Visual Kei Make-up: Uruha of the GazettE

First off. THIS IS MY 500TH POST! I initially intended this post to be a regular make-up post, but turns out that this will mark the 500th post of Chronicles of Chean~! To my darling readers who've stuck with me, a million thanks to you!


The few characteristics of visual kei make-up is:

• eye liner
• flawless-looking skin
• contoured features
• pale/dark lips
• sharp eyebrows
• virtually zero dark circles & blemishes
• cosmetic lenses

Visual kei make-up ranges from very neutral, to extremely uncanny - death-masks and asymmetrical features. What I'm gonna do is the basic, with a little twist - some visual kei artists have rather small eyes (a.k.a monolid eyes), and hence one of the functions of the black eye liner and cosmetic lenses is to create an illusion of larger looking eyes.

Visual kei make-up also, somehow, depicts some genres of visual kei as gloomy, serious, or downright bored-looking (which is how I interpret Ruki's make-up). Some of them look as if they had a giant cream shadow palette and splattered all the colors on beautifully.

Now, I'm not blessed with porcelain skin, nor am I a good girl who goes to bed and wakes up on time - I am the human equivalent of a koala, which sleeps up to 22 hours per day. Hence, I have vampire/zombie-worthy dark circles.

My inspiration? The ever-godly Gt. Uruha of the GazettE and Emeraude de Lioncourt (Tumblr, Facebook, Youtube). Emeraude is a Vietnamese visual kei fan based in Canada, and makes awesome (but somehow sparse) visual kei and gyaru tutorials on Youtube. I can't really explain how awesome she is (I think I'm gonna do a short post on her later).

By the way, I'm omitting circle lenses in this look. Why? I don't have them anymore. Since my parents pays for my living expenses (cosmetic lenses included), I can only buy lenses from legitimate opticians, and they cost quite a lot (in my books), and I increasingly seldom wear them. And I also don't have funky-colored hair. Forgive me if this looks illegitimate.

You'll need:

• lip moisturizer [Vaseline]
• eye primer/shadow base [shu uemura Creme Eyeshadow in Beige]
• white pencil liner [The Face Shop Lovely ME:EX Automatic Liner in White]
• black pencil liner [Elianto Stay-On Eyeliner in Black]
• black/liquid gel liner [Silkygirl Double Intense Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in Pure Black]
• black eye shadow [shade #9 & #10 from the 120 palette]
• black mascara [Lancome Hypnose in Black]
• OPTIONAL half lower lashes
• grey/brown shadow (brows) [shade #7 & #8 from 120 palette]
• face primer/pore concealer [Kate Concealer for Pores]
• salmon-toned concealer [The Body Shop Oil Free Balancing Foundation in 05]
• pale foundation [Maybelline Clear Smooth Aqua Gel Foundation in 12 Natural]
• setting powder [Pigeon Compact Baby Powder in Beige]
• contour product [Bobbi Brown blusher in Blushed; shade #56 from 120 palette]
• highlighter product [Laneige Sliding Pact_EX SPF 25 PA++ Snow Crystal in Transluscent Skin Tone]
• Q-tip and moisturizer/make-up remover for mistake corrections
• a close-up photo of Uruha's make-up for reference

Always, always - eyes then face. Why? We're using lots of black, and in case of any smudges or fallouts, they won't stain your perfect foundation. 

1.

Moisturize your lips. Apply your primer.

2.

Using the white liner pencil, sketch out the shape of the make-up like so. This will act as the stencil for the pencil liner going over later. Also sketch out the "fake crease", like the one Uruha usually has.

3.

Tightline the upper lashline, and line both upper and lower lashlines with pencil liner.

4.

Line your eyes with the gel liner, extending the front just slightly to create/accentuate almond-shaped eyes. If you have close-set eyes, you can skip this step. I did this and I looked as if someone was pinching my nose bridge.

5.

Using an angled brush or a small flat brush, take some black shadow, or using a sharp black liner pencil, and go over the white liner. Also apply some on the outer half of the lower lashline.

6.

Fill in the gap between your lashline and the black line with gel liner. Set it with matte black shadow.

7.

Slowly and carefully intensify the "fake crease" with the gel liner. Now is the time for corrections, clean-ups and extra defining.

8.

Fill in the gap between the entire lid and the "fake crease", just at the outer corner, blending inward stopping at outer 1/3.

9.

Using a beige shadow (or any light colored shadow) and a small brush, brighten up the gap between your dark lid and the "fake crease".

10.

Perfect everything, then curl your lashes and apply generous coats of mascara to the upper lashes. Apply some lower lashes if desired.

11.

Fill in your brows. Traditionally, visual kei eyebrows are thin and sharp.

12.

Apply your primer/pore concealer. Allow to set for 1-2 minutes.

13.

Conceal your dark circles and apply your foundation evenly, keeping in mind that visual kei make-up also stresses on "perfect skin". Set with setting powder and/or powder foundation where necessary, using a patting and pressing motion, rather than sweeping to help minimize the appearance of pores (use a large brush or powder puff).

14.

Contour your cheeks and nose. For cheeks: start from your ear, sweep the product toward the mouth. Use a post it or a card to help create the "sharp" line that will help define your cheek further. For nose: using a fluffy eye brush, sweep the product from the bottom of the inner brows down the sides of the nose, altering the shape where desired.

15.

Highlight the cheekbones, bridge of the nose, the T-zone, under your eyebrows, and your chin.

The only good looking full-face picture T-T

DONE! It's long, I know.


After that you can do what you want to your hair. Usually, visual kei musicians' hair is flat-ironed, then teased.


In the last picture, I only contoured my nose and cheeks, after foundation and powder. The highlighting product (any sheer, fine shimmery skin-toned product) helps give a more three-dimensional look to the face.


If you were to go for professional photo shoots, your contouring should be slightly more exaggerated, because flashes wash out color, and nose contouring makes photos look awesome.