Okay, at this stage I am probably beginning to sound like a broken record, gushing over this gorgeous being (even today) in my blog posts. But sourcing around the net, everyone seems to cover Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe, Twiggy in their beauty vids...but what of our local beauty and fashion icons?
Emulating Malaysian Songstress Noorkumalasari's Look 'MATA'
In finding inspiration, there is no denying it would be impossible for me to attempt to do one referencing Noorkumalasari herself, Malaysia's very own Malay actress, singer, model during her golden era of the 70s and to the early 90s.
Born blessed with genes from the Arts in actor Datuk S Roomai and legendary classic Malay movie actress Datin Umi Kalthum, she rose to prominence in the late 70s in her appearance in many movies (that are of cult status) and songs that are as memorable as her stage presence on screen. I wanted to highlight two looks - the first will be covered here in the song "Mata".
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-10078101-1491224785-4538.jpeg.jpg)
Noorkumalasari is known for her bold and expressionistic ways of performing on stage, which is what drawn me to her instantly. In this videoclip , presumably taped for a special recording of a music show in the early 80s, she navigates herself around mannequins and play with her eyes as to accentuate the power of the eyes in capturing one's cupid bow.This performance, if done today by Malaysian standards, would be deemed silly and absorbed of herself by the masses. Taking cues from the Western greats of her era - Grace Jones, Diana Ross, MJ - and how people in that particular era in Malaysia is much less conservative than it is today ; grips a nostalgic heartstring of my yearning for an era where music and the arts were diverse and substantially stimulating (not throwing shade, but the industry has indeed regressed).
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-9302321-1481077201-2231.jpeg.jpg)
In this video below, I fumbled with the color options seen on her eyeshadow work, but I then realized I didnt want to exactly copy her very 80s, strong eyemakeup with the matte hues (also, I have very minimal matte colors in my palette collection who would have thought?!) , so I try to do a neo-80s version where I see many magazines have been doping as of late. The strong strokes are there, sans the cat-eye liner look and of course, that pigmented blush contour on my cheeks. This IS NOT a beauty tutorial, but an experiment to see if I myself can embody the likeness of Noorkumalasari herself!