In the “Youth Issue”, we’ve brought back a familiar face: content creator Iman Alysha, our alumnus of The Z List when she was just 18. Now 22 years old, armed with her degree and settled back home, Iman is more than eager to find her footing in this world.
Even in the enormous RuMa Suite that pans over the Petronas Twin Towers — where we’re setting up for the cover shoot — Iman ‘imanopie’ Alysha’s presence does not go unnoticed. The entrance hall, positioned just where the sun is beaming through, resounds with her sniffles. She randomly caught the flu this morning, she says, but still her eyes are bright and her enthusiasm unmatched. It’s just as well that her task for the day is to lounge and laze about on the sun-framed bed and lie in the bathtub.
“I feel like beauty, makeup or skin care is definitely the line I want to focus more into,” Iman opens up. “I’ve always enjoyed makeup and skin care, you know, but I don’t think I’ve ‘shared’ it enough. And I feel like people are curious as to what I like or what I do in terms of my makeup. So I feel like that’s something I want to curate more in terms of my own content.”
In the pre-pandemic times, Iman was mostly known for dancing moves on TikTok and being the ‘girl next door’ in various commercials. Nowadays you’ll likely find her in the realm of beauty, sharing some of her favourite makeup looks and ‘GRWM’ (‘get ready with me’) routines. Among her essentials, she says, are lip balms and hand creams. For today, her on-set accessory is L’Occitane’s Shea Butter Hand Cream. In its adorable 30ml packaging, it’s a small act of self-care to have on you everywhere you go.
Iman certainly knows a thing or two about self-care. Four years ago, only a week after her debut in Lifestyle Asia’s inaugural The Z List, Iman left home to pursue a business degree at Durham, England. The time away from home offered her some much-needed peace and quiet and, above all, a chance to get to know herself a little more. And now that she’s back, she’s also more than eager to figure out what it is she really wants to do.
“I remember last time, Lifestyle Asia asked me what my biggest goal was — and it was to get a degree,” Iman reminisces. “So now that I have a degree, it’s like I’m in this transitional phase of like, ‘Oh, after studies, what comes after that?’ So I’ve really been reflecting more recently, especially after I graduated. And yeah, in terms of growth, I’ve definitely — well, besides being independent, I’ve definitely grown to learn more about myself.”
On finding peace of mind — and stepping back into the chaos
In Durham, Iman found herself revelling in the quiet life. “I actually really liked being abroad, especially where I was,” she muses. “I wasn’t in a city, like what we’re used to in KL, you know, being really hectic and busy. I was in a really, really small town and it felt really peaceful. And it also felt like I was in my own little bubble for a whole three years. Coming back to KL was like a ‘smack’ back into reality because it’s like, ‘Wait, my home in university is not actually forever.’ And I think I got a bit too comfortable being there, because over here… it’s not that I’m not ‘in peace’, but more like I forget some people actually know me. In the UK, nobody really knew me. I felt more relaxed. But I’ve been getting used to life back home. I wouldn’t say I’m more ‘cautious’, but I’m definitely more aware that people are actually perceiving me and what I do.”
Iman came home from the UK last year, just before she turned 22. And in the midst of catching up with her old life, she’s ready to dip her toes in the entertainment world and figure out what it is she really wants to do. “I’m going at my own pace instead of trying to keep up [with changing trends],” she says. “I feel like when I try so hard to keep up, I end up not being able to do anything because there’s just so many things going on at the same time. So it’s like, ‘OK, I’m gonna just do this first, and then we’ll see how it goes.’ Because if you try to do everything at once, it’s just gonna bite you in the ass, you know? It’s not easy to cope. So I and I try to ignore how everything else is changing so fast.”
Life in Durham granted her peace of mind — a brief escape from the real world. And with peace of mind also comes a lot of wisdom. At 18, Iman found herself much more affected by the things that people say. “People will always be watching you, and they’re prepared to throw hate whenever and wherever they can,” she’d told us four years ago. “It can get overwhelming, but as a social media influencer, you need to know that it will never stop.”
Today, Iman’s mindset has shifted to something incredibly mature: “I think it’s natural to care about how other people perceive you. But I feel like as I got older, I realised that you really won’t please everyone. So, I’ve gotten to a point where I actually just… I just don’t care.” She laughs. “It just doesn’t affect me anymore. Like, I could read any comment and be like, ‘Okay, I’ve seen this before. It’s fine. Next.’”
I tell her it’s impressive that at her young age, she already has a very good head on her shoulders. She knows the facts, and she doesn’t let the pressure get to her. It’s exactly what would make her capable of the fast-moving, ever-changing world of showbiz — a world she’s set her sights on to enter.
In the peak of youth life
“Back then when I was 18, I was still very much a teenager,” Iman says, smiling as she thinks back to about the moment she jetted off for Durham. It was only four years ago, but the memory seems to her like something of a past life. It’s a feeling that embodies exactly where Iman is this year: 22 going on 23, and ready to make her name in this big city. She’s learning how she wants to be in the world, and back home with her degree in hand, it truly feels like she just grew up.
“But now that I’m an actual adult, it feels like it makes more sense for me to be going to these events and doing these things,” she says, laughing. “I don’t feel like ‘I’m too young’ anymore, you know? Before this, I was like, ‘Oh, I’m a kid. I shouldn’t be here yet.’ But now I feel like, ‘Okay, I’m old enough.’ And I really am old enough.”
There are pros and cons to not being too young yet just young enough — as there are with everything else. The pro? Iman is growing into her age. She’s finally the same age as her peers, especially those she meets at events in the city. There are always endless things to talk about. She’s making connections, socialising with all the people she’s wanted to socialise with, really putting herself out there. The con? That peace of mind she’s had for so long comes at a price.
“I think I have definitely drawn a line between what I share online and my personal life,” Iman says. She’s still getting used to documenting her everyday life, for everyone to see. (She reveals that she was a major introvert growing up, and though she’s not as introverted as before, it’s still there. But she’s easing into it now. It’s not as scary to put herself out there.)
“I do think it’s important to embrace yourself online, and I have trouble doing that,” she opens up. “I feel like the wall that I’ve built is so high that if I want to post something online, I’m like, ‘Wait, should people really know that?’ And because I’m such a private person, it doesn’t really help with what I do. It’s something that I definitely need to work on this year, to be able to share stuff. I guess it’s also not the easiest when the people around me are also quite private. They’re, like, ‘Oh, don’t post me!’”
It had been understandably overwhelming in the beginning. During COVID, so many young people resorted to making content on all their social media platforms — which carried forward once it blew over — so much that the post-pandemic era produced a lot of upcoming content creators. “I guess it is kind of like a downside that I have been away,” Iman muses. “I feel like so many people have come in just in the past three years. Before this, there weren’t many ‘content creators’, I would say. But, after COVID, there are so many that I’m not familiar with. So putting myself there, basically in the middle of everything when everyone is already familiar with each other… it’s definitely not the easiest thing. But I think I’m getting used to it. When I came back, I was like, ‘I know things are gonna change.’ I thought it was going to bother me, but it actually didn’t. It’s been good.”
Planting both feet firmly on the ground
Of course it’s been very good, I remark — she’s not only got a good head on her shoulders, she has an amazing support system. Iman grew up in an environment where she’s always been encouraged to challenge herself and pursue her passions, despite what anybody else has to say. Iman is also the only girl among brothers and a hoard of boy cousins, so she no doubt had to fight tooth and nail to be seen and heard. (I share the sentiment.)
“Surprisingly, my family… I would say they’re the most supportive of what I do, especially my parents,” she shares. “They’ve encouraged me to continue what I’m doing right now. Even my dad, whenever I say, ‘Oh, are you sure I shouldn’t go find a job now?’ he would be like, ‘Why are you saying that? You are working.’ It’s nice to hear a 60-year-old man saying that — that what I’m doing is actually a job. Because I feel like there’s a stigma with this job, especially around older people, you know? It’s not the most conventional job. And I feel like it’s rubbed onto me. Before this, I didn’t actually see it as an actual job. But my parents, they changed my viewpoint into thinking this is a real job. Because it is. I mean, it is a job. It takes up your time. Maybe not like a nine-to-five every single day, but you know, it’s still a job.”
Leaving her uncertainty behind her, Iman is pretty hell-bent on learning as much as she can about herself — and deciding who she wants to be, fully. “My hopes and expectations right now, if you were to ask me, is just to figure out what I really want to do,” she says. “Not just float around and go with the flow. It’s time for me to actually sit down and be like, ‘OK, I want to do this and I want to go with this.’ Just figure out what I want to carry on with in the future.”
