When you look at her Instagram, it may seem as though everything came easily: international brands, beautiful shoots, fashion events, and life in Canada. But behind every image is much more than a beautiful picture. It is a journey filled with new beginnings, challenges, doubts, new connections, bold decisions, and a deep passion for what she does. Iren’s creative career already includes collaborations with international brands such as L’Oréal, Morphe, and R.E.M. Beauty, as well as numerous local projects in Montreal. The heroine of our interview is Ukrainian content creator, influencer, and event producer Iren Maslova, who began rebuilding her professional life from scratch after moving to Canada.
Iren, moving to Canada can be a major challenge, as it often means rebuilding not only your career but also your social circle, reputation, and sense of home. What was this period like for you?
If someone had told me a few years ago that I would be living in Canada, I probably would have simply smiled. At that time, my life was connected to Warsaw: my work, friends, familiar routines, and a sense of stability. But life had other plans, and my husband and I moved to Montreal, where we had to start from scratch. The biggest challenge for me was not the new country or the language, but the need to believe in myself all over again. I had to build a new social circle, find opportunities for growth, and prove first and foremost to myself that I could succeed here too. That was when I realized that no one would build my new life for me. Step by step, I began creating the life I have today. Now I look back on that period with gratitude because it taught me not to be afraid of starting over, to remain open to new opportunities, and to trust myself even when I do not yet know where the path will lead.
Influencing often seems like an easy profession: beautiful photographs, designer gifts, travel, and brand collaborations. What does your typical working day actually look like? What happens behind the scenes that most of your followers never see?
Many people still think that an influencer’s life is simply beautiful photographs, travel, gifts from brands, and easy work. In reality, the content people see is only the final result of a great deal of work that happens behind the scenes. My day often begins with correspondence, discussing collaborations, planning shoots, and looking for interesting ideas. A lot of time goes into organizing projects, attending meetings, and connecting with people and brands because I have always been interested not only in creating content but also in bringing people together around beautiful ideas and new opportunities. Only after that does the creative process begin: shooting, editing, and working on all the details. For me, it is important not simply to create beautiful content but to make people feel the atmosphere, trust my recommendations, and discover something genuinely worth their attention. That is why there is much more work behind every post than may seem at first glance.
Your portfolio already includes collaborations with international brands. What do brands value most in influencers when choosing partners for long-term collaborations?
Today, brands look for more than just a beautiful profile and strong performance metrics. They value professionalism, reliability, authenticity, and the ability to connect naturally with an audience. It is important to them that a creator understands the brand’s values, respects agreements, and can produce content that does not feel like conventional advertising. In my work, I always try to understand the team’s expectations, pay close attention to details, and at the same time preserve my own style, because that is what my audience comes to me for. It is especially rewarding when a brand reaches out again after the first project with another collaboration. To me, that means we did something right. In a world where people see hundreds of advertising messages every day, the greatest value is not loud advertising but the emotion that remains after it.
Social media often shows only the beautiful side of being an influencer. Is there another side of the profession that is talked about much less?
Everyone sees the beautiful result, but almost no one sees the journey behind it. Every collaboration involves not only beautiful images but also dozens of rejections, unanswered messages, moments of self-doubt, fear, tears, and constant work on yourself. Before brands begin approaching you on their own, you have to build your name, find your style, establish a reputation, and earn the trust of your audience. And even then, not every collaboration goes perfectly: deadlines and conditions change, projects are sometimes canceled, or they develop completely differently from what was originally planned. That is also part of the profession, although it is rarely discussed. I think many people look at the result and ask themselves, “Why do brands reach out to her and not me?” But behind every such message is a long journey that is not always visible from the outside. Today, I know how to value my work, stand up for my own terms, and choose not just any collaboration but only those that genuinely align with my values and my audience.
Iren, what do you enjoy most about organizing events? How does this work complement your career as an influencer, and how do these two areas help each other grow?
Content creation opened many new opportunities for me, but over time I realized that I wanted to turn the ideas that had been living in my head for years into something bigger. That is how event production became an important part of my professional journey. My first event was a real challenge, but at the same time, it confirmed that I was moving in the right direction. Later, I had the opportunity to contribute to the organization of a large-scale fashion project, and that experience strengthened my desire to continue developing in this field. For me, blogging and event production are inseparable. Through content, I discover new brands, meet people, and find new opportunities, while events fill that content with real stories and genuine emotions. I believe that both content and events have one common purpose: to create emotions that stay with people long after an event has ended or a video has been watched.
What goals have you set for yourself today?
My goals today are bolder than ever before. I continue to develop my personal brand, work on creating my own clothing brand, and study women’s coaching because I want not only to bring my own projects to life but also to help other women build their lives and careers more boldly. My blog has opened an incredible number of opportunities for me, many of which I could never have imagined when I was just beginning my journey in Canada. Today, I am an ambassador for the Ukrainian salon Berry and the Canadian clinic Jenivo, collaborate with global brands, and am genuinely grateful for every opportunity that has come my way. But behind all of this are the people without whom I simply would not be where I am today. I am grateful to my parents for the values they instilled in me, and to my husband for his support, belief in me, and the freedom to be myself. This became the foundation of my inner confidence. I no longer want to minimize my ambitions, wait for the perfect moment, or doubt my abilities. I am no longer afraid of my own potential. I have realized that the greatest mistake is to live a life smaller than what you are truly capable of.
