Maiko makeover

My friend Lia and I went to the studio Yumekoubou in Gion (Kyoto) where we were dressed up as maikos. A maiko is an apprentice geisha, which you probably know what is. It was a really fun experience, and we were packed into layers of heavy clothes. In my vlog Japan vlog #13 you can see us get the makeover.

It started out with us changing clothes. Underneath we wore a kind of robe and white socks. Afterwards the ladies at the studio put makeup on us - they painted our skin white, red lips, and red and black around the eyes. It didn't take long, and you could tell that they had done it a thousand times before. We were not allowed to touch our skin or lips or else the makeup could go off. 

After the makeup we had to chose our kimono and I chose a gorgeous green/blue one. It was really hard to chose one because the were all so beautiful. Kimonos are really really expensive and made of silk, and it felt very expensive indeed. I don't remember how many layers the put on, but there were many! It was both hot and heavy. I must be so hard to be a geisha (yes, there still are some left) - especially in summer. After they had put the obi on us we were given a wig each, and I think that the wig was one of the heaviest things that we wore.

Then we were ready to get our photos taken. The photographer knew exactly what positions would look beautiful, so it didn't take long to shoot the pictures. I think that I got many good pictures out of it, so I've very happy about the result.

I hope you found this interesting, and if you're thinking about trying it yourself, let me know in the comments below. There are many different companies and studios in Kyoto and I chose Yumekoubou. Read more about it here. Thanks for reading, see you soon! :)