As a girl, Sophie would eagerly await the return of her father from one of his overseas trips, when he would often surprise her with a new perfume. Having ignited this passion, it simmered for some years, growing ever more fervent when, as a student, Sophie found work in an independent fragrance boutique in the Lancashire. It was here she went beyond merely liking scent for herself, to learning the complexities of perfume’s compositions and, perhaps even more importantly, hearing first-hand from customers in the shop about what they were looking for, what they truly loved when finding a fragrance that fitted their personalities. The experience and emotional intelligence Sophie gained when working in retail built the foundations of her perfume expertise.

With a good grounding as both a consumer and seller in the scent world, Sophie knuckled down and started work as a management consultant in London. But, after a decade of doing it, her creative urges were desperate for an outlet – and, following her near death battle with personal illness, overcoming Bacterial Meningitis and Septicaemia; the world of olfaction came calling once again.

In 2015, Sophie launched a YouTube channel, where she built a following of fragrance lovers who were keen to see her explain perfumery in an un-fussy manner. The word ‘influencer’ wasn’t really being bandied about back in those days, but that’s doubtless what she became – using the soubriquet ‘Soki’, she shared product reviews with an aim to simplify scent for the masses, and in the forthcoming years has built a following of over 100k fellow fragrance fanatics.

Sadly losing her father to Covid-19, Sophie threw herself into the world of fragrance and was inspired to start her own business. As her perfumed persona Soki, Sophie had heard from many of her followers that they shared one disappointment in many of the designer scents they loved: the lasting power. Sophie set out to create her own fragrance – something that would be the best of both worlds, being affordable and long-lasting.

Innovatively using the ‘crowdfunding’ source of Kickstarter, Sophie was able make her fragrant dream a reality and launched Empress Eau de Parfum Intense in December 2022.