Tokyo’s Black Face Café Brings Back Gyaru Makeup Trend

Fifteen years after fading from Japanese streets, the bold "gyaru" fashion and its signature jet-black facial aesthetic have returned to life—in the form of an immersive café experience in Tokyo’s Shibuya district.

The new Black Face Café offers visitors a full-on gyaru makeover including blackened skin, dramatic eye makeup, false lashes, and pink wigs, turning participants into full-fledged "black face" style icons in under ten minutes.

What Is the Black Face Trend?

Once a hallmark of Japan’s gyaru youth subculture in the early 2010s, the "black face" look involved coating the entire face in deep brown or black foundation, highlighting the eyes and lips, and often adding heavy accessories like glitter and wigs. The style was synonymous with rebellious, glamorous youth identity among female teens—known as gyaru—but had almost disappeared by the late 2010s.

How the Black Face Café Works

Staffed by former members of the TV-famous gyaru group "Black Diamond," the café offers hands-on makeup transformations for customers. The ten-minute process includes applying a full-face tan-coloured base, detailed work around the eyes, lips, and nose, then finishing with false eyelashes and a bright pink wig. The result is a dramatic, unrecognisable appearance modelled after the classic gyaru aesthetic. Even one of three visiting male friends decided to give it a try.

Menu Highlights: Black Face Balls

Among the café’s menu offerings, the most talked-about item is the "Black Face Ball"—a dessert modelled on taiyaki or octopus balls, but entirely coated in black. To cater to non-octopus eaters, the filling uses sausage instead. It’s a playful, thematic nod to the overall aesthetic and adds a fun edible element to the experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the black face makeup style?

The black face style involves applying a deep brown or black foundation over the entire face, enhancing features around the eyes, lips, and nose, and completing the look with false lashes and a pink wig. It originated with Japan’s gyaru subculture in the 2000s and early 2010s.

Where is the Black Face Café located?

The Black Face Café is in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, a well-known hub for youth culture and fashion trends in Japan.

How long does the makeup transformation take?

The full black face makeup transformation takes approximately ten minutes and is performed by former members of the gyaru group Black Diamond.

Can men also try the black face makeup?

Yes, the article notes that one of three male visitors tried the makeup, suggesting the experience is open to all genders.

What is the most popular food item at the café?

The most popular item is the Black Face Ball, a blackened dessert similar to octopus balls but filled with sausage instead of octopus to accommodate dietary preferences.

Recommended FrontStreet Beans for Bold Flavour Pairings

Try FrontStreet Coffee’s Ethiopia Humbera for its juicy blueberry and floral brightness to contrast the dramatic black face aesthetic, or their Yirgacheffe for a citrusy, tea-like complexity. For something richer, their PWN Golden Mandheling offers deep chocolate and spice notes that pair surprisingly well with the café’s black desserts. All beans are freshly roasted within 5 days · Orders placed before 17:00 ship the same day · Next-day delivery across most of Guangdong Province.