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[Requested] The Gyaru Eye Tutorial: Japanese Bambi Eyes a la Tsubasa Masuwaka
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The Gyaru look has been around for quite awhile, but only really took off in the rest of Asia after it was popularized by people like Tsubasa Masuwaka, to the extend that it’s come to be known as the “Tsubasa look” for many people.
The typical feature of the look is a slightly droopy doll-eye shape with big lashes on top and bottom, AND prerequisite circle lenses. The overall effect is a much larger and more down-turned eye than one naturally has.
This isn’t a look that I wear myself because my features are a little too strong (I don’t have the typical delicate East Asian features thought I’m Chinese), so I opted for a subtler look with lashes and an eye shape that wasn’t too exaggerated. But if you have smaller features, you can really go to town with it.
Aside from the basic eye, I’m also going to give you a couple of tips on getting that very glowy, pastel blush and the pale glossy lips.
Not suited for:
- People with very deep sockets
- People with very thick double lids
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FIRST OF ALL: If you have heavy mono-lids or very hooded eyes where the fold covers all the way past your lash line, you WILL need to use a little lid glue/tape or clear lash glue to create double-lids. Tsubasa uses it all the time, and I’m not able to demonstrate because I already have double-lids, but you should be able to easily find a guide on application if you Google it!
Step 1: Pick a shadow. Tsubasa tends to go with a shimmery neutral. but occasionally also wears color. I chose MAC Tan pigment, which is a warm coppery-bronze shimmer. To go with the droopy shape, you want to apply the shadow up past the socket line on the inner portions of the lid, and under the socket line on the outer portions.
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Step 2: The under-liner is probably the 2nd most important part of the look. Tsubasa doesn’t always wear bottom liner (sometimes she just uses lashes), but if you’re new to this, then it’s better to do it so you have a guiding line for your lashes later.
Start from the center of the eye, right at the lashes, and then go almost straight out, instead of following the curve of your eye. The more horizontal this line is, the more droopy the look will be.
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Step 3: For the upper lashes, you want to go right to the inner corners. In certain looks, Tsubasa actually extends the liner past the inner corners slightly to exaggerate the look even more.
On the outer corners, make sure you go down past the eye and meet the underliner you applied earlier, before winging straight out.
This gives you that droopy Bambi-eye shape.
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Step 4: Falsies! Very important! Look for something that is longer on the outer ends, like Ardell Demis. Unlike typical lash application, you want to place the outer ends first, and set them much further out than usual, right at the outer corners of your eye.
After you let the glue dry and set firm, press down the outer halves of the lashes a little so you enhance that droopy effect. If you lashes point upwards, it will create a cat shape, which you do not want for this look.
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Lower lashes: For the lower lashes, I was lucky enough to find a set in the drugstore (if you’re in Singapore, Watson’s at NEX has them) that come cut into 3 portions. Outer, center, and inner. If you can only find full strips, you can always cut them yourself for easier application.
I used only the outer and center strips since Tsubasa rarely does a full strip along the lower lash line.
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Step 5: You want to first use a beige or white pencil to fill in the inner rims of your lower lash line, and also the space above the black underliner you drew earlier. This not only enhances the illusion that the black liner you drew is your actualy lash line, but it also hides your bottom lashes a little, if they are dark.
THEN, you place the false lashes along the black you drew earlier to complete the look.
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Step 7: Pop in your circle lenses to create a bigger iris, and you have the finished eye. You probably want to find a more dramatic looking set than mine, which are quite subtle. As with any dramatic makeup, it certainly won’t look natural up-close, so I don’t recommend this for a first date. (I know more than one guy who got shocked when their girlfriends looked like completely different people once they removed their ever-present eye makeup!)
For photo shoots and parties, it’s a fun look though.
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CHEEKS
More often than not, Tsubasa sports a matte, candy pink tone that looks like it’s almost glowing. It’s hard to achieve this effect with a regular blush. What you want to do is dust a touch of soft lavender over your cheekbones first, and THEN apply a more intense pink blush normally.
This is a trick that “lifts” the pink on your skin.
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LIPS
Tsubasa is always sporting super pale, super gloopy, glossy lips. As many of us know, a typical creamy pale pink or nude gloss can sink into lines quickly and look very uneven and almost deathly.
The trick to bringing out that slight pink hue, again, is layering. I like applying a little nude lipstick all over the lips first, and THEN top it with a layer of pale pink creme gloss (no shimmer) for the look.
If you want to mimic Tsubasa’s look for a photograph, make sure you apply TONS of gloss and go right to the edges of your lips. If you want a more wearable version, keep it light. It won’t look as dramatic, but it’s going to be a heck of a lot more comfortable to wear, and easy to maintain.
Optional: pose with an open-mouthed pout to complete the look. I just couldn’t do it; I kept wanting to smack myself.
