Colorful Carbon

Remember when I raved about Dmitr Revnik's building skills? Well, I finally got him to stand still for a couple of snapshots, including one which shows off a bit more of the build I mentioned in that previous entry. In these photos, he's wearing a hair and hat combo by Indi with skin and eyes by MiaSnow. (Yep, I dragged him shopping at her store enough times that he became one of the converted.) More information about his look is at the bottom of this entry. (Much thanks to Dmitr for patiently indulging my request for a detailed breakdown of his look.)

My experience with SL builders is that they're never truly finished with a build, they're always tweaking the shape of this or the texture of that or knocking down walls to add additional rooms. Dmitr is no different in that regard - especially when it comes to builds he's living in. (Heck, even the house he built for me continues to see changes now and then.) As a result, the room you saw here has become the helm of his "hovering domicile" (to use Dmitr's favored term), housing glowing control panels and an old-fashioned steering wheel.



I love Dmitr's use of color and lighting in this particular build, making it feel more like a nightclub than a home. In fact, one side of the main living area includes a fully-stocked bar. Watching over the bar are a trio of steer skulls which seem oddly at ease among the vibrant flocked wallpaper and neon accents which surround them. (While the interior of Dmitr's home is definitely vibrant, I should note that the fabulous blacklight look of the photo below was achieved using the Orange Incubus windlight setting.)



If the "elegant sci-fi" look isn't your thing, Dmitr's also quite good at building quirky little seaside homes like mine, which can be partially viewed in previous entries. He's still resisting the idea of a retail endeavor, but I promise to keep working on him until he gives in.

Skin: Muerto Miguel by MiaSnow (mini mania exclusive)
Eyes: Genuine - Copper by MiaSnow
Hair/Hat: Fedora Hat Black (L) - Brown by Indi
Bracelet: Legacy Bracelet Preview ZP - Male by Blitzed
Tattoo: SnakeBite Color Medium by Para Designs
Shirt: Haunted Skelebeater - Sepia by Schadenfreude (group gift color)
Jacket: Liscio Vest - Hazel 1 by Gisaci
Belt: Classic Jeans Belt by Alphamale
Pants: Immortal Leathers Black MenStuffs Pants by RFyre (Menstuff hunt gift)

Puddin'

I'm in the midst of putting together a complete outfit to show you but, in the meantime, I thought I'd tell you about a couple of nifty freebies I got today.

First is this adorable pose stand disguised as set of bathroom scales. I stumbled across this at MMGraffiti's while checking out their lucky board. You get 4 versions - Female, Female (Tall), Male, and Kids. All versions come with a novelty pose as well as both forward and backward facing poses for editing attachments - no more rotating the pose stand or your camera! The Female stands come with the novelty pose you see here, the Male stand comes with an ego-stroking bicep flex, and the Kids stand has you crouching to peer intently at the scale's dial. Simply click each stand to cycle through the poses.

Second are these kickass heels from Purrfect 10. They're the current group gift for the free store group. (The VIP group costs $510L to join, but promises 10 limited edition items per year as well as offering a 10% discount on all purchases made while wearing the group tag.) Since these are a gift, they don't come with all of the texture-change features of the retail shoes, but you do get 22 different nail polish colors and the ability to match the skin tone of the feet to that of your avatar. To get these shoes, simply join the Purrfect 10 group (search for "Purrfect 10" under the Groups tab in-world), then click on the board here. Don't forget to grab the free skin toner on the wall above the shoes - it removes much of the headache of matching the color of your prim feet with your skin.

As usual, below are all of the details of my outfit, with prices included when possible. I started to gather the information about the furnishings seen in these photos, then realized it wasn't a task I have the patience for. If you want to know where anything else comes from, just ask and I'll look up the information for you the next time I log in. I will tell you that the superb piece of artwork that's hanging in my bathing area is by Trindolyn Beck. You can see (and purchase) more of his work at India Ink Gallery on Twomoons Island.



Hair: Amerlee (Streaked) - Blacks by Ploom ($220L)
Skin: Fresh - Pale (nude, blush) by MiaSnow
Lipstick/Cleavage: Fresh Makeup 3 (Hair, Black Lip, Pale BIG) by MiaSnow
Necklace: Summer - Green by LouLou&Co ($40L gatcha prize)
Prim Nails & Rings: Eye Rings & Nails by Virtual Insanity (former hunt gift )
Bracelet: Summer - Green by LouLou&Co ($40L gatcha prize / 2pk)
Upper Body Tattoos: Pink Rock - Black - Medium by Para Designs ($195L)
Leg/Waist Tattoos: Shooting Star Full Version - Faded by Para Designs ($175L)
Skirt: Gutter Glitter Tutu - Sorrow by Silentsparrow ($225L / 4pk) ^*
Shoes: Serenity Ocean Heels by Purrfect 10 (group gift here, free to join)
Pose: Bathroom Scale Posing Stand - Female by MMGraffiti's (free here)


^* By the way, if you happen to have the Jangling Jack vest by Silentsparrow, it looks super cute with this tutu.

Aria by Eliza Wierwight

Last night, my friends Nigel & Orlando pointed me toward a gorgeous art exhibit called, "Aria" by Eliza Wierwight. These are undedited shots I took within the installation, using the artists' recommended windlight settings. (Clicking the Aria sign at the entrance of the tour will provide you with this information as well as additional details about the artist and her work.)

Ms. Wierwight says, "Aria was designed to be 'walked' through. To slowly reveal. I understand it's cheeky of me but I strongly suggest that you don't fly or cam around. Of course it's entirely up to you!!!!!" She also recommends enabling music and media, as she considers them to be "an integral part of the overall experience." I fully agree with both of these suggestions and am even going to go a step further and recommend listening to the music stream through headphones to further the immersive experience.

If you want to make an impression on that special someone, "Aria" would be the perfect place to do it - there are even places to sit and sip champagne (click the bottles in the ice buckets), a couples dance ball, and a beautiful keepsake music box you can pick up for free. Just hop on over to Originalia and take a leisurely stroll along the pathway, following the wooden signposts and, ideally, stopping to enjoy the other art installations along the way. I don't know how much longer this exhibit will be in place, so sooner is probably better than later.

Set Home to Here: February 19, 2011

After I made my initial Set Home to Here post last night, I found this image lurking in my images folder. (It doesn't really surprise me that he idea of documenting my log in screens has occurred to me before, as I'm also the type of person who photographs her hotel room on vacation.) Though you can't see as much of my SL living space in the March image, it still provides an idea of how much it's changed in just two months. (The desk, table, and blue chair in that image are where the television and brown chair are in this one.)

Since it wasn't a Dress for Blogging day, I didn't take notes on my look, so I've forgotten some of the specifics (like what skin I was wearing), but I've included what details I could track down below.

Hair: Doris - Blue by Amacci
Shirt: My Other Avatar is a Draenei by Boom ($1L)
Boots: Doc Mason's Tall Womens V3 by MK Fashion
Skirt w/ Belt: Tartan Miniskirt by Edge Grafica (Which now seems to be no more.)
Socks: Mismatched Old Socks by Canimal (Sadly, now defunct.)

Set Home to Here: May 24, 2011

Since I like to change my home point somewhat frequently, usually after I've made significant changes to my living space (but sometimes simply because I've grown bored), I've decided to start taking screen caps of each new home point as a sort of scrapbook of my Second Life dwellings. This resulted in the creation of the Flickr group, Set Home to Here. If you're so inclined, please do join up and show us what your home point looks like!


Hair: H058 Group Gift by Black Maria (group is free to join)
Skin: Fresh - Pale (nude, blush) by MiaSnow
Lipstick: Lipstick v.1 by Garage
Eyes: Xpressive - Green by MiaSnow
Necklace: BC Naturals range 'yUKay' necklace by Black Crocus ($95L)
Shirt: *1-2-3 GO!* Tanktop by Artilleri
Nails: Bitten Nails - Onyx by Figure 8 (Sadly no longer available.)
Pants: SerieZ Capris - HC - UK by Insanya ($200L)
Shoes: Mary Jane Clogs - Black by Shiny Things
Ankle Tattoos: Blue Star Ankle Tattoos by katat0nik

Anglophile Overkill

Though I was born and largely raised in the United States, my heritage is primarily British. Due to that and the influence of Duran Duran on my formative years, I've been an Anglophile for the majority of my life. This means that I'm always on the lookout for quality Second Life merchandise with a Union Jack theme, and Insanya's UK SerieZ Capris are exactly that. The capris are only the second item I've purchased from Insanya, but so far I've been very pleased with their quality of merchandise - the prim cuffs and thigh pockets fit perfectly right out of the box and the textures have a nice grungy depth to them.

While attempting to figure out what to wear with my new pants, I decided to see if I could put together an outfit comprised entirely of well-made items based on the Union Jack. (I swear, it wasn't just an excuse to go shopping.) While this was definitely a project of a silly nature, I decided to avoid garish items like Union Jack patterned eyeballs, Dr. Seuss hats, etc. My one concession to that was my nails, because I simply couldn't resist the Anarchy nails Virtual Insanity released for their Super Bargain Saturday offering this week. These nails come in three different hand sizes (10/20/30) and offer a multitude of color and design options for each nail, allowing you to create a look truly your own. As you can see in the photo at the bottom of this post, I eventually opted to wear the Union Jack on only two fingers of each hand and went with plain blue polish on the rest. (Note: Each nail size comes in 2 different versions. The menu options available to you depend on which set of nails you're wearing and, yes, you can mix and match them.)

I then rummaged around the SL Marketplace where I found a great-looking $1L tank top, a pair of size-scripted sneakers, and a necklace with an artistic twist on the Union Jack. At that point, I decided that I'd probably reached the acceptable amount of flagwear on one body outside of a national holiday, so I hopped on the bus to London for a couple of photos. Below are all of the details of my outfit, with prices included when possible.



Necklace: BC Naturals range 'yUKay' necklace by Black Crocus ($95L)
Shirt: Grunge Tanktop - British Flag by My Ts ($1L)
Prim Nails: Anarchy v1 by Virtual Insanity ($60L until midnight May 14, 2011)
Pants: SerieZ Capris - HC - UK by Insanya ($200L)
Shoes: Union Jack by McChucks ($125L)
Hair: H058 Group Gift by Black Maria (group is free to join)
Skin: Fresh - Pale (nude, blush) by MiaSnow
Lipstick: Lipstick v.1 by Garage
Eyes: Xpressive - Green by MiaSnow
Wrist Tattoos: Nautical Wrist Stars III by Aitui
Pose 1: Ashanti by Striking Poses
Pose 2: Luth Rockabilly 03 by Reel Expression
Laughing Expression: Lemmontree Emote HUD 1.1 by The Lemmontree (free)
Location: Mainland London West End (slurl)

Black Maria

Because I want to bring you informative content on a more regular basis, and because sometimes bargains have a very short lifespan, I'm experimenting with a more bare-bones style of entry. That doesn't mean you'll no longer see full-outfit fashion posts from me, just that they'll be supplemented with with posts like this one.

For my maiden post in this "series," I've chosen the hair store Black Maria. Not only are they currently offering 2 free hairstyles to group members (the group is free to join) and a variety of cute punky pigtails in their lucky board, but the second floor of the store contains over 30 completely free hairstyles! If that's not enough to tempt you, they also have a $20L gatcha vendor for pigtails and 6-packs of brand new hair for only $125L.

Click here to hail a taxi to Black Maria.


(Note: Mohawk hairbase NOT included with group gift.)

Mini-Blog #4

At home with one of my 6 cats. This is just an untouched test shot of my costume for the aforementioned photoshoot I'm helping a friend with.

Skin: Fresh - Pale - Smokey by MiaSnow
Eyes: Xpressive - Green by MiaSnow
Tattoo: Cupid's Vine by Para Designs (I think this was a hunt gift.)
Mohawk:: Glitch - Midnite + Tips by House of Munster
Shaved Sides:: Etched Hair Base - Egypt - 004 - Black - Fem by Aitui
Earrings: Horn Earrings by Adore & Abhor (StashBash Hunt Gift)
Nails: Bitten Nails - Onyx by Figure 8 (Sadly no longer available.)
Shorts: Denim Short Pants by Edge Grafica (Only L!)
Belt: Studded Leather Belt by Drudi's Design ( Free! )
Socks: Ripped Stockings and Socks - 1 by Insanya ($150/9pk)
Boots: Dr. H. Boots - Black by Hoorenbeek
Jacket: Ferocious - Moth by Davinel ($120L) (Includes additional prim pieces not shown here)
Couch & Pose Patchwork Woodcutter Chair v2 Blue by Lisp
Cat: 2prim Anim Cat - Oci by Shop Seu
Curtains: Parisi Curtains by Phi
House: Custom made by Dmitr Revnik

What if we all wore the Same Damn Thing?

Achariya Rezak once said...

What if we all wore the same damned thing?
I think...
We'd still look very different.

The second entry which was postponed by Real Life was a response to Cajsa Lilliehook's suggestion that we "wave a blogger’s goodbye" to Achariya for her 3 1/2 years of blogging service to the Second Life community by replaying "one of her best Blogger Challenges, the Same Damn Thing Challenge."

For this particular challenge, Achariya chose the Oxford Shirt from Schadenfreude. This shirt comes in 30 different colors with a variety of tucked/untucked options on several layers. Individual colors can be had for $160L each or you can grab the fat pack of all 30 colors for $3500L.

For your accessory needs, Schadenfreude also offers a plethora of neckties for as low as $80L for a 2pk. Each tie comes in both female/male sizes with a variety of attachment points. However, the neatest thing about these ties is that they also offer you an Oxford Collar option with a color-changing HUD which allows you to match the collar to ANY of the Oxford Shirts you may own. How cool is that?! (They also come without the attached collar so you can wear them with anything else you please.)

I wore my Indigo Oxford Shirt untucked with a Fluorite Tree Tie, a silver belt by La Boheme, leopard-print pants by Sn@tch, and cowboy boots by Hoorenbeek. Also, as promised, I've finally ventured into the world of prim nails with a gorgeous red set by La Boheme. Below are all of the details of my outfit, with prices included when possible.

Thank you, Achariya, for giving those of us with quirky fashion sense somewhere to turn to for ideas for so long and for inspiring me to finally start my own damn blog. I wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors.



Skin: Love - Pale (Liner, Red Lip) by MiaSnow
Eyes: Xpressive - Blue by MiaSnow
Facial Piercings: -Dimpled Piercing - Silver Lining by Haus of Darcy
Prim Nails: Manicure Red08 by La Boheme
Hair: H058 Black/Blonde_01 by Black Maria ($125L/6pk)
Shirt: Oxford - Indigo by Schadenfreude
Tie: Fluorite Tree Tie by Schadenfreude ($80/pr)
Pants: Reject Cheetah Pants - Green by Sn@tch (Part of the Rodeo Reject Set.)
Belt: Silver Flower Sun Belt (with color-change stones) by La Boheme ($100L)
Boots: Cowgirl Boots - Black by Hoorenbeek
Close Up Pose: *Luth* pose 37 by Reel Expression
Full Body Pose: LB Stand 20 by Reel Expression
Location: Devil's Moon

Dishy Digits

I know it's been awhile since I've posted here and, for that, I apologize. I had a couple of entries in the works when Real Life intervened, as it so often will. The first post to get delayed was this response to Strawberry Singh's "What's your digits?" query. My avatar's stats are as follows:



My height was determined using the Avatar Height Measure. According to the Edit Appearance window in Phoenix, I'm an even 6' tall. However, based on the trouble I often have with poseballs and long skirts, I'm more inclined to believe the Avatar Height Measure.

The outfit I'm wearing is something I was trying out for a photoshoot a friend asked me to assist them with. Because this isn't really a fashion post, I'm not going to speak much about what I'm wearing except to say that I'm especially pleased with the freebie belt. I have something of an hourglass shape, so items like belts and prim skirts are often too small for me and resist my attempts to edit them into something which fits properly and is still aesthetically pleasing. That was not the case at all with this belt, which comes in both female and male sizes and is scripted for resizing. The bare bones info about the rest of my outfit is below, with prices included when possible.

Skin: Fresh - Pale - Smokey by MiaSnow
Eyes: Xpressive - Green by MiaSnow
Tattoo: Cupid's Vine by Para Designs (I think this was a hunt gift.)
Hair: H058 Black/Blonde_01 by Black Maria ($125L/6pk)
Nails: Bitten Nails - Onyx by Figure 8 (Sadly no longer available.)
Shorts: Denim Short Pants by Edge Grafica (Only $1L!)
Belt: Studded Leather Belt by Drudi's Design ( Free! )
Socks: Ripped Stockings and Socks - 1 by Insanya ($150/9pk)
Boots: Dr. H. Boots - Black by Hoorenbeek
Jacket: Ferocious - Moth by Davinel ($120L) (Includes additional prim pieces not shown here)
Pose: Stock Stand 182 by Sylva's Animation Factory