Nine Things You Could Say When You See Your Japanese Girlfriend's Face without Make-Up

You're traveling with her, she stayed at your place or you stayed at hers, and the secret is out: her bare face. You're her boyfriend, so you can appreciate what it means to her to let you see her au natural, but I'm sure there have been boyfriends who didn't quite know how to react. That's why I'm here to suggest nine things you could say when you see her uncovered mug.

1. "You look pretty without make-up, too!"

If, from the bottom of your heart, you really think she looks pretty, why not let her know how you genuinely feel? The "too" is important.

2. "I like your face without make-up, too."

You don't have to use words like "pretty" or "cute." It’s fine to just say "like," particularly if you can’t honestly tell yourself "She's beautiful" when you see her sans make-up.

3. "It's a slightly different look, but you're lovely without make-up, too."

This technique lets you be honest and tell her she looks different while also praising her loveliness, even when she's unadorned.

4. "I think you look prettier without make-up."

This lets her know you value her clean face more than her dolled-up face. But be careful! You don’t want to accidentally give off the vibe that you think she's a lousy make-up artist.

5. "You don't look any different without make-up."

This is a useful phrase if you can’t see any difference between her made-up face and her more natural look. Once again, use with caution! There's a chance she'll complain about make-up being meaningless.

6. "You look younger without make-up."

If you want to put the brakes on compliments like "prettier" and "cuter," use a different kind of compliment, like "younger." There are a lot of girls who actually look younger without make-up.

7. "Your skin is beautiful."

This technique focuses on her skin instead of just her face. When she goes without make-up, she's also showing off her skin, so this phrase may come in handy.

8. "I'm glad you can go without make-up around me. Thank you."

This conveys that you're happy she feels comfortable with showing you the real "her." This technique doesn’t make any comment on her face as such, so it's useful if your girlfriend looks like a completely different person without make-up.

9. "Who are you?" (LOL) "I'm sorry, but you are...?" (LOL)

This technique lets you tell her, half jokingly, that she looks really different without make-up. Again, use it wisely! If you say it too seriously, she might miss the joke and take offense to your question—and that won’t help matters at all.