Jirai-kei outfit for beginners: pieces, makeup, budget

What you need for a first jirai-kei outfit: key pieces, the under-eye "jirai line" makeup, and three budget builds priced in ¥, £ and $.

Updated 2026-10-11

A first jirai-kei outfit needs four things: a frilly or lace-trimmed top, a short skirt or a dress, chunky shoes, and the makeup, which matters more than any single garment. Stick to black, white and dusky pink, add one or two accessories such as a choker or hair ribbons, and you have the look. You can do it for under £75 or $95 in clothes and makeup if you already own shoes, as the budget table below shows.

The key pieces

The descriptions in Wikipedia, Tokyo Weekender and Rolling Stone India agree on the core items:

You do not need the MCM backpack or Vivienne Westwood necklaces that the press often mentions. They are designer items, and any small studded or heart-shaped bag gives a similar effect.

Colour rules

Keep to black, white and dusky pink. Wikipedia lists those three as the jirai-kei palette. If you would rather go softer, swap the black for beige and pale pink and you are closer to ryōsan-gata, the sister style (see what jirai-kei means).

Sanrio

Kuromi is the Sanrio character tied to jirai-kei, and a Kuromi bag charm or hair clip is an easy nod to the style. Several brands, including Secret Honey and DearMyLove, have run Kuromi collaborations.

Makeup basics

Rolling Stone India calls the makeup the most important part of jirai-kei. The aim is eyes that look puffy and slightly teary. Japanese beauty retailer Matsukiyo Cocokara describes the finished effect as eyes that look like they have been crying, usually in pink or red tones.

The base

Use a pale foundation to raise the contrast with the eye makeup. Wikipedia and Tokyo Weekender both name pale foundation as part of the look. Tokyo Weekender also mentions rosy blush.

The "jirai line"

This is the defining step. It is colour along and below the lower lashes, extended toward the outer corner so the eyes look droopy and larger. Rolling Stone India describes drawing it with red eyeliner; Yokogao Magazine calls it an underlined eye bag that resembles tear-streaked skin.

A simple version, based on Matsukiyo Cocokara's step-by-step:

1. With the darkest shade in a pink, red or brown palette, line the upper lid from the outer edge of the iris and pull it into a long, slightly downturned tail.
2. Dot the same shade under the iris and at the outer corner, then join the dots into an almost horizontal line along the lower lashes.
3. With what is left on the brush, draw a soft line along the under-eye "tear bag" area and blend it out.
4. Add a light or glitter shade on top for shine.
5. Optional: draw a few lower lashes toward the outer corner with liquid liner.

Their tips: build the line in small strokes rather than one, and blend well. A brown version reads as more grown-up and is easier to wear day to day. Biteki.com, a Japanese beauty magazine, shows a deep red-brown "mature" variation and suggests keeping mascara light rather than heavy.

Budget products named by Matsukiyo Cocokara

Prices as listed by the retailer (tax included, as tested in December 2025):

You do not need these exact products. Any palette with a muted pink, a red-brown and a shimmer shade will do the same job.

Contact lenses: be careful

Coloured "circle" lenses that make the eyes look bigger are part of the classic look, but they are a medical device. In the US the FDA says every contact lens, including purely cosmetic ones, must be prescribed, and sellers who do not ask for a prescription are breaking federal law. In the UK, Trading Standards says cosmetic lenses should only be supplied with an optician or doctor involved, and warns against buying them online or from market stalls. Badly fitted lenses can cause infections, corneal damage, reduced vision and even blindness. If you want them, see an optician; otherwise, skip them. This is general information, not medical advice.

Three budget builds

Prices from Japanese retailer pages checked October 2026, converted at about £1 = ¥208 and $1 = ¥158 and rounded. They exclude shoes (wear what you have), proxy fees, international shipping and import tax, which are covered in where to buy jirai-kei clothes.

The cheapest route of all is to use clothes you already own (a white blouse, a black skirt, black tights, chunky shoes) and spend only on the makeup and a hair ribbon. That gets you most of the effect for under ¥2,000 in cosmetics.

Common beginner mistakes

• Buying everything at once. Try the makeup and one key piece first, then decide whether you like wearing the style.
• Too many colours. The style is defined by black, white and dusky pink, so other colours move you away from it.
• Skipping the makeup. Without the under-eye colour, a frilly skirt and blouse can read as generic "girly" rather than jirai-kei.
• Ignoring shipping costs. A ¥5,000 skirt can cost far more once proxy fees and postage are added. Group orders into one parcel.
• Borrowing imagery you are not comfortable with. Some jirai-kei-adjacent photos use pills, bandages or self-harm motifs (the yami kawaii side of the style, per Tokyo Weekender). The clothes work fine without them.

Where to go next

• Where to buy jirai-kei clothes in the UK and US
• What does jirai-kei mean?
• Back to the jirai-kei and ryōsan-gata overview