Meet the Founder: éternel

Meet the Founder: éternel

An interview with Sihame Aziz

The éternel brand impresses with its pure and natural ingredients, multicultural influences and a fueled with love. Find out more about the founder, Sihame Aziz, in today's blog article.

How would you summarise your path in life so far?

I am originally from Algeria. In 1999 I emigrated to Europe. My first stop was in Paris with the idea of doing research - to discover or to change something. But life had different plans for me: by chance, I met my husband in Tunisia on vacation. He originally fled Iraq and was already living in Vienna at the time. That was the reason why I ended up in Vienna too.

I learned German relatively quickly here and started my pharmaceutical studies after attaining my citizenship. At first, the German language was an obstacle, but with a lot of patience and help from my wonderful Austrian friends, I was able to find my way around quickly. After all, language is the most important key to integration. So it came about that I successfully completed my studies. Despite spending years studying and finally completing my graduation successfully, I went into the pharmaceutical industry and worked in the field of drug approval. But personally, in the corporate world, I didn't find what I was looking for in my life. After ten years I went to a smaller company where I continued to work on admissions. In 2013 I dared to take the step toward self-employment. Since then I have been advising small and medium-sized, mainly German, companies in the field of phytotherapy, i.e. herbal medicine, and pharmaceutical approvals from North Africa and the Middle East.

How did this step come about?

Actually, a very tragic event was a positive turning point in my life. I got breast cancer in 2013. This turned my life upside down completely. Above all, it has totally changed my awareness of life. Suddenly I began questioning what I was eating and products that I was applying to my skin. And that's how the brand éternel came into being. Even though I actually come from the world of synthetics, I always felt that I was drawn to the world of phytotherapy.

One should go back to the origin. Sometimes the simplicity is the complexity. Éternel provides this kind of natural, high-quality authenticity. The best raw materials, such as prickly pear seed oil and argan oil (both very rich in omega-6 fatty acids and vitamin E). Water is replaced by hydrosols and aloe vera juice. These raw materials have moisturising, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral effects. A tonne of prickly pear seeds is needed to produce 1 litre of oil whereby 1 litre of this precious oil retails for about € 600. I merely want to emphasise the quality of a product.

I don't want to get rich by doing this, I want to create awareness that women have to be careful not to use products that contain toxic ingredients. I am therefore offering the best and most valuable ingredients (which have been used in beauty care in the North African region for centuries) at an affordable price.

What do you want to achieve with the éternel brand?

In summary: I want to create awareness about good raw materials and products. I want to be honest. I want to give something back to the world.