Strip’s CYNTHIA CHUA on her craziest ideas over the years and why you need to look after your ‘second face’ (yes, the one down there).
I first interviewed Cynthia about 15 years ago. Back then, she had one Spa Esprit outlet at Holland Village, and a vintage clothing store named Potion. Brazilian waxing salons? Zero. F&B outlets? Zero. Fast forward a decade-and-a-half, and she’s now one of the most powerful women in the local beauty industry, as well as in F&B. Strip now has a whopping 48 outlets in 11 cities (including 15 in Singapore) and has pruned over three and a half million bushes. That is a lot of hair. The Spa Esprit Group, Cynthia’s company, also runs more than 30 Browhaus outlets worldwide, among other beauty and grooming concepts, and 14 F&B outlets, including House, Tiong Bahru Bakery, Common Man Coffee, Tippling Club and Open Farm Community. It’s mighty impressive, and the 45-year-old is nowhere near done. Her energy today is the same as it was 15 years ago — child-like, girlish, infectious and brimming over. She now divides her time between Singapore, London, New York and Paris, where she dreams up even more outrageous ideas, like perfume for your nether regions (this one is actually happening, by the way). I caught up with her when she was back in town recently to celebrate 15 years of Strip.
8 DAYS: You’ve had some crazy ideas over the years. Some have come to fruition, but there must be many which haven’t materialised.
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