Web Find! NYX Cosmetics Website!

You guys must must must check out Nyx cosmetics! I originally found Nyx through MakeupGeek and have tried a few of their products. They are very well made and relatively cheap compared to Ulta and Sephora! I made a list for you gals, of suggested products I found on the NYX site. Try them (I'm going to! Once I get these products and try them out, I will leave reviews for you guys) and let me know how they worked for you! The NYX website can be found HERE

Miko's NYX Cosmetics Suggestions for Gal Make! (PART 1)

 

1. Highlight and Contour Creams! ($17 US apiece)

I originally considered this because it would put an end to the dreaded Cake Face! Cakey makeup is often caused by using too much powdered products such as highlight powder, rice powder, and bronzer. I would suggest using a stippling brush with these to keep the contours where you want them and hopefully it reduces the amount of powder you have to use on your face! Also if you would like to avoid using powder to set your makeup, pick up a bottle of MAC Fix +, it's AMAZING and works really well!

2. Tinted Lip Spa in Silk Bubble ($5.50 US)

All gals need a lip treatment of some sort! I have been searching and searching for balms and lip conditioners and while I have not tried this, it is definitely on my list! Conditioners for lips reduce the need to exfoliate so much (though you should still exfoliate your lips, ladies!) and make them nice and soft! I know these products are good so I'm hoping that the Lip Spa will not disappoint. It is tinted, so I chose the color "Silk Bubble" because it's a nice nude color that will complement my nude lipstick and gloss!

3. Doll Eye Mascara ($9 US)

I am very, VERY hesitant to switch Mascara from my Telescopic Carbon Black, but I will definitely be giving this a try! Gyaru Make is all about artifice and accentuating the eyes, often going for big, bold lashes and the "dolly eyed" look. NYX has made doll eye mascara that comes in Volumizing, Waterproof, and Long Lash in Extreme Black! I will try this and who knows? I may like it better than my Telescopic!

4. Auto Eyebrow Pencil ($4.50 US)

This eyebrow pencil has vegetable, soybean and coconut oil in the pencil so drawing on your eyebrows or filling them in glides onto your skin effortlessly! It also comes with a built in brush that lets you blend the color into the natural shape of your brow and make them look more natural. This can also be achieved with a brow/lash pencil and a regular eyeliner, but Nyx has great colors and I will DEFINITELY be giving this a try!

5. NYX Fruit Basket LipGloss Set ($9 US)

All gals NEED kawaii accessories and things for their purse and these were just too cute to pass up! The Fruit Basket Gloss Set has four little gloss pots and comes in Apple, Orange, Peach and Pear. They may give a slight hint of color on your lips so I would use sparingly, but it will give your lips a little pop of color and flavor and keep them soft and conditioned so they don't dry out! Also a good idea for gifts, to give to your fellow gal pals, these are adorable and I love them!

I will be making a part two of this post, with even more suggestions for you ladies to try with me on my Makeup Wishlist! As you can see the prices really are pretty reasonable, and from my personal experience, the high end makeup is some of the worst I've ever used. You can get great finds in a drug store and online and even places like walmart. Remember! Pricier is not always better! I hope this helps out my fellow Makeup Crazy Gals!

xoxo

Miko

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MIKO!

It's Biiiiiiirthday Weeek!!!!

I went to celebrate my birthday with my mom the past couple of days since she works this weekend on the day of my actual birthday! I had a blast! Cheesecake as a birthday cake, good food, fun times. I caught up on True Blood, I had a great time, and of course I got presents! I got two pairs of CUTE flats (one black with a ZIPPER BOW, they were so cool. And one red suede pair!) I got clothes, earrings, bronzer (IN LOVE with Bronzer), Lip Gloss (It's Buxom Lips in Samantha, HIGHLY recommended, gals!), The True Blood Eye Palette from Sephora (it's amazing!) AND.... MY CIRCLE LENSES! They haven't come yet but I'll show you guys a picture of what I got!

I got the Vivian 3 Tone Green Lenses off Eyecandylens.com! They are the best site, a lot of gals who's blogs I read use them and I ordered them from there! They're 15.0 mm across so I'm expecting them to be nice and huge! SOOO excited! I'll have to take pictures when they're in so you guys can see and hopefully I can hijack mom's camera for a minute to do so! That's all for today! Reviews will start soon! Much loves!

xoxo
Miko





Lashes on a budget!

The best lashes I have ever heard of, according to Gals who's blogs I read, from all over the world, are Dolly-Wink lashes. They're modeled on Tsubasa Masuwaka, and on PinkyParadise (which I'll get more into later) they're 18 dollars. Expensive! I have found some good lashes that can be found in drug stores, cheaply on the internet, even dollar general! You don't have to spend tons and tons of money to be cute and Gal and for all of us gals on a budget, less pricy but quality items are necessities. So, without further adieu, Miko Gyaru Presents: Lashes on A Budget!

SELECT LASH EYELASHES

COST: $1.25 US - $3.00

CAN BE FOUND AT: Dollar General, Walmart, Drug Stores

COMMENTS: I love these lashes! I use them all the time. I get them at Dollar General for $1.25 so I can buy a lot at one time and they're very very good quality. I personally use the S42's and the S47's. If you gals want to give these a try and buy other kinds, leave a comment and let me know how you like them!

ARDELL FASHION LASHES, HUMAN HAIR

COST: $3.00 US- $5.00 US

CAN BE FOUND AT: Drug Stores, Walmart, and MakeupGeek.Com! (In the "Store" Section. For cheap too! MUG has VERY good prices!)

COMMENTS: I love Ardell's lashes too! They're a little more pricey than the SelectLash but they're very good for special occasions (I use the SelectLash for everyday use, to keep costs at a minimum.) They look very natural in the smaller sizes but can go all the way up to dramatic and wild!

REVLON BEYOND NATURAL EYELASHES

COST: $4.00 US - $6.00

CAN BE FOUND AT: Walmart, Drug Stores

COMMENTS: These lashes, especially in Double Wink, which was the kind I bought are VERY dramatic! They're beautiful and very fun, and recommended for the wilder styles of Gyaru! They're very good quality, very durable band, very soft and beautiful. Highly recommended, especially for special occasions and going out. I wouldn't buy them for everyday wear as they're a little more expensive, and there's not a discount on them at MakeupGeek.

And there you have it! Lashes on a Budget! I'm expecting my first pair of Circle Lenses soon and am SO excited! I'll review them when I get them as well as the site I got them from, Pinky Paradise!









Things Needed & Minor Setbacks.

I have been adding and adding and adding like crazy to my collection of makeup and hair stuff and I feel like I've got a lot of really good things but it seems like with this style I always need more. It can be tough, you have to keep up with all the latest fashions and you're constantly browsing and shopping and buying and trying to find things that look good for you and your body type. But feeling beautiful and the excitement you get knowing you look good, is really, for me, very much so worth it. I still need to find a good pair of bottom lashes. I have tops but just wearing tops doesn't make me feel like a *real* Gal as silly as it sounds. I'm still on the hunt for circle lenses, I should have them by August, I've recruited my mom in the search since she's a shopaholic too (ha!) I have enough clothes now, brand spanking new, to make some really cute coords and I'm waiting on a few very ncecessary *key pieces*. I need skirts and a few more accessories, and after that I should be completely good to go at least for a minute! And of course... I need a camera, so I can show all of you what I've been putting all my hard work into. I'm also going to work on losing weight, not because of the heavy-girl backlash in the gal community (because really, I could give a crap what they think about my body), but for me. I want to do it for myself. And of course, there will be the purchasing of hair pieces and maybe even wigs, I should have my first hair piece in by August as well.

I'm also disappointed with the lack of a Gal community in the North Texas area. I'm 100 miles away from Dallas, and there's nothing from what I've seen of Gals in the Wichita Falls area/southern Oklahoma area. This is I think one of the worst parts of being out in the Midwest and living in pretty much the middle of nothing.  I know there are a few great Gyarusa's in the Midwest but they are all so far from me and I'm not sure if I'd be able to go to meet ups. So I'm trying to start a Gyarusa here but there doesn't seem to be any girls or guysin this area interested or even knowledgeable about the Gyaru/Gyaru-o culture or fashion or anything. Oh the woes of living in Redneckville...SO the search continues...

If there are any girls/guys in the Wichita Falls Area that would like to join a fledgling gyarusa, feel free to email me at MikoGyaru@yahoo.com! I don't have a name or anything picked out, no meetups have been planned, I just think it would be nice to have a Gyarusa in my area and to have friends with similar interests and we can all hang out :D That's all for this post! I will post more things soon!

-xoxo
Miko!

On The Hunt: Green Circle Lenses

I am looking for a good pair of Geo Super Nudy Green circle lenses! If anyone knows a good, reputable site to get them from, that isnt too terribly expensive and ships fast, please feel free to share! The links I found so far are here:

Shoppingholics Green Lenses

CircleLens2U Green Lenses

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Palettes!

I have tried a few eyeshadow palettes over the past couple of months and I thought I would share which ones I really liked!

1. The Urban Decay Naked Palette. Since Gyaru make (with the exception of manba and the more extreme styles) is mostly neutral colors this is a GREAT palette to have. It's really expensive, but it's a great investment. The colors are mostly shimmery, there aren't any matte shadows I don't think, but I still enjoy using it, because the colors pop and they're very eye catching and pretty! The brush that came with the palette is a bit slick and doesn't hold the pigment very well so I WOULD suggest getting another brush. Especially get a new eyeshadow primer as well. The Urban Decay Primer Potion is runny, watery and awful. I would suggest L'Oreal's eyeshadow primer or Palladio.

2. Sephora Collection 52 Color Palette. This is by far my FAVORITE palette. You can buy it on Sephora.com, the price now has dropped down to $12 US + shipping. There's great neutrals, great colors, and the black matte shadow is PERFECT for lining eyes with a bent liner brush! It also comes with these really rich, creamy lip glosses and blushes (which I don't use) AND a bronzer (which I use A LOT. It's a great bronzer). It's not even close to being as expensive as the UD Naked palette, which you can find for $50-$100, which is definitely a plus!

3. Nyx 28 Neutral Palette. The black shadow isn't as good as the Sephora palette, but they have pretty whites, browns, and pinky-browns that are really good! you can buy it from the MakeupGeek.com store as well as a ton of great brushes and cheap, but great, cosmetics! The MakeupGeek store is also where I buy my eyelid primer and my highlighting powder (I use Palladio Rice Powder in Translucent.) I suggest checking out her site because she has TONS of great makeup tips and video tutorials and a product list a mile long, so anyone that is really super into makeup needs to visit to see her idea galleries and all the cool stuff there! To Visit the Makeup Geek Site, Click Here!

Product Review: Fruit Smoothie Mask

I love this mask! It smells great, it makes my skin feel soft and moisturized and is even cooling on the skin. It's very fruity (which you'd expect, from the fruit smoothie mask) and it's really, really quick drying so you don't have to sit there for an hour and wait for it to dry. The only problem is they give you a LOT in the package and it tends to get messy but other than that it's a great mask! You should use a mask at least once a week to get all the impurities completely out of your skin and it's just very relaxing and a great way to unwind! I should have added masks to the skin care post and forgot, mostly because I don't use it every day, but Montagne Jeunesse makes GREAT ones and they're only $1.37 US at Walmart, so they're really good quality AND really cheap!

RATING: 5/5 STARS!

Hair Care!

Teasing, curling, flattening, enough hairspray to withstand a hurricane, a Gal's hair really, really goes through a lot of torture! Just like healthy skin makes your make look better, healthy hair makes your hairstyle look even more great! I do a lot to keep my hair looking healthy and I thought I would share some tips and great products for other gals to use!

1. If you're going to color your hair at home, you MUST use the conditioner that comes in the box! And not the quarter of the tube and save the rest for later like they tell you on the packaging, go ahead and put the whole tube on your head. What I do is put the conditioner on my hair, put on a durable plastic shower cap like the one pictured below, and go ahead and shower. I let the conditioner sit in my hair for the entire shower. I wash my body, my face, do everything but rinse my hair until very last, that way my hair has a chance to soak up the moisture. I use Feria hair coloring, it's very gentle on my hair and doesn't leave it dry and brittle and their conditioner is very good, I highly recommend it.

If you get your hair colored at a salon, I would still use a good conditioning treatment with a conditioner that the salon sells. Biolage makes good conditioner as well as Nexxus and Tresemme.

2. When selecting an every day shampoo, you want to look for key words like "repair" and "moisturizing." Volumizing shampoo is good, but you can use volumizing products like mousse. For hair care, you need to repair, protect, and THEN style. The shampoo and conditioner I use is Dove Damage Therapy Intensive Repair (pictured below.) It gently cleans my hair, it makes it nice, shiny, healthy and soft, and doesn't dry it out or clean too harshly.

3. Hair styling tools are the worst on hair because the heat from our flat irons, curling irons, blowdryers, hot rollers, and everything else damage our hair. To keep your hair from frizzing and frying, I recommend using certain tools to lessen the damage as much as possible. I will list them all below and hopefully some of these help you out!

The first thing I use on my hair before I even touch a blowdryer or anything to my hair is spritz it all over with a good leave in conditioner. It's A 10 Leave-In Miracle Product (pictured below) is the best leave in conditioner I have ever used and it can be found in salons.

After I make sure my hair is good and conditioned, while it is still damp I comb it out. NEVER brush wet hair, use a comb instead. Brushing wet hair, especially if you're rough and pull at it, will break and split your ends. After I comb my hair, again before I even use a blowdryer or anything, I make sure to protect my hair from the heat. I use Got2B's Guardian Angel Flat Iron Balm. (pictured below) It protects hair from heat up to 425 degrees, it smells great, and it's a great product that saves my hair from a lot of damage.

After I use the flat iron balm I blowdry my hair really well and I do not use a curling iron right away, I hot roll my hair. I use a set of 20 Remington rollers that have ionic conditioning. These hot rollers are amazing, they have color coordinated plastic clips for each size roller so you don't have to use metal pins. They make your hair soft and the curls are really bouncy and cute!

After I put my hair in rollers, once I finish the last roller I use Kenra Thermal Styling Spray. The hold on this spray is seriously intense, but it doesn't make hair too sticky or crunchy. It lessens the amount of aerosol hairspray I have to use and it's heat activated!

I hope the list of products help and the advice was useful! There are of course plenty of other options in hair care, hair masks, conditioning treatments, hot oil, etc. If I try these out I will be more than happy to review them here!

Skin Care!

Gals wear a lot of makeup, whether it's outlandish and wild manba make or more natural looking, and it can be hell on the skin! You don't have to use as much concealer or cake on the foundation if your skin looks great, and to me, beautiful, fresh clean skin makes your makeup look even better! Teenage girls may have a problem with oil and bacteria, and older girls may have a problem with pore blockage and hormones, and there are thousands upon thousands of products to choose from! What to do? My skin isn't 100% perfect 100% of the time, BUT I have found a skin care routine that works for me, and this advice was given to someone I know by a real, licensed dermatologist.

For acne, you should not be using products containing salicylic acid, which strangely enough is in 99% of the products sold to help control pimples. It doesn't do anything, in fact, it makes the problem worse! Acne, no matter what the cause, either by oil, stress, or hormones, is a wound on the skin and you should treat it like a wound. You wouldn't put acid on a cut or a bruise or a sore on any other part of your body would you? Don't do it to your face! It's perfectly fine to cleanse your face once a day with a cleanser intended for that purpose, but you need other things too! Here is what I do!

MIKO'S SKIN CARE ROUTINE:

1. Cleanse in the shower! I use Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser (pictured below).  It's really gentle on my face and it smells lovely, and it's relatively cheap and can be found at Walmart or Target or any drug store.

2. Use Toner! Toner makes my face feel cleaner and fresher and really makes my pores look great! I use the Neutrogena Alcohol-Free Toner (pictured below), and it's really gentle and doesn't dry my face out at all. I highly recommend it!

3. Moisturize! You never ever ever want to get your skin too dry, you want it to be nice and soft and well protected before you even put your makeup on. However, you don't want something that's too oily and makes you more prone to breaking out, or something that's too shiny and will mess up your makeup! I use Mark's Matte Chance Mattifying Lotion (pictured below). It moisturizes my skin but leaves no shine. It can't be found in drug stores, you have to order it from AVON. I don't know if they do shipping to other countries but I do know they ship to the United States and Canada.

A great substitute for this that CAN be found in drug stores and you don't have to order with a representative or online is Neutrogena Oil Free Moisture (Pictured Below). One advantage it has that the Mark moisturizer doesn't, is it also has SPF to protect you from the sun!

4. After you're done with your makeup and home for the day to relax, take that stuff off! I like to wear my makeup when I'm going out or for a few hours when I want to get cute, but I don't wear it when I'm just hanging out in my pajamas and relaxing at home. I use Biore Daily Cleansing Cloths with Green Tea (Pictured Below.) It usually takes two cloths for me to get my face clean enough to suit me, but they come in cute little packs of 30. They smell really good and they're REALLY good for your skin. It does sting a little though if you rub too hard (especially trying to get lash glue off) so be gentle and do not get it in your eyes!

5. After you clean your face with the cleansing cloths, wash your face! The cloths don't get ALL the makeup off, and leaves a residue on the skin that you have to wash away. Now here is where the dermatologist's advice comes in about treating acne like a wound. Rather than washing with a salicylic acid cleanser, use antibacterial hand soap on your face! I suggest something from bath and body works or SoftSoap, something that doesn't dry your face out. All pimples, no matter what causes them, are a buildup under the skin of dirt and bacteria, the anti-bacterial soap will help clear it out. I use Bath and Body Works Antibacterial hand soap in Midnight Pomegranate (Pictured Below) because it moisturizes your skin while getting the bacteria off your face!

6. Just like you would with a cut you're going to put a bandaid on, after you clean the wound you have to protect it. Dab a little bit of Neosporin (pictured below) on your pimples after washing your face with the antibacterial soap, and your pimples will clear up in a few days, it's also antibacterial and will keep your skin nice and clean!

Hope this helps all you lovely Gals get beautiful healthy skin! If you have any suggestions, feel free to put them in the comments or tell me if the routine worked for you!

xoxo- Miko