The Beauty Sessions

What if the ultimate luxury isn’t something you can buy, but a calm nervous system? In this episode, Sophie Blowfield sits down with Amy Sessions — founder and CEO of WELLTTH, the modern wellness platform redefining what luxury looks like in 2026. With over 20 years at the top of the luxury industry — from magazine editor-in-chief to Net-a-Porter — Amy saw a gap nobody was filling: wellness that f...

Few people have built an empire quite like Matilda Djerf. In this episode, Sophie Blowfield sits down with the Swedish-born creative behind Djerf Avenue, the global fashion, beauty and lifestyle brand she co-founded that grew from a travel blog and a devoted online community into a phenomenon — complete with that signature effortless blowout everyone now asks their hairdresser for. Matilda opens u...

Some people spend a career making other people's visions iconic. Sarah Creal is one of them — and now she's done it for herself. In this episode, Sophie Blowfield sits down with the product developer and brand architect behind some of the most legendary names in luxury beauty: Tom Ford Beauty, Bobby Brown, and Victoria Beckham Beauty, where she was co-founder and CEO. With over 30 years of...

Some brands you wear. Emi Jay is one you feel genuinely attached to. In this episode, Sophie Blowfield sits down with founder Julianne Goldmark — who, let's be honest, redefined the claw clip for an entire generation. Julianne started Emi Jay back in 2009, at just 15. More than 15 years later it's a bona fide that-girl staple — worn by Hailey Bieber, Sofia Richie and Kendall Jenner. It&#39...

Few people have shaped British hair like Luke Hersheson. In this episode, Sophie Blowfield sits down with the stylist, entrepreneur and CEO behind Hershesons — the cult brand he built alongside his father, Daniel, from a single King's Road salon into a world of game-changing tools, cult products and reinvented spaces. He's the man behind some of the most iconic cuts of the last few decades...

What if luxury skincare was never meant to cost a fortune? That's the question that started Strange Luxury. In this episode, Sophie Blowfield sits down with founder, Bella Falk — the 28-year-old Australian building one of the most quietly covetable beauty and loungewear worlds around. Determined to recreate the formulas she loved without the luxury price tag, she taught herself the entire supp...

Some people spend a career mastering one lane. Kira Mackenzie Jackson has made a superpower out of refusing to. In this episode, Sophie Blowfield sits down with one of the sharpest minds in consumer brand building — and, as of this August, the new CMO of mph Beauty, Mary Phillips' cult-favourite makeup brand. Kira's path has been anything but linear: a career spanning PR, partnerships and...

Some people build one great brand in a lifetime. Erin Kleinberg has built several. In this episode — Sophie sits down with the serial founder behind SIDIA, the modern fragrance house rooted in ancestral ritual, self-care, and the legacy of Erin's late grandmother, the brand's namesake. But SIDIA is just one chapter. Erin is also co-founder of Coveteur, the fashion and beauty platform that...

This week I'm doing a solo episode with the question I get asked more than any other, and I wanted to sit down and answer it properly — The 10 Things I'd Do Before Launching a Beauty Brand. I've spent over 16 years in rooms with beauty founders — some right at the very beginning, some three years in and quietly wondering why a beautiful product isn't selling. So this is my difficul...

In this episode, Sophie Blowfield sits down with Sam McKnight MBE — the hairstylist behind some of the most iconic personalities, fashion houses and images in fashion history, and one of the most influential names the industry has ever known. Over five decades, Sam has created hundreds of Vogue covers, styled the runways of Chanel, Vivienne Westwood and Balmain, spent twelve years alongside Karl L...

What does it take to build a brand that lasts? In this episode, Sophie Blowfield sits down with Jenny Lei, founder of Freja — the cult handbag label that's quietly become one of the most considered names in accessories. Jenny started Freja in 2020 with no design background, no industry connections, and no outside investment. What she had was a genuine problem to solve: she couldn't find a sleek, f...

What if a fragrance could begin as a poem? In this episode, Sophie Blowfield sits down with Carol Han, founder and CEO of Nette — the New York-based fragrance and candle brand redefining what luxury scent can be. Born in San Francisco, raised in Hawaii, and shaped by years as a fashion editor at Elle, Carol traces Nette back to the candle store her mother ran when she was a little girl, and the ca...

Dr. Natazia zu Stolberg is a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, licensed acupuncturist based in Los Angeles, and founder of Dr. Stolberg — the brand behind the iconic Rest + Digest tea. She's also the co-founder of Space 314, a wellness space offering acupuncture, sports recovery, and personal training. In this episode, Dr. Stolberg shares the deeply personal health journey that led h...

Frances Shoemack is the founder of Abel Fragrance, a brand proving that natural fragrances don't have to compromise on performance or sophistication. A former winemaker from New Zealand, Frances left the wine trade after moving to Amsterdam, fell in love with the world of niche perfumery, and quickly realised that nobody was making luxury fragrance from natural, fossil fuel-free ingredients. S...

Krystle Wilson is a model signed to Elite Model Management and the founder of Everything Clear, a luxury home organization service based in New York City. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Krystle's career has taken her from studying fashion design in Miami to modelling in Paris — including a go-see with Azzedine Alaïa himself that she booked because of her genuine appreciation for the craft of design....

Sean Garrette has held some of the most prestigious roles in beauty — first global ambassador for Fenty Skin then official skincare expert for Dior Beauty — but this episode goes far beyond the accolades. He shares the full story of how he was personally chosen to work for Fenty, what it was really like walking into the world of Dior as a man who didn't feel like he belonged, and why the diver...

Katini Yamaoka is a musical artist and founder of Katini Skin, a luxury facial oil brand stocked at Bergdorf Goodman and Sephora. In this episode, Katini shares how her mother's natural beauty rituals planted the seed for the brand, what it was like building a luxury skincare line during the stillness of 2020, and the moment a Sephora buyer discovered Katini Skin. She talks about why she chose to...

Bec Wilson is a beauty PR expert and the founder of Eleven Consultancy, a brand building company based in New York specialising in strategic PR communications and events. With nearly 20 years in the industry spanning Sydney, London, and New York, she has launched and shaped some of beauty's most iconic brands — including Charlotte Tilbury, Victoria Beckham Beauty, Glossier, and Ariana Grande&#...

From early skin struggles to becoming one of the most trusted voices in aesthetics, Dr. Ewoma Ukeleghe has built her brand SKNDOCTOR on a foundation of radical honesty. As an award-winning medical and cosmetic doctor, Contributing Editor for ELLE UK, she's collaborated with some of the world's most coveted brands including—Dior Beauty, Estée Lauder, Charlotte Tilbury, and Glossier — all wh...

Merit Beauty didn't just redefine minimalist beauty—it redefined what modern luxury cosmetics could be. And behind that evolution is Aila Morin, CMO, whose approach to marketing prioritizes emotional connection over fleeting trends. In this episode, Aila shares her journey from working on beauty counters at a young age to leading marketing at one of the industry's most intentional brands....

After a decade working with some of beauty and fashion's most beloved brands—Rose Inc., MERIT, Sofia Richie, Rhode, Gucci Beauty—Jordan Risa felt the shift. Social media had moved from genuine connection to relentless self-promotion. So she did something radical: she cut back on work and created Seen Library—a community for readers to connect in person through meaningful and inclusive storytel...

After 16 years as an award-winning Beauty Director and Editor—including her roles as Beauty Director at Stylist Magazine and Beauty Editor at The Sunday Times Style Magazine—Joanna Ellner felt disillusioned. Even the most science-driven skincare wasn't delivering tangible results. The answer didn't come from another lab or ingredient innovation—it came from studying Traditional Chinese Medicine. I...

Izzy Utterson has built a mini wellness empire teaching women how to level up and live their best lives. After leaving corporate marketing roles at brands including Charlotte Tilbury, the mindset coach and content creator has amassed almost 500K followers across Instagram and TikTok with her viral "Hot Girls Don't Gatekeep" series and practical glow-up advice. In this episode, Izzy breaks down why...

Welcome to Season 2! In this episode, Sophie Blowfield goes inside Pamela Anderson's mindful beauty brand Sonsie with CEO Kailey Bradt—the chemical engineer turned founder turned leader driving the brand's most successful year yet. Kailey breaks down what it's really like working with Pamela, how they're building a plastic-negative brand without compromising performance, and why he...

Isan Elba is building something radically different in beauty. As founder of Beauty Access and Beauty Forward, she's created a scalable, tech-enabled system that turns the industry's excess of beauty PR packages into dignity for underserved communities. In this conversation, Isan shares how receiving 1-3 PR packages daily led her to build custom inventory technology, redistribute over 3,00...