İLAYDA OYMAK
Presenting the enchanting charisma of İlayda Oymak on the cover of GMARO Magazine Celebrity Edition Vol.46 March 2024, dressed to win over the best. İlayda Oymak, the number one influencer of Turkey, represents a mix of mystery, sensuality, and boldness—qualities inspiring in the background. It has been able to capture hearts and imaginations with its enigmatic charm and fearless spirit, making it a true style icon and enigmatic charm. Each of its pages is pretty much a reflection of the depth behind the allure as Ilyada Oymak shares journey, inspiration, and bold moves that define the path. This edition captures the power of individuality, the magnetic pull of a soul unafraid to shine.
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Cover Model - İLAYDA OYMAK @ilaydaoymakk
Photography / Retouch - Zeynep Çelik @zeynepcelikphoto
Fashion Director - Olga Kalemci @olgakalemci
Creative Direction / İnterview - Victoria True @true.victoria
Make-up Artist - Elina Paltseva @elina_promakeup
Hair Stylist - Galina Kaya @galina.kaya
Styling - Katerina @istylebul
Videography - Berkan Karakoç @berkankrkc
Set Design / Light - Umut Tunç @umttunc and Erkan Kemal Nas @erkankemalnas
İlayda you are a well known influencer in Türkiye. How did you start your career? What were your goals then and what’s changed through this period?
I started my career 9 years ago by opening a YouTube channel. At that time, I had just entered my university and was studying Television Reporting and Programmig. I neither watched YouTube videos then nor influencership was so common. My boyfriend at that time suggested me to open a YouTube channel and shoot videos on topics I was interested in, such as fashion, make-up and healthy nutrition. He supported me a lot in opening my channel and I suddenly started doing it as a hobby. My videos were watched more than I’d ever expected at first. This gave me great motivation and I continued. My goal at that time was actually to become a presenter. In fact, that's why I chose a department related to this at school. It was also very good that the editing of my YouTube videos went in parallel with what I was learnin at university. I wanted to be known and I wanted to reach out to large audiences. Even though I have never worked in traditional and well known media, people of different ages got to know me through my channel. Of course, other platforms became more popular during this process, my YouTube channel ran parallel to Instagram, and when Instagram started to change, develop and enter our lives through its new possibilities and short reels videos, YouTube's audience began to shift to other platforms. I can say that now YouTube videos are generally not watched as much as they used to be. I also sometimes try to keep up with new developments and trends in social media. But sometimes it feels like it's taking me away from doing what I'm meant to do.
You post very different things on your instagram and especially the details about your changes in appearance? Do you mind the reaction of the audience and do you mean any message through these posts?
In this era, when aesthetics is so widespread and can achieve successful results, why shouldn't people change the parts they don't like or become a more beautiful version of themselves? I have been a person with a very high perception of beauty since my childhood. I loved looking at beauty and beautiful things. That's why, although not suddenly, over time, I changed the parts of myself that I didn't like. With my current aesthetic experiences, I now know very well what can and cannot happen to me. I never hid these issues, I always shared my changes and old photos from time to time. Sometimes I received a lot of reactions, but negative reactions do not bother me, after all, I know myself now, I see myself and I feel more beautiful than before. In fact, the only message I give when sharing my aesthetic-free states may be that I am self-confident.
Does being popular bring you any harm? Maybe some inconveniences or something?
I haven't seen any harm from this yet.
While following you on social media and meeting you on different events one may be shocked how different you can be: sometimes romantic and funny and sometimes dramatic and wild! How do you see yourself? What is closer to your character?
Hah, I'm 29 years old, but believe me, I haven't figured this out yet either. Actually, I have all of these features in bits and pieces. Some days I feel romantic and funny, some moments dramatic or wild. It varies depending on my energy that day. Sometimes I have a hard time getting to know myself and even feel lost from time to time.
You travel a lot and especially to London. Do you have a strong bond with this city or maybe it’s a kind of a business?
4 years ago I attended a 3-month course at the Chef Academy of London. I took the Professional Chef Course. At that time, I fell in love with London, made good friends, and later became more and more attached to this city. Now I go there at least twice a year. I especially love the Christmas season in London, I also love Christmas very much. Those decorations, the lights, the ambiance, Winter Wonderland attracts me.
Being a social media influencer means going out a lot and sometimes even several times a day! How do you keep up to this tempo?
Although this sometimes seems fun from the outside, it can actually be very tiring and sometimes even boring. After all, it's always the same environments, the same people. Sometimes, even when people think that I'm having a lot of fun, I may not be having that much fun or not having fun at all. I am selective about events, but of course, as an influencer, it is necessary to attend certain events and establish a network and not let your face be forgotten. The pace is really tiring, yes. On days when there are events, I usually don't even have the energy or time to do sports.
Would you like to change anything in your life? If yes what?
Sometimes I think maybe I should have taken a completely different path from the very beginning, I mean, sometimes I wonder: Would I have been happier throughout life if I had studied a department like business administration at university and become a business woman? My plans were already in that direction when I was in high school, but the year before I entered university, I made a sudden decision and realized that I really wanted the profession I am doing now and followed that route.
You have your channel on YouTube. Tell us about it?
My channel has a history of almost 10 years. At first, I made lifestyle videos on topics such as fashion, make-up and healthy nutrition, but later I realized that the Vlogs I shot were watched more and I concentrated on vlogs. People are more curious about the places I go, what I do during a day, how my day, week goes, and what is happening in my life.
Do you have any role models? From Türkiye or from anywhere in the world? Why?
I wouldn’t call it having a role model but I really like the style of Leonie Hanne and Alena Yanchevskaya. I like what Leonie wears, her accessories, and her colorful life. Alena has a completely different style and mostly shares videos about her home and gives advice on decoration. I love the decoration of her house. The furnishing in her home is stylish, simple, elegant and luxurious. So is her style. I also love Marta Sierra's reels videos. They are very entertaining, creative and stylish. Sometimes I take an example from her.
They say if you want to be happy keep your life private. Do you agree? How do you balance being a blogger and your privacy?
In fact, when I keep my life very private, I realize that I ignore social media for a long time and then my mind stays there. When I do the opposite and share every moment of my life, this time I turn out to show some of my life situations that will definitely disturb me a few months or a few years later and I do not want to be remembered that way. That's why I think it's best to find the middle ground. I think I have now figured out what to share and what not to share when producing my content, and I balance it this way.
And the last question: where do you see yourself in 10 years?
You saved the hardest question for last. Frankly, I can't see where I'll be in 10 years. However, I can say where I want to be and what I want to be doing in 10 years. And I think it probably will be so. Because throughout my life experience, I have realized that the life I live now is a life that I dreamed of a long time ago and did not think it possible to come true, but it came true with the energy I sent to the universe. So, did this make me very happy? I guess sometimes the things we dream and want are not the things that really make us happy. This is what I also have realized recently. That's why, since I got this understanding, I stopped thinking about where I should be or what I should do in the future and that is why I cannot answer this question. But what I can definitely say is that, wherever I am in 10 years, I will be exactly in my right place making me feel the happiest.
