To mark the end of the airing of Sailor Moon Crystal — a revamped version of the original Sailor Moon TV series which is closer to the manga — I recreated five Sailor Moon hairstyles to carry on living the dream. That being said, I haven't actually been living the dream, as I have not been able to watch the new Sailor Moon show because I live in England and I don't have Crunchyroll. I can't even get the DVD because it won't work with U.K. DVD players. Damn you, DVD regions! Why can't you all just be universal? I could do a Serena (or Usagi for the hardcore fans) and cry powerful streams of tears, but I won't be defeated that easily.
I can live my own, new dream and channel Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts in an array of ways, from wearing Pretty Guardian-inspired clothing to flaunting awesome Sailor Moon makeup. In a perfect world, I would grab my gal pals and we would all pick which scout we were going to be, and then dress up in replicas of their outfits, and dye our hair and party. That's the dream.
Unfortunately, not a lot of my closest friends like Sailor Moon, so to get my everyday fix I realized I could channel hairstyles from some of Sailor Moon's most memorable characters. I shall keep my fingers firmly crossed for a European release of the Sailor Moon Crystal series but in the meantime, here are the hairstyles I shall be wearing while I wait:
Before
This is my everyday hair; as you can see, it's long, thick, and blonde. I was really excited about recreating my favorite heroines' and villainess' hairstyles, but I was a little concerned about my lack of bangs and how that would work in the very bang-heavy hairstyles of Sailor Moon. I picked out the long hairstyles as obviously with the amount of hair I have, I wouldn't have been able to try out the shorter styles.
1. The Classic Sailor Moon Style
I thought this style worn by Serena (aka Sailor Moon) would be a pretty easy hairstyle to recreate with my long hair. However, it wasn't nearly as simple as I first thought. To achieve this look, I sectioned my hair into two high pigtails. After this, I started on one side and half pulled through some of the "tail" to create a small and simple bun. I repeated with the other side.
Verdict: I liked this look as it was fun and playful, but I think if I were to try it again I would opt for a different method to create the little buns, as I lost a lot of length by using this method. Plus, they're not perfectly round buns, they're a bit more animal ear-esque. It's still a super cute look though.
2. The Sailor Jupiter Ponytail
The tomboyish Sailor Jupiter seemed like a tough cookie on the outside with her martial arts and her lightening powers, but actually she was a big softie and acted like a big sister to the rest of the girls. To achieve Jupiter's ponytail, I put my head upside down and brushed my hair back into a tight ponytail. I then put a pom pom hair tie around the ponytail in an effort to recreate a similar style to Jupiter's hair tie. Finally, I pulled down a couple of strands of hair around my face just like Jupiter.
Verdict: I like the no nonsense feel to this look, but I don't think it looks quite as good as Jupiter's flowing ponytail — I'd probably need a wind machine. Also, I am not enjoying how the two strands around my face are reminiscent of Sporty Spice's look, which is mega '90s in a majorly not-me way.
3. The Sailor Venus Style
Sailor Venus was one of my favorite characters out of the series. She's a graceful and intelligent young woman who is associated with the power of love; many of her weapons and powers feature hearts, and IMO, she's the sweetheart of the group.
To achieve this look, I brushed back my hair and secured it with a hair tie. I then grabbed a piece of material from my craft box, cut a strip off it, and fashioned it into a bow. To complete the style, I mussed up my hair around my face to loosen some shorter hairs in order to soften the whole look.
Verdict: I am head over heels in love with this look and think it is totally girl-next-door Sailor Venus. However, I think it would have been improved a great deal with the addition of bangs.
4. The Bertie Braid
Bertie is the youngest of the Negamoon Sisters and a bad gal, and she is absolutely cute! She reminds me a little of Elsa from Frozen but way more stylish. To start, I created a plait from underneath the top layer of hair on the left of my face. I then lifted the top layer of hair on the right side of my head and pinned this small braid underneath. After this, I attempted to fashion fake bangs by gripping the upper layers of hair on each side of my head, into a relaxed, bang style to cover up the braid. Finally, I created a large braid with the rest of my hair.
Verdict: I do love a braid and I am thrilled there are two in this style. However, as with the previous style, I think it would work way better with the addition of actual bangs, but due to my accursed calf lick, I shall never be able to have them. Sad times.
5. The Vampy Esmeraude Waves
Wow, doesn't villainess Esmeraude look like a space age style Hollywood starlet? She looks to me like the epitome of a fierce femme fatale and her green hair is just awesome. To get Esmeraude's look, I used my heated rollers to create some waves, gave myself a side parting to allow for a sweeping style at the front, and of course, I just had to add a black crescent moon to my forehead.
Verdict: Easy and glamorous and possibly my favorite of the bunch. If you were wondering — yes, I'm keeping my moon on all day.
On behalf of the moon, channel your favorite Sailor Scout or villainess in these epic, anime inspired hairstyles.
Images: Toei Animation (6); Giphy (2); Phoebe Waller
