MeetTheBrand: Saeka Skincare, where Japan and Tuscany meets up and

MeetTheBrand is a window on the world of emerging and independent brands in Italy. The time of a break from work or the evening appointment you’ve been waiting for to hear the voices of the founders. Everything you wanted to know about cosmetics and the world of beauty entrepreneurship. A column that stops the hands of time, new discoveries and insights.

Today the MeetTheBrand lounge hosts Saeka Bardelli, its origins connect Japan to Tuscany and its serums bridge two very different cultures, united by attention to the territory.

Hi Saeka, thank you for accepting our invitation. How was your cosmetic brand dedicated to face skincare born? How was your passion for cosmetics born? Is your previous work related to this sector?

To explain how the brand was born, I need to briefly tell my story. I have always had a passion for cosmetics, since I was a child, when I went to steal lipsticks in my mom’s beauty case with disastrous results. After high school I decided to undertake a university course focused on cosmetics. I attended a three-year degree course at the University of Siena, specifically Science and Technology of Cosmetic and Herbal Products with a toxicological curriculum. During which I followed internships at a small company in Florence and I also presented products launched by a pharmaceutical cause. Then I started my real job, which lasted 6 years, for a mass market cosmetic company. So it can be said that before I worked in the same field, but with a different role. Before I was a formulator in the laboratory, today I am an entrepreneur.

What prompted you to choose to be independent?

The turning point towards independence came when I changed my life. I became a mother and to reunite with my family, i came to live in Campiglia d’Orcia, a very small town overlooking the Val d’Orcia.
But I would like to focus especially on “What it means to be independent”. For me it is the possibility to carry on your ideas, to be able to wander, to create something that resembles you and that reflects your values. I think it’s beautiful.

Probably in this particular sector, being part of a group whose values you do not fully share could give rise to a complex situation to carry on. Correct me if i’m wrong.

Certainly, Although I have to thank my previous work, it formed me, it passed on a lot to me, i could not speak ill. In that circumstance we started from a request, often linked to a market need, now I have the opportunity to realize what I have in mind.

An anecdote from that transition period that you remember with pleasure and that you want to share with Wait!Fashion readers?

I would like to be able to share how the idea of the ritual was born. I was experiencing a particular moment in my life. I had become a mother, i had changed my body which was no longer mine alone, i had moved, i was faced with a renewed reality. Although i had chosen it, pregnancy itself remains a revolution. I decided that i had to do something for myself, and i found that hint of self-love in the beauty routine, although i prefer to call it a beauty ritual.

A temporal space in the morning and in the evening, where I dedicated myself to taking a shower, brushing my teeth. Simple things that i did for myself, i loaded that moment because i needed it to face the whole day. I still maintain it consistently.

In my opinion it is a beautiful message, because sooner or later we get there, we understand that we have to carve out an exclusive moment for ourselves. Maybe at first a little awkward, not too convinced, but by experimenting we understand that it is actually something that changes you. What do you think about the correlation between mind and skin?

I personally have a holistic view of cosmetics, skin and mind are closely linked. The epidermal cells and the brain cells have the same origin.

What philosophy do you think distinguishes you?

I coined the name of my philosophy and named it slow beauty care, it recalls slow food, and has a similar meaning. In practice, it is the need to slow down, to have a more human vision of beauty. It is divided into 3 points:

cosmetic culture: attention to ingredients, their history, and a whole series of aspects that revolve around the finished cosmetic
listening to your skin: we are always in a hurry, we do not notice what is actually happening, and we do not find the time to listen to what the skin has to say. Listening is the key to personalizing a ritual.
ritual: consisting of the breath to start with the right tranquility, we then move on to the application of the products (in sequence), and ends with a smile in the mirror, to crown the moment with a different mood. It won’t solve the problems, but a mood more clear it’s not bad.

Would you tell us how a SaekaSkincare serum born?
It born from an idea, which must be analyzed and dissected to understand first of all the feasibility. I look for the raw materials in the territory, I move on to the formulation and the subsequent tests to understand which formulations are to be carried out. A study is carried out regarding the microbiology of the product, and an infinite number of rigorous tests, such as: skin compatibility and stability of the product, to mimic the behavior of the cosmetic over time. If everything goes as hoped, we move on to production and packaging.

We want to talk about the wooden base that accompanies your serums?

I wanted something that would hold the serums together and at the same time make it easier to visualize the application sequence. The wooden base reminds me of tokonoma, a step found in Japanese homes, on which no one is allowed to climb. It is considered sacred, usually it is placed on a painting or a plant.
I like to think it’s similar for this tablet. Also, by not adding any fragrance to my serums, the wood makes up for it with its natural scent.

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Un post condiviso da SAEKA (@saekaskincare)

Reconnecting us to your Japanese origins, what do they represent for you on this journey?

My mother is Japanese, she arrived in Italy, she got married and had three children, of which I am the second. Japanese culture has always been deeply felt at home, I come from a traditionalist family, so I myself have always felt its influence. I remember when I was little, the 3 months of vacation from school, I spent in Japan, where the local students only had one. I was able to immerse myself in the philosophy and way of life, in a concrete way, not as a tourist, in my grandmother’s splendid house. I put Tuscany together in terms of raw materials and Japan in terms of philosophy.

Are you planning to implement any new products? Even if it is early, because we remind our readers that you will soon be opening your shop, where you can buy the three serums. If so, which one? Of course only if you can reveal it to readers.

I’m definitely going to implement some products. New serums, explore the field of cleansing that I really like and creams. It will also depend on the expectations of the community.

I take this opportunity to ask you a question in this regard. Do you think it’s easy for a newborn brand to create a community? What have you got to experience on yourself?

I have studied a lot on how to best use Instagram. I deduced that the only possible strategy for a small brand is to put your own, make people understand who you are and your values, the exposure of the product will follow.

Any plans for the future?

I have so many, I woke up in the middle of the night tonight for an idea. For this reason, I always have my notebook with me. If I go walking, in particular, I have to write down everything, because it is easy for ideas on posts and details of my business to rain down. Soon the site will be released and I invite readers to visit it, they will find the serums to buy and the newsletter to subscribe to where they can take advantage of the customization of their beauty ritual and other surprises.

Speaking of bigger projects, I dream of bringing customers closer to the territory. That’s all for me, if it weren’t for the place I wouldn’t have done what I did.
I’d like to create structured experiences, I already have some ideas, but we’ll see.
To conclude, I would like my brand to follow an increasingly sustainable path.

What would you say to those who still don’t know Saeka Skincare? What sets the brand apart?

My brand consists of a line of natural cosmetics, whose key ingredients come from the Tuscan countryside and are combined with the holistic principles of oriental philosophy. They are handmade products in small batches, made up of ingredients selected for their traditional quality and effectiveness. Currently the line is organized in three face serums, HYDRA, PROAGE, NUTRI, within them we find respectively: honey, wine and olive oil. Three km0 ingredients.

The guy who supplies me with honey is called Giacomo Sbrilli and he is a small beekeeper from Amiata, he has a small shop in Abbadia Sand Salvatore called BeeHappy. Elena Salviucci, from the Campotondo winery, produces a very particular indigenous wine, the same that we find in the ProAge serum. The olive oil comes from a company immersed in a wonderful setting, Agriturismo Poderino di Giada Gorelli.

As for my values, I can say that it distinguishes me in particular:
love for the territory and honesty. I believe the world of cosmetics needs a more human dimension. I have faith in man and I could not do otherwise, it is what the place where I live transmits to me day after day. Here I have the opportunity to see with my own eyes the fusion between human being and nature.

The word of the Beauty Editor:

Saeka, the founder of the homonymous brand is a trained person and attentive to every detail of her brand. You have created three serums that coexist on a refined wooden base. They recall a deconstructed cream. Like a chef’s dish, the triptych achieves the result very well, focusing on the importance of enhancing every gesture. The smile with which you conclude your ritual is the same one that has been carved inside the package to easily extract the contents. The absence of fragrances makes it easy to use even for the most sensitive skins. There is also no lack of attention to words, because words are important, and that peremptory “anti” is stripped of its impositions and is transformed into the preposition “pro” harmoniously accompanying “age”, thus the “Proage” serum is born.

SAEKA SKINCARE CONTACTS

Instagram: @saekaskincare

Website/e-commerce: OUT SOON

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Posted By

Alessia Agus

Pro Make-up Artist Freelance. Al compimento del mio primo anno di vita ho afferrato la prima penna e a quello seguente ho iniziato a parlare fluentemente, da allora non mi sono più fermata. Non metto piede fuori dall’uscio di casa se non ho con me il mio rossetto rosso e Lucio Dalla nelle cuffie.