Tutorial: laser design tape mani


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

First apply your base color, this will be the color of the crossing laser beams. Try to use onecoaters if you have the choice, because those will take less time to dry. Let the base color dry for at least 5 minutes. If you're using a polish that requires two or more coats, apply a fastdrying topcoat like Seche Vite and wait for at least 10 minutes to let it dry.
Cut off a little piece of tape off the roll, and then cut the piece in thinner strips lengthwise. The strips don't have to be evenly wide, I think different sized strips will make the design playful. But if you really want them to be even, you can use the thickness of your scissorblades as a reference.
Then place the strips randomly on the nail so that they overlap each other. You can use your fingers for this, but tweezers can give you more precision. Also it's pretty useful to remember the order in which you place the tape strips, so you'll know which one to remove first later on in step 3. I usually start with the more or less horizontal strips, then the vertical ones, which means I'll have to remove the vertical strips before the horizontal ones after I've applied my second polish in step 3.
Before you apply the layering polish, make sure the tape has fully adhered on the nail (it tends to lift up around the edges of the nail). Now apply your layering polish and remove the tape strips right away. And by that I really mean right away! Because if you let the layering polish dry up too much, it's going to stick to the tape and when you remove the tape it can drag some polish with it and ruin the design a bit. So my advise is to do the painting and removing of the strips on one nail at a time.
And that's it! Your laser mani is born. Don't forget clean-up if needed and a layer of topcoat :)
Check out the tutorial page for some useful tips. Also I would 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 Millennium and Barry M Cobalt Blue.

33 comments

  1. oi,seu blog e lindo,suas unhas são lindas,estou te seguindo visite o meu blog e segue tb .
    e que tal a gente trocar nossos esmaltes tb
    bjs flor
    http://amodanapontadasunhas.blogspot.com/

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  2. this is a great tutorial, I'll try this

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  3. Wonderful tutorial, thanks! :)

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  4. Thank you all for the comments :) I'm glad you like the tutorial and I hope you'll enjoy this mani as much as I do!

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  5. Thanks, that's very useful, I have to try that!

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  6. Thanks so much for your reply and creating this tutorial! :D After I can master this, I must def try the multi-coloured one!

    Thanks for the tips too - def very helpful!

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  7. @Steph: You're welcome! Have fun :)

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  8. Thanks so much for the tutorial! I'll have to try this soon.

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  9. This looks absolutely gorgeous! Love it! Gonna try this myself!

    Thnx for the tutorial!

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  10. This is so cool. I wish I had the patience to do it! :)

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  11. Hello, I am new to your blog and really like it. I think you're very talented. I post about your blog on my blog (http://blog.esthersnc.com) to introduce you to my readers. Keep up the good work!

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  12. And I forgot to say something...:-). Would you put more tutorials so we know how to do the nail art you made? Thanks.

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  13. Thanks so much for this, its amazing!

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  14. Yay! your mani using tape are really gorgeous and so creative! I love that!

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  15. thanks for this! you answered every question ive been thinking in my head! im going out to get some tap soon and attempt some of this =]

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  16. I just found yout blog and I absolutely loved it! Your tutorials are great and very creatives :) Keep doing them :D
    Oh, now you have a reader from Brasil! hehe

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  17. I a version of this 3 months ago & I found your blog and absolutely love it!!

    http://ohmyjesusbob.tumblr.com/post/3974249061/weekend-nails-lol-opi-ds-radiance-sinful

    There's the link to my tumblr post with my laser accent nails.

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  18. I tried doing this and I kinda failed. I think my tape strips are thicker. But you can see it on my blog.

    http://naiilartlover.tumblr.com/post/8039164528/laser-beam-this-is-a-failed-attempt-of

    thank you!

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  19. i LOVE this, its the best! theres also another one i learned where u can make newspaper prints on ur fingers.... anyways, your genious and i hope everybody gets to know this EASY trick to make fun & beautiful nails

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  20. your nail designs are simple but very well-executed and brilliant!!
    hope my nails r as pretty as yours!
    btw, i noticed that the silver polish used in ur designs is reli pretty,..
    what brand and shade is that?
    thanks!
    keep posting more brilliant design! they r so chic!!

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  21. Hi! I´m stucked on your toturials, just loving them all=) Haven´t hade time to try so many of them yet beacuse it´s so hard to decid wich one. But here is my first attempt: http://lela.bloggplatsen.se/2011/09/13/6235090-flamingo-pink-och-depend-223/

    Please, never stop publishing your tutorials. They are so easy to work after!=)

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  22. Tried this today!!! You are officially my nail IDOL!!

    http://fabpolishedlife.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-nails.html

    Came out a little sloppy, that my bad of course, but I think I did pretty okay. Thanx for the tutorial!

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  23. geweldig!!! dit ga ik zeker weten ook proberen heel leuk!!!

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  24. http://inflightradi0.tumblr.com/post/14343483105/nailsides-laser-design-tape-mani-done

    I'm in love with it! I can't wait to try other colors!

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  25. i love all your tutorials! i tried out this tutorial 1st and posted the result up on my blog.

    http://lilgreenheart.blogspot.com/2012/02/day-6-purple-tape-mani.html

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  26. Great!!!!
    Your post gave me a motivation cause I am also managing a nail art blog. So I think that would be great if we be a friend and communicate each other. Thx and have a nice day! :)

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  27. This is AWESOME!!!

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