Today’s post is going to be about going gyaru on a budget. This is quite a popular topic within gyaru as many people who are new to the scene always ask, “Can I be gyaru even though I don’t have a job/a lot of money?” Now my answer to this is: yes, you can!
This is mostly due to personal experiences; when I started out gyaru I didn’t really have a job nor much pocket money, so I had to do everything I could to be gyaru but spend as little as possible. Even now I still tend to only spend on the items I either need or really really like and couldn’t possibly live without!
Let’s get onto the list, shall we?
Buy eBay lashes/cheaper brand lashes
Aah, the lashes. The most important thing in the gyaru lifestyle, but how can one possibly buy brand items like Diamond Lash and Dollywink if they’re too expensive? No fear, because eBay is here to save the day. There are tons of places on eBay where you could actually buy 10 pairs of lashes for less than £5. I know right? It’s amazing!
However, if you still want to buy brand lashes, then I would recommend buying them from Japan Gift Bay (who also sells on eBay) and go for Diamond Lash because they are £12 for 4 pairs whereas Dollywink are the same price but for 2 pairs. Perfect for the budget gyaru out there!
Shop on eBay – the magical world of cheap stuff
This leads on from my last “point” – you could buy almost anything from eBay. Stuff like nail art, hair accessories, necklaces… Anything, even clothes! My only piece of advice for buying from eBay is to stick to Top-Rated Sellers. I once bought something from a seller who wasn’t top rated, and it took over a month to arrive… So be careful!
Buy only two pairs of circle lens (or not at all)
Circle lens can be pretty expensive if you suffer from astigmatism (like me), so I only bought one pair at a time until I came to a point where I simply didn’t wear them anymore. It’s possible to do gyaru makeup with lens (as shown in my tutorial here) but if you do want them then I’d suggest getting one pair for dramatic makeup, and one for “natural” makeup.
Adopt the points system
Okay this is going to be pretty hard to describe, but basically I came across what is called the Points System about two years ago. I can’t remember where I saw it, but it helped me out so much. Weightwatchers use a method where each item of food (correct me if I’m wrong) “costs” a particular amount of points. This would be the same kind of thing in what I do, but instead of having each food product costing a particular amount of points, clothing/eyelashes/whatever do.
To make it easier I’ve included my points system in the below photo. So each item that you want to buy (let’s use eyelashes as an example) would cost a particular amount of points. I would then make a list of household chores or just general work things that I really need to do and then say, “well if I do an hour of homework than that’ll be worth 30 points”. I would then add up all of the points and then when I reach the amount I need – say 240 for lashes – I can buy the lashes!
Okay so let’s go for a better example: Say that today I did the housework, dolled up, made a new blog post, and only went onto the internet for 3 hours, so that’s 25+25+20+50 = 120 points. I want to buy a magazine which is worth 210 points. The next day I learnt some French vocab, did a digital drawing, 2 hours of uni work and exercised.
I then take the points I earned yesterday (120 points in total) and add it up with the points earned today: 120+5+40+(30×2)+10= 235 points.
Yay! I managed to go over the points needed to buy a magazine that is worth 210 points, so I then can buy the magazine. After that I then minus the magazine points from the points earned (235 – 210 = 25). And I now start again at 25!
This is a great way to both save and do work, I still use it!
Mix & match clothing
Mix and Match is the best way to cut down spending on tons of clothes that won’t even fit into your wardrobe! Everytime I go and pick up an item I think “can I wear this in multiple ways?” and if it doesn’t adapt in five different ways, I put it straight back on the hanger. I’ve done a whole blog series about this if you’re looking for some inspiration.
Another method is to create a collage of different outfits you can create with your existing clothing. I used to have so much fun with this when I first started out in gyaru, and it’s so handy! This actually helps in future as you start growing your own collection of collages; instead of emptying your whole wardrobe to find something to wear you could just select a collage! Sometimes I’m not able to complete my collage with things I have, so I add on something that I don’t but make sure that this item is repeated across collages so that it doesn’t just go with one outfit, but loads.
Explore the world of taobao
You could also buy clothes for cheap on websites such as taobao. However please take into account that you will most likely have to pay both shipping fees as well as a service fee, so I wouldn’t buy from there too often. The picture below showcases some of the shops that Pat recommends:
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| For more links please visit her on wannabeempress |
Buy secondhand brand items
Dying to buy brand items but aren’t willing to spend £1000000x on it? No worries, because there are lots of places out there where you can buy secondhand items (which are often in perfect condition). My favourite place to buy is from the Gyaru Sales on facebook but Depop is getting really popular, too. I’ve written a separate blog post on other places to buy gal brand.
Read magazine scans online instead of buying them
I love collecting magazine scans, and even though there is no longer a set place to download them (R.I.P. the good ol’ days of downloading sh*t tons of magazines), there are loads floating around on the internet. I found a lot through tumblr, pinterest, and facebook pages… I’ve shared some scans over here in the past, too.
That’s all for this guide I think. Please let me know what you think of it by either commenting here or on my other social media networks linked below. I shall do my best to help!
Thanks so much for reading… Please watch out for more posts of this Gyaru Guide Series!
Until next time, beautiful readers!
Lizzie Bee xx / facebook / tumblr / twitter / instagram / bloglovin’
What do you think?