The Beauty of Calm
In a world overflowing with choice, Gntl offers a rare kind of calm. The skincare brand is a study in simplicity, a space where fewer products — intentionally and thoughtfully designed — create more clarity. For founder Sydney Dake, that sense of quiet is not just a mood, it’s a guiding principle. Though she grew up in the Bay Area, Hawai‘i has long been a meaningful presence in her life. Her mother, Lori Teranishi, CEO and founder of strategic business consulting agency iQ 360, comes from a family rooted in Hawai‘i, and visits there throughout Dake’s youth shaped her appreciation for calm, intentional living.
Her journey began after nearly a decade in beauty product development, a world full of endless options. “I felt inundated by noise, overlapping formulas and routines that kept getting more complicated without necessarily getting better,” she recalls. At home, her bathroom mirrored that chaos, with overflowing cabinets and half-used bottles that were all part of her 15-step skincare routine. It was only when she pared back to a few gentle, consistent products that she noticed a profound shift. “My skin healed. My mind did, too.”
That revelation became the foundation of Gntl, a brand where calm is not an aspiration but rather a design principle, where contemporary luxury is rooted not in abundance but in discernment. “To me, luxury is clarity. It is having less, but choosing things that are technically excellent, deeply considered and built to last. It is the opposite of excess. It is restraint.” This philosophy shapes everything at Gntl, from its universal formulas to a product line designed to replace a cluttered shelf of single-use bottles. “Luxury today is not about more; it’s about feeling held by the few things you choose.”
Every product in the Gntl collection is carefully considered. Ingredients must earn their place. If it does not reduce decisions for the skin or meaningfully improve performance, it does not belong in the formula.
Basically, trends are not the goal. Instead, the brand focuses on innovation that is quiet, disciplined and rooted in universality for all ages and all skin types. “We keep our assortment tight, our language simple and our storytelling human,” Dake notes. Rather than glossy, aspirational moments, Gntl celebrates “real routines and real families,” creating an online experience that feels genuine, tactile and approachable.
Dake’s own current routines reflect the brand’s clarity. “My morning is intentionally basal,” she says. She starts with Gntl’s Skin Wash, then applies an antioxidant serum and finishes with SPF. At night, she uses Skin Wash to remove makeup, followed by double cleansing and adapalene, with any dark spots treated using a prescription 15% azelaic acid. Finally, Gntl’s full-body Skin Emulsion leaves her skin nourished, balanced and effortlessly radiant.
“Becoming a mother taught me that the most effective routines are the ones you can repeat. Gntl fits into that rhythm because it removes the need for decision-making.”
Her life outside skincare mirrors the same principle. “I wear the same uniform every day, usually a white tank, jeans and a sweater. I cook the same recipes. None of it is elaborate, but these repeated patterns give me enough space to breathe,” she shares.
Even in the midst of a busy workday, she finds calm through routine: fewer steps, higher standards, less noise. According to Dake, that discipline of removing unnecessary decisions creates its own form of calm, even when the day itself is not calm at all.
Her Japanese heritage informs her design philosophy, and she finds herself inspired by principles such as restraint, functionality and quiet beauty. Concepts like mottainai (a concept expressing regret or a sense of shame over waste) and wabi-sabi (the aesthetic that finds beauty in imperfection, impermanence and the art of simplicity) shape the brand’s approach to minimalism.
Each product is designed to integrate seamlessly into daily life. Ultimately, she wants users to feel “relief and trust, like they finally found something they do not have to think about.”
Even as the brand grows, expansion is intentional. Dake and the rest of the Gntl team are working on a small handful of new products that follow its facial-grade, universal, multifunctional philosophy.
And the guiding principle remains: “Simple does not mean basic. We put all of our care into the formulations so your routine can feel easier. Gntl exists because your body deserves simple products made to a very high standard.”
For Gntl founder Sydney Dake, quiet is a guiding principle — shaped by deep ties to Hawai‘i and a belief in intentional simplicity.