Tucked into a quiet corner of Taman Baloi, a short ride from the Harbour Bay ferry terminal, is a small aromatherapy studio that smells like something between a spa and a candle shop. We stopped by Aura Sanctum to see what the fuss was about, and ended up staying a lot longer than planned, sniffing our way through blends with names like “Sleep Well” and “Baccarat” while founder Selly walked us through the philosophy behind it all.
If you’re taking the Horizon Fast Ferry over to Batam and looking for something a little different from the usual mall-and-seafood route, this is exactly the kind of stop worth working into your day.
What “Aura Sanctum” Actually Means
Before we even got to the products, Selly walked us through the name itself, and it turns out it’s not just a nice-sounding label. “Aura means air, so we focus on the field of aromatherapy,” she told us. “Sanctum means purity or sanctuary.” Put together, the brand is really built as a kind of tool for calm in an otherwise hectic world — as Selly put it, “In this modern era, people work a lot and want everything to be fast; it’s very hectic. We aim to help people calm themselves through the instrument of aroma.” Fragrance, it turns out, is really just the starting point. The actual goal is inner peace, which felt like a fitting thing to be chasing on a short trip away from home.
From a Stressful Bank Job to a Full-Blown Passion
We were curious how Selly ended up here, and the answer surprised us a little — she used to work in banking, a job she described as “very stressful.” Scent-making started as a hobby on the side, but the idea for a real business came from noticing a gap in Batam’s market. “There were few places in Batam focusing on aromatherapy, and I saw an interest,” she told us. It turns out candles had been part of her life a lot longer than the business itself; she’d been drawn to them since her school days, finding that “lighting a candle can really calm you down; it sets a certain mood.” What started as something personal eventually turned into certified, professional training, since, as she explained, “professional study is different from just trial and error because the theory is deeper.”
What You’ll Find at Aura Sanctum
Walking through the space, we got a proper look at the two main product categories, all developed in-house. For home and personal use, there are reed diffusers, essential oils, soy candles, car perfumes, and 3-in-1 sprays that work across body, room, and linen — genuinely easy things to pack in a suitcase back to Singapore.
Every scent is pre-blended and comes with its own name, story, and intended use, with some matched to specific moods, room types, or personality profiles (floral, woody, or sweet). The current bestseller, we learned, is Sleep Well, a blend designed specifically to support better rest.
For body and spa care, the lineup includes body oils, scrubs, body butter, lotions, and massage candles — a range that’s found a natural home in the hospitality industry. Selly mentioned that Aura Sanctum consistently supplies spas, resorts, and wellness centres, including an ongoing partnership with The Westin.
We also learned that guests can mix a custom personal perfume to take home, and that businesses looking for a signature identity — cafés, hotels, and even private islands — can commission a fully bespoke scent, as Aura Sanctum has previously done for Nirup Island.
Inside the Workshop
One of the things that stood out to us was the workshop space upstairs, where visitors can actually learn the craft behind the products instead of just buying them off a shelf. Sessions run about two hours and cover the theory of aroma — scent characteristics, longevity, and blending — before moving into hands-on practice with real materials and tools.
The perfume-making workshop is the most popular, and after watching how precise the process is, it’s easy to see why. “You can’t just mix randomly,” Selly told us, “because one or two drops can change the entire scent.” Every participant leaves with both a certificate and the product they made themselves — a candle, a diffuser, or their own custom perfume, which doubles nicely as a one-of-a-kind souvenir.
Sessions run four times a day, at 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, and 18:00, with pricing starting from IDR 600,000 per class. Solo bookings are welcome too, if you’d rather have a quieter, more private session — and it’s worth booking ahead, especially if you’re planning your visit around a specific ferry schedule.
They also offer scenting machine rentals for hotel lobbies, restrooms, and elevators, a lucky draw for customers who spend over IDR 1,000,000, and custom hamper sets for gifting, which is handy if you’re picking up something for a friend back home.
Why It’s Popular with Singapore Travellers
What surprised us most was how far Aura Sanctum’s reach already goes. Products are sold through 35 booth outlets across Batam — mostly inside hotels — alongside an outlet in Singapore focused on single-aroma essential oils, and a domestic outlet in Jakarta. Online, the brand is active on Instagram, TikTok, Shopee, and Grab, and Selly mentioned they occasionally ship as far as Turkey.
It’s the in-person workshop, though, that draws the most interest from across the strait. “Singaporeans love aromatherapy, and they enjoy activities that offer an experience,” Selly told us — and the numbers back that up: roughly 80% of workshop participants are foreign visitors, mostly from Singapore and Malaysia, who typically book a private session in advance. Aura Sanctum also regularly hosts private workshops in partnership with hotels such as Montigo and Artotel.
Getting There & Visiting Info
Aura Sanctum
- Imperium Super Blok B No. 45, Taman Baloi, Batam
- Open daily, 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- ~15–20 minutes from Harbour Bay
Ready for a Little Calm on Your Batam Trip?
Aura Sanctum is just a short drive from the Harbour Bay ferry terminal, easy enough to fit in whether you’re planning a full day out or just have a couple of hours to spare before heading back. So the next time you’re in Batam, hop off your Horizon Fast Ferry, take a break from the usual shopping run, and go find the scent that becomes your new favourite.
