Ulzzang: Photo Makeover Booths in Harajuku

Last Updated on August 25, 2017 by Christine Kaaloa

japanese culture for teens, things to do in harajuku, kawaii makeover photos, teen fun japan, tokyo photo booths, photo makeovers asia, beauty makeovers asia, anime doll makeover, asian beauty makeover photo booths
Ulzzang Photo booths in Japan (Read here for more GRRRL “Glam Around the World” posts)

Ever wondered what you’d look like with anime baby doll eyes or if you had airbrushed and flawless cover girl skin?

The Mystique of Photo Makeover Booths in Asia

When I was living in Korea, I’d pass by joints crammed with photo booths, filled with young girls in their teens to twenties.  I couldn’t understand the attraction to those booths.

There had to be more to it than just girlfriends wanting friendship photos and couples wanting date night souvenirs. The crowds it drew made it seem like a carnival show, equivalent to popularity of fortune telling shops.   Why were so many women drawn to them?

kawaii makeover photos, teen fun japan, tokyo photo booths, photo makeovers asia, beauty makeovers asia, anime doll makeover, asian beauty makeover photo booths, asian obsession with beauty, popular looks in asia japan korea(photo above) I personally, like the baby carriage popping out of the booth.
tokyo photo booths, photo makeovers asia
.

Entering the World of ‘Ulzzang’ Makeover magic!

When I was in Tokyo, I met up with my girlfriend Yuko. We went to the hip and carnival-like district of Harajuku and she took me into one of them.

Wanna try it? It’s very popular with the younger generation. You can take photos and manipulate them or draw on them, ” Yuko said to me.

.

asian photo booths

Honestly, the mystery of those Asian photo booths were building for some time.

Being solo, I tend to cast off activities that are for groups and couples. Afterall, it’s not like I can just charge in, take photos amidst gaping stares and tell myself I’m doing this for passport photos. There’s just some things which are more fun to do with others than by yourself.

So with excitement, I nodded agreement to Yuko’s proposal and we went into a shop filled with a cornucopia of booths. Girls skipped from stall to stall, disappearing behind curtains. Others weaving through the halls cooing and giggling with girlish delight.


ulzzang makeover, harajuku things to do, kawaii makeover photos, teen fun japan, tokyo photo booths, photo makeovers asia, beauty makeovers asia, anime doll makeover, asian beauty makeover photo booths, asian obsession with beauty, popular looks in asia japan korea, tokyo harajuku fun

Each photo booth had a different theme… a different facial manipulation.

The end result of photo beauty makeover was predominantly the same… an airbrushed version of yourself.

I don’t know what it’s called in Japan, but in Korea, there’s a name for this particular style of look. It’s called Ulzzang” or best face.  Being a subculture style similar to cosplay culture, the standout feature of Ulzzangs are the large doe-like eyes, similar to anime comic book characters. Other traits are fair skin, pointed facial features, a small nose and lips. Often this look is achieved through Photoshop or makeup, double eyelid tape, circular lenses and false lashes (read here for more).

The one we decided upon was called, Kawaii (aka “cute”) Face. A sample ad outside the booth, showed you the clear transformation that the photos would give you. In essence, they’d give your look one of a cute alien baby doll.


ulzzang beauty makeover, kawaii makeover photos, teen fun japan, tokyo photo booths, photo makeovers asia, beauty makeovers asia, anime doll makeover

Going through a Cover girl transformation

We stepped in. The booth was large enough for a group to fit in. A touch screen monitor was in front of us. We inserted our money and started the program.

It showed us a magazine photo of two girls posing.

Okay, we have to copy them. Hurry. Each time they will show us a new pose and we have to copy it.” Yuko darted.

kawaii makeover photos, teen fun japan, tokyo photo booths, photo makeovers asia, beauty makeovers asia, anime doll makeover

kawaii makeover photos, teen fun japan, tokyo photo booths, photo makeovers asia, beauty makeovers asia, anime doll makeover

So like a faux cover girl photo shoot, that’s exactly what we did. We followed the pictures of poses in front of us.

(Well, sort of…)

Strike a pose… a flashbulb went off. Another pose… flash went off .

It was so much fun, that I actually didn’t want to stop.

When the ride was over, we exited the booth. Outside were two monitors side by side.
.

Okay, here we can design our photos. If you want to draw pictures or write anything, you can do it here.

But first, we choose the look. I will do this because it’s in Japanese and we have a limited time on the computer”.

.
A drop-down menu allowed us to choose a range of styles:  eye types, fairness of skin …  Yuko knew what she was doing; she worked the touch pen scalpel very quickly.

Ting, ting, ting, ting…

kawaii makeover photos, teen fun japan, tokyo photo booths, photo makeovers asia, beauty makeovers asia, anime doll makeover, asian beauty makeover photo booths

Then it was time for us to add individual touches on our photos.  Side by side, we started designing.  I was still stumbling, trying to figure out how to add or delete or what to design. It was like a timed game and a little stressful. You had to move quickly and do everything you wanted before your time expired.

When we were done, the pictures came out like magic. Voila.

photo makeovers in harajuku

Designing my “perfect face”

I can see the female attraction to these photo makeover booths.

It was like standing in front of one of those dressing room mirrors, which has a slimming effect. Whether I looked real or not, I could not take a bad picture!  (And I take a lot of bad pictures)

 My God, my skin looked creamy, flawless and amazing. My eyes were a little “freaky alien”, my features looked sharper and I suddenly had makeup, where I never applied it.

I was like a Kawaii doll!

Seeing how I could be instantaneously transformed was addicting.  A part of me was tempted to run back into that booth!

Was it my sense of narcissism? Vanity? …A way to see what I might look like, made-over with hyper-real plastic surgery? Or maybe it was a fascination with how I could be transformed into some fantasy ulzzang beauty?

Basically, it was all of the above…and it was wicked fun.  (To see more photos, click here)

GRRRLTRAVELER in Tokyo, harajuku things to do, kawaii makeover photos, teen fun japan, tokyo photo booths, photo makeovers asia, beauty makeovers asia, anime doll makeover, asian beauty makeover photo booths, asian obsession with beauty, popular looks in asia japan korea, tokyo harajuku fun

Next Up: An eye-opening step into Japan and Asian pop culture with Harajuku’s Cosplay fashion and Idol Stores.

48 Hours : Japan on $30/day

48-hours-japan-guide-budget

I WANT IT!!

 

   My Travel Survival Cheat Sheet

 

download checklist 25 travel tips for solo travelers

Download my 25 Solo Travel Mistakes to AVOID Checklist

And Get my Travel Survival Blog Updates

Related Posts

Beauty Spa Luxury, Japan Travel Guide