“Never tattoo your eyebrows.” This is one of the earliest beauty tips I ever heard from my mom. It was easy to understand why she’d say this. Outdated eyebrow tattoo techniques have proven to be faulty.
Some eyebrow artists completely shaved off the eyebrows of their clients and replaced them with tattooed versions of the 90’s eyebrows. As their skin became droopy, so did their tattooed eyebrows. The initial dark brown shade of their eyebrows slowly turned red, green, or blue.
Why then, did I make my way from the busy streets of Mandaluyong all the way to Alabang to get my eyebrows tattooed?
It’s because I finally found someone who changed the eyebrow tattoo game in the Philippines.
I first heard about Permanent Makeup Manila online. Celebrities like Nadine Lustre, Denise Laurel, Chi and Gabs Gibbs all credit her for their eyebrows. Bloggers and vloggers like Camille Co, Kryz Uy, Laureen Uy, Michelle Dy, and Say Tioco all had their eyebrows done in Permanent Makeup Manila!
The person behind Permanent Makeup Manila is Pauline Ylaya. She was a bridal makeup artist for four years before she pursued cosmetic tattooing.
She’s also the only Filipino who traveled to Israel to be personally mentored by Moshe Alul, the founder of New Permanent International Studio.
Moshe Alul himself even wrote a recommendation for Pauline. “Who flies halfway across the world to go to a war-torn country just to learn? Nobody does. Pauline shows great passion, has a skilled hand, and an eye for detail. I believe in her talent,” he wrote.
After researching about all these, I finally decided to have my eyebrows done by Pauline. I was convinced that my brows would be in good hands, especially when I found out that only Pauline personally does the procedures. This is why you have to secure a schedule around two months in advance. (Be sure to be early for your schedule!)
Let me show you my firsthand experience with Permanent Makeup Manila. I got the Soft Powdered Brows service.
The photo below shows my eyebrows completely makeup-free. My eyebrows are naturally thick, and Pauline says they have a natural arch. She recommended the Soft Powdered Brows for me to refine the shape and to fill out the sparse areas.
The first step was to put numbing cream. I had it on for thirty minutes. While waiting for it to take effect, I chatted with Pauline about kilays and kakikayan.
She appeased my (and my mom’s) worries about eyebrows turning into red, green, and blue after time. She explained that the science behind why they change colors in the first place.
She showed me the products she uses and explained, “This pigment line has been on the market for over 25 years. It’s used by a lot of artists from all over the world. Not one reported case of an allergic reaction.”
She likened the products to painting. To get a shade of brown, you mix yellow, red, and blue. The same goes with the products Pauline uses. What I see are different shades of brown, but those are actually made up of yellow, red, and blue raw materials.
These raw materials are rated from numbers 1 to 8, 8 being the most long-lasting color. Let’s say your eyebrow artist uses a brown eyebrow tattoo on you wherein the red and the yellow are a level 2, and the blue is a level 8. When the yellow and red have faded, what will remain of your previously brown eyebrows are blue brows.
But not with the products Pauline uses. The raw materials they use are all within the same level, usually levels 6-8. That means they all fade at the same time. No red, blue, or green eyebrows for you!
After the numbing cream took effect, Pauline and I sat in front of her beautiful vanity mirror. She drew different eyebrow shapes on me, and I told her what I liked and didn’t like. She also gave suggestions whenever I was confused and indecisive.
I really appreciate how patient Pauline was with me! She took time to make sure I got the brows I wanted, and she also had a lot of suggestions. She intentionally gets a limited number of clients a day, so that she can give time and attention to all her clients.
Don’t worry about the very dark shade! That’s just a temporary eyebrow pencil to help Pauline see the outline better once she starts doing the tattoo.
Once I was so happy with the shape, I asked Pauline about the color. I have reddish brown hair right now. Should I also opt for a lighter or reddish shade of brown?
Pauline recommended a natural or neutral color for me instead. It doesn’t always follow that your eyebrow color should be exactly the same as your hair. She did the mixing of the colors, and we proceeded to the tattoo process!
For the most part, it wasn’t painful. Even as Pauline did the tattoo on me, she continued to add numbing cream. Whenever I would feel a little bit of pain, I would tell Pauline and she would apply more numbing cream on me. (I usually have my eyebrows waxed, and waxing is so much more painful.)
These are what my eyebrows looked like after the procedure:
Here’s a comparison picture of my eyebrows before and after the procedure:
They’re really dark. It’s nothing to be worried about. Think of this as something similar to an eyebrow peel-off tint.
In three days, my skin peeled off to reveal a beautiful, subtle shade. It really looks like I have nothing on!
Here’s a picture of what my eyebrows looked like after a week:
I really like how my new brows look so natural. The patchy spots just disappeared, but my eyebrows look like they’re still mine.
They’re also very easy to maintain. Pauline advised me to brush my eyebrows according to my hair’s natural direction. The hair closest to my eyes should be brushed upwards. The ends of my eyebrows should be brushed downwards. I will then shave and cut stray hair that land outside the outline Pauline drew.
In the photo above, I didn’t shave or trim my brows yet, even if the hair on the right side have grown longer and are slightly sticking out of the outline Pauline drew.
I don’t need to reshape my brows or get fixated in the color whenever I put on eyebrow makeup. This saves me a lot of time in the morning.
I’m completely satisfied with my experience in Permanent Makeup Manila, and I already recommended them to my kilay-loving friends!
I’ll be posting another blog post and a video with updates on aftercare and maintenance in my blog.
If you have any questions, please comment them below. I’d be happy to share more about my experience with Permanent Makeup Manila.
Permanent Makeup Manila by Pauline Ylaya
Website: www.permanentmakeupmanila.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/permanentmakeupbypaulineylaya/
Instagram: @permanentmakeupmanila
Contact Numbers: 0917-525-9771, 978-5771
Email Address: info@permanentmakeupmanila.com
Photos by Cleverlyn Mayuga. Clev is a freelance photographer and videographer. For inquiries, you can email her at cleverlynmayuga@gmail.com
