In May, I picked this kit up from Nail Polish Direct as the entire set was £34.95 (not including the regular polish) and I thought that was a pretty good deal for an entire gel kit with a lamp. Most kits don't include a gel top coat which is super annoying but this one has a base and top and then two others called fuse and prep.
I also love candyfloss and thought this was the cutest shade. I was going to get the entire collection, however all the shades are so similar to the new Barry M Gelly shades (that I bought the previous month) so I decided to leave it and just get the one shade I wanted the most.
Mini USB Gel Lamp
RRP £19.99
This is cute but I'm thinking I could've bought it cheaper on eBay. It is literally just a Chinese made LED lamp with 6 lights with a Cuccio sticker stuck on the top; it looks and feels really cheap. The Cuccio sticker is slightly touching the start button as well. Also the legs are super flimsy. Every time you move it one falls in. This has clearly just been bought in bulk from China and then Cuccio hiked the price up and stuck their own labels on them. I'm not impressed given that it's £20. Here are some identical lamps I found on eBay:
It doesn't even work that well and takes a good 4 minutes to even slightly cure gel polish. I feel cheated.
Cotton Candy Sorbet // Lilac Pink Creme
Collection: Rainbow Sorbet
Release Date: May 2020
Regular - £3.95
Coats: 2
For some reason, my bottle seems to have little black specks in it? This is not advertised as having bits in it and other swatches I've seen seem to be a regular creme so I think I got a bad one. It also wasn't the best application; the formula is thick and gloopy. I think I'm just spoilt by Barry M's self-leveling ability at this point. It's a nice enough shade but I was underwhelmed.
Gel - £7.95
Coats: 2
The matching gel shade is ever so slightly darker and less pink but it doesn't have black flecks in it. The scent is also surprisingly tame for gel. I put one thin layer on a plastic swatch stick and it was still wiping off after 2 minutes under the lamp. I eventually stopped at 4 minutes and then wiped off the top with a lint free wipe and some gel cleanser and there was some polish on wipe. It didn't feel hard or lasting. I used the recommended prep, fuse and base on the swatch stick (I don't wear gel on my normal nails...that's far too much commitment for me 😂) and I wasn't impressed. It was not as good as the DND gel polishes I have. I use these gel shades on my friends who like to have gel manicures but I would not buy anymore Cuccio gel polishes for this purpose.
// Verdict
Underwhelmed. At £35 I should've just bought some more Daisy DND duo's. My £3 eBay lamp is far superior (it can fit your entire hand and has automatic sensors). Save your money.
I have never tried gel polishes so no idea :-|
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