Sepai

Sepai is a Spanish skincare brand founded in Barcelona in 2009 by Paola Gugliotta [1][8]. The company builds customizable, high-concentration treatments around the idea that skincare should be tailored to the individual, and it frames its approach as "smart-aging" rather than anti-aging. It remains active, selling directly online and through selected perfumeries, pharmacies and department stores.

Alongside the core Sepai line, the founder built a small group of related brands under the parent company Sepai Beauticeutical Division S.L. [1] — the professional line LAB Clinical, the aromatherapy label APoEM, and a genetics-based personalization service called GenDecode.

Sepai was created by Paola Gugliotta, who according to editorial and brand accounts grew up assisting in her mother's laboratory and learned early to think in terms of "action vs. reaction." The company says she started the brand after becoming "tired of products that would not only never deliver what was promised, but caused negative side effects," setting out to make natural, safe, clean and effective skincare for "the REAL needs of men and women."

Sources describe her professional background slightly differently. The brand's own pages and a 2018 Beauty Independent feature state that Gugliotta holds a doctor's degree in cosmetology and a master's in dermocosmetics, and that it was her mother who worked as a molecular biologist [8]. An earlier note recorded her simply as a biochemist; the more detailed sourcing does not support that, placing the molecular-biology background with her mother rather than the founder herself.

Sepai is owned by Sepai Beauticeutical Division S.L., a Barcelona-based company that also operates the founder's other projects [1]. A 2018 profile described the business as a family-owned venture with outside investment and fewer than twenty employees, launched on an initial investment of around €500,000 [8]. No acquisitions are documented.

The company positions Sepai as a science-led brand focused on "longevity instead of regeneration, smart-aging instead of anti-aging," and states that it develops formulas with "real science, no overpromises," testing them in vitro, in vivo and on 3D skin models. A recurring theme is the exclusion of what Sepai calls "grey substances" — ingredients it says add no value to a formula. The brand summarizes its guiding principles as "technology, truth and pure" [9].

Personalization sits at the centre of the positioning. Sepai describes its products as "self-customizable and unique," and its name is presented as an acronym for safe and pure, effective, practical, advanced skin awakening, and individual.

The Sepai range covers facial skincare — cleansers, toners, serums, moisturizers, masks and sun protection — as well as a body line addressing concerns such as firming, cellulite and self-tanning. Frequently highlighted products include the EGF Youth Molecule serum and the Light Circles eye serum, while a 2018 feature singled out the Recovery Range as a signature offering [8]. More recently the brand has sold EXO GLOW, a serum built around grape-derived exosomes, positioned toward the "glass skin" trend.

Customization runs through the product system. The TUNE IT line lets customers add up to three boosters — for effects such as firming, lifting, brightening or self-tanning — to a base serum or moisturizer. Beyond this, GenDecode is described as a "predictive skincare decoding system" that uses a saliva-based genetic analysis together with questionnaires and visual assessment to identify the mechanisms behind an individual's ageing. Complete GenDecode treatments were reported in 2018 at roughly €1,000 to €1,800 [8].

Sepai frames its formulas as vegan and displays a PETA vegan logo, and describes its products as free from silicones, parabens, sulphates, phthalates, mineral oils and other ingredients it groups as unnecessary or sensitizing. The company says it mixes and bottles its products locally in Barcelona using "ingredients from renewable locations" and a "fair work ethic." On packaging, Sepai states that it chooses glass over plastic and uses materials it describes as biodegradable and recyclable, with bottle-return programs offered through its distributors. The brand does not claim third-party environmental certifications such as Ecocert or COSMOS.

A 2016 interview in Charlotte's Book described Sepai as a "cult skincare line" based in Europe [9], and the brand was profiled by Beauty Independent in 2018 as part of a feature on Gugliotta's three-brand portfolio [8]. No formal awards are documented in the available sources.

Sepai is active. Its website operates English, Spanish and German storefronts and continues to sell current products, including the EXO GLOW exosome serum, with a shipping promotion running on the homepage in mid-2026. The site's footer copyright still reads 2009–2021 and has not been updated, but product listings and promotions indicate ongoing operation. Historically the brand has been distributed across Spain, Germany and Hong Kong, appearing in retailers such as Ludwig Beck in Munich and Harvey Nichols in Hong Kong [8].