11 times we looked up to Namie Amuro as #beautygoals (90’s kids would appreciate!)

When we first heard the news that Namie Amuro was retiring, all the memories of the ways we had sang along to her songs and aspired to be her back in our childhood and teenage years came flooding back to us. We knew we had to compile this list of how Namie Amuro had continued to be our #beautygoals in her 25-year long career.

1. When she debuted

Fresh-faced Namie Amuro debuted in 1992 when she was just 15 years old! SUPER MONKEY’S consisted of girls from the Okinawa Actors’ School, where Amuro was enrolled in pursuit of a career in music and the arts.

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Amuro wasn’t the main member of the group at the beginning, but her fresh-faced looks soon made her centre of attraction. The group’s name was even changed to “Namie Amuro and SUPER MONKEY’S”!

2. When she was timeless at a young age

It was only a matter of time before Namie Amuro struck out on her own solo path, which happened in 1995 when she was 18 years old.

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If ever there was a timeless photoshoot, it’d be the one that Namie Amuro did more than 20 years ago for one of her bestselling albums to date, SWEET 19 BLUES, released in 1996.

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Just look at how effortlessly gorgeous and chic she is in every photo!

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Everything about her styling was so on point, we have difficulty believing this photoshoot happened more than two decades ago when she was only 19!

3. When the Amura style swept Japan by storm

At the height of popularity in the mid to late 1990’s, her fashion and beauty style became a craze in Japan.

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Young girls who aspired to her style were called Amuras, and would adopt the stereotypical Namie Amuro look: long, straight, brown hair, sported the thin eyebrows that were oh-so-fashionable in the 90’s, and wore mini-skirts with thick-soled platform boots.

The look was notably everything in her iconic Can You Celebrate? music video released in 1997. The song went on to be the bestselling single for a solo female artist in Japan, and continues to be one of the key memories people have of Amuro.

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4. When she beat the fashion curse of the early 2000’s

The late 1990’s to the early 2000’s were not a great time in fashion and style. Just look at any of your favourite celebrities and how they were dressed back then. Namie Amuro, however, was different.

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There’s something still so inherently gorgeous about her that her album covers from the early 2000’s don’t seem dated at all.

5. When she showed us how to juggle motherhood and career

Namie Amuro announced her marriage in 1997 at the young age of 20, and gave birth to her first son in the same year. Even after becoming a mother, her career continued to flourish and she was prolific as ever with her singles.

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Her svelte silhouette and perfect makeup were what all of us aspired (and still do!) to achieve.

If you just took out the dated font choice and the awkward 3D design, the album cover could have passed muster as a recent work.

6. When she channeled babydoll vibes

Even when she was in her late 20’s to early 30’s, Namie Amuro never lost that evergreen, youthful, baby face that enabled her to flawlessly pull off babydoll vibes when the album cover demanded it.

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The cover of GIRL TALK had her looking almost like a retro mannequin from the 70’s, with the plump lips and doll-like makeup. The single was released when Amuro was in her late 20’s, but you wouldn’t have known that just looking at her – she still looks like a teenager!

She was 30 when she released Baby Don’t Cry, but she still doesn’t look a day above 20.

7. When she showed us how to rock loose curls

Even though Namie Amuro’s iconic hairstyle back in the 90’s was her long, straight, brown hair, she embraced the gorgeousness of having thick, luscious curls that ran down her back for most of the 2000’s.

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8. When she knew how to work her sex appeal

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She also went from channeling some serious sex appeal from the 2000’s onwards. Still, we can’t find anything dated about these photoshoots and her image is as timeless as ever.

9. When she knew big hair was beautiful

Namie Amuro has never been afraid to go big and beautiful with her hair. She rocked almost an afro-sized head of hair for the album cover of Funky Town, released in 2007.

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A couple of years later, she continued with the big hair trend but this time with a more Asian twist in her intriguing album artwork for PAST < FUTURE.

10. When she came into #queen status

It’s safe to say that Namie Amuro is one of the queens of J-pop, and she showed it in her styling from the late 2000’s onwards. Whether dressed up or dressed down, Amuro projected that untouchable vibe that reflected her being at the pinnacle of her career.

Check out her perfect makeup and hair in these looks:

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She even released an updated music video for her hit single CAN YOU CELEBRATE?, 17 years after it was first released. The change in style, concept, and fashion was markedly different, but Amuro’s gorgeousness stayed the same.

11. When she retired in style, as always

On 2o September 2017, Amuro’s 40th birthday, she announced that she was to retire completely from the music scene by 16 September 2018. After a whopping 25 years in the industry, she was now ready to let go of her mantle in style.

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Her last album, aptly named Finally, was a compilation of her greatest hits, and saw Namie Amuro in all her usual elegance. The sepia-toned photographs from the album have a touch of finality to them, and we can’t help but continue to admire the way she carries herself even in the final stages of her career.