Cashing in on permanent makeup trend in CEBU

Trina Mikaela Go

CEBU CITY—Watching her mother and aunts dress up and apply their blush on and lipstick started her love affair with make-up and fashion.

And it is paying off because at just 24, Trina Mikaela Go has started to create a name for herself in Cebu’s beauty and cosmetics scene.

But Go is no ordinary makeup artist.

Trained abroad, she is one of the few professional permanent makeup artists in the city. Her services include microblading for eyebrows and lash lifts.

Go has been “kikay” since she was a little girl as she enjoyed watching her mother and aunts put on their makeup and dress up.

This developed her fascination with makeup, such that she would doll up her three younger sisters and friends whenever they had events to attend to.

“If there was someone who needed beauty and fashion advice, they would always ask me,” said Go.

But Go is not also your usual fashionista. She has an entrepreneurial spirit, too.

She was in college when she started an online shop—Pink Lemon. She first sold accessories and later clothes.

It clicked.

She didn’t only enjoy finding items to sell online at a cheaper price, she was also earning.

She first posted her products on her personal Facebook account. When her clientele increased, she decided to make a Facebook page.

At that time, she wanted to be a doctor—the reason why she took up medical technology, a pre-med course.

But her heart later led her to where fate wanted her to be –in business.

Shifting to and getting a degree in Business Administration major in marketing was a happy choice since this was where she was good at.

When the number of online retailers started to saturate the market, Go began looking for other ways to innovate even if her Pink Lemon was doing well and she had a pop up store in Urban Lifestyle at Axis Entertainment Ave, Vibo Place on Escario Street.

“I needed to evolve and find other means of income. I didn’t want to focus too much on one thing,” said the young entrepreneur.

Then she started to get interested in permanent makeup since it was the hottest trend in the market.

She also believed that the market for permanent makeup was expanding since women nowadays were always on the go and didn’t have time to perfect those eyebrows and lashes.

“So I took a leap of faith and did further studies abroad,” she said.

Through word-of-mouth and referrals, her number of customers had gone up to at least 20 in a week.

Go sees herself doing permanent makeup for many years as there will always be a market for it.

But to be competitive, Go has to constantly innovate.

With this comes a plan to invest more in training so she could offer more services.

Her long term goal is to set up her own studio that functions as retail outlet not just for her products but other retailers as well.

In the meantime, she is based in the family-owned Le Beau Monde Salon along General Maxilom Avenue in Cebu City.

But with a clear vision and a passionate heart, it will not be a surprise if Go soon fulfills her dream of having her own studio.