The Beauty Sessions

Sophie Blowfield
  • 5.0 (2)
  • FASHION & BEAUTY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to The Beauty Sessions - Beauty's new strategic authority. Insider conversations with the industry's most influential leaders, hosted by Sophie Blowfield, a world-class brand strategist and beauty consultant. From breakout founders to global executives, Sophie takes you behind the velvet rope for unfiltered conversations about building, scaling, and disrupting in today's beauty landscape. Discover the strategic decisions and hard-won insights that shaped the brands you love. The Beauty Sessions: Your insider access to beauty's most strategic minds.

  1. 2H AGO

    Ep 22: The Making of Merit Beauty with CMO Aila Morin

    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. We discuss Merit's longevity in a saturated market, the strategic thinking behind launching Retrospect fragrance, and why understanding the consumer experience matters more than chasing virality. This is a conversation about building brands that resonate beyond the algorithm, why rejection is protection, and what it takes to create products that are both functional and emotionally significant. I hope you enjoy! Follow The Beauty Sessions on Instagram Follow Sophie Blowfield on Instagram Follow Merit Beauty on Instagram

    52 min
  2. Ep 21: Jordan Risa on Finding Inner Beauty with Seen Library

    FEB 11

    Ep 21: Jordan Risa on Finding Inner Beauty with Seen Library

    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 storytelling. In this episode, Jordan shares her journey from influencer marketing pioneer to founder of a global book community hosting events in LA, New York, London, and Paris. We discuss the cultural obsession with appearance, why she focuses on historically excluded voices, and what it means to build community in an increasingly digital world. This is a conversation about intuition over metrics, quality over quantity, and what happens when you trust your unique point of view—even when it means walking away from what's expected. I hope you enjoy! Follow The Beauty Sessions on Instagram Follow Sophie Blowfield on Instagram Follow Seen Library on Instagram Follow Jordan Risa on Instagram

    37 min

  3. JAN 28

    Ep 20: Joanna Ellner: From Multi-Award Winning Beauty Editor to Brand Founder with REOME

    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. In this episode, Joanna shares how decades of conceptualizing formula ideas finally materialized into REOME in 2023—an elevated skincare brand that exists at the intersection of advanced biotechnology and grounding practice. This is a conversation about patience, expertise, and what happens when you refuse to compromise on either results or ritual. I hope you enjoy! Follow The Beauty Sessions on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Sophie Blowfield on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow REOME on⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Joanna Ellner on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    46 min

  4. JAN 21

    Ep 19: Izzy Utterson on The Ultimate Glow Up Guide for 2026

    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 glowing up isn't just about aesthetics—it's about mindset, wellness, and showing up as your best self. She shares her journey from corporate life to full-time content creation, her approach to skincare, and why her glow-up tips have gone viral. Izzy walks through her complete AM and PM routines, reveals her best life hacks for staying organized without burning out, and shares the five most important things you can do to glow up your 2026. This is the conversation you need to start the year right. I hope you enjoy! Follow The Beauty Sessions on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Sophie Blowfield on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Izzy Utterson on⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    49 min

  5. JAN 14

    Ep 18: Inside Pamela Anderson's Sonsie Skin: How CEO Kailey Bradt Is Driving Growth

    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 her product obsession is the secret weapon behind Sonsie's growth. From sustainability practices every brand should adopt to her biggest life hacks as a woman in business, this conversation reveals what happens when purpose-driven leadership meets serious formulation expertise. If you want the real story behind one of beauty's most authentic brands, this is it. I hope you enjoy! Follow The Beauty Sessions on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Sophie Blowfield on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Sonsie Skin on Instagram

    49 min
  6. Ep 17: How Isan Elba is Reshaping The Beauty Indsutry: Turning PR Gifting Into Community Impact

    12/10/2025

    Ep 17: How Isan Elba is Reshaping The Beauty Indsutry: Turning PR Gifting Into Community Impact

    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 3,000 products to women in need and partner with major brands like MAC, Giorgio Armani Beauty, and Tarte Cosmetics to do so. From recently speaking at Harvard Business School to challenging beauty's most entrenched gifting practices, this is the unfiltered story of building purpose-driven impact and using AI and tech for good. I hope you enjoy! Follow The Beauty Sessions on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Sophie Blowfield on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Isan Elba on⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Beauty Access on Instagram

    1 hr

  7. 11/26/2025

    Ep 16: Solo Episode: How to Tell Your Brand Founder Story

    Your founder story isn't just background information—it's one of the most powerful tools you have to build trust, attract press, and position yourself as a leader in the beauty and wellness industry. In this solo episode, Global Brand Builder, Sophie Blowfield breaks down exactly how to strategically tell your founder story in a way that actually drives results. She shares why most founders get this wrong, the framework she uses with her consulting clients to craft compelling founder narratives, and how to weave your story consistently across your content strategy. You'll learn: ​Why your founder story is a strategic asset, not a one-time post​How to lead with the problem, not the product​The transformation arc that makes people connect with your journey​How to define your signature aesthetic and content pillars ​A practical framework you can implement immediately Whether you're just starting out or looking to elevate your existing brand founder story, this episode will change how you think about sharing your story. Work with Sophie Blowfield here Follow The Beauty Sessions on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Sophie Blowfield on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Sophie Blowfield on LinkedIn

    15 min
  8. Ep 15: How Michelle Hu Built Étoile Into a Multimillion-Dollar Beauty Accessories Brand

    11/19/2025

    Ep 15: How Michelle Hu Built Étoile Into a Multimillion-Dollar Beauty Accessories Brand

    In this episode of The Beauty Sessions, Sophie Blowfield sits down with Michelle Hu, founder and CEO of Étoile - the beauty accessories brand that's brought calm to the chaos of our beauty routines. What started as a chaotic morning in 2016 - getting ready in the dark with shocking lighting and constantly misplaced items - sparked the idea for a business that would transform how we organize and experience our beauty rituals. Michelle unpacks the scrappy early days of building from her bedroom with pixelated imagery and a living room converted into a warehouse, the moment she nearly ran out of cash and questioned if she'd make it, and the game-changing iPhone timelapse video that went viral and catapulted sales. Tune in to discover the strategic insights behind turning everyday beauty chaos into a multimillion-dollar solution, why scrappy content can outperform big-budget production, and how Michelle's approach to intimate, transformative beauty rituals is reshaping the accessories category. I hope you enjoy! Follow The Beauty Sessions on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Sophie Blowfield on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Étoile on⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    32 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Beauty Sessions - Beauty's new strategic authority. Insider conversations with the industry's most influential leaders, hosted by Sophie Blowfield, a world-class brand strategist and beauty consultant. From breakout founders to global executives, Sophie takes you behind the velvet rope for unfiltered conversations about building, scaling, and disrupting in today's beauty landscape. Discover the strategic decisions and hard-won insights that shaped the brands you love. The Beauty Sessions: Your insider access to beauty's most strategic minds.

Information

  • Creator
    Sophie Blowfield
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Sophie Blowfield
  • Show Website
    The Beauty Sessions

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