Second Style Magazine

As announced in a previous post, I vowed to go bald for a month should SLRFL’08 raise more money that in all the 4 previous editions together. The bar was set to the equivalent of USD 167,000.  Today, during closing ceremony, the grand total of USD 195,000 was announced (that is over 52 million L$). So as of today you will see me either bald, or wearing a hat/bandana and yes, that includes blogposts as well.

I think it is pretty amazing that a charity can get such a gridwide succes… last year there were almost 40 teams that raised money for cancer research and support to patients, survivors and their caregivers, and this year there were more than 80! People from all over the world and from all different backgrounds work together in this virtual environment to relay until there is a cure.

Thank you everyone who has made this RFL  edtition such an incredible succes! You’re all heroes! 

Uhm, I had people IMing me about the blouse, it’s by Muism. The belt is part of the blouse.  The shocking pink pants are really the white leather pants by Adam ‘n Eve, I coloured them for the occasion. The skin is a beta from PXL Creations and it’s not released.

If you are fed up with the skin reviews… just skip this ok? Oh, and fair warning, I’m only about half way through as there are still more skins on my shelf waiting to be blogged.

Charlotte Morellet, the owner of Soda, has joined the ranks of my favourite skinmakers with the release of her latest skins. 10 Delicious faces, each with 5 different make ups (and every make up you buy comes with 3 different lips: gloss, nude and lipstick). So there is an incredible amount of choice, and because the faces are all different, there is also a big chance that among them there will be a couple to fit your particular shape features. One set of 3 skins is priced at L$ 900. The make up multipack (5 make ups, 15 skins) sells at L$ 3500. These skins have a high level of photorealism and added drawn details and are in some way reminiscent of the highly appreciated skin from Redrgrave. But… what makes Soda skins better for me than those, is the not overly saturated look and, even more important, no celebrity faces/references!!!!

Whereas they all have their own faces, these skins share the same soft and smooth looking body. The body texture has this soft shimmery look, like you just used a very good body lotion. Nice highlights on the belly and the cleavage. There is not so much detailing to the back, spine and shoulder blades are well indicated, but on these skins you won’t find highly detailed drawn elbows and knee pits and such. Private parts are also just indicated, not meticulously drawn. Not that I mind, the few pixels a skinner has available to draw a kitty on more than once leave it looking like it’s ready for cosmetical surgery anyway. Room for improvement is in the hands and feet, especially in the nails which look a bit odd to me, but not disturbingly odd anyway.

Torie Senne of Bebae Skins is a busy bee. A couple of weeks ago she presented a new skin line, and already there is a follow up, and a new build for the shop. I must say, it looks lovely. Grey tones with teal accents, very modern, very clean looking. But since I’m not writing an architecture blog: on to the stuff you are reading my posts for… the dough… the goods… the skins in this case… With Torie’s previous skinline I had one major issue, the mouth of the skin I bought first, looked very different on me, way better even, than the one on the skin I bought next. In this skin line, all mouths look good on me. So that tackled my main concern when Torie sent me a selection of her skins.

For now there are six different make ups in five different skintones. The make ups differ slightly per skintone. So is there a lime eyeliner with the pale skin, and a turquoise with the sunkissed, or a sunny orange with the tan. Also the intensity of the lip colour may vary with the tone of the skin. The complexion of these skins is really nice in all skin tones, although like in many skins, the darker skins tend to be a bit on the red side. I really like the mouths, they are luscious and have a natural smile. Please do yourself a favour if you are one of those avatars that has your mouthsliders turned into a grin….. doing that makes the skin textures distort anyway, and when there is a smile on the skin itself it will turn into a grimace that is not cute on you. Just for your information, I keep mine on 49. I also think that these mouths look better when you don’t have your lips too full. Again, the texture will look a bit twisted when you over do the slider collagene.

As far as the body goes, it is looking pretty good. Personally I am a sucker for the very smooth skins, and these do have a fair amount of skin details, especially on the back. But it gives the skin a very real look, and I know many of you appreciate that. The over all shading is pretty, with nice shading and drawn details. I spotted some minor seams, but not in the visible places. Alls skins come in two versions, pubes and shaven. A special mention for the nails on hands and feet, Torie gave them a nice buff. The hands look very good to me anyway. The over all impression of this skin is not very muscular, but rather soft and feminine with just a bit of a muscle tone. All in all this is a skin that I enjoy wearing very much

The Hair is Tyra by ETD, and the lingerie is Encore by Adam ‘n Eve

PS. take a look at Gogo’s blog as well… it is so funny how most skins that look so girly girly on her, give me a more mature look. Shapes really make a look (if the skins are not too heavily shaded that is) 

JD Hansen has been crafting jewels in SL for years. With each new release, her work becomes more and more exquisite and detailed. With the hyper color gems, metals, and bling system she uses, you can fashion your jewelry to match any outfit. With over 75 stores grid wide, JCNY is quite a well known name in SL. As an employee of JCNY, I am pleased to have the opportunity to share with you all some of her greatest recent releases.

Marcia is a beautiful 3 tiered design with gems and pearls. The color change options for this piece features some new styles for the metal. In the photograph, I have it set on sky for the metals, and diamond for the gems.

The Mode Douce is a gorgeous, chunky metal set. A dual layer of fashionable circles is joined on one side by a larger circle. Finishing the bottom is another large circle with two metal tassles. I have it set on black.

The Chalice Diamond set was created in honor of the June MODEL’FEST winner, Chalice Carling. It is a luxurious gem filled necklace & drop earrings, crafted into creative geometric shapes. It is set on antique gold metals and topaz gems.

War & Peace is a great set to represent the hard times our world is facing right now. It features a double strand necklace with two delicate peace signs & lovely drop earrings with dual peace signs. What a wonderful item to own in the hardships of the world at this moment. The metals are set on haute silver, and the gems on amethyst.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Vintage Butterfly set. An amazing craft of metals and gems in an exquisite butterfly shape, this set includes neckalce, drop earrings, and a bracelet. The metals are on platinum, and the gems on passion.

  

 

Credits, in order of pictures:

Naughty Designs “floral baby blue” Lingerie, Redgrave Chloe skin, House of Heart Winnie brown hair with 40’s Hollywood bangs, JCNY Marcia, Spring 2008 Special Edition necklace - sky/diamond.

*Beauty Avatar* Black & White Collection – Elsinore, Redgrave Chloe skin, House of Heart Feral in bitter chocolate, JCNY Mode Douce necklace – black gold.

Insolence Salome Cream Sheer Basque, Redgrave Chloe skin, ETD Luth in Mocha blackened, JCNY Chalice Diamond set - Topaz/Antique gold.

Last Call LeeAnne in Midnight, Redgrave Chloe skin, CAKE Cutie in midnight, JCNY War & Peace set – Haute Silver/Amethyst

Seen in world? Yes. Review copies? Yes. Friends List? Yes.

Hi all! I hope everyone had an amazing fashion filled, fun week! With the Footwear Expo, Bridal Expo and Beachwear & Lingerie Expo, there is certainly no shortage of wonderful events to attend! Check the Calendar for LM’s and info to these 3 great events.

Other exciting happenings this weekend include:

Friday July 18 

The Perfect Gift, begins 8am: http://slurl.com/secondlife/xtoh/225/227/92/

***Ghost Ship- Osprey Therian Theatre- Auction & Dance, 2pm-5pm: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Waverly%20Yacht%20ClubII/107/15/46/

“Silhouettes in The Dark” Fashion Show, 5pm-7pm: http://slurl.com/secondlife/lavender%20isle/128/128/0/

Saturday July 19

Footwear Expo Runway Show, 12noon-1:30pm: http://slurl.com/secondlife/rezzable%20explore/106/133/22/

NoPink! Grand opening & Fashion Show, 1pm-3:30pm: http://slurl.com/secondlife/cryst%27all/206/74/22/

Freesoul Design new store opening celebration, 1pm-3pm: http://slurl.com/secondlife/freesoul%20design/120/137/54/

*SKINS & MORE*, 3pm-5pm: http://slurl.com/secondlife/skin%20oasis/193/66/39/

The Rezzable crowd is kicking off a high octane fashion event starting tomorrow, July 16 featuring some designs by some of the most creative and inventive fashion designers in Second Life.

I’m looking forward to seeing what pixel couture designer Eshi Otawara along with designers like Nicky Ree, Shai Delacroix and Rebel Hope have in store for this event.

If you haven’t visited Black Swan yet, let me encourage you to visit. It’s an astounding collection of some of the best 3D artwork I’ve ever seen in Second Life. The other day I took a picture of a bound angel which just made my jaw drop in awe. If the fashion is on par with the art exhibits, this is going to be one fantastic collection of garments.

The event runs through August 4.

A friend of mine, Raffaello Robbiani, is doing quite a nice job with SL photography and I enjoy following his Flickr stream. He does ads sometimes and my eye got caught by this one. Unknown to me creator, Cindy Looby, nice looking earrings… time to look up that profile and get to the shop and check things out.

Cindy has a growing inventory of jewelry, sets and separates, and medallion watches. I picked up a set and the earrings I saw in Raf’s ad, as well as another pearl necklace that match the earrings. Impulsive buyer as I am, I discovered only back at home that the sets not only are non copy and trans, which is good for gifting, but also non mod… and that is an issue that weighs for me. With all the difference in avatar shapes around, jewelry really should be modifiable so that you can adjust it prim by prim if you want/need to. Creators really should be aware of this, after all, well fitting prims on your client’s neck, that is the best advertising you can have for your products… Ofcourse for mega primadjusting operations it is handy when a piece is copyable so that you always can have a back up copy if you screw up big time, but hey… that’s choices. One IM to Cindy later she replaced my items with modifiables, so I was set to go. Oh and she also killed the bling for me. You can turn if off with the /99 bling off command, but I just dont like bling, and I have no need for lag inducing bling scripts, so that was a good case of customer service.

I’m rambling, on to the sets. First the Parure pearl and diamond set. It’s a very classical set, perfect with formal wear and once I got around to fitting  it properly, a very enjoyable piece to have. It is build a bit odd… circular rather than following the avatar’s shape so you might find it hard to make it work, but I just wanted to show this to you, and also, again, point out the fact how important modifiable jewelry is. I don’t expect a new creator to have the same level of skills as one of the established jewellers in SL, but I do think that Cindy has some talent and It will be nice to see how she develops.

Next the earrings from the ad above. Beautiful pink pearls and diamonds. They really look good to me. 153 tiny prims of beauty and they match the necklace perfectly. It has the same pink pearls and a paved pendant. Again a very classy ensemble. So… what’s my story… well.. first and foremost, a catchy ad does work to get word out for your products. I don’t think I would have found Cindy’s shop, if not for Raffaello’s ad. Second.. I like Cindy’s work. It’s not perfect yet, but it looks cute, and she has talent and third.. to all content creators: please make prim work modifiable and copyable!

Hair is by Truth, Katherine in black, the skin is M&R’s Birthday suit Sienna Red and the gown is Novocaine’s Torino wrap dress in silver.

PS. there is a 4th thing to add… I really, strongly, dislike bling, so yay for Cindy for removing it for me!!!!

Today I came upon the funniest store in a long while, Stitch by Stitch, and I just had to share some of the skirts that I found there with you. Besides the gipsy dresses and the Frida Kahlo dress and some of the items that Analu blogged some time ago, these are the items I like best in Sevenstar Amat’s shop. The Tartan Rose skirt (I modded the rose so that there would be a bit more contrast in the flower) worn with the classic red Cambridge shirt from Armidi, the My little Geisha dress.. that I love the texture of. There are cuffs for the sleeves as well.. but they came unpositioned, and they didn’t quite match my shape, so I just let them be, and the lovely Sevens Graduation skirt, here worn with Armidi’s black Hoja top.

I had to include a photo of the shop as well….. see that cow? A cow in the shop.. with sunglasses… I had to laugh so hard.. it made my day.. and it’s only early Monday morning for me. There also is a stitching machine with a lovely animation, as well as some other furniture items, all of wich look really sweet and are for sale as well. Looks like Sevenstar is having a good time creating content.

Finally a note about the skin I’m in, it is Emma and it is a special RFL release from Fleur. Roslin and CJ made her especially for this edition of SLRFL that will come to an end next weekend, and after that, Emma will NOT be available anymore. So get your L$ and come get one, or all 3, make ups of Emma at Fleur. She costs L$ 1000, and all proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. Pay the amount, any amount, to the donation vendor, but if you donate 1000 L$ or more, then you’ll receive one of the skins.

UHmmmmm.. speaking of which… I just had a quick chat with Fay Foley of SLRFL… currently the grand total is at 160k USD… if by the ending of SLRFL next week, we are at 167k USD (that’s more than all previous editions together!!!) the following people will go bald for a month.. or equivalent sacrifice.. Fay will be bald for a year.. as we already topped her goal of 150k USD:

If the total for the 2008 Relay hits 1,000 USD over the combined total of the past 4 years that’s 167,000.00 USD; a majority of the Planning Committee, mentors, designers, team captains, and volunteers will go bald for one month or make an equivalent sacrifice -

Tayzia Abattoir – bald
Poppy Zabelin – bald
Tequlia Tapioca – bald
LadyKay Gable – bald
Panza Eilde – bald
Elizabeth Antonelli – bald
Marissa Goodliffe – bald
Josette Miles – bald
Tiffany Vaughan – bald
Ren Stonecutter – bald
Catt Gable – bald
Peachy Sasson – bald
Charlene Trudeau – bald
Jaelle Akula – bald
Nuala Maracas – bald
David Jacobs – pink hair for a year
Tria Boucher – no shoes for 6 months
Elizabeth Tinsley – noob skin for six months
Woodstock Burleigh – wearing antlers for a month
Wilma Delgado – bald

 and I just had myself added to that list. I’m sure others will be added as well. I’ll go bald for a month if we get over 167k USD. So try me!!!!!

Rani Decosta is a surf fanatic. So she themed her sim according to the surfer’s lifestyle, and when she decided to dedicate herself to making clothes, it was a natural choice to go for surf and beachwear. She opened her shop, Lala Surfwear, yesterday, so this is really fresh… and really cute too! A small but well made inventory of bikinis and boardies, and also a few cute dresses. For someone who’s just starting, she has made a really nice collection, colourful, fresh and well textured. The shirts ans tops have some shading, which I expect to develop further over time whe Rani gains experience, but it is totally ok already.

No thongs here, because, as Rani says: “I wanted to get a balance between sexy but practical, wont find any thongs here, nothing worse than feeling uncomfortable on your surfboard with a bit of thong up your bum! But its aimed at anyone who wants to wear a bikini and feel sexy but comfortable.” Ofcourse pixel me can go surfing in a minuscule thong and wear stiletto heels, and NOT be uncomfortable, but since I don’t like strings and thongs and such in RL anyway… YAY for the panties and the boardies!

NB.: all clothes at Lala Surfwear are non copy/non mod/trans for easy gifting, except for the prim parts in outfts that are non copy/mod.

Hair is Toss me from Bishwear (freebie!!), this skin is Vivant Laura in Chestnut @ Fleur and the awesome necklace is from the Isis outfit @ Bare Rose.

The Footwear Expo is on like donkey kong! And… as a card-carrying member of the ASPCA, I am thrilled to show you a couple of my favorite opening-day purchases.

I was fortunate enough to get TP’d in for a twenty-minute headstart on the shoe-ravenous masses, and was delighted to find a massive sampling of drool-worthy goodies!

Including some fab exclusives like the Belles from Shinythings, and the ultra-sexy Virtue by Maitreya. Yum! 20% of the proceeds from the Belles goes right to the ASPCA, and the Virtue pumps go 100% to the ASPCA. So, what are you waiting for? Open your wallets and your hearts!

Need I say more??

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rezzable%20Create/246/87/22

[Expo runs until 9PM SLT on July 27th!]

Credits: Periquita Wrap Me Up Dolly heels in purple, Shinythings Belles in pink, and Maitreya Virtue.

JD Hansen, of JCNY jewelry, is offering one of a kind, exclusive jewelry! Only 30 limited edition pieces will be released. The first is called GENESIS. The next will not be released until the first is nearly gone. Get down there and get yours today!

“Authentic JCNY COLLECTORS EDITION – JEWELRY

Investing in the future of the internet is a wise decision. The internet and Second Life change and grow daily. The limited copy products here in Second Life will be priceless keepsakes in the years to come. This product is 100% original in design and has no real world ‘inspiration’. JD Hansen prides all works at JCNY to be made with this quality in mind. Enjoy your first collector’s edition keepsake from JCNY Collection.

JCNY Collection :::Letter of Authenticity

———————————-

Each set comes with a PRODUCT #1 of 30. Built 100% original design by JD Hansen, CEO, JCNY Collection, The GENESIS Collection is the first of a series of Vaulted Collections we are offering from JCNY Collection. The JCNY Collection brand has grown to a world wide popular brand. With such a great following of customers we decided to give back some original works to the people who made JCNY what it is today. This piece will only be in Second Life in a quantity of 30. You’re Likely never to run across anyone else who has this GENESIS Edition Jewelry. Made of JCNY Micro Prims and Hyper-Gems Script Technology. We honor you as a first generation collector and historian of internet fashion culture. The GENESIS Collection will impress residents for generations to come.

We look forward to bringing you more exclusives from the studios of…

JD Hansen

Creator, JCNY Collection – Diamond Superstores.”

Main Store Location and Showroom ::::

http://slurl.com/secondlife/farrah%20island/195/59/24/

 

What a fun week of events! Indyra Originals had a huge party to celebrate all the people who entered their model search. Over 200 girls applied. After making a call to Linden Labs to allow more people into the sim, the club was packed with nearly a hundred of SL’s most beautiful avatars. About a hundred others could not get in, however. DJ Kromus Korobase was spinning the best electro/trance/house and keeping the party going. Stay tuned, on July 14 they should announce the big winner!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/namaste%20isle/128/129/26/

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The Best of Italian is also holding a model search. Every entrant has a chance to walk the runway and show their stuff to the judges. The contestants are placed in weekly groups and are given 2 outfits made by Sissy Pessoa of Baiastice. Annemarie Parenti, the owner of The Best of Italian and Piazza Italia introduces each model for the judges and the onlookers. After the show, the models’ photographs are on display for public voting in the mall. Their runway performance count as 50% of their score, and public voting is the other half. The top 4 contestants will move on to the finals. Each Wednesday is another show. Please come down to support these girls in this exciting time!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/best%20of%20italian/128/166/23/

• The panel of judges includes:
• Maura Taurog – judge/Italian model
• Laura18 Streeter – CEO LOOKElite Models
• Su Winx – Italian Style Manager
• Millys Allen – judge
• Jennyfur Miles – owner of Jen School & Services

 

  

Picture 1: Panel of judges

Picture 2: Annemarie Parenti

Picture 3: Best of Italian runway

Pictures 4 & 5: Me modeling the 2 outfits by Baiastice with Chloe Redgrave skin & ETD Luth hair in black

Seen in world? No. Review items? No, but I got the outfits for entering contest. Friends list: Jennyfur Miles

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JCNY revealed their first round of MODEL’FEST contestants on Thursday. Each month, JCNY has a huge competition with tons of great prizes. The models chosen are allowed onto the JCNY runway for one week. Runway managers are available (I am one of them!) to assist the models with any issues they may have, as well as keep all the guests happy and safe. Come on down and get a note card with contest details, and to see the lovely people on the stage. August 1 will be the big announcement of the grand prize winner, and one runner up.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/farrah%20island/196/5/25/

JCNY MODEL’FEST Runway full of models, with spectators, and me managing!

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Sissy Pessoa of Baiastice had the grand opening of her new sim on Thursday. Events included dancing with great music from Baiastice face 2008 Giela Delpaso, and a gift hunt with amazing gifts from some of the vendors around the sim. New stores include: J&J Skin – Pupa Evolution, Behavior Body – Poses & Animations, Stiletto Moody Shoes, Artransfer Gallery, and RR Shapes (inside J&J). The gift hunt is going until July 16. There are 20 gifts to find with amazing items inside!! Dresses, tops, skirts, pants, purses, hats, skins, poses and swimwear. I have included a couple pics to wet your palate. Be sure to get on down and check it all out!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/baiastice/152/126/25/