Archive for December 2012

157

Hucci Contests


I guess I'm feeling pretty creative today. With the bustle of the holidays and other goings on, it's been more difficult for me to really focus on things. Earlier this month, Hucci, one of my favorite designers, decided to host a photo contest. I normally am not one to enter things like this, but with my success in Bilo and Handverk's compilation, I decided to give this one a go too.

This photo was taken at E U P H O R I A shopping mall. They have these wonderful stairs with glowing strips of light on the edges. I thought they would compliment the vibrant color of my mini dress.

Credits:
Dress:    ::Hucci:: - Evereux Dress (Tangerine)
Shoes:    ::Hucci:: - Roseau Booties (Morning Glow)
Pose:    Focus Poses - Pin Up



156

Happy Holidays @ Picture This! Poses


In the spirit of the holidays, I have put out a special pose for $10L. In addition, there is a free sampler pack under the tree at my mainstore. PS the amazing mesh tree in this photo is the freebie gift from Lelutka



Credits:
Awesomest sweater ever:    Kauna - Winter Jumper (Deer Green)~FaMeshed
Jeans:    {Mon Tissu} - Lou Lou Jeans (Used)
Hair:    Exile - Beyond the Waves (Rouge) New!
Eyes:    IKON - Sunrise Eyes (Pale Azure)
Hands:    Slink Mesh Hands
Skin:    League - Jen (Fair Natural)
Windlight:    Strawberry Singh Original

155

Skip


After post editing the hell out of a picture of my friend Scipio Zelin (thanks, Firestorm, for your grid lines and your shadow destruction), I thought maybe I'd write on the importance of friendships in Second Life. Scipio - or Skip as we call him in Ravenhurst - being one of my best friends on the grid. But the truth is the two of us were simply occupying space on SIM and I felt inspired to take his picture. Mostly because Skip is probably the most interesting looking avatar I've seen to this day. Not a lot of 50-somethings running around who dress this nice! So no, this post will not be an ode to friendships, nor will it be me gushing on and on with starry eyes about those in Second Life I cherish the most. Nope, I'm just going to lay these photos here because they need to take space on the internet. Skip is that awesome. 


154

Holiday Gifts





It's the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas and holiday gifts are abound on the Grid. Content creators are showing their love and generosity to friends, family, and well, pretty much anyone. If you are not a member of FATAL's group, you are seriously missing out. At the mainstore, look under the tree! There are so many lovely gifts for both men and women if you're wearing the group tag.

Speaking of gifts, have you been to Lelutka? In case you're not aware of the holiday gifts being offered for Lelukta group members, they have a pack of incredible mesh hairs along with a mesh Christmas Tree. On top of that, the mesh hairs come with an adorable hat from Celoe.


Credits:
Gown:    FATAL - Judith Holiday Evening Gown [Christmas Gift]
Necklace:    Cae - Timeless
Ring:    {Bilo} - Rashimi Ring (Silver) New!
Hair:    [Lelutka] - Vent Hair (Blonde Fun) [Christmas Gift]
Eyes:    IKON - Eternal Eyes (Pool)
Lashes:    Maxi Gossamer
Lip Gloss:    Pididdle - Poutier Lip (Clear Coat)~My Attic
Skin:    League - Jen (Fair Nautral)
Poses:    Picture This! Poses - Here I am
Windlight:    Phototools Epi Vintage


153

Busty Bombshell @ Picture This!



152

Hooded Lace
Merging Windlights



I'm sure you've noticed the ton of new windlights in Phoenix Firestorm's latest update, including many for the phototools plugin that has been integrated into the same release. Some of the windlights are very dramatic. One of my favorite photo techniques are layering windlights in photoshop (or whatever image editing software that you might use.) 

The trick? Take one high res snapshot with a well lit, clearly defined picture. Take another with a very dramatic windlight effect. From there I will paste the dramatic windlight snapshot over the other and let my imagination take over. Do I overlay one image over the other? Do I erase parts of one image and let parts of the second shine through? I think you get the picture. Litterally. 

Windlights used: Phototools' Black and White #11 and Strawberry Singh's 'Original'.





Credits:    
Hood:    ~Soedara~ - Linen Scarf and Hood (White)
Lace Mask:    BlackLiquid - Lace Hood (White pearls)
Neck Corset:    [Etchaflesh] Double Buckle Neck Corset V3
Eyes:    IKON - Horizon Eyes (Pale Aruba)
Lashes:    Redgrave - Corner Painted
Boobs (and rings):    LOLA's - Tango mesh breasts (With League Skin Applier) New!
Skin:    League - Jen (Fair Feline w/ GlamGoth lip layer)
Pose:    Picture This! Poses - Model Stands 6-10 (6)

151

Model Stands 6-10 @ Picture This!





150

Bilo is Boobtastic


Glamorous, slinky, and partially mesh, Bilo has released the Nadia and Tani mini-dresses with Tango breast appliers so that your breasts can make an entrance before you do. 


Credits:
Dress:    {Bilo} - Nadia Dress (Prussian)
Heels:    Hucci - Oita Pumps (Moonglow)
Clutch:    O&N - Studs Purse (Monolux)
Ring:    {Bilo} - Rashmi Ring New!
Hair:    Truth - Jemima (Cranberry w/ roots)
Eyes:    IKON - Horizon Eyes (Pale Aruba)
Cosmetics:   R.icielli (Gorgeous Makeups)[Previous Hunt Gift]
Skin:    [PXL] - Faith (Pale)
Pose:    Juxtapose - FROST gift




149

The Booby Story


It's the latest craze. There's no denying it. They've been around for awhile now, but none have quite compared to the mesh Tango ta-tas from Lola. I'm talking prim boobies, ladies (and germs.) At first I just really didn't get the look. Avatar cleavage can certainly be boobalicious in certain skins so it's been pretty easy if you want to mingle around the grid as a busty bombshell, even if your breasts are sized to fit the extra small and small standard sizes of mesh. My normal skin from League always manages to impress me with two perfectly round, pushed up breasts that look great in just about any layer of clothing. 

Ah, but here are the tangos. I'm not sure when strutting around the grid with va-va voom curvature became the thing, considering we've all been cursed to hang around the previous major craze in SL shapedom - the pony rider.  

I've just never really been all that impressed with the whored-out slut-junk look that's common around the grid and I'll confess, I equated the tangos to just some novelty reduced to those who want to role play getting their titties knocked around by gigantic prim cocks. But they caught on with designers, and designers started releasing appliers - the layer that means exactly what it says. Suddenly, the grid is coming alive with gorgeous clothes, skin mods.. 

I'll admit, the first time I put them on, I was a bit blown back. But as I started to play with their sizes and textures, I'll confess they are rather fun. They are well made and very customizable. The HUD is a bit overwhelming at first, and if you're a very pale avatar, you're probably going to have a bit of trouble matching to your skin - something us lighter skinned avatars are familiar with. However, some skin makers have jumped into the tango boat and have released skin appliers that fix that issue. They can be shrunk down to a more modest size, which I have done for this photo, and of course they can be blown up to mega-boob size if you're trying out for SL's Next Top Porno Model. All and all, they are a fun product. It certainly makes going topless more interesting. 


Credits:
Pants:    *BOOM* - Miami Linens (Cobalt)
Necklace:    KOSH - Noda Necklace ~ Together for Sway
Bracelet:    yoyo9 - Pearl2
Earrings:    :Fusion: - Hoop beaded earrings (Silver)
Heels:    Pixel Mode - Baby T's (Black)
Boobies:    Lolas - Tango Mesh Breasts
Hair:    Truth - Cece (Cranberry) New!
Nails:    Izzie's - Metallic Gradient Nails [HUD Controlled]
Eyeliner:    CheLLe's - French New Wave
Eyes:    IKON - Utopia Eyes (Pale Trojan Blue)
Skin:    PXL - Faith (Pale)
Pose: dfo - Gala

148

Holiday Glam



Tis the season for Christmas parties, both real life and virtual. Designers have been putting out glamorous gowns, cocktail dresses, and bling (minus the scripts, thank God.) One of my favorites are the Carol dresses at Bilo, which pair up well with their lovely line of mesh gems. 

Yesterday was Truth Day! I love Truth's vintage coifs. 'Sassy' is very glamorous, but there's a similiar pony-tail style up for grabs at Truth Hair aptly called 'Sassy 2'. 



Credits:
Dress:    {Bilo} - Carol (Red) New!
Shoes:    Cliche - Siesta (Black)
Earrings:    {Bilo} - Sitara Earrings (Silver Diamond) New!
Ring:    {Bilo} - Rashmi Ring (Silver) New!
Hair:    Truth - Sassy (Sangria w/ roots) New!
Eyes:    IKON - Eternal Eyes (Peak)
Hands:    Slink
Lashes:   Izzie's v1.02
Skin:    League - Jen (Fair Glam)
Pose: Picture This! Poses - Bold Confidence

147

Romance




Credits:
Cardigan:    *MC* Mon Cheri - Open Cardigan (Tan)[Part of the Vintage Outfit]~The Arcade
Dress:    Baiastice - Aidia Dress (White)
Pumps:   ::Duh!:: - Classic Leather Pumps (Pink)~Together for Sway
Necklace:    Noodles - Have a Heart (Silver)~Together for Sway 
Hair:    Truth - Chynna (Cranberry w/ roots)
Nails:    Izzies - 80's Round Nails [HUD controlled]
Eyes:    FATEeyes
Skin:    {.Essences.} - Amelie (Gentle)~Together for Sway

146

Together for Sway


Hands down the best thing about Second Life are the friendships and relationships we build with other people on the grid. It's a beautiful thing. It never fails to amaze me how we all rally around each other when things are getting bad, when real life tragedy or hardships hit, or when one of our grid friends are in need. 

If you're a resident on the grid, then you are surely familiar with Sway's brand of home goods and decor. When her friends found out that she had to have major surgery to remove a (hopefully) benign tumor out of her brain, they were quick to organize a support event to help her out. Some of SL's top creators have made exclusive new items, or put out older favorites at a discounted price in order to generate lindens for the fundraiser, including Damien Fate, who I'm eager to pull along on a shopping venture. Hope he's ready to carry some bags! 

Opens December 15th




Credits:    
Dress:    ColdLogic - Ally (Grey)~Together for Sway
Boots:    AngelRed - Exclusive Frost Mesh Boots ~ Frost
Hair:    Truth - Winona (Cranberry w/ roots)
Eyes:    IKON - Eternal Eyes (Peak)
Hands:    Slink Mesh Hands
Skin:    League - Jen (Fair Candyred)
Pose:    Picture This! Poses - Together in Friendship~Together for Sway

145

Jammies!



The weather outside is frightful... Okay, maybe only in my SL home do I ever see wintery things. The Arcade is in full swing! Not familiar with the Arcade? The Arcade is a gacha event with tons and TONS of amazing, fun little prizes. Everything from collectable cakes to fashion items. It's simply fun, the point being to get all the prizes. This can be done by feeding machines small amounts of linden and hoping for the best or by trading with others. 

My favorite thing at the moment is the footie jammies from Cracked Mirror. Cracked Mirror is a leading designer in original mesh creations and one of my favorites. Also, I love footie pajammas for their sheer silliness. Cracked mirror + footie PJs = My SL. At least for today. 

I took this picture in my SL home, which at the moment is a cozy image of Winter. It's the log cabin from Funky Junk, which comes with the fireplace. Behind me is the cheerful, beautiful tree from Earthstones. 


Credits:
PJ's:    (CM) Cracked Mirror - Footie Pajamas (Green)~The Arcade
Hair:    Truth - Moxie (Blaze) New!
Eyes:    IKON - Eternal Eyes (Peak) New!
Skin:    Glam Affair - Lilith (Europa 01)
Pose:    Picture This! Poses - Model Stand 1-5


144


Give Me Some Skin, Baby

Pink Fuel

Glam Affair

Essences


Laura Hurley

PXL
Alright guys. If you're like me, then you're a skin junkie. I love skins. They change the entire look and feel of your avatar. I especially love it when I can get quality, artistic skins for a great deal or discount. I have a couple of alts that I use for RP purposes and for the most part I don't like to spend a lot of linden on them. The first thing that grabbed my attention from the With Love Hunt by Chic Management is that there were plenty of skins to be had. When we create a new account in Second Life, the one thing we really want to invest in is a good, decent skin. If you don't have a lot of money, skins from hunts and promotions are a great way to grab a skin for little linden. So, I took my alt out on a skin shopping spree. All these skins were only 10L a piece and all by quality designers. Also, I got to sample Laura Hurley for the first time as well as Essences, skins that I have never tried before. 

All of these skins are beautiful. The PXL skin is well done and the grey undertones of the skin almost make my alt look a little glam-vamp. The Laura Hurley is ultra sultry, the Glam Affair soft and romantic. My favorite is probably the Essences skin mostly because of it's versatility. This is a great skin because it doesn't have a lot of make up and the lips are a soft pink. You can easily use cosmetics to change your look if you need to and Essences even has free lipsticks at their Jersey Store location. 

Full coverage of the With Love Hunt is available on Seraphim SL.



This last skin is the December Group Gift for Al Vulo. I love this skin because of the soft lips and the eyeliner, which is a look I sport often in RL. The freckles are well done. This is a great skin for a redhead! If you have the Lola breasts, there is an applier to go with it. Best of all this skin is free. It's probably one of the prettiest Al Vulo skins I've yet to own and it didn't cost me a single Linden. 


Credits:
Eyes:    IKON - Sunrise Eyes (Celtic Green)
Lashes:    Redgrave - Natural Lashes
Hair:    Truth - Tammy (Ivory)
Shape - Body Doubles - Liv Taylor (Modified slightly)

143

Tis the Season to be FATAL
                                          ...fa-la-la-la-la



There's a lot that I want to talk about in this post, but I'm going to save it. Right now I want to focus on this winter look. It's officially Christmas Sweater Dress season on the Grid. I've been kind of waiting for them to get here and then suddenly the market is overflowing with them. Hooray! FATAL has a ton of new releases instore right now, including a plethora of sweater dresses that pay homage to the winter season. 


Credits:
Dress:    FATAL - Melanie Knit Dress (Green Snowflake)~New!
Tights:    Gawk! - White Nylon Tights
Boots:    KAO - Suede Fringe Boots (Camel)
Nails:    Izzie's - 80's Round Nails [HUD Controlled]
Hair:    Truth - Blair 2 (Cranberry w/ roots)
Pose:    Picture This! Poses - Model Stands 1-5~New!


142

Newness at Picture This!