Ganguro Girls

There have been many different trends throughout the years in Japan. However, this trend may be the most peculiar. In Japan, Americans are seen as cool. English speakers are thought of as automatically awesome, or kakkoi, no matter whether or not they have social standing. Which, I might add (as a person who’s not very popular), is pretty nice.

This trend is a type of makeup application that used to be popular among girls. It was made to be extremely flashy. These “Ganguro” girls would put on very very dark foundation, and put very light foundation as highlights. Sometimes they would wear white lipstick and even contacts (like the first girl shown below). Thick black eyeliner and long fake eyelashes helped make their eyes look much bigger. They would get their nails done and get long fake acrylic nails. Sometimes they would get very dark spray tans as well.

It’s also common for Ganguro girls to wear really bright colored clothing. They wear bright pink, neon green, yellow, or purple clothes. They sometimes have flowers or neon colored braids in their hair as well. Their hair is usually worn long and dyed to be blonde or white. Their hair is also straightened. Along with bleaching their hair, Ganguro girls also sometimes dye their hair different colors, such as pink. Or they’ll color certain strips of their hair a bright color.

This makeup trend is formatted after Americans. Ganguro girls are trying to mimic the appearance of American girs: larger eyes, different skin tone, and blond straight hair. It’s not trying to be rude or make fun of Americans, in fact it was considered beautiful when it was popular.


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Here’s an example of Ganguro girls with colored hair. They also have very brightly colored clothes. The exaggerated dark (almost orange) and light makeup and white lipstick show these are Ganguro girls. The umbrellas are for rain, but they can also help block out the sun on a particularly hot day. Blocking the sun makes it cooler, and it can keep you from sweating, which is really helpful if you don’t want your makeup to run (especially since these girls are wearing a lot of makeup).

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