If you haven’t yet heard of Yuna—born Yunalis Mat Zara’ai—you’ll soon hear her everywhere. Following the recent release of her new single recorded in collaboration with Usher, “Crush,” the Malaysian-born, L.A.-based singer-songwriter is preparing to release a new album, Chapters, in May, made with a host of Hollywood super-producers. She describes her sound as “vibe-y—a really cool mix.” And the same description applies to Yuna’s distinctive beauty look, which, with its nods to her Malaysian Muslim culture, isn’t quite like anything the mainstream pop and R&B worlds have seen before. She is, as concisely summed up by her Instagram bio, “a different kind of modern woman.”
That much comes across immediately in her omnipresent head scarves, or hijabs—a defiantly demure statement in what already feels like the year of the naked selfie. “I believe in modesty, so I cover myself,” Yuna explains. “It’s gaining a lot of popularity with hijabi fashion bloggers. I’m no different from those girls, except I make music.” Though Yuna didn’t grow up wearing one—she describes her native country as “more on the liberal side” and estimates about half the Muslim women in Malaysia sport them by choice—she made the decision to do so around a decade ago, and now keeps hundreds of styles in her daily rotation. “It became a part of me immediately,” she says. “When I put it on, I feel more confident. A lot of people think it’s a symbol of oppression. But it’s very liberating, actually.”
Part of that sense of empowerment is in the way a head scarf shifts focus toward a woman’s facial features, Yuna explains. “You’re protecting your identity as a woman. You’re protecting your magic, you know?” Yet she refuses to judge anyone for doing otherwise: “On the other end of the spectrum there are women who believe in showing your body, and that’s fine, too,” she says. “It’s an interesting time to see people embracing differences.”
It’s an attitude Yuna would like to see more of in her own culture. “You know what’s weird?” she says. “A lot of Southeast Asian girls think that being fair-skinned is beautiful. So they always try to use whitening products. I was never considered beautiful back home.” As hard as that is to believe, Yuna is using her fame to ensure her experience won’t be repeated across generations. “When I got here [to L.A.], a lot of people were so intrigued by my features. I think that’s what I realized—in America, being colorful is beautiful. I always try to tell that to the younger girls back home in Malaysia. I recently tweeted about this—I’m tan, too, you can be on my team.”
And though she says that she, like most Malaysian girls, “like[s] to be made up,” Yuna prefers a natural look that lets her features shine through. First and foremost are those almond eyes: “If I don’t have makeup on, I still do my brows and mascara.” (Her favorites: Anastasia Beverly Hills’s Brow Powder Duo and Urban Decay’s Perversion, respectively.) For lips, she keeps things neutral, rotating between shades in NYX’s Lip Lingerie collection. And she’s “obsessed” with Burberry’s Cashmere foundation—“I went around L.A. to look for my shade, warm honey. I use it every day. It feels great on my skin, looks great.”
As for taking care of that skin, “I’m all about SK-II,” she says, ticking off the brand’s moisturizers, makeup remover, mask, and Pitera spray as go-to’s. And beyond the surface, Yuna also swears by ulam, a traditional Malaysian vegetable salad made with the leaves of the medicinal gotu kola plant, and the more universal practice of drinking water with fresh lemon every morning.
The list of women who inspire Yuna’s approach reflects her global perspective: There’s Sade (“the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen”), Gwen Stefani, and Malaysian pop star Ning Baizura, whom Yuna says “doesn’t have the typical Malaysian look. I could relate to her since I was 6.” Back then, Yuna says, “people said I was ugly because of my lips. But I think I grew out of that and just embraced my natural beauty.” Spoken like an icon in the making.
The post Malaysian Pop Star Yuna Shares the Secrets to Her Epic Head Scarf Game appeared first on Vogue.
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