Fuse Gelnamel Starter Kit in "Sonic Blue-M" from Sensationail: Review and Swatches

Disclaimer: Product featured was provided for review.

Lately, it seems that the at-home gel manicure experience is all the rage. Everyone wants to achieve shiny and long-lasting manicures without having to visit the salon or pay the big bucks. So today, I want to review for you the Fuse Gelnamel Starter Kit ($49.99) from Sensationail. Equipped with everything you will need to attain the perfect gel manicure, the Fuse Starter Kit promises an easy and quick gel polish experience. To read more and see how well the kit works, click.......
What's included:
-Fuse LED Lamp (comes with USB adaptor and outlet plug)
-Gel Cleanser (acetone-based polish remover)
-GelNamel (various colors; I have "Somic Blue-M")
-Lint-free Wipes
-Double-sided Nail Buffer
-Orange Stick
-Instruction manual

Everything included in the kit.

Fuse LED Lamp:
The lamp from the kit is definitely the most interesting item for me because I have never seen a LED lamp designed to cure only one finger at a time. On one hand, I appreciate the travel-friendly size but on the other hand, I am not too fond of the fact that the manicure will take significantly longer since only one finger can be cured at a time (it takes 30 seconds to cure one layer of gel polish).

Only one finger can fit into the mini LED lamp.

The top of the LED lamp (the part the actual light bulb is attached to) is attached to the base via a magnet. So by repositioning the top portion, the lamp can be readjusted for pedicures.

The top portion of the LED lamp is adjustable.

The LED lamp can be powered by directly plugging it into the USB port on your computer. It also comes with its own outlet plug if you want to use it directly without a computer. The lamp turns on with the press of a button and it will stay on for exactly 30 seconds before shutting off.

When flipped 180 degrees, the lamp can be used for toe nails.

Fuse Gelnamel in "Sonic Blue-M":
All Fuse gel polishes are designed to be worn on its own as it is formulated with a base and top coat. The instructions suggests gently buffing the surface of the nail and wiping them down with the Gel Cleanser and lint-free wipes included. The polish is supposed to be applied in thin coats and cured after each coat.
The instruction suggests that only two coats of the polish is needed to attain full opacity but I had to use three. The pigmentation isn't too bad but I had trouble with the polish pooling near my cuticles. The formulation is a bit thick but it is very self-leveling.
I was quite happy with the finished result. Each layer of the polish cured completely after 30 seconds and the finish is very nice and gel-ish.

Longevity:

Now this is where the problem came in. I did my right hand index finger (the one that gets the most "traffic") to test the wear. I washed a couple of dishes, groomed myself and went out for a jog. By about eight or nine o'clock at night (about four to five hours later), I noticed that the tip of the gel polish has completely lifted off of my nail (the polish near the base of the nail was fairly secure)! 

Now I want to note that I did in fact wipe my nails down, although I didn't file the surface of nails (I find it to damaging), so that could technically be the problem but I don't think it should have resulted in the polish peeling off after a mere four to five hours!

Overall:

I'm very much on the fence about this product because I quite like the compact size and the adjustability of the lamp. However, the formulation of the gel polish is questionable. I know when it comes to ordinary polishes, I can rarely go even a day without getting chips, but with this Gelnamel I was expecting a bit more. Perhaps I will try again and this time making sure I eally buff my nails down before applying the polish.

Availability:

The Starter Kit is available online and in stores at Walmart and Target (the prices are much lower than listed on the Fuse website, $12.98 vs $49.99).