The Young Visionary Redefining Beauty Retail Through Science — A Percent Science Deep Dive with Trey Augliano, Founder of Utopia Beauty

At Percent Science, we believe in honest, science-driven skincare that empowers people to make better choices for themselves. That belief shines even brighter when we meet visionary partners who share the same spirit of authenticity, curiosity, and innovation.

One of those voices is Trey Augliano, the young founder of Utopia Beauty, a sensational new space redefining what skincare retail can mean. Despite his age, Trey has already established himself as a visionary young entrepreneur with a rare ability to identify science-backed brands and guide consumers toward products that are not only trendy, but truly effective.

Through Utopia Beauty, he isn't just curating shelves — he's curating possibilities, creating a future where beauty is transparent, intelligent, and empowering. His passion for innovation and commitment to better choices makes him not only a retailer, but also an educator and community-builder in the beauty world.

Trey's story is a reminder that leadership isn't defined by age, but by courage, foresight, and the willingness to challenge conventions. And it's exactly why we're so excited to share this conversation with him — to better understand the mind and mission of a next-generation leader shaping beauty retail in real time.

Q1. Trey, could you start by introducing yourself and telling us what led you to the beauty industry?

I'm the founder of Utopia Beauty, and I got into this space because I saw a clear gap—there was no retailer actually vetting products based on clinical science. Everything was either "clean beauty" with arbitrary standards, or traditional retail carrying anything that would sell.

Some background building e-commerce businesses helped me understand the infrastructure side, but the real work was learning the science. I started reading clinical studies, doing formulation research, and working alongside cosmetic chemists to understand what actually works versus what's just marketing.

That led to launching Utopia Beauty in May 2025—a retailer that only carries products backed by real clinical trials and transparent formulation data.

Q2. Utopia Beauty has quickly gained attention. What does the name "Utopia" mean to you, and what vision were you creating?

Utopia represents the ideal state of beauty retail—where every product is science-backed, every claim is evidence-based, and customers can shop with complete confidence.

The vision is straightforward: become the trusted authority for science-driven skincare by maintaining standards that most retailers won't. We evaluate over 500 brands and reject 97% of them because they don't meet our clinical evidence requirements.

Q3. Can you walk us through your evaluation process? How do you vet brands and products?

It's called the Protocol™. Three main criteria:

Clinical trials: We require peer-reviewed research or robust independent testing—not consumer surveys. I evaluate study design, sample sizes, controls, and measurement methods.

Formulation verification: I check active ingredient concentrations against published research to confirm they're at clinically effective levels.

Claim accuracy: Brand claims must match their clinical data exactly. If they say "reduces the appearance of wrinkles," they need trials showing that specific outcome, not just "improved skin texture."

Out of 500+ brands evaluated, about 30 have passed. That's our standard.

Q4. What are consumers missing in traditional retail, and how does Utopia Beauty address that?

Information and verification. Traditional retail expects customers to either trust brands blindly or become cosmetic chemists to evaluate products themselves.

Utopia does the research upfront. Every product includes why we selected it, what the clinical evidence shows, and what realistic results look like. We're making clinical evaluation accessible.

Q5. What challenges have you faced building Utopia Beauty, and what has helped you overcome them?

Time management is constant. Running Utopia while balancing other commitments means everything has to be systematic—automated fulfillment, batched content creation, scheduled brand evaluations.

Efficiency is key, but it’s difficult to achieve.

Q6. How do you approach educating customers beyond just selling products?

Every product listing includes educational content—not just what's in it, but why it matters, how it works, and what the research shows. Our social content breaks down ingredient science, clinical trial methodology, and formulation details.

The goal is to build beauty literacy so customers know what questions to ask any brand, not just ours.

Q7. Is there a specific moment that validated why you started Utopia Beauty?

Getting featured in Beauty Independent was significant—they're a respected industry publication. But the validation comes from customers telling us they finally understand what they're buying and feel confident in their choices.

That's the metric that matters.

Q8. Who or what in the beauty world inspires your approach?

Brands like Percent Science that publish their clinical trials and formulate based on evidence, not trends. They prove you can build a successful brand with scientific integrity as the foundation.

I also look at models like Wirecutter—they built trust through rigorous testing methodology and transparency. That's applicable to beauty retail.

Q9. What defines a modern, admirable beauty brand today?

Transparency: Open formulation data, published trials, honest about what products can and can't do.

Honest claims: Only making statements backed by evidence, not marketing language that implies more than research supports.

Those three things separate science-backed brands from marketing-driven ones.

Q10. How do Utopia Beauty and Percent Science's visions align?

Both prioritize clinical evidence over marketing narratives. Percent Science formulates based on research and publishes their trials. Utopia curates based on that same standard of evidence.

When customers buy Percent Science through Utopia, they're seeing two companies that chose to build around scientific integrity. That alignment is exactly why we partner.

Q11. What stood out about Percent Science when you evaluated them, and how do they fit into beauty's future?

The clinical data was there—real trials, published methodology, transparent results. The formulations are based on proven activities at effective concentrations, not trend-chasing.

Percent Science represents where the industry needs to go. As consumers become more educated and demand evidence, brands built on clinical foundations will outperform those built on marketing. You're already operating in that future.

That's why Utopia carries Percent Science, and why I see this partnership growing as both businesses scale.