Category Archive for Tokyo + Japan
JAPANESE NAIL ART PICTURES. HARAJUKU NAIL POLISH TECHNIQUES, MANICURE SUPPLIES DESIGNS & IDEAS, DIY TUTORIAL.
Everyone bow down to Yukiro Dravarious, evil genius of Japanese nail art! Can you believe he did these intricate designs entirely on his own hands — WITH his own hands? (They’re not fake claws, either!) Spill the beans, Dravarious… how on Mars do you do it?
“I mostly use nail polish from the marvellous 100 yen stores found all over Tokyo; I have over 40 different colors by now. I started experimenting with nail art years ago and it’s not really as hard as it looks. You just have to be patient and do one finger at the time, slowly and precisely. My suggestion is to watch a bad movie while you’re painting your nails and waiting for them to dry.”
“First, I paint a layer of hardening polish so the nail’s foundation is steady and won’t shatter. Then I pick a basic color and do the first coat. Careful: don’t start with the second layer before the first one has completely dried. Once you’ve gotten to know the materials better, you can try mixing them together for more complex results — but if you’re a beginner, keep it simple and take your time.”
“After you’ve finished the layered designs, you can put a top coat over your nails for an even stronger result. But if you are incorporating jewels and diamonds, I recommend that you glue them on last. Otherwise, it’s hell to get rid of them with nail-polish remover…”
“A fascinating aside: my female friends always complain that their nails break easily compared to mine. It’s a fact that girls have weaker nails than boys, so my conclusion is that more boys out there should be flaunting colorful manicures! ^_^”
“As for inspiration, I try to match my nail art to my outfits or special occasions. If Halloween is coming up, I’ll paint orange and black pumpkins. If I’m going to wear a new green wig, I’ll start with a greenish base.”
“Every time you paint your nails, I encourage you to experiment with something different. As with make-up, nail decoration is difficult to begin with but gets easier, so don’t give up ね！Go out and by some nice nail polish, make me proud and remember… DON’T f@#$ it up!” 魔と愛～ユキロ★☆
† Thought you’d enjoy this CNNGo article about Japanese host clubs in photographs. Pretty-boy clones with big hair!
† Quite a few of you mentioned a documentary about Tokyo hosts and customers called Great Happiness Space. I’ve reserved it at the local library; excited to check it out!
† Guardian UK published an article about “why Japanese female pop stars matter” including Nana Kitade, Ayumi Hamasaki, Tommy Heavenly/February.
Amazing news: I heard my Japan bento inspired cookbook, Cute Yummy Time, is on display at Urban Outfitters! My book is carried in the NYC stores and other US locations, and coming to Canadian branches soon. You can also see more and purchase it here.
Are you as impressed as I am by Yukiro’s Harajuku-style nail decoration? Will you give nail art a try?
For more photo inspiration, check out this and this post about intricate nail art in Japan. If you liked today’s post, it’d be awesome if you could Tweet or share it with your friends. Domo!
Song of the Day #334: Nana Kitade – Kiss (I adore her British Classical Lolita outfit in this video. Kawaii to the bones.)
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TOKYO FASHION FEATURE: SHIBUYA-KEI, COSPLAY, HARAJUKU OSHARE STYLE. JAPANESE HOST HAIR, CRAZY HAIRSTYLES IN ASIA.
Yesterday, a neat new fashion site launched: Tokyo Candoll. The Japanese project collaborates with your favorite Gothic Lolita Punk brands, and introduces popular Gal models. I was approached to be featured on the site as a “reader model” (I’m honored!). You can see me in the “J-style celeb” section here; my interview responses are below.
Name: La Carmina
Occupation / dream for the future: Harajuku fashion and J-pop culture author/blogger/designer
Hobby: Attending to the many needs of my Scottish Fold cat, Basil Farrow
Shopping area: I spend most of my wardrobe budget on secondhand Gothic Lolita Punk fashions from Closet Child.
Favorite brand: h.NAOTO, Black Peace Now, Victorian Maiden
Favorite food: Izakaya
Favorite color: Goth black, Mana-sama blue, blood red, empress purple
Policy of Oshare: If you look like an undead Marie Antoinette, you’re on the right path.
Favorite Japanese: My Tokyo spooks! My friends in Japan are crazy and inspiring.
Tokyo Candoll’s sister site, Music Japan Plus, recently highlighted several clothing boutiques in Marui One. The Shinjuku department store houses your favorite Gothic, Lolita, punk rock and street brands. (You can see photos of all the stores in my gargatuan Goth and Lolita shopping guide.)
Atelier Boz is one of my favorite elegant Gothic aristocrat brands, especially the items for men. “This particular shop has constantly strived toward recreating a ‘classic, traditional European’ style. They sell beautiful items that have elegant forms and dashing, ‘knightly’ qualities. For the spring season they are planning to provide a wider variety of skirts, pumps, blouses and vests in various sizes.” Click here for more images of Atelier Boz, Moi-meme-moitie, Kera Angel and other brands in Marui One.
“What would happen if Alice of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ finds herself in ‘Pirate-land’? That is the main concept for this shop selling wild, decorative and stylish clothing.” (You can also find Alice and the Pirates at Laforet; click to see my photos.)
h.NAOTO dominates the sixth floor of 0101, as you can see in this post. “In addition to brands providing punk, gothic and Lolita items, brands such as ‘HONEY’ that sell SEXY & CUTE clothing for women, and ‘Sixh.’ that designs VISUAL & MODE-kei items for both men and women are well worth a look.”
“When you were little, did you ever wish you could try out the very cute lace frill dresses with lots of ribbons worn by princesses in picture books? Here’s a brand that will help you fulfill those childhood dreams” — Angelic Pretty. I photographed the cute Marui boutique in this post.
Hyphen Magazine, a San Francisco-based publication about Asian-American culture, interviewed me for a piece about Japanese theme restaurants (above). If you’re intrigued, you can find out more about Akihabara maid cafes my book, Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo.
Finally, some bits and pieces of J-pop fun…
† My friend Maria uploaded a great video of Kaya performing at Tokyo Decadance, wearing a white Lolita dress. Kawaii.
† I found some mind-blowing Japan hairstyle photos on Flickr. The neon colors and spiky swirly styling are insane. (Above are some winning hairstyles from Tokyo Riyo.)
† Hooray for Japanese host hair — these nightclub staff pics are hilarious! Which one is your dream-boi? Mine is the ALIEN.
Have you found my Gothic Lolita Punk store photos and shopping guide to be useful? I’ll be updating it soon!
Song of the Day #333: Sin with Sebastien – Shut up and sleep with me (Because that’s how sinning with Sebastien should be. I kid, I kid!)
LA CARMINA
