SLB

Come Hither

Despite the fact that the temperature is barely above freezing here, you can always find some summer cornfields to skip through in Second Life. I love that the virtual weather completely validates my somewhat unseasonal choice of outfit.

These stunning eyelashes were purchased at Calla following a tip-offf from the lovely Beulah Mills. She said these were the best prim lashes she's ever worn - I'd hate to play favourites, but I will say I'm pretty taken with them myself. They were easy to fit (praise be!) and they beckon in silken tones that few red-blooded males could resist. An absolute must if you're getting dressed to impressed, Tigerlily Koi has several different styles available so you can pick a match depending on your mood.

I was looking for a light nude makeup and settled with this one from Cupcakes. I was won over by this creamy skin, particularly the pretty face which carries a natural shade to the lips and a soft golden glow on the eyelids. I like the definition on the upper lids, the shimmer to the inner eye and slightly smoked outer some added impact. While the blush is strong, it really works with this complexion - even the slight, unkempt brows fit the face perfectly.

The one-shoulder top is Flutterby by Lookr. It's so easy to wear and stands well alone, although you could just as easily layer it. It doesn't need too much dressing, and is a nice alternative to the simpler cami styles if you're looking for a very feminine casual top.

I adore this belted skirt by Sugar Cube. The a-line skirt falls in stiff pleats, and has an angled hemline because of it. The top runches and poufs above the belt for an unusual line: this paired with the bright tulip print quite compelled me to make a purchase. It can be a nightmare putting together print designs due to seaming issues, and is probably why we don't see a huge number of patterned items in the shops. It's a real treat when designers produce quality pieces like this.

I know I haven't long since modelled these sexy heels from SLink, but I do so adore them. Their being painfully beautiful demands a regular outing from their box, and since the HUD makes it so simple to match skin colour, I can bring them out for any occasion and it barely takes a minute to get them set up. I think Siddean Munro may well have made a prim feet convert out of me - and it's taken all my mental will not to start writing terrible puns in relation to that fact.

To finish, I added these strung shell bangles from Zaara and capped it all off with a darling hairdo from Decoy. It's a volume rich pony tail accessorised with a simple alice band. The fringe falls heavily to the right side, with loose strands to the left that balance the look. The hair is rather loosely pulled to the back, giving a wispy softness that really worked well with the outfit.

Outfit:

Top: Lookr, Flutterby - White
Skirt: Sugarcube, Belted Skirt - Blue
Shoes: SLink, Chelsea Stiletto Heels - White
Bangles: Zaara, Sadaf Paua Bracelets - Silver

Body:

Hair: Decoy, Nicole - Ash Brown (Bangs)
Eyes: SLB, July 09 - Hazel R
Eyelashes: Calla, Flutter Lashes
Skin: Cupcakes, Daydream - Honey - Golden
Nails: Candy Nail, P037 Shine Silver
Pose: Reel Expression, Random Pose 103

Comments: 2

Tagged: Calla, Candy Nail, Cupcakes, Decoy, For your Second Life, Lookr, Reel Expression, SLB, SLink, Sugarcube, Womens Fashion, Zaara

Bathing in the Afterglow

Everyone needs a good quality pair of sunglasses in their inventory: if you want an outstanding pair, I highly recommend shopping at GOS. Gospel Voom's range of fully-customisable shades are a necessary accessory for every fashionista, and since you can change every element from the frame shape, colour, tint and opacity, you can create a plethora of looks completely unique to you.

Razor is one of three options available (you can see another here). Tthe sleek styling on the frames is complimented by angled lenses, shown in one of the iridescent colours. You can style the lenses as much as the frames to compliment your outfit, setting a low opacity to see more of the eyes, or go opaque for a showy alternative. By touching your eyewear you'll bring up an options menu to make the neccessary changes quickly and easily, you can even pop these up on your head with a button press, which is so much easier than worrying about manual repositioning.

There are many ways to wear stupendous sunglasses, but I chose a subdued glam for this look. The woolen tunic is from Niniko, and is available in a few shades with various length options on the hem. I must warn that the skirt prim will slice your body if you don't choose your AO carefully, but if you can work around that then this is a cute piece that's actually very versatile.

Next layer down is Lookr's Floral, shown here in dark blue, although you can make any of the four colours work if you accessorise accordingly. Floral is a great little top to wear alone, but I often use it to add some extra zing to my outfits.

The turtleneck is from Shop Seu. It's a low-priced piece that's been around for a long time, and while the sleeves do bleed a little and the black is very black, it's one of those wardrobe essentials that is easy to layer. I used it here to balance the extreme hue of my Abyss boots, and to give an extra dimension to the whole outfit.

I accessorised lavishly with the SW2 set from ICoN. ICoN's store is a treasure trove of tempting accessories: I could have used all number of pieces here, but it was impossible to resist the chunky chains with cabochon gems.

Silky, shiny tights cover up what little leg is on show above the boots: Camilla Yosuke has done a great job with these, even detailing the re-enforced toe and stomach panel as you'd expect to find in real life. She has all manner of tones and styles available at Insolence, along with the rest of her gorgeous lingerie.

If you can focus skyward again, you'd do well to take a closer look at my new wig. This adorable hairstyle from Tiny Bird is perfect for the neat freak in you, with hair scraped back and wound around into a braid that encircles your head. A few stray tufts give character without loosing the sleekness that makes this style so much fun to wear. It can be worn without the bangs, but I adore the fringe on this, not least because the texturing is so well done.

Outfit:

Sunglasses: GOS, Custom Sunglasses - Razor
Tunic: Niniko, Natural Tunic - Black
Top: Lookr, Floral - Dark Blue
Undershirt: Shop Seu, Turtleneck - Black
Tights: Insolence, Carmen Pantyhose - Shiny Med Grey
Boots: The Abyss, The Catalyst F Boots - Black
Necklace: ICoN, SW2 Necklace Gunmetal
Bangles: ICoN, SW2 Bracelet Gunmetal (L&R)

Body:

Hair: Tiny Bird, Bella - Dragees (with bangs)
Eyes: SLB, July'09 - Hazel c
Skin: Belleza, Belle, Pale - Smokey Mocha
Pose: Persona, Wryly

Comments: 1

Tagged: Abyss, Belleza, For your Second Life, GOS, ICoN, Insolence, Lookr, Niniko, Persona, Shop Seu, SLB, Tiny Bird, Womens Fashion

Turning Blue

Tricky Boucher is my personal hero. I love Belleza skins whether they're male or female - although generally the latter suit me best. Belle has a gorgeous face and the selection of makeups is fabulous including everything from dramatic studio looks to gorgeous day and evening glam. The Mocha lip colour is the perfect balance between pink and brown and sits beautifully with the softly smoked eyes. Delicately arched brows balance the entire face, and paired with these seductive eyes from SLB, you're bound to cause a few heads to turn.

Of course, wearing the skin alone might cause a few road traffic accidents, so I put together a suitable outfit. I started with Velocity, a shirt created from the design of Adam's original fantasy outfit (no longer for sale). I love the boldness of the pattern, which looks great on the underlayer peeping through.

This cute little shirt is from EmJay, and comes with three options. Unfortunately they're all on the jacket layer, but you have the option to wear it open, with one button done, or with three fastened. I love the rumples and wrinkles in the fabric which extend all over and offer a good sense of realism. I haven't shown it here, but I should mention that the prim collar on the shirt didn't work brilliantly for me. The texture wasn't up to the standard of the rest of the shirt, which was a real shame.

I accessorised instead with this old group gift from Polina Kaestner's shop. The colours and looped shape give it something of a nautical feel when paired with a simpler outfit, but in this instance it simply gelled everything together.

The bracelets are absolutely to die for. I picked these up on the opening day of the recent jewellery fair, and I am ashamed to say I've only just gotten around to blogging them. If you haven't already picked them up, you're missing a treat: Siyu Suen has long been acclaimed for her marvellous masks, but the other prim delights on offer at Illusions make it more than worth a regular visit. This bangle is crafted from curls of metal which hold in place a large oval stone - colours of both the metal and stone are scripted to change, providing a huge amount of wear for your purchase. There are other pieces available for the set, so you can dress up or down accordingly.

The bag is from Puddles and unfortunately is no longer available, but if you like the style you will find the latest collection in store. It's a cute piece, no modify but packed with a resize script, which is nice as it means you can use it as a casual day bag or a hefty overnighter, depending on your need at the time.

I should also mention these pretty earrings from Beguiled. A simple nested circle design makes these a perfect casual earrings, and what's better is they're practically free.

Speaking of inexpensive items, these jeans are currently available in the Decoy sale for a bargain price of nothing. They're well drawn and benefit from a selection of prim cuffs, with a gentle fade that gives them the perfect lived in feel. I'm not sure when the sale ends, so suggest you grab yours while you still can!

Hair is by Shag, and this is a lovely up-do accessorised by a colour change band. I haven't shown it here but the hair does come with an additional length of scarf which you can wear to the back or over the shoulder to the front. I'm sold on the swept fringe which falls a little over the right eye, with kicked ends that follow around the side and mirror the flicks from the short ponytail to the back. It's a lovely style that will see plenty of wear.

The boots are from Insolence: you knew Camilla Yosuke did more than just utterly gorgeous underwear, didn't you? These are sturdy winter knee-highs, made from suede and detailed with side stitching and a zip to the inner leg. While you can't see from the picture, I'm particularly fond of the heels which are shaped perfectly to glue to the sole, and widen at the base for a satisfying finish.

Oufit:

Shirt: EmJay, Button Down Shirt - Blue
Top: Lookr, Velocity - Black
Jeans: Decoy, Inferno 88 - Light Wash
Earrings: Beguiled, Concentric Hoops
Scarf: P-K, Carre de soie - Bleu
Bracelets: Illusions, Orinthia
Handbag: Puddles, Rio de Janeiro Bag - Sky Blue
Boots: Insolence, Natasha - Charcoal

Body:

Hair: Shag, Belle De Nuit - Chestnut
Eyes: SLB, July'09 - Hazel c
Eyelashes: Beauty Avatar, Regina Eyelashes 03
Skin: Belleza, Belle Pale, Smokey Mocha
Pose: Ks2cool, Pose 13-20

Comments: 2

Tagged: Beauty Avatar, Beguiled, Belleza, Decoy, EmJay, For your Second Life, Illusions, Insolence, Ks2cool, Lookr, Puddles, Shag, SLB, Womens Fashion

Contemplating Autumn

Do you ever fall in love with pieces and cling on to their memory, desperate to find a means of justifying the purchase?

Happens to me all the time.

The first time I saw this hair, I took a demo and waited, hoping to find a look that would work with it. It's not that the hair's expensive, but there are only a few colour choices and it's not the kind of style that will go with everything. When I fashioned an outfit that suited both colour and style, I wasted no time in making my purchase and am extremely happy with the results.

This flyaway do is so light and fluffy it has to be kept in check by a colour change band across the top. In contrast to the wild volume elsewhere, a softly sloping fringe works down to cover the eyes, bringing a skewed sense of order to the style.

The outfit starts with a tunic from Kurotsubaki. It comes as part of a set and has a couple of length options, as well as matching shorts. Kurotsubaki also stock a number of pretty skirts, and when I saw the colours of this one I really couldn't resist. I love the patchwork feel, with different tones and textures mingling together to produce shifting patterns with every movement.

Safari by Lookr is the lower layer I'm wearing. The print is partcularly eyecatching, and even when part of the design is hidden away, it definitely adds to the outfit where a plain camisole may have fallen flat.

The necklace is an old favourite from Shiny Things. Fallingwater Cellardoor offers some lovely trinkets in addition to her shoes, from simple pieces like this to far more intricate designs. This double line of beads and metal rings lies close to the neck without too much drop, making it an understated piece just perfect for accessorising all number of casual outfits.

I added bangles from Boon and Uzuri. The Boon style is chunky wooden rings, from a set that offers a few textures and colour change script to give you a lot of options for just a few Lindens. Uzuri offers a more delicate bangle, slices of gold-wired wood linked around the wrist. They contrast quite nicely with one another.

The boots are an old favourite from Maitreya. I can't remember when these first came out, but it was a good while ago - despite this they still look great and are easily comparable to many new release styles. The mid-calf height is great for skirts like the one I'm wearing, but these also sit well over or under trousers. The suede texturing and side buckle are nice details, although these are really made unique by the the stiff ruffle on the calf.

I shouldn't neglect to mention the skin from Iki Ikarus's FoResT line. I went with the red smoked eyeshadow and bold liner. The face is very pretty, softly done with shimmering, slighly parted lips. The detail on the body isn't overpowering, but there's enough there to make the right suggestions with regards to a well toned figure. While I've had to crop them from the close up in favour of showing the face, one of my favourite features is actually the fingernails. They're so nicely done that it removes the need for applying manicures if you're happy with a bright-tipped french polish. Since that's usually my preference, this sits just right with me.

Finally I'd like to credit the pose from ImpEle. While the store isn't vast, there are a range of poses available, from the unusual prop-related stills to standard fashion fare at a price you'll be hard-pressed to beat. Sai Pennell also offers freebie AOs packed with simple poses. Her store is a great place to shop for yourself and to point out to newbies and poverty-stricken alts.

Outfit:

Vest: Kurotsubaki, Asian Tunic - Brown
Top: Lookr, Safari - White
Skirt: Kurotsubaki, Boro Skirt - Long
Boots: Maitreya, Bloom Boots - Brown
Necklace: Shiny Things, Tuesday Necklace - Brown
Bangles: Boon, Round Bangle - Woody (L), Uzuri, Porini Bracelet (R)

Body:

Hair: Hair Oh, Oh My Ramen - B
Eyes: SLB, July'09 - Hazel c
Eyelashes: Beauty Avatar, Regina Eyelashes 03
Skin: Dutch Touch, FoResT - Powder, Rust
Pose: ImpEle, Allure - 12

Comments: 0

Tagged: Beauty Avatar, Boon, Dutch Touch, For your Second Life, Hair Oh, ImpEle, Kurotsubaki, Lookr, Maitreya, Shiny Things, SLB, Uzuri, Womens Fashion

Super Furry Animal

First things first: rest assured that no animals were hurt in the production of this review.

This look was inspired by the Avana set from Nicky Ree, starring this wonderfully full and fluffy jacket (note: after a great deal of growling at photoshop, I admitted defeat. Some of the fur has been cropped from the full body shot, but you can get a clear impression from the closeup pick). What I love most about this is the movement. Nicky Ree has always had a reputation for beautiful evening gowns and this isn't least because of the way they flow. Avana has a realism to it that must have taken some time to perfect, the fur swaying left and right to the back as you walk, and ruffling slightly to compensate for less energetic movement. It makes the coat really quite beautiful and the more I wear it, the more I appreciate the time and care taken to achieve the effect.

The cami top is from Lookr. It's always useful to have a few plain tops in your wardrobe for layering, and this one comes in various colours to suit.

The trousers are part of the same Nicky Ree set. They're leather-look with a very faint leopard print - at a distance it's barely discernable, but adds to the overall effect. Close up you can see all the detailing. Seams run top to bottom on the front and back, with double side seams leading down to the cuffs, which draw high to a point on either side of the ankle. Be aware that these are no mod: due to a slight flare they may not work with longer boots, but certainly look great with shoes or short boots.

That leads me to the boots which are by Magnifico Miggins. I was introduced to Magnifico's work through Harper Beresford's blog, and I am extremely glad for it. I agonised over where the closeup should go with this shoot, so in the absence of full zoom, I recommend getting yourself over to the store and looking over the demos yourself to fully appreciate their gorgeousness. The shape of the boot is great, with smooth lines throughout, a delicate arch and softly pointed toe. Everything is set off by the dual silver stripe that winds around the leather, giving these boots that extra 'je ne sais quoi'. The fine details are there too, from the texture on the leather and sewn strips to the capped heels and the logo and shoe size emblazoned on the sole. You can opt to buy a single colour, or buy the fatpack which contains the special shoe hud, enabling you to change colours at the press of a button. Simple and convenient. The fatpack also has a special AO included which is a nice extra.

The skin is Skye by the talented Mochi Milena of Pink Fuel and I have to say it has one of the sweetest faces on the grid. This makeup is 'scene' and consists of dramatic smoked eyes with brights lids and shimmer beneath the eyebrow. Pores and a few very light lines bring character and realism, with the nuance of a mole beneath the left eye. It's so well done that you may not even notice it if you're not really looking. I also have a real thing for the lips on Skye: they are kissably soft with just the right amount of detailing. I selected the dark brows for added contrast with my silvered hair, but the packs incldue a lighter brow, freckled and hairbase options in each pack. The body is equally well done, with attention to detail in areas like the elbow which are quite often forgotten.

My hair is from Bryce designs. I'm really not sure this was meant to be a unisex do (probably not with a name like 'Jimmy') but I'm in denial and wearing it all the same. I don't often wear white hair, but have seen enough to know that the textures need to be just right for it to look good, and I am more than happy with the silver tone. I am also a fan of the flexi prims hidden among the fixed pieces give the hair a little bounce.

To accessorise I'm wearing the Avana belt. It comes as part of the set but can certainly be used in other outfits to add some spangle. It's a simple chain of small and large rings which fitted me without needing any editing. I daresay a quick mod could move it to sit a little lower if you prefered.

I also chose earrings from an old set by Random Calliope, one of my first loves when it came to SL jewellery. They're a three tier drop set, the open ovals decorated with closed stones and encircled by twirls of silver wire. I think they go beautifully with this outfit.

Outfit:

Jacket, Pants, Belt: DNR, Avana Fur Coat set - Black
Top: Lookr, Clean - White (F)
Boots: Magnifico, Jimmy C's Ankle Boots
Earrings: Random Calliope, WW by RC, Vintage - Onyx

Body:

Hair: Bryce, Jimmy, Whitewash - Chalk
Eyes: SLB, July '09 - Hazel c
Eyelashes: Glow Studio, Innocent Eyelashes - Pure
Skin: PF, Skye - Honey, Scene
Nails: Candy Nail, 000 Basic Nail - Silver Pink
Pose: Reel Expression, Sex Sells, 01

Comments: 5

Tagged: Bryce, Candy Nail, For your Second Life, Glow, Luth, Magnifico, Nicky Ree, Pink Fuel, Random Calliope, SLB, Womens Fashion