A brow obsession that started at 18 behind a MAC counter grew into one of Raleigh's busiest permanent makeup studios, and a technique so new that most of the city hasn't caught up yet.

In this episode: Jeanette Ivey, owner of Ivey Artistry, talks about leaving MAC Cosmetics to chase a career in permanent makeup, the leap of faith that got her studio off the ground in one rented salon room, and the new nano machine hair stroke technique that's replacing old-school microblading. Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

If you have ever caught yourself staring at a stranger's eyebrows in the grocery store line, wondering how they look that full and that perfect before 9 a.m., there is a good chance the answer traces back to a studio in Lafayette Village. For nearly a decade, Jeanette Ivey has been quietly changing the way Raleigh does its eyebrows, one client, one referral, and one very honest consultation at a time.

In this episode of Best of Raleigh, host Gretchen Coley sits down with Jeanette Ivey, owner of Ivey Artistry, for a conversation about building a luxury permanent makeup studio from a single rented salon room, the new brow technique replacing old-school microblading, and what it actually takes to pour back into the next generation of artists.

From the MAC Counter to a Brow Obsession

Jeanette grew up between Delaware and Philadelphia and got her start in beauty at 18, working behind the counter at MAC Cosmetics. She laughs now looking back at her own eyebrows from that era, thin and clearly drawn on, very much a product of the early 2000s. But MAC is where the obsession actually took root. While her official job was makeup application, she found herself fixated on one feature in particular.

"I could not do anybody's eyeshadow without perfecting their eyebrow first," Jeanette says. Clients started lining up specifically for her to conceal and sculpt their brows before she touched anything else on their face. She credits her time at MAC with shaping her into the artist she is today, and it is where she first clocked just how much a brow can do to frame, lift, and open up an entire face.

Here is the part that might surprise people who only know her current work: Jeanette used to hate permanent makeup. Back when she was freelancing on weddings, she would regularly work on clients who already had it done, and the results were rough. Blue, blocky, nothing close to natural. It was not until microblading emerged as a more realistic option that she saw a future in it. She flew to New York around 2017 for training, and that trip became the foundation for everything that came next.

Do It Scared: Launching Ivey Artistry From One Salon Room

Jeanette moved to Raleigh for a relationship, and while that relationship did not last, the business she built here did. She started Ivey Artistry with no client base and no local connections, working out of a single room at Salon Loft.

"I was very scared," she admits. Her advice to anyone thinking about starting a business is blunt and comes straight from her dad: do it scared, and bet on yourself. She treated that one-room rent payment as the line she was not allowed to cross. Every week, she showed up and made sure she could cover it, and she leaned hard into building real relationships with the local beauty community, especially med spas, which is ultimately how she and Gretchen crossed paths.

From One Room to a 2,400-Square-Foot Studio in Lafayette Village

Jeanette says she is a believer in manifestation, and Lafayette Village was on her vision board before she ever had a business. She loved the shopping center from the moment she moved to Raleigh, long before it was the polished destination it is today, and told herself she would have a space there one day.

A year after opening in that single salon room, she made the move. Since then, Ivey Artistry has relocated within Lafayette Village three times as the business outgrew each space, landing today in a 2,400-square-foot studio that is fully branded and built exactly the way Jeanette envisioned it from the start.

Beyond Brows: What Ivey Artistry Actually Offers

Eyebrows are Jeanette's specialty and clearly her favorite subject, but Ivey Artistry has grown into a full permanent makeup and lash studio. Her mother, Patty, works alongside her and handles lightening treatments, pigment removals, and lip blushing, along with a small number of areola tattoo cases for breast cancer survivors, a service that is tricky to market since coverage often depends on individual insurance plans. Jeanette also does lash line enhancement herself, and two additional team members specialize in lash extensions and lash lifts.

The studio has evolved into something closer to a collective. Jeanette now hand-selects independent artists to operate inside her space under the Ivey Artistry umbrella, including one who started renting a chair from her at 20 or 21 years old and has since built her own small business within the studio. "Everybody just compliments everybody inside," Jeanette says. It is less a single business than a curated group of them, all working under one roof.

Nano Machine Hair Strokes: Why Everyone With Old Microblading Needs to Know About This

If you got microbladed brows anytime between 2017 and 2020, this section is for you. Jeanette says microblading, while it played a real role in building her business, has been surpassed by a newer technique called nano machine hair strokes.

The distinction matters. Microblading is done with a handheld tool that carries a small blade, essentially dragging a row of tiny blades across the skin to create hair-like strokes. Nano machine hair strokes use no blade at all. Jeanette describes the new method as less painful, more minimalistic, better for the skin long term, and effective across all skin types and ages, whereas traditional microblading tends to work best only on drier skin. She is careful to distinguish it from nano microblading, an earlier technique that shares part of the name but is still blade-based, a distinction she says confuses a lot of clients doing their own research online.

Right now, Jeanette says only a handful of artists in Raleigh are trained in the newer nano machine technique, and she has continued traveling for additional certifications to stay confident in it.

For clients with older microblading who want to transition, Jeanette often recommends a lightening session first. Ivey Artistry offers saline lightening, a less invasive alternative to laser that works similarly to micro-needling, using a saline and fruit extract solution to gradually fade oversaturated pigment. It is not instant. Clients typically need four to six weeks between sessions, and some need more than one round, but Jeanette says the patience pays off once the new nano strokes go in.

How a Consultation at Ivey Artistry Actually Works

One thing Jeanette wants every prospective client to understand: come in with inspiration, but come in open-minded. Clients often arrive with a specific look pulled from Instagram, not realizing that brow shape depends heavily on individual bone structure and skin type.

"I'm going to give you exactly what your face shape and your symmetry is telling me," she says. That includes an honest look at facial asymmetry, and in some cases, she will recommend pairing brow work with Botox to address muscular imbalances before tattooing. The goal, she says, is not to replicate someone else's brows but to build the most natural, customized result for the face in front of her.

Pouring Back In: Muse Academy and the Next Generation of Artists

Once Jeanette had her own experience and training behind her, she launched Muse Academy to teach other artists coming up in the industry. She says the motivation was personal: she had sat through trainings early in her own career that she wished had been better, and she wanted to build the kind of education she did not have access to when she started.

Walk into the studio on a training day and you will find a full range of ages working alongside her students, all practicing the hands-on techniques that separate a confident artist from a shaky one. As Jeanette puts it, in this industry you cannot fake it until you make it. You have to practice until you become it.

Ivey Artistry at a Glance

• Luxury permanent makeup studio located in Lafayette Village, Raleigh
• Founded by Jeanette Ivey around 2017, starting in a single rented salon room
• Now operates from a 2,400-square-foot studio after three relocations within Lafayette Village
• Specialties include nano machine hair stroke brows, lash line enhancement, lip blushing, saline pigment lightening, lash extensions, lash lifts, and brow lamination
• Home to Muse Academy, Jeanette's training program for permanent makeup artists
• Operates as a collective, housing several independently run beauty businesses under one roof

Frequently Asked Questions

Is permanent makeup the same as a regular tattoo? Technically, yes. Jeanette is upfront that permanent makeup is a form of tattooing, meant to enhance natural features rather than replace makeup entirely.
What is the difference between microblading and nano machine hair strokes? Microblading uses a handheld blade tool and tends to work best on drier skin. Nano machine hair strokes use no blade, are less painful, and produce better healed results across a wider range of skin types and ages.
I already have older microbladed brows. What are my options? Jeanette recommends a saline lightening session to gradually fade oversaturated pigment before going in with the newer nano technique, typically four to six weeks between sessions.
How do I choose the right artist? Look for healed results, not just fresh, still-swollen photos, and ask to see reviews. Avoid choosing on price alone, and for clients with little to no natural brow hair, Jeanette recommends an artist with at least three years of experience.
How do I book with Jeanette? Consultations, including complimentary virtual ones, are booked directly through Ivey Artistry's website. Appointments typically run around two hours depending on the service and the client's goals.

Rapid Fire with Jeanette Ivey

• Favorite service to perform: Nano machine hair strokes for brows, hands down.
• Best advice she's ever received: Do it scared, and bet on yourself, advice from her dad that she has carried through every stage of building her business.
• One word for the future of Ivey Artistry: Evolving.
• Early morning at the studio or late night with a client: Late nights used to be her rhythm, but these days, and looking ahead, it's early mornings.
• Go-to way to spend a day off: A spa day. Anything wellness related.

Why It Matters

Jeanette's story is really a story about faces, and how much confidence can hinge on a feature most people never think to name. She did not set out to build a 2,400-square-foot studio or train the next wave of Raleigh's permanent makeup artists. She set out to fix one eyebrow at a time, starting with strangers who lined up at a MAC counter just so she would sculpt their brow before touching anything else.

Nearly a decade later, that same instinct, do it scared and bet on yourself, has built a business that outgrew three storefronts, a training academy for other artists, and a technique most of Raleigh has not caught up to yet. In a city that is still figuring out what it wants to be, Ivey Artistry is proof that betting on a single, specific obsession can be enough.

Related listening: From One Chair to Raleigh's Most Iconic Salon

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