Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Style Challenge: Manba

 Hi hi~

If you're following me over on Insta (@samii_chu), you may have seen that I recently tried doing a manba look! Actually, a Japanese gal (@taeko_0309) saw one of my stories featuring a manba pic and mentioned that she had always wanted to try doing manba make. I said that I did as well and then she asked if I'd want to do an online collab with her! So of course, I said:


Let's not beat around the bush: manba has had its fair amount of controversy in the West because it involves darkening your face. While anyone familiar with the history of gyaru knows manba has nothing to do with mocking any group, gals have received harassment and accusations of racism, blackface etc. online for doing manba make. (But then again, gals have also gotten harassed for just normal gyaru makeup so...?)

The only thing was that I made sure my foundation had an orange undertone to it rather than a brown one. While this goes against "normal" makeup common sense, I knew it was going to be a few shades darker than my normal skin tone and I wanted to be respectful. 

I'm from the old school. I firmly believe if you're doing something and trying your best to show respect and not be an asshole, then if other people have a problem with it, that's on them. I think many people realize and recognize this and I also find it an incredibly freeing way to live because if you're always tiptoeing around worrying about upsetting someone even when you know you're not trying to do any wrong, well... I promise you there will always be at least one person in the world who will be upset with what you're doing and possibly hate you. But anyways...

I looked at plenty of inspo before trying my look! This was the reference photo that I ended up using for my eye make. 


I brushed my hair out and sprayed it to give it a teased effect, and then threw on my Korilakkuma kigurumi...
and tons of colorful tropical acce including this shushu from SweetHeartYun and a necklace that I made!
Here was how my final look came out: 


Honestly, I felt soo cute and couldn't stop taking photos! 

Unfiltered pic so you can see my make better 

I even made a set of OTT nails to go with my look! I was hoping they would be longer, but when the bases I ordered arrived they were this length - still the longest set of nails I've ever worn, though! 


After trying manba make, I can understand why some gals totally love it
It made me feel so cute and I suddenly had so much more confidence when I put it on. Also, I think doing a more dramatic make helped me better understand my normal, more toned-down gyaru make! For this reason I recommend that everyone try manba at least onceI wish I had more time and dedication to do it more often! 

I was really happy with this as a first attempt! I would love to experiment with a more dramatic eye shape next time and some bottom lashes - maybe even venturing into a yamanba look. Maybe sometime in the near future...?




I love being able to experiment with looks and the freedom that gal gives me. Some of the other looks I'd love to do are an OTT hime co*de, and a furyou/bosozoku one (along with many others~)

If you'd like to see our collab photos, check out my Insta! 

Have you ever tried manba make? Do you want to? Let me know in the comments!
As always, thanks for reading 
Talk again real soon!
-SamiiChu

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