Tutorial: laser design tape mani

This blog was made to share naildesigns so today I want to show you how I make a laser tape mani with one layering color.

First apply the basecoat and after that your base color, this will be the color of the crossing laserbeams. Try to use onecoaters if you have the choice, because those dry faster so it will save you a lot of time. Let the base color dry for 2-3 minutes. If using a polish that requires two or more coats, apply a fastdrying topcoat like Seche Vite and wait for 10 minutes to let it dry.

Then take a little piece of tape and cut it in thin strips lengthwise. The strips don't have to be evenly big, different sized strips make the design playful. But if you really want them to be even, you can use the thickness of your scissorblades as a standard.
Place the strips on the nail so that they cross each other. Fingers will do with that, but you'll work more precisely with tweezers. Important is to remember the order in which you place the tape, so you won't smudge your design while removing the tape because they're overlapping. I always start with the (more or less) horizantal strips and then the vertical ones, or the other way around.

Before you apply the layering color, make sure the tape is stuck well on the nail, it tends to get off around the edges. Now apply your top color and remove the tape as soon as you're finished with that. Do the last two actions on one nail at a time, because if you let the polish dry too long, it will stick to the tape and your lines won't be so crisp.

Tada, you're laser mani is born!
Don't forget clean-up and topcoat :)

Finally some useful tips:

• For my tape manis, all I use is regular stationery tape. But you might prefer something else, so just experiment with different sorts of tape to figure out what works best for you.
• For your base color you can use any polish you like, however one-coaters will allow you to place the tape much sooner because those are usually fast drying. Of course you can also quicken the drying of polishes that require several coats to cover, by applying a fast drying topcoat. (I use Seche Vite). 
• Your layering color(s) can be either a one- or two-coater. Because you've already applied a base color, most polishes that usually take two coats to cover now will do with one.
• Though I mention cutting the tape strips as step 2, I admit it is safer to cut before applying the base color. However, if you've learned how to cut the tape without having it touch your polished nails, it can save you a lot of time.
• You might want to leave the cut strips somewhere else than the edge of your desk/table, to prevent them from getting stuck to the surface while you're busy. You do not want to have to peel them off with your freshly painted claws!
• Apply your top color in one thin (but opaque) coat, this will create crisper lines.
• When you're removing the tape strips, try to remove them individually, if you can, because most of the time your design will come out neater this way
• Using tweezers to remove the tape strips can prevent your freshly painted nails from getting smudged.
• It's not always necessary to start all over if you've messed up your design, often a little touch-up with a nailart brush can solve the problem.
• If you want to use a matte topcoat, use a regular one underneath. My experience with matte topcoats is that they smudge the design very easily, even when it's completely dry. Applying a normal topcoat first will prevent that.
• Moisterize your cuticles afterwards, because the tape can really dry out your skin!
• You can practice this tutorial on your old mani that you applied a day (or more) before. If you succeed, you've got yourself a fresh mani, otherwise you were going to remove it anyway!
• If you feel like this design is too time-consuming for a full mani, you can also use it for an accent nail (or two).
• Have fun and practice makes perfect ;)

I would absolutely love to see your attempt on my design, so feel free to leave a link to your creation in the comment section!


Polishes I used in this post are China Glaze Millenium and Barry M Cobalt Blue