … but I’m happy that I at least found products that don’t irritate my eyes! So maybe I’ll try to get more inspo photos or something  

Let me know if you have any makeup ideas ≧◡≦ I miss chatting with other gals about makeup!  

See you next time 🌸