About Spyra Verified

Discovered, tested and loved by the community

Spyra Verified is the official e-commerce destination for the Spyra community, a curated marketplace featuring the brands we personally select, test and stand behind.

Two pageant titleholders and Anni Ankola holding pink Spyra products
A woman holding a small white cream jar
The Spyra community together in front of the pink heart backdrop
A smiling woman showing the Spyra app on her phone by a pink Spyra Beauty wall
A woman holding the Vitamin C Cream Mist among fresh lemons

Why we exist

Born from the Spyra Beauty platform

Spyra Verified was created to solve a problem we kept seeing in the beauty world.

A woman holding up a pink balm and a green bar
People find amazing productsThey discover incredible products from Japan, Korea and other global beauty innovators, but have no reliable way to purchase them.

Spyra Verified bridges that gap.

Anni Ankola at a table with a Japanese brand team, product samples between them
Brands look for real communitiesMany emerging brands struggle to reach authentic communities in new markets.

How a brand gets here

Every brand is carefully chosen

  • A large group holding products together after a workshop

    Our community

    Brands are chosen through the people who use these products every day.

  • Anni Ankola testing a product with a group of women

    Product testing

    We personally select and test the brands we stand behind.

  • Three women at a display table of Spyra products

    Events

    Our community tries the products in person, at events, salons and pageants.

Anni Ankola with a Japanese partner, holding a product box

We work directly with founders, labs and brand teams.

Products must meet our standards for quality, innovation and real-world results. If a product appears on Spyra Verified, it means it has earned the trust of the Spyra community.

Anni Ankola, founder and CEO of Spyra and Mr USA 2025, in a red suit

Meet the founder

Anni Ankola

Founder and CEO, Spyra Beauty

A data scientist from Silicon Valley who got tired of beauty that promises more than it delivers. So he built his own answer: find the products that truly work, test them on real skin first, and bring them to everyone. Today he leads Spyra between California and Japan.

  • 2022Spyra founded
  • 80,000+early app users
  • 7countries and growing
Anni Ankola on stage in Japan in a traditional hakama
On stage in Japan, 2026

His story

  1. 2015

    Silicon Valley roots

    Raised in the Bay Area and a Harker School graduate, Anni trained in tech and started out as a data scientist.

  2. 2022

    The first Spyra

    He launched Spyra Beauty as an app to scan beauty products and track when they expire. Built in a Cal Poly incubator, it reached 80,000 users while he and his co-founder went two years without a salary.

    Anni at his desk working on Spyra
  3. The turn

    Found in Japan

    Tracking products was not enough. He wanted the ones that truly work. The search led him to Japan's makers, and he started bringing their best to everyone else.

    Anni in a meeting with a Japanese maker
  4. How he works

    His own skin first

    Every product goes on his own skin before it goes anywhere else. Then real people try it at events, salons and pageants. If the claims do not hold up, the brand does not make it.

    Anni testing a product with a guest at an event
  5. 2025 to 2026

    On the big stage

    Crowned 2025 Mr USA, then a judge at Mrs. Universe Japan 2026. He uses every stage to share Japanese beauty with new people.

    Anni smiling at a Spyra event
  6. 2026

    Spyra Verified

    Spyra Verified opens to shoppers in the US, Australia, Colombia and Botswana, from Cosmoprof North America to community events around the world.

    Spyra at Cosmoprof North America
  7. Next

    Japan to the world

    His plan: take Japan's best makers straight to more countries, build more partnerships in Japan, and grow Spyra's events into a global beauty community. In his words, beauty can be an introduction to an entire culture.

    Anni with the Spyra team at the studio
Anni Ankola with the judges and winners of Mrs. Universe Japan 2026
Judge at Mrs. Universe Japan 2026, with the judges and winners
The mission is simple: bring the best of Japan to the world. And we're just getting started.
Anni Ankola, Founder and CEO

Meet the team

The faces behind Spyra

A founder who tests everything, a beauty director who picks what goes on the shelf, and a creative who shows it the way you really use it.

  • Anni Ankola

    Anni Ankola

    Founder and CEO

    Anni started Spyra Beauty in Silicon Valley in 2022. Today he works with Japan's leading makers and tries every product himself before it goes live.

    @anni.ankola
  • Melissa Kayser

    Melissa Kayser

    Beauty Director

    Melissa leads what goes on the shelf: she tests every texture, checks every routine and makes sure each product is right for every skin type.

  • Claudia Hurtado

    Claudia Hurtado

    Creative Media Manager

    Claudia runs Spyra's photos, videos and social channels, and brings the community's own stories to the screen in English and Spanish.

    @clauu.huanca

The people behind it

Real beauty. No BS.

More than just a store, Spyra Verified is part of a larger ecosystem powered by Spyra, connecting creators, beauty professionals and global brands.

  • Anni Ankola working at a desk with two screens showing Spyra
    Anni Ankola, CEO of Spyra Beauty
  • Friends and team members laughing in a colourful studio
    A studio day together
  • A team member from behind in a Real Beauty, No BS shirt at the pink heart backdrop
    The motto, on the shirt
  • Two people in pink Spyra shirts at the heart backdrop
    At a Spyra event
  • A camera monitor showing a creator being filmed
    Behind the scenes on a shoot
  • Anni Ankola smiling with others behind
    Trying the products first

Where it happens

Tested, used and shared every day

Through our events, salons, pageants and content collaborations, the products you see here are actively being tested, used and shared by our community.

  • Team and guests at the pink Spyra heart backdrop Events
  • A beauty professional applying gems to a guest Salons and beauty pros
  • Pageant titleholders in gowns with Anni Ankola under an arch Pageants
  • Two creators in red jackets, one styling hair Content collaborations
A woman with glowing skin taking a selfie

Our mission

Exceptional beauty, from around the world

Our mission is simple: to give our community access to exceptional beauty products from around the world while helping the brands we believe in grow beyond their home markets.

Three friends laughing with Spyra products