We flew to Ibiza to meet Rita Ora’s manicurist – here’s everything we learned about nail art

THERE are many things I’ll gladly leave the country for – exploring a new city, chasing the sun, discovering new food – but getting my nails done has never been one of them.

Nevertheless, last month, I packed my bag and flew to Ibiza for that very reason. 

@keelycooper_

We met Rita Ora’s nail tech, Keely Cooper[/caption]

But this wasn’t for just any nail appointment, as I was meeting Keely Cooper – AKA nail tech to Rita Ora, Charlotte Tilbury and Peggy Gou. 

Having started her career at a nail salon in Aberdeen, she is now a nail artist working in hidden villas, on yachts, and on photo shoots in Ibiza – and she has built up a star-studded client list of some of the world’s most fashionable women. 

In typical Keely fashion, we met in Ocean Drive Talamanca, a stylish pad on the south-east of the island, where she arrived carrying more nail polish shades than you’ll find in most salons – “I’ve got more,” she told me.

After trimming, buffing and cutting my nails, she curated a colour palette tailored to me, including lavender purple, mint green, and sunshine yellow, as well as the perfect base shade to flatter my skin tone. 

KEELY COOPER

The nail tech has a unique style[/caption]

After chatting through some of my ideas, and drawing inspiration from a previous design, she dotted, swirled, and painted pastel-coloured motifs on to my nails, including rainbows, evil eyes, and flowers.

As she painted, she told me about her career journey, her coolest appointments, and predictions for the future – here’s everything I learned. 

How did you become a nail artist, and what led you to Ibiza?

It all started after I left school, and went to art college in Aberdeen.

Despite wanting to be an artist my whole life, I realised that I needed to make money – at this stage, nail art was becoming cool, so I decided to sign up for some beauty courses, then my husband and I opened a nail bar beauty salon.

We had a few girls who worked for us who were ex-art school students, so we had quite an arty vibe going on. 

I loved the salon, but I wasn’t feeling fulfilled – I was working all the time to come out to Ibiza three or four times a year.

Then, when Covid happened and we had to shut the salon, I did some soul-searching and decided to make the move to Ibiza – I already knew people here, so it was a good way to make new contacts and I started to build up a list of clients.

When I first moved to Ibiza, a lot of my clients weren’t asking for nail art – instead, they wanted plain “clean-girl” nails, or just plain red.

I’ve always been into nail art, so I did wonder if I’d made the right decision to move here – I wondered if it was the wrong thing for me, artistically.

But as word got out about what I could offer, people started to experiment more and now, most of my clients ask for some form of nail art.

I did a girl’s nails for her birthday a few weeks ago, and at that party, people saw her nails, which has led to me getting five new clients.

I always say you’re only as good as your last set of nails, and every client is important – it doesn’t matter who they are or what their status is – you should be doing your best work for everybody. 

Where are some of the coolest places your job has led you?

I often work from my studio in Santa Gertrudis, as well as on yachts, boats, and in villas all over the island.

I definitely see a lot of amazing houses, boats, and hidden villas on mountain country roads that I would never normally see day-to-day.

Every time I go to an amazing villa, I can’t imagine I’ll ever top it, but then I go to another one that I didn’t even know existed! It’s a great way to see the island.

What’s the secret to your creative process, from the idea to the finished look?

When it’s for someone I’ve never worked with before, I have to gauge how much nail art they want and what they’re going to be comfortable with.

Chatting with the client and finding out about them while I’m prepping the nails is an important part of the process, where I learn about what ideas they have, what they’re going to be wearing, where they’re travelling to next, and what interests them creatively.

After all, they are the person who will wear the nails for the next three to four weeks, so it has to be a joint effort. 

Then, it’s a mixture of looking at pictures from my own Instagram, as well as any other photos they’ve saved, and looking at colours that suit their skin tone, work with what they’ll be wearing, and the climate they’re going to be in.

Usually, I decide that a certain colour will work, and start off with a couple of nails, then decide what other colours will match.

If I do something on one nail and a client says: “Wow, I love that,” then I’ll explore how we can enhance it and take it on to another nail. It’s all about keeping it balanced – sometimes a design won’t be quite right, but then adding a tiny speck of gold lifts it and looks amazing. 

What is the most complex or favourite set of nails you’ve ever done?

The longest I’ve spent on a set of nails was four hours – I love the mix and match trend, where there are clashing colours and all the nails are different.

I’m a fan of nail jewellery, too, where I make nails look like they’re wearing jewels by creating little charms out of gel and chrome, and mixing them together to look like pieces of gold – it’s a lovely way to get into nail art, as it’s not too colourful and can even be done on a plain soap nail background.

What is it like seeing your designs come to life on a photo shoot or the red carpet? 

I follow the same process as usual, but sometimes it can be more restricted with fashion photo shoots – especially if it is for a very big campaign, as they’ll usually want something quite plain, to avoid drawing attention away from the clothes.

If it’s a red carpet event, you have to take into consideration what people will be wearing and how far they want to go with their nail designs.

When I do eventually see the photos from a shoot or event, I think: “That’s my little piece that everyone can see,” which makes me feel proud and happy that I got it right.

Being on a shoot can be nerve-wracking because there’s so much pressure to make sure everyone likes what you’ve done – I do still get a little nervous, but I think it’s good to feel that way as it drives you to do your best work.

What nail trends are huge right now?

Nail art is a great way to express your fashion, tastes, creativity and the things you like – people sometimes even put political views on their nails or trending topics, as it’s an easy and impermanent way to show your creative side.

However, there is still a big call for classic, clean “soap nails” as they’re fresh and match with everything. People who do a lot of Instagram posting like to keep their nails plain – if they’re posting a lot of reels or photos, always keeping their nails plain stops people working out when the content was taken. 

What nail products do you love?

I love The Gelbottle Inc, especially the BIAB formula, as well as the new allergy-focused HEMA-free version and the range of colours is great, and so highly pigmented.

I try to go for non-toxic brands, and love a few of the South Korean formulas, including Ice Gel, which has an incredible cat eye gel formula with a great finish.

NUXE

Keeping your mani hydrated is key[/caption]

NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Purpose Dry Oil for Face, Body and Hair, £22

I’ve been using the Navy tools for a while now, and especially love the Cuticle Nippers, £58.

For moisturisers, exfoliators and cuticle oils I mix it up a bit, but I’m currently using Nuxe, including Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse, £22.

saent

This face oil can be applied to the hands, too[/caption]

Saent Face Oil, £75

I’ve also been using Saent, a rich, gorgeous face oil that’s also lovely for the hands – I like to use products that are as clean and organic as possible because when you’re living on an island and going into the sea, you don’t want to use anything that’s going to harm the environment.