One of my favourite things to do is wander around Boots and look at the new products. I did this last weekend and saw the Fuse Gelnamel polishes so I picked one up in the colour V-amp to test out.
Fuse Gelnamel is a gel polish however it is an all-in-one formula with a one coat average. It dries/cures in 30 seconds in the LED lamp they also sell, has ‘anti chip technology’ (not sure what that involves) and has ‘megawatt shine’ that claims to last for one week.
It was developed for time-poor people who don’t have time to do multiple coats and steps, as with a regular gel polish manicure but who wanted a similar result and no dry time.
It’s a completely new type of product that is neither a gel nor a polish but a hybrid of the two, hence ‘gelnamel’. Unfortunately they didn’t seem to remember that Shellac is actually a hybrid and not a gel…so it’s not a completely new type of product at all.
The lamp cures one finger at a time and takes 30 seconds, it’s portable as it’s so tiny and, as it has a usb lead, can be used with a plug or with your laptop or similar device to power it. It sounds quick, but if you paint one nail then cure for 30 seconds, one hand will take 2.5 minutes to dry plus painting time, if you use a standard 1 full hand LED lamp you can cure your whole hand in 30 seconds or 2 minutes in a 36 Watt UV lamp, so actually it takes longer using their lamp.
LED Lamps
I should take this time to mention that LED nail lamps give out UV light, so for all of those reviews I have seen that say you should use a LED lamp because UV lamps emit scary UV light….hmm sorry to disappoint you, but so do LED nail lamps. If you want evidence – see this handy PDF from the fabulous Doug Schoon with more info www.schoonscientific.com (not sponsored, I just think he is very knowledgeable).
Fuse Gelnamel in V-amp is a really nice burgundy wine colour which I think is really flattering to most skintones.
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| Fuse Gelnamel in V-amp |
How to apply Fuse Gelnamel
They say: It is essential for Fuse to work properly that the process is followed from start to finish on one nail at a time. Only after 1 nail is complete should you move onto the next one. If you prefer 2 coats for a more opaque colour, or for layering a glitter polish over a solid shade, this should be done after the first cure & before the wipe.
Note re colours: As Fuse is curable in light, it cannot be put into clear bottles. This means they have to be painted so the colour on the inside may not be identical to the outside. Solid colours are very good match, but it is a little more difficult with the glitters as they are clear polish with glitter particles in. (Note – Gone Fission & Lightening Jolt, please note “this polish is clear with glitter particles”. I would recommend googling for swatches before purchasing.
Overall
I thought this was an OK product but not a great one. It’s a shame as the product looks great and is a great concept. I was really excited to try it out and was left ever so slightly disappointed, especially because it’s from the Company that make Sensationail, which is a great product.
I did only try one colour and V-amp is dark, however one coat was too streaky so it did need two coats. It’s marketed as a one coat product so it is quite misleading. They should amend the formula until each colour they sell is actually possible to achieve with one coat in my opinion. I think they also could use some more nude or neutral colours for sale.
I am a trained nail technician so I would like to think I know how to apply a gel polish and that it’s not my application that caused the streakiness, plus you have to keep the coats fairly thin or they start to move around before you put them in the lamp (which is why they suggest doing one finger at a time) somewhat like a ‘self levelling’ gel.
The instructions say that the product might be slightly dull to start with but will get more shiny over the next couple of hours. This didn’t happen for me either, they were quite dull to start with and exactly the same many hours later. I didn’t want dull nails so I had to put a topcoat on from another brand to make them look shiny. So overall I used 2 coats of Fuse Gelnamel and one coat of Gelish topcoat. The only step I skipped was the basecoat. Bearing that in mind I might have just as well used a regular gel polish.
Now I haven’t found it to chip like many other reviews have said it does but again, I have used a topcoat which would prevent it chipping.
I think it would be good for teens or those that have never used any sort of gel polish before, for someone who isn’t that bothered if their nails are super shiny or perhaps someone just not as super picky as myself. It’s still obviously better than a normal nail varnish. Or you could just buy the starter kit and use the lamp with your regular gel polishes if you like the portability of it, it would be good for travelling.
You can find out more and watch their how-to-use videos here http://www.sensationail.co.uk/fuse/ and you can purchase them from Boots for £35.00 for the kit or £15.00 each.