OCT 3, 2024 | FEATURES | By Posy Vogt
Nail art has grown significantly in popularity, especially on and around the Colorado College campus; the barista at Dutch Bros, the new first-year in my group on CCSGA, the Catalyst co-EIC, etc. all casually parade tiny, detailed nail beds, each a work of art in their own right. The culprit is the highly sought-after Luismari Lopez, or ‘Lulu,’ who operates under an unconventional business model, setting her bookings on Instagram (@gelxlulupiie) and performing her artistry out of a home studio, decorated to perfectly match her personality. It is practically a Pinterest wet dream. Olivia Xerras ‘24 accurately refers to it as “her epic pink cave.”
Lopez specializes in gel extensions or ‘GelX,’ which are not to be confused with acrylic extensions. She “hate[s] acrylics.” Lopez cares much more about the preparation and actual art on the nails than the nail itself, as evidenced by her Instagram which features sets adorned with many charms, tiny doodles, colors and even glow-in-the-dark tips. “[When I was a kid] I would watch Sailor Moon, I would sit down and pause the TV and I would put a paper on it and trace over the TV… I liked coloring more than I liked drawing… I just want to be coloring.” “Coloring” is actually far from an appropriate way to describe her work. Lopez freehands all of her designs, including full images of anime characters’ faces.
Doing extensive ‘prep’ ensures that the nails stay on for as long as possible — in my personal experience, these nails do not come off until they are taken off.
Growing up in a military family, Lopez moved around a lot. She got her start in Hawaii where she worked in a salon. She did both hair and nails: “When I was working on the hair side it stressed me out, but when I worked on the nail side” she says she “felt like *sigh* just like a quiet calm,” adding that, “If I mess up someone’s hair I can cause like real-life trauma” whereas nails are much easier to reverse.
I asked her if she had ever turned down a style that a client requested, “genuinely, I don’t think any of my clients have bad taste. There are some clients that get, like, simple shit but I don’t think that’s…ugly” even though she prefers more detailed designs. Lopez has never rejected a design because she couldn’t do it, she will always figure out how to do something if someone asks — except for a gel airbrush, she would “rather eat a jean jacket.”
There are two whiteboard calendars next to her desk, with almost every tiny square on both holding up to three names going all the way to the end of Oct. To the left of the calendars is a large, flat-screen TV that is always playing something, this time it was “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” After giving me some background on who is who in the show, Lopez gushed, “I would do [nails] all day, I would do it for free, I just like sitting here with girls and watching the raunchiest TV and just like shit talking for two hours.” She gestured to the small shelves, surrounding her wall of polish, that hold multiple figurines from different shows and books, all composed of different material and sizes. Many of the characters were gifts from clients, which speaks to the closeness she has cultivated among her client base. She focused in on a Lego Mini Mouse, “I mean can you fucking believe this?”
Most of Lopez’ clients are Colorado College students, actually, she estimates, we comprise around 90% of her appointments. “I haven’t had…one bad experience [with a CC student], and I feel like the CC community…is just…good. When I get a DM and there’s ‘CC’ in the bio I’m like ‘yeah.’” It’s not uncommon that I am halfway through an appointment and she’ll mention someone who’s in my class, or even perhaps, running this newspaper. Leigh Walden ‘25, Catalyst editor-in-chief and self-proclaimed ‘Lulu super fan’ says that “Lulu is the kind of nail tech you send pics to of your nails in action. ‘Here are my nails holding a fish, ‘here are my nails holding coffee,’ ‘here are my nails flipping someone off.’ She’s… so easy to like… so wildly talented.”
Xerras ‘24 said on the topic of Lopez’ CC students, “The power of word of mouth and the amount of CC girls that want to support a small business in the Springs has been really awesome to see unfold.”
Lopez likely has one of the lowest costs for ‘a full set’ in the Springs, at $45 before tip. “Her skills and price point [have] allowed her to really gain momentum fast” added Xerras. Anyone who frequents Anthony Vince, for example, is probably gagged in this moment. I certainly was. Lopez is firm about only charging a marginal amount above what the materials cost “which is not to disrespect nail techs who charge a lot…it’s their job.” Lopez explained that she doesn’t want to exclude anyone because of pricing, the clients who can, tend to show their appreciation by tipping.
But, the real appeal is skipping the awkwardness of a half-hearted conversation with a stranger, which is customary with a new nail-tech. Lopez explained that to her, “it doesn’t feel like… work… it feels like my friend is coming over,” which is exactly what it feels like to be one of her clients. Guys, she knows everything about my mommy-issues. I actually brought my roommate, Clara Bent ‘25, to get her first-ever set of nails a couple weeks ago, “I feel like I didn’t know what to expect going into it and, like, right off the bat she was…kind and very outgoing…[she] made the space feel very comfortable and…made me laugh a lot.”
As for the future, Lopez initially had plans to own her own studio and work with her sister-in-law. But this way, she explained, that “if [she] gets ‘no-showed,’ [she] can just walk upstairs.” And she let out a little laugh.
I asked if there was anything she wanted to make sure was in the article, and she spoke almost entirely about how grateful she is for the frenzy around her work. “I just feel so humbled, I feel like… this feeling is new to me, nobody ever really gave a fuck about what I did.” But, if there’s one thing that I want to make sure makes it in the article it’s that, yes, you can vape in her studio… yes, your pen too.