Woman finds community in eyebrow business

By Victoria Gaither

When permanent cosmetic tattoo makeup artist Angelly Graves moved to West Rutland two years ago with her husband, Miguel Graves, she knew right away it was home.

“I love this community; we tried Miami. I like some things about Miami, but I am calm, and it’s calm here,” said Graves. 

Graves is originally from Colombia, a country known for coffee, being one of South America’s most popular tourist destinations, and a culture of beauty.

“My aunt Sarah had this beauty salon. I grew up watching her do haircuts; she inspires me and gives me advice about my business,” said Graves.

Graves is in the business of eyebrows, and she opened Imperial Eyebrows Microblading & Permanent Makeup in West Rutland last year. “This is a way for me to help women look nice and feel good about themselves,” she said. 

Microblading is a semi-permanent form of cosmetic tattooing. But unlike traditional tattoos, which use a tattoo gun, microblading uses a blade-shaped tool with a row of tiny needles to create hair-like strokes along your brows while depositing pigment into your skin, resulting in realistic eyebrows. 

Because it’s semi-permanent, it doesn’t wash off, but you do have to have the eyebrows touched up about yearly because, like any tattoo, over time, it fades, Graves said.

The mother of two girls said she became interested in eyebrows because it’s a window into expressions.

“If you don’t have eyebrows, you look inexpressive all the time, so I would like to put in that expression— whether it’s anger or happiness — you can see all of that through your eyebrows because they are so powerful.”

She also finds power in Rutland women.  “Women here are so supportive of each other. They try to help each other, and it’s nice,” she said.

The power of her community gives Graves a positive outlook on life and a place with her husband to raise her two girls while doing a job she loves.

“I love Vermont, but we love Rutland,” Graves said.