Women donned peacock-style headgear and brightly coloured make-up in Malaysia at an event showcasing creative interpretations of traditional Malay costumes and make-up techniques.

The three-day annual beauty exhibition kicked off Saturday at the convention centre in the shadows of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, drawing experts from across the industry.

Around 20 women paraded down a runway sporting exotic variations of the songket and batik - ethnic Malay wedding headdresses and costumes - as others dazzled with boundary-pushing make-up.

Joy Hussin, a make-up artist with nearly 10 years' experience, said the response to this year's event - themed "peacock-cum-traditional Malay"- was "overwhelming," drawing visitors from Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

"I would like to see Malaysia emerge as the makeup capital especially for the Muslim world," she told AFP.

A little over half of Malaysia's 30 million population are Malay Muslims.

She said the makeup industry in Malaysia was a lucrative business, with some clients paying up to $230 per session.

"Everyone deserves to be beautiful. My mission is to make everyone beautiful," she added.

"I think with Malaysians having more money to spend, they are spending money to look nice."

Malaysia is the third-richest country in Southeast Asia behind Singapore and oil-rich kingdom Brunei.