Today we’d like to introduce you to Felicia Ogilby.
Hi Felicia, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Felicia, and I’m the owner and artist behind Better Browz in Largo, FL. My business began with something deeply personal: my mom’s cancer journey.
During chemotherapy, she lost her hair and her brows; those little details that carry so much of our identity. I paid nearly $1,000 to have her brows tattooed, and when she looked in the mirror afterward, her entire spirit shifted. She finally felt like herself again. She started putting on makeup, dressing up, and taking care of herself in ways she hadn’t since her diagnosis. She even told me she wished she had gotten her brows done before chemo, so she could have held onto some sense of normalcy throughout her treatments.
Witnessing her transformation changed everything for me. I realized eyebrows could be more than cosmetic; they could be healing. That’s why I started Better Browz: to give women that same feeling of confidence and wholeness every single day. Because of where this journey began, I offer my services free of charge to cancer survivors who have lost their brows due to chemotherapy. It’s my way of honoring my mom’s experience and giving back to others fighting the biggest battle of their lives.
And here’s what makes it even more meaningful: every paying client who books with me becomes a part of that mission. With each paid service, they’re helping to provide the gift of confidence to survivors in our community. It turns something as personal as brows into something much bigger … a movement of care, healing, and connection. We’re showing cancer survivors they aren’t alone & the community is supporting them.
Art has always been my language. I grew up studying different mediums since childhood; calligraphy, painting, sculpting, ceramics, and I even pursued art in college with dreams of becoming an art therapist for abused children. Life didn’t take me down that exact path, but in many ways, Better Browz brought me back to my purpose: using art as a way to restore, uplift, and heal people.
My roots also run deep in Florida. I’m a third generation Floridian; my family has been in the Tampa Bay area since the 1920s. My great-grandmother owned one of the first hotels in St. Pete, The Betty Ann, and my grandfather’s brother was co-founded of Tropicana. Now, I’m building my own legacy here in the community that my family helped shape nearly a century ago.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Has it been a smooth road? Absolutely not.
When I walked away from a toxic but high paying job, I thought I had a safety net.. I believed the money I’d saved would carry me for a year while I pursued a tattoo apprenticeship learning the delicate art of brows; on the east coast of Florida, Instead, it evaporated, what I expected to last twelve months disappeared in just three!
Suddenly, I had a choice: go back to the safety of a steady paycheck and make Better Browz a side project, or I could give everything I had to this dream by going all in and risking everything. With only $30 in my bank account, I chose the latter.
What followed wasn’t glamorous. It was 16–18 hour days, seven days a week. Relentless work and the constant anxiety of not knowing how I’d stretch that last $30 into the next six to eight months. From that point forward, I poured myself into the work. Truthfully, I’m still on that grind.
Here’s the thing there’s a big difference between being broke at a 9-to-5 and being broke as an entrepreneur. At a 9-to-5, being down to your last $30 means holding your breath until Friday’s paycheck clears. When you’re an entrepreneur, that same $30 has you staring down months of uncertainty. You have to create the paycheck, invent the opportunity, and stretch every resource until it multiplies. There’s no guaranteed paycheck. No one is coming to save you. It’s sink or swim, and the only way forward is to figure it out, every single day.
That kind of pressure changes you. Better Browz was born in that kind of pressure + the refusal to quit even when quitting might have been easier.. Success doesn’t come from comfort or convenience, but out of necessity, grit, sacrifice, and the stubborn belief that something meaningful could come out of the struggle.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I call myself an artist before I call myself a business owner, because that’s at the core of everything I do. Before I ever picked up a tattoo machine, I picked up a pencil, pen, and paintbrush. I’ve been in private art classes since the age of seven. Calligraphy, painting, sculpting; I’ve spent my entire life creating. Art has always been my first language. The only thing that’s changed is the tool.
Today, instead of ink on paper, I use pigments and a tattoo machine. The canvas is someone’s face. I’m creating tiny works of art that change how someone feels about themselves when they look in the mirror.
At Better Browz, I specialize in permanent makeup: powder brows, nano brows, feather strokes, and combination techniques. Each service is customized to the individual client. No two brows are the same, because no two people are the same. What I’m known for is the level of detail I bring; measuring, mapping, sculpting. I don’t believe in cookie cutter brows. My clients often say they can feel the amount of care that goes into every single stroke.
But the part of my work that I’m most proud of is that my work has roots in something far bigger than aesthetics. It goes back to my mom’s cancer journey. I watched how deeply Cancer affected her spirit. I also saw how much it lifted her spirit when she had her brows restored. That moment changed everything for me. It’s why I offer my services free of charge to cancer survivors; it’s my way of honoring her and making sure no woman in my community has to feel alone in that fight. I’m doing my best to make sure others feel seen, strong, and supported.
What sets me apart isn’t just technical skill, artistry or the brows themselves; it’s the “ why ” behind my work.
Brows are my medium, but the real art is in helping people feel whole again. I don’t just create shapes on faces; I help restore confidence, dignity, and identity. For me, this work isn’t about vanity, It’s about healing. It’s giving someone the confidence to walk into the world a little taller. This work is living proof that art can transform and heal people.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is impact.
It’s not about how many brows I tattoo or how many clients I book; it’s about what happens when someone looks in the mirror afterwards. That moment when their eyes light up, when their shoulders straighten, when they suddenly see themselves again. That’s what matters. It isn’t just about makeup. It’s about dignity, confidence, and wholeness.
At the end of the day, what matters most isn’t money, or recognition, or even “ success ” in the traditional sense. What matters is leaving people better than I found them; whether that’s through brows, through kindness, or through reminding them they’re not alone.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BetterBrowz.com
- Instagram: @Better_Browzz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574996578977
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicia-ogilby-7694a9361/
- Other: https://share.google/qsGxiirWiqQtHYoCh
