Sn@tch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I haven't been inworld much in the past few months and I don't intend to be back regularly anytime soon. Having said that, I did go shopping yesterday and bought a few goodies.

 

I started at Collabor88 and loved D!vas hair on sale there, the Asami. I bought both the Onyx pack and the limited edition pack, the Red amber pack. I love the options of the fringe, the bun and the pony tail. A fun look no matter how you wear it. I am wearing all options in both the second and thrid shots.

 

I also bought Glam Affairs skins, all three Amberly skins, whilst I was there and am sporting the Europa Frostbite 02 in my first shot. The frosty look to the skin and make up was just perfect to set off a purchase from the second shop I went to, Sn@tch.

 

I am a sucker for tasteful, knitted Christmas jumpers. This one from Sn@tch has outstanding textures and a variety of colours included to make most people happy.

 

In the second shot I am wearing Sn@tchs Mesh Glitter Slip in seafoam. A wonderfully made and prettily textured dress. I think this is one of my new favourite everyday dresses to wear.

 

In the last shot is another pretty dress from Sn@tch, the Seraphim Cocktail Dress in blue, mesh. Lace details make this feel a really dainty piece to wear.

 

Again, both dresses come in a variety of colours included with your purchase. Not only do you get great value for money but excellent quality too.

 

For the rest of what I am wearing pls see below.

 

PS. Flickr shot here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/furystapleton/8353089134/in/photostream

 

 

Styling:

Shot 1

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: Glam Affair - Amberly - Europa Frostbite 02 BL
Hair: ::69:: ESCAPE 03 - offblack –

Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Peacock (Big)
Eyelashes: [ glow ] Clean thick 04

Jumper: :::Sn@tch Ski Bunny Sweater (Snow-S):::

Jeans: Zaara : Jeans *blue* (Classic)

Boots: JCS - Jeepers Creepers Ugh Silver Boots

Make Up: Kyoot Makeup - Feline (Basic Black)

                *Fishy* Kokeshi Gloss - Muted

 Shot 2

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns

Skin: [PXL] Candy NAT Orange DEB

Hair: ""D!va"" Hair "Asami" (Type B)(Onyx)

Eyes: (Miriel) Standard Eyes - Shallow End

Eyelashes: [ glow ] Clean thick 04

Dress: :::Sn@tch Mesh Glitter Slip (Seafoam-Med):::

Shoes: Slink Lulu Stilettos Teal

Make Up: Kyoot Makeup - Feline (Basic Black)

                 *Fishy* Kokeshi Gloss - Muted

 Shot 3

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns

Skin: [PXL] Candy NAT Orange DEB

Hair: ""D!va"" Hair "Asami" (Type B)( Red amber)

Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Peacock (Big)

Eyelashes: [ glow ] Clean thick 04

Dress: :::Sn@tch Seraphim Cocktail Dress (Blue/Med):::

Shoes: Maitreya Gold - Esprit-Xtd BabyBlue

Make Up: Kyoot Makeup - Feline (Basic Black)

                 *Fishy* Kokeshi Gloss - Muted

 

 

 



Hunt at Nicky Ree

Nicky Ree has a mini hunt on in her mainstore.

What are you looking for? The DNR Donna Collection in 10 colours. Each colour is boxed and priced at L$50. The collection consists of a simple short dress and matching lingerie. A choice of tops is given also from transparent to solid. The textures are divine, the net on the transparent top looks like you could touch it, the detail of it is wonderful.

I chose to show the undies…as that is more me…lol….and I’ll let the pictures do the rest. All the other styling details are listed below.

3 days left to hunt so grab the goodies whilst you can.

Arty shot can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/furystapleton/5808105822/in/photostream

Styling:

In general:

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: [PXL] Candy NAT CE PaleLips DEB
Eyelashes: Cake, Seperated lashes, tintable
Tattoos: *- Glam Affair - Make-up Layer 01
             Fishy* Kokeshi Gloss – Muted
Prop and Poses: (arcade) Last Night Bench

White:

Hair: >TRUTH< Seraphina - snow
Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Platinum (Big)
Undies: *DNR* Donna Lingerie white
Shoes: Maitreya Gold - Esprit-Xtd White
Jewellery : (Caroline's) Flexi Silver Tassel Necklace
                 AC Cubeness bracelet triplet silver
                 fINESMITH Xenobia Ring

Black:

Hair: >TRUTH< Audrey - espresso
Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Platinum (Big)
Undies: *DNR* Donna Lingerie black
Shoes: N-core CHIC "Noir Intense"
Jewellery: Zaara : Vanisri wrapped necklace *onyx*
                Zaara : Vyomini chained bracelet *onyx*

Blue:

Hair: >TRUTH< Miranda Streaked - espresso
Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Snow (Big)
Undies: *DNR* Donna Lingerie blue
Feet: SLink Jolie Pied Barefeet Tiptoes

It's a Pose Fair!

I realize we're all "faired-out", but this is a fair chock full of goodies for all of us! And it benefits a great cause, epilepsy. I only had time to do one small corner of the fair, which being held on the Cheese sim, but came away with some interesting, useful and not expensive poses from Miamai, Just a Pose, Hopscotch and *hmaem*. Nothing pictured is over L$50. The pose on the far right is from Hopscotch and is part of a set useful for big ball gown skirts. The rest of the details are below.

Poses: Just a Pose; Miamai, *hmaem*, Hopscotch

Hair: elikatira Later Red05
Skin: adam n eve Taylor Natural Blush
Shoes: maitreya Mishima Dawn Puce [NA?]
Trousers: 5th & Oxford Sailor Pants [about to be NA]
Top: Zaara Deesha Mocha
Earrings: (luc) Fashion Jewelry Undine Earring, DawnPrism/Gold

52 Week Colour Challenge...catch up, part 3

OK so I am still playing catch up…hopefully I will get in synch next week.

Sepia…interesting colour. I confess to having lots of earthy colours in my wardrobe but not that many that are actually sepia. The best, and most fondly rediscovered, is Rebel Surf Co. Cocoa Floral Bikini.

Yellow…oooo…definitely not my colour and as such I don’t have much in my inventory that colour. Fortunately, working for Nicky Ree means I get a variety of colour dropped on me for work. One such gown was the DNR Reona Gown in Yellow.

Again, letting the pictures speak for themselves…

Flickr original:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/furystapleton/

Styling:

Week 5…Sepia

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: [PXL] Candy NAT PaleLips DEB
Hair: > fri. - Anna - Moody Brown
Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Honey (Big)
Eyelashes: Cake, separated lashes, tintable
Beachware: * Rebel Surf Co - Cocoa Floral Bikini
Feet: SLink Jolie Pied Barefeet Tiptoes

Week 6…Yellow

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: [PXL] Candy NAT Orange DEB
Hair: > >TRUTH<>

Eyes: (Burroughs Eyes - The Art of Painting (base)
Eyelashes: Cake, separated lashes, tintable
Dress: DNR Reona Gown in Yellow
Shoes: *H&S* DROPS yellow
Accessories: ~Muse~ Chatelaine Collection - Choker w/ feather (gold)
Zaara : Kashiti bobble ring *onyx* (gold)

52 Week Colour Challenge…catch up, part 1

Thanks to Luna Jubilee for this wonderful blogger challenge…such fun finding things to wear…woot!

OK, my avatar is having problems in both V2. And Kirsten so, although these shots are taken before my problems the remainder, until further notice, will be from an alt I have made with less finances. I guess it’ll be more of a challenge for me.

My first catch up is for the colours Grey and Blue.

Grey was interesting as I thought I had quite a bit of grey in my inventory. Turns out I do but not a lot to my current liking….fickle? Yes!

Blue was a bit trickier, as it’s one of my favourite colours, but I love what I ended up with.

I’ll let the pictures and style details speak for themselves.

Flickr originals:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/furystapleton/

Styling:

Week 1: Grey

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: -Glam Affair- Castalia Skin - TDR#14
Hair: >TRUTH<>

Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Platinum (Big)

Eyelashes: Cake, separated lashes, tintable

Dress: -AZUL- GroupGift01004#1

Shoes: AC Vintish Shoes

Jewellery: Zaara : Raga oyster ring *pearl* (silver)

Wings: Seven Selections, Ragged Fairy Wings, Natural, Tinted

Week 2: Blue

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns

Skin: [PXL] Candy NAT Orange DEB

Hair: >TRUTH<>

Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Snow (Big)

Eyelashes: Cake, separated lashes, tintable

Dress: Evie's Closet Isabella Formal Gown (BlueSilver)

Shoes: Taboo Paris Roses Edition (long)

Black Magic II

OK, part II of this Nicky Ree blog fest. The other new release is the unisex DNR Night Magic Jacket Set.

This set includes trousers, both boot fitted and cut…again in this wonderful hand drawn texture. The jacket is more of a cloak, with a monstrous swathe of fabric topped off with a feather collar and shoulders. If that wasn’t enough then Nicky has also included another head dress of feathers, arranged Mohawk style. The design and creation of this set are stupendous.

Whether male or female you are certainly bound to be noticed wearing this jacket.


PS. Flickr here;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/furystapleton/

Styling:

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: [PXL] Candy NAT Wine DEB
Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Platinum (Big)
Eyelashes: Cake, Seperated Lashes, tintable
Outfit: (DNR Night Magic Gown in Black
Shoes: Maitreya Gold * Hana, black
BAX Prestige Boots Black
Accessories: Zaara : Kashiti bobble ring *onyx* (silver)
-Glam Affair- Tattoo make up TDR 13 -3
-Glam Affair- Tattoo make up TDR 13 -4

Black Magic I

I have had a week of not being very well and, as such, haven’t really logged inworld at all much. I did log in last week after Nicky dropped her new releases on me and I tried them on, loved them and then shot them quickly before I keeled over.

The first is the Night Magic Gown. A tremendous svelte dress and/or cat suit that includes its own headdress. Not only do the hand drawn gown and trouser textures meet Nicky Ree’s usual standards, it makes me think of reptiles and scales, but the feathers that line the gowns collar, sleeve and headdress are amazing. So amazing that I just want to reach out and stroke the feathers. Both gown and cat suit are a statement by themselves but with the headdress they become dramatic. I’ll let the pictures talk for themselves.

And, yes I know I look like something out of the Lost Boys crossed with Blade Runner but, hey, I love this look!

In my next blog I’ll show you the Night Magic Jacket.

PS. Alternative shot here;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/furystapleton/5078213196/

Styling:

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: [PXL] Candy NAT Wine DEB
Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Platinum (Big)
Eyelashes: Cake, Seperated Lashes, tintable
Outfit: (DNR Night Magic Gown in Black
Shoes: Maitreya Gold * Hana, black
BAX Prestige Boots Black
Accessories: Zaara : Kashiti bobble ring *onyx* (silver)
-Glam Affair- Tattoo make up TDR 13 -3
-Glam Affair- Tattoo make up TDR 13 -4

A Gift

Samara Barzane is one of the most beautiful people I have ever met inworld, and I don’t mean her avi looks- although she is beautiful. Last week she insisted I went over to check out Paper Couture's new 2010 autumn collection. I was reluctant but Sam is, if nothing else, very persuasive and very difficult to say ‘no’ to. We played Linden Dollar ping pong for a while until she insisted that I buy something as an early birthday present. What could I say but OK.

I have bought PC in the past few years and love their unique creativity in clothes design. However, on a couple of occasions I have been a little disappointed in their execution of the clothes. So, after I bought both Red Skies and Shell Stitched Linen gowns I quickly tried them on. I haven’t blogged Red Skies as I was unhappy with the quality of the clothes making. With the Shell Stitched Linen gown I was delighted with the design and quality of creation BUT no glitch pants were included with the gown. Now, I never go knickerless inworld so I rummaged for suitable under garments that would not show below this incredible skirt. Is this just a mishap by PC or laziness or on purpose…whatever I feel it should be my choice if I decide to go without underwear and feel an inworld skirt is incomplete without its glitch pants.

On the plus side, what an incredible gown. A tube corset top sits on a short system skirt that is hidden by a double layer of linen. The skirt is shorter at the front and cascades to its full length creating a lovely frame for the legs. I love it.

The rest of what I am wearing can be found below.

Thank you Sam for a beautiful present x

PS. Alternative shot here;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/furystapleton/

Styling:

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: [PXL] Candy NAT Orange DEB
Hair: >TRUTH<>

The Wedding Guest that Never Was.

I was invited to a good friends wedding and through a major blonde moment on my behalf totally missed it as I got the time wrong…pesky time zones in RL.

If I had have gone this is what I had decided to wear…COCO’s elegant Tulip Hem Dress in beige. A wonderfully designed dress combining system clothes and sculpty bits. A black and white striped under layer of a simple short tube dress on system layers is over layed with a sculpted tube bustier and a tulip hemmed, black bowed sculpty skirt in beige.

I had to wear a hat of course so dug out ML’s Roma Chapeau from my inventory. LeLutka’s Claire clutch and N-Cores Temptation Xtreme Heels completed the major factors of the look.

Jewellry was the FM Forget Me Knot Pearl set with Zaara’s Kashiti bobble ring to finish.

Skin was PXL Creations new Candy skin with an old ETD hair, Roslin, which was modified to fit under the hat.

This look is very similar to one I would wear as a wedding guest in RL, so I was very happy with the outcome.

I’d like to wish Gitanne and Drake all the happiness in the world…congratulations!

Original here…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/furystapleton/4852754105/

Styling

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: [PXL] Candy NAT Wine DEB
Hair: ETD Roslin - Black
Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Platinum (Big)
Eyelashes: Cake, separated lashes, tintable
Dress: *COCO*_TulipHemDress(Beige)
Hat: ML Roma Chapeau - Black
Shoes: N-core TEMPTATION XtremeHeel II
Acessories: [LeLutka]-CLAIRE clutch/black_scripted
*FM* Forget Me Knot Pearl Necklace two-tone
Zaara : Kashiti bobble ring *onyx* (gold)
AO: BehaviorBody-AO-Elegance & Garbo V1.0

B-B-B-Bodysuits

I suddenly realised that I had bought quite a few bodysuits of late, so thought I’d share some of the more interesting ones with you all.

The first is from Maitreya and is wonderfully textured and designed. A corseted bust falls into soft folds of the body and has pretty thigh ruffles to make it girly and slightly retro. Truly beautiful.

The second is from O! It is a simple asymmetric body suit with a floral detail over the shoulder strap. This bodysuit is both elegant and edgy.

The third is the one I fell in love with the moment I put it on. From Pig it has no attachments and is totally system. However, clever design and wonderful textures makes this bodysuit work. Ruffles front and back give this retro piece its olde worlde feel.

The final one is the ultra contemporary bodysuit from Source. Superb design and textures, with clever, well made attachments makes this such a fun piece of clothing. Very Madonna/ Lady Gaga with its cut out, ribbed panels and seriously big, nail edged shoulder pads, held together with a chain at the back. It made me feel very Flash Gordon.

Original on Flickr here…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/furystapleton/4720675874/

Styling:

In General:

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: [PXL] Grace NAT CatEyes NudeLips BlackEB
Hair: Maitreya Sunday - White
Eyes: (Miriel) Eyes - Platinum (Big)
Eyelashes: Cake, Seperated Lashes, tintable
Shoes: Maitreya Verve Black
Jewellery: Zaara : Kashiti bobble ring *onyx* (silver)
Prop & Poses: Olive Juice- Ball Pit

1
!O : Asymmetry Bodysuit Black

2
Maitreya Bodysuit delaRuche * Sea Green

3
Pig - The Helendale Bodysuit – Bumbleberry

4.
SOURCE-Geometric bodysuit Salmon

Black Beauty

Last week Nicky Ree dropped on me two colours of her latest creation…the Fiona Gown. One was the orange celebrating the Queen of Netherlands birthday and the other was black, always my favourite colour for formals.

This dress is everything I love about evening wear: Simple, elegant, classic. Where to start? The texture is intricate but not overpowering with Nicky’s usual hand drawn perfection. The bodice, a strapless top with a bust detail of carefully pleated folds and a fall of material from the cleavage. The skirt, svelte with a flare and train. Again, beautifully crafted and designed. The clever bit? The fact that the bust detail, attachment and gloves can be bought separately so you can mix and match to get endless options. Also, the skirt attachments come in opaque or translucent…making it a very pretty detail indeed.

This dress demands glamour, whether under or overstated. I kept the make up simple with a PXL Grace skin, the hair I went overboard on with CBC Kitten with a Whip. The shoes were N-Core TEMPTATIONs in black (not seen).

I felt the jewellery had to be opulent yes not overshadow the dress. For this reason I chose to wear the earrings only of the Alienbear Gold Princess Rosana. Finally, to finish the whole ensemble I wore Zaara’s Kashiti booble ring so the gloves got noticed too.

I love this look and I suspect it will be a firm favourite of mine to dance in for the near future.

Arty shot here…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/furystapleton/

Styling:

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: [PXL] Grace NAT CatEyes NudeLips BlackEB
Hair: CBC: Kitten with a Whip (Black beauty)
Eyes: (Miriel) Standard Eyes - Earth
Eyelashes: Cake, separated lashes, tintable
Dress: *DNR* Fiona Black, Translucent skirt
Shoes: N-core TEMPTATION XtremeHeel II "Galaxy"
Jewellery: Gold Princess Rosana white
Zaara : Kashiti bobble ring *onyx* (gold)

Bustle Me!

Not being inworld much at the moment has curtailed my shopping habit. So for this post I have resorted to trawling the depths of my inventory.

I have a penchant for bustles and as such was delighted to rediscover this cute, wonderful dress from Miel…the Oh Leafy Dress. A simple tulip top, with or without shoulder vine/leaf detail, compliments a sculpty mini skirt beautifully. The skirt is a work of art. From the front it appears to have a leafy underskirt or hem. However, the star is the back of the skirt: a mini, layered bustle. Fabric layered with net layered with leaves. Beautiful! The leafy motif is echoed across the dress itself as a print. Clever, well designed and executed piece of clothing.

I kept the rest simple. N-Core Temptation shoes in black, a PXL Grace natural skin and Fri.day’s Anna hair in scornful red.

Hmmm, maybe not so simple, I added Zaara’s new Kashiti bobble ring and ellabella’s Pearls A’bloom bindi for a touch of glamour.

All shots were taken leaning against Voodoo Shilton’s wall at his music instrument shop…killer wallpaper and a bored moment work wonders…lol.

Styling:

Shape: custom, FuriousDesigns
Skin: [PXL] Grace NAT CatEyes NudeLips
Hair: fri. - Anna - Scornful Red
Eyes: (Miriel) Standard Eyes - Earth
Eyelashes: Cake, separated lashes, tintable
Dress: MIEL OH LEAFY Dress- LEMON GRASS
Shoes: N-core TEMPTATION XtremeHeel II Galaxy
Accessories: Zaara : Kashiti bobble ring *onyx* (gold)
:ellabella:. Pearls A'bloom ...bindi

In Praise of Fences

The lines of Robert Frost in "Mending Wall" came to mind as I was taking these pictures on Grazia's new sim. The Fence, from Glitterati, comes with 10 built in poses. The landscaping is courtesy of my SL sister, Grazia Horwitz. I am wearing the Beetlebones Dippin dots blossom dress in cloudy skies, Tint Bird's The Knife in Caramel and L.Fauna Skins {Lapine . Pale 2} [Mystic-FR], and Zaara's Tarika Claw earrings in Gold.

Cute as a Pumpkin

The post title is a take-off on a phrase I heard often when I was growing up and now in Second Life, "You're cute as a button." I had to take it in RL, but I get asked in SL, why, since you CAN be taller in here, in fact you can be anything you want to be, why are you short? Well to be honest I wouldn't know how to handle all those extra pixels:) So I'm short inworld and you use the aforementioned phrase at your own risk.



So here are two pumpkin-themed outfits based on the G Field Halloween dollarbie. The outfit on the right cost L$2 at the most, excluding hair and skin The [chuculet] crocodile brown earrings were L$1 I think. The "tights" are the burnt orange cords from the Celestial Studios' "Week of Love" a year or so back. And the boots are a subscribo gift for Maitreya, the Soho Boots in Pumpkin. I really like the Long Sweater from G Field, with its system skirt and large buttoned collar. [See there ARE buttons in this post.]

On the left the A+A feathers&bullets necklace has bumped the collar and I've added the new Zaara Nishar leggings in pumpkin, oooooops "Tangerine." The necklace was made for someone with more of a continental shelf than I have so I had to wiggle it around a bit to sit right. And the leggings ... the turquoise picks up enough of the green from the belt and buttons that I like the look. All together the leggings and earring added about L$360 to the outfit -- not bad at all! My skin is Jolie from Dutch Touch, Dew in Cream and Cameron in Pumpkin is from Truth

I'm one of those people that think Pumpkin is a terrific fall color, not just for Halloween. So "cute as a pumpkin" it will be :)

Tone on Tone: What took you so long?

When I went back to get the Zaara Larin skirt in black I knew, with the season changing where I live, that a cami wasn't going to work. So off to DeLa I went and FINALLY bought their turtleneck in charcoal. Who knows why it took me so long. The little decoration on the neck lightens it to go with the silky Zaara skirt. Both items are examples of well done primmy parts. Stocking are Swirl from *Sheer*. My shoes are Adam n Eve's Babii in Black, another example of an item I had been resisting for some lunatic reason.

Other details:
Hair: Ivy in Auburn from Truth
Skin: Grace cateyes/flamenco lips in medium from PXL Creations
Jewelry: earrings from Muse

Golden Breeze

It started with me browsing the fashion feed and coming across, imho, the most amazing set of in world jewellery I have seen in a long time. I wanted this set badly…lol…and, as I don’t normally wear jewellery, this was an event for me.

The set in question was Gems & Kisses – Satin in Gold. After I had bought it I got rl sidetracked so did not open it for a couple of days. When I did I was eager to see what the pieces looked like. First, I wore the earrings, a crazy circular mesh of gold balls, with long piercing posts…wonderful. Then I tried on the necklace, choker in fact…not seen here….and loved the twisted circles of gold that wove around my neck. It contains a resize script so I adjusted slightly. Lastly, I tried on the bracelets, these match the choker in design.

At this point I was disappointed as the bracelets were too small and even after repositioning them they still did not fit. I tried editing them only to find them ‘no mod’. I was gutted. I decided to im the creator, Deliziosa Vendetta, to see if she could help me. What a star! She resent the bracelets with the resize script in them….wonderful! The bracelets now fitted. I only wish more creators were this helpful, Deliziosa was prompt to respond and very sweet. Thank you!

I was wondering what to wear this beautiful new set with when my partner in crime, Samara Barzane, let me know that Zaara had released a new colour in her Black Swan dress, Vayu. We tp’ed to Zaara and stared at the beautiful breeze blue dress. I have to admit I baulked a little at the price but after 24 hours I was still in awe of it so I went back and purchased it.

When trying it on I knew I wanted to wear my new jewellery too, in the end without the choker. Using one of Fleur Shoujo skins, Miriels Eyes and ETD hair I knew my look was complete.

I ended up shooting over at Fotoscope http://slurl.com/secondlife/Fotoscope/78/139/22. There are so many photographic bits and pieces that I knew I’d find an ideal spot to do my look justice. Appearing true to form I ended up in the water…lol.

PS: Arty shot here http://www.flickr.com/photos/furystapleton/3891840637/

Styling:

Shape: Custom, FuriousDesigns,
Skin: Fleur DNB Azalea Shoujo 3
Hair: ETD Sofia - Ebony
Eyes: (Miriel) Standard Eyes - Shallow End
Eyelashes: Cake - Separated Lashes - Tintable*
Gown: ZC : Vayu dress gown *breeze*
Accessories: Gems & Kisses - Satin - Gold – Set

Spanish summer

Hi hi! I've been quiet for a few weeks, first due to holidays, and then due to having to catch up with work after those days off... (Life is hard!) At least the holidays gave me a break from this cruel, hot weather, but now I'm right back into it, and it doesn't look like getting better for at least a month. As you will understand, with these temperatures we have in Spain, I'm not really looking forward to getting dressed, so I've been this close to doing a bikinis post (and maybe skins) but then Fury was faster... clever girl! So, I tried to put together something light, cool and summery, that I would very much wear to combat the Spanish summer in style.


The dress is the Silk organza dress from Armidi Gisaci - which I first saw on Autumn Hykova (owner of Tiny Bird) on her Flickr, and I instantly fell in love with it, so I did not hesitate to ask. Hers was in a darker plum colour, but the fabrics are so incredibly light that I thought a light shade would be the most appropriate choice here. So I picked immaculate white for the challenge to make it look non-bridal. With that purpose, I put the accent on non-discreet accessorizing, with bright colours that totally speak of summer - yellow and orange. The shoes are the Saturday flats from Shiny Things, in the shade so aptly called sun. The necklace is an oldie, the Han Hana Bead Necklace by Earthtones (now Luc), and the bangles and earrings are part of the Melange set by Zaara, in this case in yellow.

The hair you've seen me blog before, it's Sehra in cranberry by Truth, with the yellow flower - I just can't get enough of it, it goes well with pretty much everything and it totally screams of summer, plus the textures... (sighs) This man is a genius. The skin is also by a genius, and I think it's safe to say I'm madly in love with it - it's still Tuli's Hope in natural. But let me share something: today I made up my mind and went off to Journey to get myself the whole Hope fatpack. Concentrating this much love on just one skin can't be healthy, so I decided I have to share it with the whole 10 makeups!! (cuddles the pack)

The other items you see in the picture are the Miriel Vivid Hazel eyes and Glamour lashes (no longer available) and some of my 170 LAP poses. For further info and slurls, check here.

Survival tips for hunters

Warning: Not only a fashion-related post. If you don't care, scroll down to the picture - the outfit details are below that.

There are currently about a dozen (or more) active hunts on SL™. People tend to have mixed feelings towards those, but a very common argument against them is that they're lagfests, so some plain refuse to participate, which is something I don't totally get, since I know there are a couple of things one could try before giving up in order to improve the hunting experience.

I am the proud owner of a Frankensteined computer, i.e. one made up of both very old components (including the graphics card) and brand spanking new ones. To give a rough idea what my Second Life™ experience is like: I can't activate atmospheric shaders, reflections on water and glow are nonexistent, and my skies are generally pretty plain. I do, however, have a fairly smooth in-world existence, and I even make it through hunts. But how?

First of all, I am good friends with my Graphics tab on the Preferences menu (or dialog, in geekspeak). I keep changing the settings depending on where I go - Ultra is reserved for photo sessions, Mid works for everyday usage and Low is for crowded evironments - sales, hunts, lucky chair stalking, etc. Low settings basically ensure somewhat quicker rezzing, although mileage can vary, depending on the amount of stuff that needs to be rezzed. Sometimes the many sculpties that people wear never stop looking like giant balls, but to be honest, on such occasions I don't really pay attention to what people are wearing. Which leads me to something else: ARC.

Avatar Rendering Cost (ARC) shows a point score above each avatar's head which indicates how "laggy" they are on the viewer-side. ARC is found in Advanced Menu > Rendering > Info Displays > Avatar Rendering Cost. [...] It's generally best to be considerate of others when putting together your avatar, and to do what you can to stay under a score of 2,000, especially in crowded areas. Under 1,000 is even better. These are only guidelines, but be aware that the higher your score is, the more lag you generate for other Residents, particularly those with older machines.

(from Second Life Wiki)

ARC is something that generates somewhat heated discussions, and I must say I'm no expert in the matter, so I'll stay away from fundamentalism. I try to keep my score low whenever I go to crowded sims; however, I do my best to avoid seeing what the others' rendering cost is. Policing other avatars' ARC will just ruin your mood - it will even make you want to poke some people in the eye - so I just want to propose a healthy (even fun, for those on the geeky side) exercise related to it, hoping it can be useful to some.

First, let me tell you how it all started. Keris (it's always the boyfriend's fault!) was totally thrilled about having a hunt for men (the Make Him Over Hunt), and in joining the hunt group, he commented that a "hunter skin" (that is, a skin with clothes baked on it, on just one layer) had been given away to be worn during the hunt and to help reduce lag. It had me wondering about the effectiveness of having all clothing textures on one layer as opposed to several, so we did the test. We detached all prims (bald! horrors!) and stayed only with textures on, he on one layer, and I, on multiple ones. Result? ARC = 1, for both. Which means you don't really need to go so minimalist - and, good news for the fashion-conscious, you can be well-dressed while hunting.

So, based on that information, I tried to create a "hunting outfit" that kept ARC to a minimum, as I realised that my "shopping outfits" did not quite help reduce lag. This ensemble is just an example, I don't mean to prescribe an official uniform, so turn on your ARC, be creative and make your own. Here are some tips. For starters, skirts (except sculpted ones) are based on lots of prims, so they increase ARC massively - for this reason, trousers are generally better. Also, needless to say, elaborate jewellery is pretty much out of the question.

Here's my outfit, adding up to a total of 285 (306 with the wedding band):



The base skin is Tuli's Hope in natural makeup and sunkissed tone (yep, I think the skinwhoring phase is over). On the jacket layer I'm wearing the Isis shirt in midnight blue by Zaara, with the cami from Ornamental Life called Flower War on the shirt layer to cover sheerness. The nicely matching colour is Bake my Heavens - gotta love the names Shir gives to her stuffs. The trousers are also from Zaara, the Ishaya Velour slacks in white (can you tell there was a sale and I piled up?). I even added the sculpted bottoms, as they increased my ARC next to nothing, but of course, if you go without, that's even lower cost.

Clothes done, ARC still bright green. Now for the tricky bit: hair and shoes. These are the pieces that really make a difference, as they use up lots of prims and alpha textures. I've chosen a shorter (and therefore less primmy) hairstyle, without alphas - the Davina II from ETD. I've tried on lots of hair for this, and Davina was the one that gave best results for me, but I'm sure there's tons of options. Regarding the shoes, I was surprised that these older ones (thus, not made with sculpties) from Shiny Things, the Classics in blue sea, would increase my ARC so little. I decided I could even add a bonus in the form of lashes (Natural, by Miriel); but of course, if you choose to wear a skin that includes painted lashes, you could even save that extra cost. The eyes are Miriel's Cool Shimmer and the poses are from Imperial Elegance.

Whew! Longest.post.evah.

East meets West

Until a few months ago, Zaara had always been my place of reference for ethnic wear. I was, however, pleasantly surprised when Zaara Kohime began adding some everyday wear to her store. I guess I wasn't the only one who received the news with glee, since after that we've seen her evolve from a relatively little store in the Tesla sim to a whole sim of its own. If you've never been to the Zaara sim, I really recommend the visit -- even if you don't plan to buy anything, it's worth seeing the amazing build and taking some photos. For those who are easy to convince, I'll list a few reasons to teleport over and spend some Lindens.

See? Amazing textures and sculpties all over the place. The top is Mitali in olive; it includes sleeve prims but I left those out because I like how the top looks without them (ok, and I was too lazy to adjust them, too). Mitali comes with a convenient midriff cover on the underpants layer, so you can wear it tucked in if you're modest like me ;-)
The Jewelled Jeans in blue, also from Zaara, are one of my favourite pairs among the hundreds (maybe thousands...) in my inventory. They're not just another nondistinct pair for two reasons: first, the hanging jewels that adorn the hip have a very feminine touch, with a mixture of gold and turquoise; and second, they include several options for the legs -- shown in the pics is the slouchy version, made of sculpties, but there's also the flared and skinny versions, which will suit all kinds of needs. The shoes, Korina in fabric and olive, are another treat that was included in the LeLutka gift bag for women (no longer available from notices, I'm afraid).
Normally I resort to Miriel for eyes and lashes (which I did again this time), but those are not the only things they sell. Another item that excels in quality at this store is the jewellery -- at reasonably low prices. The Bubble earrings I'm wearing here are from the Miriel Everyday collection; I only paid 25L (for the silver only version) and they include a script to change the colour of the gems. What else can I ask for?
The skin is one of the newest releases from Fleur, #2 from the Shoujo Spring series in the darkest skintone, Azalea; the hair is Truth's Hallie in cranberry, and poses are from the Torridwear subscriber pack which was sent to old members as well earlier this week. So, if you haven't done it yet, head off to Menel and get them!

Full credits on my flickr, slurls on wordpress.

It's spring time!

Spring quietly arrived while I was busy organising my new clothing fair acquisitions, but the weather has been just glorious these last few days, and I was truly looking forward to dusting off my springy outfits. Today I heard that Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend for us Euros, which means that days get realllly long here in Spain. People spend more time outdoors, indoor cafes get empty and meeting points move outside. The city comes to life.

Of course, one could say that in weatherless SL it is possible to wear summer clothes in mid-December -- and in fact I do sometimes, if the mood strikes. But when it's below zero outside (yes, we get that where I live!) I tend to prefer warm and fuzzy sweaters on SL too, and likewise, if the weather is nice, I'll probably be inclined to choose lighter fabrics.


For my first outfit this season I picked two of my last year's favourites: the Helena shirt and waist sash from Persona, and the Boing Fromage Hot Summer BoHo skirt in beige. The skirt is also available in black, but I just love the summery feel that the beige one transmits. As to the sash, I'm wearing it in pink here, although I bought the fatpack in order to get the full choice of bright and happy colours that really make it stand out as a central piece of the outfit, especially when paired with the black shirt. Gone are the days in which I dreaded saying "see you next year" to my boots, and although I miss them (especially when I see SL toes), I think there's rather nice choice of sandals around the grid that will be just as loved by the end of the summer. Here I'm wearing the Dhali Bow Platforms in bole by Armidi Gisaci.



I have no idea why, but I like turquoises as accessories for the warmer seasons, so for this outfit I was really looking forward to rescuing Zaara's Kaya turquoise bracelet from the bottom of my jewellery folder (obviously, because Z goes last on the alphabet, heh). I also recovered the Treasure earrings from Paper Couture, which I bought on a whim ages ago and then never wore. And finally, to divert attention from the really low cut of the shirt, I added one of the goodies included in the LeLutka gift bag for group members, the Grace pendant by Miabella.

The skin I'm wearing is Deviant Nation's Ether-Nothing in the champagne tone (which you can get at Celestial Studios), hair is ETD's Yvette in scarlet and eyes are Miriel's Quiet Green, with Feather eyelashes. All poses used for the pictures are from LAP... I'm already back to my pre-blogger pack ones, I think I prefer them for the attitude they have. Oh, and since I'm still on my experimental phase with picture backdrops, I went a step further and borrowed a springy photo, then edited it.

See full credits on my Flickr. For store slurls, check here.