How to Build an Empire Without Losing Yourself ft Cyndi Ramirez
Naked Beauty
The Naked Beauty Podcast
4.5 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 13 April 2026
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Since Cyndi Ramirez Fulton opened Chill House on New York's Lower East Side in 2017, the brand has grown from a cult downtown spa into a nationwide product line, culminating in a 2025 acquisition by Kiss Beauty Group, with Cyndi still at the helm. On today's episode, Cyndi takes us back to growing up in Queens as the daughter of a Colombian esthetician and how that environment shaped her relationship with beauty and her entrepreneurial instincts. She opens up about her years in New York nightlife, the scrappy blog that helped her find her voice, and how she landed on the idea for Chill House after not being able to find a spa that was right for her.
Cyndi is refreshingly honest about the parts that don't make it onto the glossy Instagram grid: the economics of the spa business that were "always a little broken," the fundraising struggles that led to the Kiss deal, and the very real guilt and joy of building a business alongside a family. We also get into the pivot to Chill Tips press-on nails, why press-ons have genuinely changed her life, and her favorite beauty products for navigating two very different climates.
Cyndi’s Favorites:
Olaplex Shampoo and Conditioner
Chill House bestsellers: Sea Siren, Bougie Butter, and Acid Wash
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, hello, this is Brooke DeVard, and you're listening to the Naked Beauty Podcast, |
| 0:09.3 | and I am so thrilled to be joined by Cindy Ramirez Fulton. She is the founder and CEO of Chillhouse, |
| 0:16.1 | the cult self-care brand that she built from a single spa on New York's Lower East Side into a nail |
| 0:22.3 | and Wellness Empire. I could remember when Chill House first opened, everyone was obsessed. |
| 0:27.1 | It was discussed a lot in 2017 and 2018 on Naked Beauty, and we're still talking about it |
| 0:32.2 | today in 2026. Cindy is a first generation Colombian American and daughter of a queen's |
| 0:38.7 | aesthetician, Cindy launched chill house in 2017 with a simple but radical idea. Make self-care |
| 0:44.5 | actually accessible and fun. What started as a cafe meets spa grew into a beloved product |
| 0:50.7 | line, including the iconic chill tips press on nails sold at Target, urban |
| 0:55.2 | outfitters, and beyond. Earlier this year, Kiss Beauty Group acquired Chill House with Cindy |
| 1:00.8 | staying on to lead the brand into its next chapter. Welcome to the show, Cindy. |
| 1:06.3 | Thank you so much for having me, Brooke. It's an honor. Oh, my gosh. Well, you know what I didn't |
| 1:10.4 | include in the intro. Also, you know, at one time potential castmate on Real Housewives of New York. Doesn't that feel like a different lifetime ago that we were talking to all the Bravo producers? Yeah, I know. When we were both still kind of in New York but had one foot out the door and we're like, should we stay in New York if we get this? But like, we're so like made up. |
| 1:46.1 | Like our minds were already set on moving. So it just, you know, things happen as they should. They happen as they should. I don't think it was the path that was meant for us. Although much love to all the, all the housewives. They're doing great. They're doing great. So you are a New Yorker like myself. You were raised in Queens and your mother, |
| 1:52.2 | you know, was an esthetician. Was beauty just like a huge part of your life growing up as a young kid? I mean, it's kind of all I knew. Yes, she was like big on skincare, but she also cared a lot |
| 1:58.1 | about body care. She obviously I was very young. |
| 2:01.2 | She wasn't looking at my body, like, dissecting me. |
| 2:03.6 | But I feel like even at a young age, I was very aware of my looks, of appearance, because |
| 2:10.1 | that's what I was surrounded by. |
| 2:11.4 | I was surrounded by a bunch of women that were constantly getting their upkeep treatments |
| 2:16.7 | with my mother. |
| 2:17.4 | You know, |
... |
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