KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — After years of working in the entertainment industry, entrepreneur Faz Subari was burnt out.
His talent agency went bankrupt, he was forced to close down and felt like he had lost everything.
In 2019, Faz embarked on a healing journey that reconnected her with the scent of traditional Javanese beauty herbs in her hometown of Tanjung Karang.
There he discovered his passion for aromatherapy and its healing benefits.
Today, he is the Founder and CEO of Eartheories, an award-winning home-grown aromatherapy brand with three stores in Malaysia.
The brand produces essential oils, balms and a range of beauty and therapy products made from indigenous Malaysian ingredients such as lemongrass and kaffir lime, sourced from local farmers.
The company supplies Malaysia Airlines flights and lounges and has stores in Publika, Gurney Plaza and JBCC serving high profile clients.
In 2023, the brand won Best Aromatherapy for Health & Wellness by Beauty Insider and Best Pure Essential Oil in the Natural Health & Health Trends Readers Choice Awards.
Faz spoke to Malay Mail about how to overcome burnout and find yourself and success by pursuing your passion.
Combating burnout
The 43-year-old got into the entertainment industry “by accident” through events work, networking and business experience.
He founded his own agency in 2013 and began managing celebrities and talent.
The rise of social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, with celebrities eager to get on board and create their own content, left him worried and stressed as his agency struggled to manage and understand the power dynamics between influencers, celebrities and social media users.
In 2019, Fuzz felt like he had lost track of himself and was in a state of depression, so he closed his agency and left showbiz.
“I tried some alternative therapies and found a path to recovery, but I had to find myself again,” Fuzz said.
“Somehow, I discovered aromatherapy as a form of healing and began to get the proper education to understand it better.
“As I learned more about it, I realized it was something I could share with others.”
The founder realised that in trying to please others he had forgotten about himself, and said scent has the power to provide a peaceful space to reconnect with himself.
Through his brand and products, he hopes to share his knowledge and journey with others, and said that by doing so he has been able to meet more “beautiful souls.”
Eartheories products are locally sourced and made with traditional ingredients that are calming and soothing. — Photo by Jared Wee
The Power of Aromatherapy
Key to Faz’s healing was remembering the smells he smelled as a child in his hometown of Tanjong Karang, particularly the smell of lemongrass.
He said lemongrass was closely linked to Malay culture, not only as an ingredient used in the kitchen but also as a traditional beauty practice.
“When I studied perfumery in Europe, lemongrass was the ingredient with the highest fragrance appeal for the Asian market,” the founder said.
“At that time, I thought that lemongrass should be more recognised globally, in the spirit of growing local ingredients and bringing new value to them.”
Fadz plans to make local ingredients “attractive” to the global fragrance market, highlighting their unique healing and therapeutic properties.
This, he argues, could increase demand for local farmers to produce more herbs such as lemongrass, which can be sold at a higher price than regular crops.
Overall, he says this will boost the agriculture industry and contribute to the brand’s environmental sustainability efforts.
Lemongrass is currently a key ingredient in Eartheories’ most popular products, and Fadz hopes to make this a unique selling point for the brand.
“We’ve received great feedback from customers about our lemongrass products,” he said.
“They’ve been pleasantly surprised and say it’s helped improve their mental health and the quality of their sleep.”
Move forward with passion
As for future plans, Faz wants to make Eartheories a global brand.
His desire to help people with aromatherapy evolved into a desire to bring healing to people locally and abroad.
Though the team is small, the founders have big plans to promote their unique products overseas and use new technology to personalize customers’ scent experiences.
He said he hopes the brand will continue on after he’s gone and that he will carry on Arteorises’ core values for future customers.
When asked what drives him and how others with similar business ideas should take the first step, Faz advised: “Keep going.”
“I think the best way to get started is to find your interest and passion because starting a business is not an overnight job, it’s like a marathon,” the 43-year-old said.
“If you’re doing something you love, you can keep going. Don’t stop even if you feel tired. Take a break and slowly resume later.”
“You just have to remember to believe in yourself, trust the process and why you started it in the first place, because when you do something in life that you don’t love, you start to lose yourself.”
Find out more about Eartheories here.
