FUSE Gelnamel Starter Kit - Full Review

Those of you who have read my blog before, or follow me on social media, will know that I am quite obsessed with all things nails! Continuing this obsession is a hobby which I thoroughly enjoy and I have been intrigued with the idea of purchasing my own DIY Gel Nail kit for a few months now. Recently I took the plunge and purchased the FUSE Gelnamel system by SensatioNail.

Before making this decision I considered many different brands. I took into account the varying prices, brand reputations, ease of application and processing times, all very important factors in choosing an at-home Gel system. I still wasn't completely confident about a choice until I saw this kit reviewed on Youtube by the beautiful & talented Chloe Morello. After watching and re-watching this video I committed to FUSE! :)

Sensationail - FUSE - Starter Kit

FUSE - Starter Kit

Jumping onto the brands Facebook page for more info, I was excited to see that FUSE not only encouraged questions and gave simple, easy to understand answers but you could also get involved to be in the running to win a starter kit through the brands regular and fun promotional competitions! I entered the #AskFuse competition a few times on Facebook and although I did not win, I was extremely impressed with the communication and information from the brand when answering my questions.

FUSE - Snap Your Style Comp On Facebook 

With this impending purchase firmly in my mind, you can imagine how delighted I was when, on a trip to Sydney for my Birthday and some work commitments, the Priceline chain held a 40% off cosmetics sale! Naturally after a busy morning in the city and breakfast with friends for my birthday, I popped in to have a look! I was so elated to see the sale included the entire Sensationail/FUSE range in metropolitan areas! My decision was made and as I took a moment to choose some colours for my first ever try at DIY gel nails. I was so excited! It was so hard to choose just 2 colours. lol

I chose my starter kit which included the colour - Na-No Way - a bright, eye catching pink I feel will make a great staple in my collection. I then picked up a second colour to use for an accent nail. My choice for this was Lightening Jolt - a stunning glitter with tones of blue, pink, orange, silver and purple, which I thought would match well with the pink and many other colours in the range for creating bright nail looks!

Na-No Way & Lighting Jolt

The Kit Includes:

• 1 x Bottle Of Fuse Gelnamel Colour (You Choose This Colour)
• Small LED Lamp
• Double Sided Nail Buffer
• Cuticle Stick
• 10 x Lint Free Wipes
• Cleanser
• Wall Adapter
• USB Plug

Once this little beauty was finally mine, I couldn't wait to give it a try. When I finally got home, I unpacked the kit and carefully read the instructions included. I settled in to give this brand new addition to my nail collection a try! The compact and portable set up of this starter kit is designed to cleanse, coat and cure one nail at a time which suits me just fine as I was a little anxious about how I was going to go.

Items Included In Starter Kit

The Steps:

1) BUFF: I used the file included in my kit to buff my nails slightly in order to help give the Gelnamel a better surface to cling too. I used the nail stick included to push back my cuticles also.

2) CLEANSE: I applied a small amount of the cleanser to a lint free wipe and swiped it across my first nail.

3) ONE THIN COAT OF COLOUR: I tentatively applied a very thin coat to my nail taking care to slightly 'cap' the tip of the nail as advised in the instructions. I let the thin coat of colour sit for a moment so that the 'self-leveling' formula could work its magic. I was surprised initially at how thin the coverage looked when specifically advised to apply such a thin coat.

Colour Pictured - Na-No Way!

4) CURE: I cured my nail using the LED light or 30 seconds - So quick!

Curing My First Nail

5) CLEANSE: I then wiped off the tacky layer using the cleanser and lint free wipe once more. A small amount of colour could be seen on the wipe after curing but this did not seem to affect the look of the Gelnamel on my nail.

My Nails With One Complete Coat Of Colour

I ended up applying 3x coats of the Gelnamel polish to each nail in order to achieve a coverage that I was happy with. This meant repeating all steps 3 times on each nail which was slightly time consuming. I think I could have gone a little closer to my cuticle line but as I permanently have acrylic nails applied this was tricky. I feel that I will get more confident as I continue using this kit and have really enjoyed wearing this bright and fun nail look for the last week. I was pleased to find that, as with a salon application of gel or shellac, I experienced no chipping or peeling.

Completed Look - Na-No Way and Lightning Jolt

Additional Step) REMOVAL: As the FUSE starter kit does not contain any products for the polish removal, I decided to purchase some removal essentials while buying my Gelnamel set. I picked up the Gel Polish removal tool by Sensationail, however due to the hype surrounding the Priceline sale found it difficult to find the FUSE branded removal kit which seemed to have sold out!

To remove my Gel nails I followed the process outlined on the FUSE website. I soaked cotton balls in nail polish remover and wrapped them around each nail before covering them in foil to keep the cotton in place and enhance the process. After leaving this to sit for around 20 minutes, I was then able to remove the Gelnamel with the gel polish removal tool. Unfortunately this process did physically dent my acrylic nails which was disappointing. Thankfully I always get a gel top coat on my nails when applying acrylics at the salon; this protects my nails from my constant polish changes and I found this helped protect the nails from further damage during this removal process.

The Full FUSE Colour RangeFrom Left To Right: ELEC-TRIC OR TREAT; E-MOTION; POLAR BARE; INTENS-SO-FLY;  LIGHTNING JOLT; LIGHTS, CAMERA, RE-ACTION!; NA-NO WAY!; GONE FISSON; SONIC BLUE-M; SUCH A LASER; V-AMP; WATTS YOUR COLOUR?

I am more than happy to say that not only did my first attempt at using the SensatioNail FUSE Gelnamel system yield beautiful, shiny, non chipping nails; but the process was also FUN! I really enjoyed being able to play nail salon at home.

To summarize my experience with purchasing and using the FUSE Gelnamel starter kit, I believe the following Pro/Cons apply:

PROS:

• Great Company To Deal With

• Stocked In Many Priceline Stores Throughout Australia

• One Coat Application (All In One Formula - No Base /Top Coat)

• Self Leveling Formula

• 30 Second Dry Time

• Easy Process And Instructions To Follow

• Size Enables Kit To Be Easily Portable

• LED Light Can Be Plugged Into The Wall Or Laptop

• Inexpensive System

• Lovely Range Of Colours

• Great Shine Finish 

CONS : 

• No Products Or Instructions Included In Kit For Removal

• Slight Difficulty With Removal

• Complete Application Was Somewhat Time Consuming (However i feel this would improve with practice)

• Slight Colour Transfer In Final Cleansing Step After Curing

I would definitely suggest this kit to anyone considering a first time purchase of a DIY gel nail kit or to those needing a long lasting polish that takes little fuss compared to normal nail polish application. This is also a fantastically portable system, allowing nail enthusiasts to experience DIY gel nails on the go

Thanks so much for reading, I hope this post was as enjoyable to read as it was to write. :) 

Have you considered buying a FUSE Gelnamel starter kit? What colour would you choose?

I would love to hear your thoughts, and answer any questions about this product or this post, down below. 

This product was purchased by me, along with additional colours :)

FUSE Gelnamel Australia Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fuse-Gelnamel-Australia/1396864173894615 (Linked above)

Website : https://www.fusegelnamel.com.au/Home.aspx



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