Scans by iloveayu.com

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Ayumi Hamasaki Graphics of the Beauty

There is a woman who believes in her own language, walking on without losing her way. When she stands on stage, that small body in the distance cloaked with a large aura manages to bewitch hundreds of thousands of people. An extraordinary songstress, Hamasaki Ayumi redefines the idea of beauty. With her elegance and beauty, she is just like a dancing winter swan.

The secret to having boundless beauty: Trust your instincts, make your own decisions

It’s been 12 years since her debut. When it comes to fashion and beauty, she’s been relying on her own style all this while. On top of that, the single to be released this autumn will be her 50th. A female solo artist with total sales above 20 million copies, only she fits the description. And this issue, we have this extraordinary pop princess, Hamasaki Ayumi gracing our cover.

This shoot was done during precious time taken from her unimaginably hectic schedule, squeezed between PV shootings, recordings, TV show performances… ayu has been sporting a girly and natural look this year, but for this shoot, we requested something edgy and beautiful from her. It’s been quite a long time since she’s bunned up her hair for a magazine shoot.

“I didn’t know what to do at first. Because I haven’t been catching up with the latest trends in fashion and make-up, I didn’t know if I could pull it off.”

But when the shooting started, she adopted a completely different expression from her usual smile, showing us classic beauty. With her hair bunned up, the emphasis was on those large jewel-like eyes, lighted up further by the brown gradient of her eyeshadow. Her lips were done in sexy nude pink, but balanced with her face, it gave a pure look. With this ayu, we talked about what she thinks of beauty.

“For me, make-up is essential for building up self-confidence. Once she has make-up on, a girl’s behaviour and actions change. Even her voice and expressions of her eyes change. I myself have been saved by make-up.”

“Recently, I’ve been into skincare.” In addition to that, even her diet seems to have changed drastically this year.

“Starting from this summer, I had these strange skin rashes, that’s why I’ve totally changed my diet, lifestyle and skincare regime. Now, I’m eating all organic.”

Cutting out all junk food, she’s into microbiotics now. As a result, the rashes and skin problems went away. Trusting in her own instincts, trying out new things, succeeding. That is Hamasaki Ayumi’s recipe for beauty.

The impact of the Komuro sound ayu grew up with

To commemorate the 50th single, 2 singles were released within 2 weeks continuously. And supplying the music for these singles is Mr Komuro Tetsuya, who is working solo with ayu for the first time. We talk about the large impact he had on her life.

“I was the generation that grew up with the TK sound, and there were many times when his music supported me and gave me strength. So when I received his music to work on, it felt really surreal. I couldn’t believe that I could write lyrics for and sing these songs, to be able to participate in creating the sound which I grew up listening to.”

The completion of a circle. Next, she talked about the ideas behind the newly-released songs.

“49th’s [crossroad] is about the adult that I am now, looking back nostalgically at the person I was in the past. 50th single [L]’s [Virgin Road] goes forward into the future, when I have become a full adult with my own family. Though they are separated into 2 singles, they were made at the same time, when I was feeling the same thing.”

[crossroad]’s B-side is a cover of another of Komuro-san’s works, which ayu herself requested to sing. That song is [SEVEN DAYS WAR].

“When I was a student, I requested for this song to be played on radio. And when it came on, I got the entire household to keep quiet so I could make a recording on my cassette tape recorder. That was how much I loved the song. Even though I was still young, I remember having goosebumps whenever I heard the song or read the lyrics.”

This autumn, ayu will celebrate the release of her 50th single since debut with “7 Days Final” tour at Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

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Thanks to behwatch @ AHS for the scans!

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Hamasaki Ayumi Lady in Bloom

A moment from an excellent girly spring

Gently riding on Spring’s light breeze, the song princess AYU is here. Wrapped in well-chosen girly lace, even her hair and make-up give off spring vibes. A must-see: ayu reveals to Bea’s Up alone, her first time usage of brown eyeliner. But the inner voice of this girl has become rock, no matter what fashion she dons on the outside. So how is this girl like inside?

Maybe it’s because spring is here… Fashion and make-up have all taken a girly turn to give off such a style

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She doesn’t remember ever changing her eyeliner, so this may be the first time she’s using a brown one.

Recent make-up has been highlighting her cheeks, with bright pink colours.

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A change of clothes, from strength to tenderness, in preparation for a warm spring

On a sunny spring day, amidst the bustle of tour rehearsals and recordings, AYU enters a studio somewhere in the city to do filming for our magazine. The clothes she wore gave off a light and cute feel, something which we have not seen in the past from our beautiful song princess. Her fashion, make-up, nails… AYU, with her current style, brought out the trends of that time, the era of the “girl”. Before this, it had been all about leather, fur, and other such cool stuff, even her jewellry and dresses were elegant and high-class. For a change from this coordination of strength, she dons lace and flowers, creating an impressionable style that is all female.

“When it’s cold, I mostly go with black. For a brighter feel, I use grey. And when it got warmer, I wanted to try giving myself a complete makeover. That’s why my clothes have all become girly and bright recently. (laugh) First, I cut my hair short, and dyed it a brighter colour. Now, or rather recently, I’ve probably been moving towards a brighter direction. In contrast, winter is a dark period, so I always have that kind of dark impression for that time.”

Of course, to fit with the change in fashion, a change in make-up style is essential too. In the past, black eyeliner was always used to enhance the effect of her stunning large eyes, along with her signature long eyelashes.

“Because I was fixated on giving off a feeling of strength, I used black eyeliner. But today, I decided to try out a dark brown eyeliner for the first time, and it’s not bad. (laugh)”

Brown gives off a rather moderate and tender feel that is really gentle. Together with the lightness of her girly fashion, it came off really well. We also noticed that there’s been changes to her blusher recently, often employing colours ranging from orange-brown ~ coral.

“Before this, my cheeks have often been faintly coloured, but they do stand out now. And using bright colours such as pink is probably also a part of my makeover. A note about my previous make-up was the shadow effect from my cheekbones up to the temple, but now, the cheekbones have become the main focus.”

We asked about her trip to London for the new album’s production, which also turned out as a good chance for her to change her skincare regime as well.

“I had this image of a fog-filled city, and it was so cold that my hotel room needed lots of heating. As a result, it became really really dry inside. The local staff actually had to sprinkle water from bottles in the area around my bed. (laugh) That was how dry is was, so I had to take absolute care of my skin, with facial lotion at the very least. And while it didn’t get really bad, I totally realized the importance of moisturizing.”

And after she returned to Japan, an additional item was added to her bedside: the Panasonic Ion Steamer.

“There’s 2 kinds: one which is used while you’re in the bath, and another which is used while you’re sleeping. After I started using them, my skin condition has stabilized, so I’ve become really interested in such beauty-related items recently.”

Since last year, she has been following a full-blown training and jogging routine. Even now, she still keeps the practice of doing these once every 2 days.

“Probably because, if I don’t have the physical strength, I won’t be able to move around and sing while on stage.”

The new album and ayu’s rock

We asked AYU about her just released new album, and the worldview she holds for it.

“The reason why I chose to do the recording in London this time was because I wanted to make an album in a closed-off environment, sort of like a place where sunlight doesn’t reach. The songs this time are like me. They’re not liberal and open-minded. The songs which I’ve always made often share the same views and ideas as the listener, but this time, they’re more like shouts and prayers from my individual innermost self. With this image, I’ve probably gotten closer to how I was like inside when I first debuted. What I do in America has always been liberal and open, so that’s why I chose London this time instead.”

In fact, the music videos filmed in the UK are cold, and seem to possess a deep, meaningful worldview. The album title brings all the tracks to a higher level, and links them to AYU.

“Traditional Japanese, ethnic, European… With all these different sounds mixed together, it’s like a circus. And when I sing, they become rock. Rock is a very wide genre, and can include lots of different types of songs, but when I sing, it becomes rock. For example, even if I dress up in a girly manner like today and sing a ballad, rock will still be rock. And because rock exists in my soul, it will be reflected in whatever I do. The new album’s title “Rock’n’Roll Circus” reflects something interesting, scary, sad, weird, and a whole bunch of others mixed together. And that is what I think Rock&Roll is about.”

And from now on, AYU will start out on a long journey to bring this album to all her fans around the country. That will be something to top last year’s tour, with its 35 tours and 400,000 audience.

“The nationwide tour, which will be starting from now on, will be really enjoyable, so I certainly wish for everyone to come watch it, either alone or with a whole group of friends. I think that a-nation and CDL at the end of the year will be counting on this tour. And this release is something which I’ve planned for this year, so I hope everyone will look forward to it.”

The single that was released at the end of last year was her 47th. And if the releases keep on coming as she says they will, we may even have something as special as a 50th release this year.

The song princess, who is Japan’s representative, continues to run on without stop this year, changing and evolving.

Style and fashion are a reflection of feelings. That is something which cannot be shaken.

Scans by angel-ayu @ aYu][kult

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Hamasaki Ayumi Dresses Up in her Favourite Brand’s Pre SS Collection

“This is definitely the person to grace the finale of year 2005!”
With that, we invited Miss AYU to be the last cover girl for this year.
This issue, AYU changed her hairstyle to dark & straight. And with the new lady-like look, she dressed up in the latest items from 3 of her favourite brands, in her cool, elegant, gorgeous way!

D&G

With a dark hair colour, I feel like wearing all black.
「Looking at various Spring/Summer collections, what really caught my interest were the cool items. So with that image firmly in mind, I picked this black pantsuit by D&G. I’ve always loved tailored pants, and the overall cutting of this suit is really beautiful. So saying, with a dark hair colour, I feel like wearing all black. I’ve been buying nothing but black clothes recently. (laugh) When I had blonde hair, I often wear brightly coloured clothes, even in my personal life.」

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emanuel ungaro

The cutting of this dress is very adult-like, so even with the floral print, it doesn’t come across as too girly
「I’ve always loved ungaro, and wear it lots in my personal life. That’s why any item from them is always a hit with me. This one piece dress from the SS collection is the cutest. The cutting of this dress is very lady-like, so even with the floral print, it doesn’t come across as too childish or girly. Recently, I’ve started to like one piece dresses. They’re just so easy to wear, that’s the image I have of them.」

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PAOLA FRANI

This PAOLA FRANI dress’ material and translucence are perfect
「This dress has a really pretty silhouette and cutting, the low-cut is also beautiful. This is the first time I’m wearing PAOLA for sweet, but I really love the brand, so I always wear it. I feel that this dress’ material and translucence are perfect. This shoot was really fun, they even caught the right facial expressions on film. This is my first time working with this photographer, Kitajima-san, but we managed to set our views on things like movement and such. It was interesting. (laugh)」

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Ayumi Hamasaki: Special Interview

Unafraid of change, Hamasaki Ayumi-san’s charm probably comes from the fact that she faces up to every challenge with attitude. As if to prove our point, she changed her hair colour from her trademark blonde to black. This new chic style is certainly fresh!

「I got used to it really quick. In contrast, I was always shocked seeing photos of myself when I first got blonde hair. (laugh) In my personal life, I do pay attention to my clothes, but I seldom put on make-up. Imagine me wearing colourful clothes, with super blonde hair, but no make-up. (laugh) With black hair, having no make-up seems fitting. It’s just easier to strike a balance. That’s why having black hair is easy.」

Together with her hair colour, she seems to be wearing black clothes recently, even in her personal life. Also, she seems to have foregone jeans, but opts for a lady-like style with skirts and one piece dresses. This, along with her new single 『Bold&Delicious』, composed by R&B artist GEO of SWEETBOX, accurately erflects her change in perspectives. A powerful gospel chorus, a R&B sound; this song is full of the artist Hamasaki Ayumi’s new situation.

「For me, it wasn’t as if I was planning to “make something new and surprise everyone”. Of course, I will wish to change, but that was not the reason why I chose to sing this song. It was really just the right circumstances that led to it. I’ve always liked SWEETBOX, (scan is cut off) and I remember mentioning it to the staff. It seems like they contacted SWEETBOX without my knowledge, and suddenly, I received about 12 demo songs from these staff whom I thought had forgotten the whole incident. (laugh) GEO is an artistic but very gentle person. He would respond to me really fast, saying things like “I hope for the melody to go like this”. So it was no accident that Hamasaki Ayumi ended up singing SWEETBOX’s songs, it was more of a collaboration, with both parties helping each other towards the same goal.」

Even now, there is a strong wish to speak of my feelings to fellow girls

『Bold&Delicious』, coupled with the beautiful mid-tempo 『Pride』. These 2 songs seem to contain a message, telling us to move forward without giving up, so that we can make something into reality.

「By working with all my might, I often overdo things and forget to have fun. But what 『Bold~』 and 『Pride』 illustrate is a feeling of fun amidst the hard work. In the past, I was pessimistic, and was often reluctant to do things. Well, there were times when I tried to be optimistic, even if everything was going negatively. However, recently, it seems as if the things I fear are gone. That’s why it’s ok now, even though I’m still a pessimist. Of course, it won’t do to be a pessimist through and through. As long as I know what kind of person I want to be, then no matter how people look at me, no matter what anyone says about me, I will be able to shrug it off.」

(scan is cut off) …with these negative songs, we have new album 『(miss)understood』.

「Even now, there is a strong wish to speak of my feelings to fellow girls. Girls nowadays are strong, and possess great power, right? I feel that girls will be able to create new things, no matter what they are. We have the wish to come together and get it on, as well as to look on from a distance and think “Yes, we girls are all working hard”.」

And so, this girl’s words, which are engraved in this album, tell us of gentle “strength”, reminiscent of the encouragement given from girl to girl in a private girls-talk.

Even a powerful woman becomes pessimistic sometimes, right?

「In that sense, this is a very strong album. But that strength comes from understanding pain and sorrow. It comes not from running from, but from wanting to bear the pain. Somehow, when a man gains power, and is able to have all he wants, he will become an extremely positive person. But with women, we still become pessimistic sometimes, right? That’s why I wish for this album to become your conviction. Let it tell of your story, or the story of other girls, who are working just as hard. I think that there are many girls out there who look at me and promise to work hard themselves. It works the same way with me, looking at all the girls working hard, I get the energy to work hard too. And that gave birth to the strength of 『(miss)understood』.」

NAILS

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Looking at D&G’s suit, Hamasaki-san wished for simple nails to match. With 3 slightly different shades of purple as base, the highlights are the black Swarovski crystals decorating the edges.

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To match with the one piece dress’ off-white, a mix of transculent white and a frosted colour were chosen as base to mimic the softness of tulle and lace. Coloured stones were used to match the design of the dress.

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Hamasaki-san’s suggestion was for a gorgeous image. On a gold base, large stones of various colours were placed randomly and boldly. The underlying theme for this set is 「refined gorgeous jewellry」.