Fuse by Sensationail is a new LED nail polish. It allows you to do a gel like manicure at home – with only 30 second cure times per coat and no base or top coat needed!
About the Fuse Starter Kit
Fuse nail polish comes in a fairly large bottle but actually does not contain as much polish as you would think. Most nail polishes (Zoya, China Glaze, etc) contain 0.5 fl oz and the bottle is similar in size but holds 0.36 fl oz. This is larger than most LED polishes but do not be deceived by the bottle size – it is also around $15 per bottle so about the same price per ml/oz as Red Carpet Manicure or Quo polishes.
The Fuse starter kit which cost $34.99 comes with:
- LED lamp (one finger at a time)
- cleanser
- Gelnamel Polish (I choose Gone Fission – neutral colour but sparkles!)
- file/buffer
- orange stick
- lint free wipes
The Fuse LED lamp is a mini lamp, it comes with both a regular cable and USB connection for power. The USB connection is great for me as our power outlets are in random places so I am limited on where I can do my nails with my regular LED lamp. The downside is it does a single finger at a time, but at 30 second cure times, that is not bad at all. There is a hole for your finger (with a little dent so you know where to lay your finger for maximum light) but the top also slides out so you can easily do your toes too. Again, great as I have hit my toe against the top of my regular lamp before while sliding my foot under it.
The polishes are available in 12 cool colours (starter kits are not available in all colours):
The Fuse Manicure
You buff your nail to remove the shine, wipe it with cleanser then apply a thin coat of Fuse polish and cure for 30 seconds under the Fuse LED lamp. I checked with Sensationail and you can use your regular lamp but the cure times will be longer.
I cured one hand with my Red Carpet Manicure lamp and it took about 60 seconds. Gone Fission needed a second coat, you do the second coat after curing the first – thick coats will not cure properly. Once you are happy with the opacity, you wipe the nail with cleanser again after the final cure of each nail.
My Experience With Fuse
I am not the hugest fan of the Fuse nail polish I tried. I like my nail to feel smooth but without topcoat, I could feel the glitter in Gone Fission. That being said, the creme finish polishes may be great. The large lid is also a little difficult to handle and the thicker polish takes some getting used to, but is not terrible.
I do not like buffing my nails to apply polish as it can cause damage to the nail so used my own buffer. I do like that you can use your own LED lamp, but the cure times are longer than any of my other gel polishes.
The hand I cured with the Fuse lamp chipped badly after 3 days while the other lasted another day with minor chipping before I removed it. I am used to LED polishes lasting much longer than that, especially when I am not being particularly hard on my nails. Again, maybe a topcoat would help with this, but I was unsure of whether to use a regular top coat or a gel one and whether to cure it before or after cleansing so didn’t try.
The kit would be great for use when travelling, the small size and not needing to have base coat and top coat makes it perfect to throw in your makeup bag but it will not replace my regular at home LED manicure with the Red Carpet Manicure lamp.
Removal was very easy, you just soak it in 100% acetone using the nail wrap method and it removes fairly easily and quickly – especially for a glitter heavy polish.
Buy Fuse GelNamel
Brand: FUSE Gelnamel by Sensationail (a Nailene brand)
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter (tag photos with #fusegelnamel)
Price:
- Fuse Starter Kit $29.99 online or $34.99-$39.99 in stores
- Fuse Gelnamel Polishes $9.99 or $12.99-$15.49 in stores
Availability: Online from Fuse, Rexall, Shoppers Drug Mart and other retailers.
Great review !! I am hard on my nails and love to wear nail polish over the summer. I might pick up a kit for travelling.
That’s surprisingly affordable! There are so many gel nail kits available now that I have a hard time deciding which one to go for.
After trying a few, my favourite is the Red Carpet Manicure pro kit
http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/products/complete-starter-kit-with-professional-led-by-red-carpet-manicure.html
I just bought fuse and it’s amazing! It works very well and fast! It lasted me about Two days shy of two weeks!!
Love this nail polish kit and can’t wait to try all colors!!
really do not like theft of the glitter, driving me crazy. wish me luck with a clear topcoat.
I bought this kit at Wal-Mart and I spend $12.99. I did used a normal topcoat on it and it lasted a week before it chipped a little. I have to say I cleaned my car in and out…so maybe I was a little rough. It took more than 30 seconds per nail, actually 60, but it is not that bad. If you want to try something for the first time to see if you like it, go for it. If you want a professional looking nail….well I do not know because this is the first time I do it by myself and I like it!
How about the 2 coats for the color v-amp? Its a darker color and I’m wondering how much polish at 1st can i put on before it’s too much to cure? Or is that possible? Especially when 2 coats are needed. Will it be alright and do I do all 10 nails 1st then go back and reapply 2nd coat from start to finish with same nail polishing pattern?