There Will Be Guns

I got a new job, so my SL time has been significantly reduced. I hope to be able to keep this blog alive, but that may mean the focus shifts toward more arty photos and away from the more straightforward fashion blog photos.

Speaking of photos, my friend Nigel and I played dress up this afternoon as he indulged my request for an updated photo of the two of us. While he was setting up the shot, I snapped a few photos of my own. The two featured below are completely unedited.



Of course, as always, Nigel's work made me squee and want to stare at it forever...


Nigel is wearing Razor, Exile, Schadenfreude, Breach, and Lost Haven

Information about my Harley Quinn outfit can be found here.

Signs by 7 Emporium.

Lorelei

I finally made it to Cirque de Seraphim the other night and, though I didn't buy a lot, I did go home with a few things that caught my fancy. The first item was this cropped sweater and slit skirt set by Goth1c0. They're another vendor who's been around since my rez day in 2006, and I was pleased to discover they're still in business. The outfit seemed like something my RL friend Lorelei would like so, even though she's not in SL, I decided to put together a look based on her style. I'd already had my eye on Schadenfreude's Alchemy Stacked Necklaces at this month's Collabor88 and, since I felt they'd go well with the outfit and also fit Lorelei's style, I patiently tried over and over to get to Collabor88 until, finally, the sim was no longer full and I could dash over and buy a few necklaces.



Cirque de Seraphim also yielded a lovely Slink compatible thigh and foot tattoo set from Pervette. (And a second outfit that I hope to blog very soon.) The skirt would probably fit better with heels but, to be honest, I liked the look of it so much while barefoot that I never even bothered to try on shoes with it.




The rings are ones I've had for a long time, but they're both still available (at least on the Marketplace). The eyes were a splurge but they come with a HUD that has an insane amount of customization options. At $395L, they actually feel like a bargain because I doubt I'll ever have to buy another pair of eyes again. I highly recommend grabbing the demo off of the Marketplace and then watching the demonstration video over on YouTube.


Hair: Locomotion by Exile ($1000L Fatpack)
Skin: Nellie 06 [Fair] Glow skin by LAQ ($1999L/10pk)
Eyeshadow: Electric Soft by La Boheme ($180L/10pk)
Lipstick & Teeth: Ink Lipstick - Teeth by Pink Fuel ($75L/4pk)
Eyes: FATEeyes v3.0 by Fate ($395L on the Marketplace)
Glasses: Nerd Glasses - Black by Voxxi ($10L on the Marketplace)
Piercing: Metal Mouth MESH Round Dermals - Silent Rage by Haus of Darcy ($75L/16pk)
Top & Skirt: The Moon Outfit by Goth1c0 @ Cirque de Seraphim ($169L)
Small Necklaces: Digital Alchemy Stacked Necklaces by Schadenfreude @ Collabor88 ($88L for each style in 7 lengths)
Large Necklace: Signature necklace 2013 - Gold by Lassitude & Ennui (Free)
Tattoos: The Deer and The Fox by Pervette @ Cirque de Seraphim ($120L)
Ring - Right Hand: Nebula by Kosh ($99L)
Ring - Left Hand: Foy Porter - Sapphire + Silver by Alchemy Immortalis ($99L)
Nails: Karma *Slink* Manicure & Pedicure by La Boheme ($50L)
Hands: AvEnhance Hands Female - Casual by Slink ($450L)
Feet: AvEnhance Feet Female - Flat by Slink ($675L)

Poses: Various poses included with Modeling Photo Studio S70 VH1.7 by Tricolore (Over 2 Years Old)

Mother Nature

As I mentioned in last night's sneak peek post, I started working on putting together another outfit based on items from the Fantasy Gatcha Carnival, when I suddenly found myself wanting to look like a faerie. Once again, it all started with a new hair from Exile. When I realized how well this adorable new updo shows off my pointy ears, I immediately had visions of a glamorous elf in a slinky gown. I checked out the Fantasy Gatcha Carnival's website, found a dress that would suit my needs and could be obtained with one machine play, and hailed a cab.



I then decided that I wanted to have more delicate ear decorations than the spiral horns of my trusty Changeling Ears by Schadenfreude, so I headed off to Mandala where I found these AMAZING ears! You get 2 sizes - long and short (I'm wearing the short) - with multiple appearance options. You can have plain ears with no decoration at all; choose between painted ear tips, feathers, and beads/studs - or have all three. (If there's a way to only change the options on one ear, I couldn't figure it out.) Additionally, you can change the color of the ear paint, and texture and glow settings of all of the jewelry.



After splurging on my ears, I decided it was time to get frugal and sort through all of the gatcha duplicates my friends sent me upon my return to SL. I'm glad I did, because among them was this gorgeous headpiece by Miamai. The trio of hummingbirds hovering around the leaves made me feel like Mother Nature, so I poked around in my older inventory items and unearthed some Material Squirrel wings which still look beautiful. Finally, I went to La Boheme to take advantage of the 50% Off sale they're having on slink-compatible nail HUDs this weekend. (So the mani/pedi in this post only cost me $25L.)



A quick search for a fantasy location for the photoshoot yielded Elven Forest, where I found the animated butterfly attachment and a set of rose vines that, should I choose, could wrap my entire right arm from fingertip to shoulder. A shopping expedition for poses which make it easy to photograph fingernails lead me to Infinity and their gatcha machine full of firefly jar animations, rounding out the theme of my shoot perfectly.


Hair: Check Out Time by Exile ($1000 Fatpack)
Headpiece w/ Hummingbirds: Faery Headpiece 03 - Emerald by Miamai (Older Gatcha Item)
Tiara: Magical Meaning Princess Tiara - Glow In Darkness by Pink Acid @ Fantasy Gatcha Carnival ($50L)
Ears & Earrings: Fantasy Elf Ears by Mandala ($777L) (Multi HUD)
Skin: Nellie 03 - Fair - Glow Skin by LAQ ($1999L/10pk)
Eyeshadow: Electric Eyeshadow _ Green by La Boheme ($180L/10pk)
Lipstick: Vermillion Lip Creme - Lip 2 by M.O.C.K. Cosmetics (Group Gift)
Eyes: Xpressive - Green Light by MiaSnow (Over 2 Years Old)
Tattoo: Ruck-A-Pit Bridge - Light by EtchaFlesh Tattoos (Over 2 Years Old)
Wings: Starlight Wings - Toxic Green by Material Squirrel (2012 Hunt Item)
Dress: Snow Queen Gown S - Forest by The Annex @ Fantasy Gatcha Carnival ($50L)
Ring: Gianna by Burroughs (Over 2 Years Old)
Hands: AvEnhance Hands Female - Casual by Slink ($450L)
Feet: AvEnhance Feet Female - Flat by Slink ($675L)
Nails: Butterfly Wing by La Boheme ($50L)
Roses on Hand: Rose Gauntlet - Mixed Flirty by Southpaw ($200L/3 Color Fatpack)
Butterflies: by Spellworks ($50L) (Scripted Attachment)

Firefly Jar with Pose: . Fireflies - 4 by Infiniti ($50L In-Store Gatcha)
Other Poses: Most Wanted AO by Vista Animations ($1900L)

Location: Elven Forest

Fantasy Gatcha Festival

I'd been trying to avoid the siren call of the Fantasy Gatcha Carnival because I just received a lot of new clothes to play with and blog about; but the event kept coming up in conversations with friends, and I saw a photo of an outfit that intrigued me. The final blow to my resolve was realizing a hair I'd been admiring would go great with said outfit. So I grabbed my bag of quarters and skipped off to play the slots.

The gambling gods were with me last night, because my first 3 plays on the !gO! machine yielded all of the pieces I needed for a complete outfit. (None of them are the same color, but they mix/match well.) I also got the staff I'm holding on the first try. That isn't to say I didn't end up with a couple of items that weren't what I'm looking for, but there were only 3 of those and 2 have been gifted to friends.



Don't spend all of your money at the carnival, though. Save some for a trip to La Boheme where all Slink-compatible polish HUDs are 50% off through November 10th. That's only $25L for each 10pk! Also, through Sunday you can pick up a couple of FREE Slink-compatible manicures and pedicures from the table at the back wall. (A sampling of the gold pedicure can been seen below.) Tips for any ongoing hunts can be found on the counter at the front of the store.



FANTASY GATCHA CARNIVAL ITEMS
Tiara: Magical Meaning Princess Tiara - Glow In Darkness by Pink Acid ($50L)
Necklace: Grecian Goddess Collar - Rose by Junbug ($50L)
Jacket: Women Ranger 4 by !gO! ($75L)
Skirt: Women Ranger 1 by !gO! ($75L)
Mittens: Women Ranger 2 by !gO! ($75L)
Light Staff (with Pose) by Apple Falls ($50L)

OTHER ITEMS
Hair: Day The World Went Away by Exile ($1250L Fatpack) (Color Changing HUD)
Skin: Nellie 04 [Fair] Glow Skin by LAQ ($1999L/10pk)
Eyes: Babydoll - Lapis by L'Anguisette ($200L/3pk - Mesh and System Eyes Included)
Makeup: Electric Eyeshadow - Green by La Boheme ($180L/10pk)
Ears & Earrings: Changeling Ears with Spiral Horns by Schadenfreude ($300L) (Color Changing HUD)
Hands: AvEnhance Hands Female - Casual by Slink ($450L)
Feet: AvEnhance Feet Female - Flat by Slink ($675L)
Nails: Shooting Star - Gold by La Boheme (FREE Nov 7-9)

Location: Fae Fantasy Creations

Peace Off

Several months ago, I began having trouble staying logged into SecondLife, but I wasn't sure if it was my dodgy dsl connection or my computer. After my dsl was finally repaired earlier this month [insert rant about AT&T here], I hopefully logged in to SL, where I immediately went to MiaSnow to check out the hands I've been seeing in her blog. I bought sets of both the Peace Sign and Relaxed hands, as well as color expansion packs for the nails and rings.

Because I'm me, I couldn't resist trying out the Peace Sign hands with Schadenfreude's "Eh, Piss Off" pose, and was delighted to discover they worked perfectly! I've left all of these images completely unedited so you can see the awesome craftsmanship of MiaSnow's hands.

Unfortunately, shortly after these shots were taken, my computer crashed, confirming that the problem wasn't with my dsl. Since I'm likely still several months away from being able to purchase a new computer, I'll probably go quiet again for awhile. Here's hoping I'll be back before the end of the year.







Hair: Destroyer 2 [Special Edition 2-1-12] by Raw House (JOJ Hunt Male Path #34)
Shaved Hair Base: Etched Hair Base - Egypt - Black by Aitui ($299L/5pk)
Skin: Gaby - Pale Pink by Iren ($88L at Collaborat88)
Eyes: Dramatic - SM - SpringGrass by MiaSnow ($300L for 15 colors/3 sizes)
Septum Piercing: Circular Septum Barbell - Steel - by Mela's ($?)
Lip Piercings: Snakebite Captive Bead by Mela's ($?)
Hoodie & Headphones: Dissident - Black-09 - Female by [JP]:dsg ($429L)
Earrings: Gemma Earring 4C by Rozoregalia ($400L on the SL Marketplace)
Pose: Eh, piss off by Schadenfreude

I'm Your Mardi Gras Superhero

It took me a couple of weeks, but I finally broke down and bought a pair of the Changeling Ears from Schadenfreude. I opted for the Spiral Horn version because I liked that the set came with two different ears for each side - one with just the spiral horn and one with a variety of small metal rings. As I've mentioned before, I have a fondness for accessories with multiple options, and this set not only gives me several different color options for the spirals, but I can also mix and match the different ears. I love them so much that I haven't taken them off since I purchased them, even though I've changed outfits and looks several times since then. This particular set costs $300, but you can get plain ones for a mere $150 or a pair with color-change plugs for $250. There's also a pair with a variety of Electro-Cute earrings for $325.

My hair is from the lucky boards I've been stalking at A&Y Bunker CyberShop and, like most of their hair, offers a variety of scripted color-change options (and some extra glowy bits I'm not wearing in these images). This hair is actually marketed as a male hair but, as you can see, it works just fine on female avatars.



My latex bodysuit and gloves are from Sn@tch, their contribution to the first Flux event. Flux is "a new [monthly] event starting in February featuring exclusive content from an eclectic and diverse selection of designers." Along with this outfit that makes me feel like a Mardi Gras superhero, I bought some artwork from Silent Sparrow, a chair for my house from Weather! or not?, a tattoo from Vestigium, and dropped a few handfuls of loose change into Schadenfreude's bead gatcha. (No boob flashing required!) I'm still tempted to go grab one of katat0nik's Jester dresses. You can see a lot of these items on the Flux website and pay a visit to the event in-world until February 27th.



Hair: Ritron Cyber - Grape by A&Y Bunker CyberShop (Lucky Board)
Hair Base: Etched Hair Base - Egypt - Black by Aitui ($299L/5pk)
Ears & Earrings: Changeling Ears with Spiral Horns by Schadenfreude ($300L/2pk/Color Change)
Skin: Mosaic Female Pierrot - 3 by Nomine ($100L on Sale)
Eyes: Shine - Mint by MiaSnow ($220L/9pk)
Eye Lights: Alive - Drake by les Fleurs Du Mâle ($1 on SL Marketplace)
Piercing: Monroe Stud Left - Platinum by Oh Tangerine ($50L)
Shirt, Pants, & Gloves: Parade by Sn@tch ($99L at Feb 2012 Flux - Ends 2.27.12)
Belt: Pirate Mate Sash - Plain by Deviance ($100L / scripted color change)
Boots: Overknee Boots - Purple by Guti Extravagant ($10L on SL Marketplace)
Pose #1: Ready to Fight by Essential Soul
Pose #2: Pose 3 by Ray Lunasea
Pose #3: Tess 04 by Doll
Pose #4: Ima Model by Snooky's Poses


Confession: When I changed back into this outfit to photograph it for this blog entry, I forgot I'd edited the spiral earrings to match another outfit until I was a few photos into the shoot. I thought about switching the color back to the original green and re-shooting the images, then decided I liked the contrast of the red to the traditional Mardi Gras palette.

Happy Island and the Puffling Present Pursuit

I was thrilled when I saw MiaSnow's ad for her new Happy Island, as it's just the type of thing I've been seeking for my current little skybox home. And, at only $199L, it was definitely in my price range. I was even more excited when I discovered it came with a hunt card for the Puffling Present Pursuit. Unexpected free things! Yay!

Choosing my gift was a tough decision - there were so many cute items - but I finally settled on the clothing & jewelry set from Silentsparrow & Schadenfreude. It comes with a million different options (2 skirts, 3 pair of pants, 2 pair of stockings, and several shirt options on various layers), making it perfect for mixing and matching with my other outfits. I then ran over to Schadenfreude and bought the matching vest - Allegory Malaprop's contribution to the final Fifty Linden Friday sale.

Fifty Linden Friday also led me to Fashionably Dead, a store I've not previously visited, but to which I will definitely be returning. I didn't end up buying their FLF offering, but I did take advantage of the 50% Off sale they were having on all of their hair. I bought an 8-color fatpack (including a full set of matching shaved head bases) for $175 and only paid $150 a piece for two different 5-color sets of her Flying Fortress hair - a must-have for any Tank Girl fan. I don't know how long the sale will last, so I'd pay them a visit as soon as you can.



Hair: Olivia Watches Melrose Place - Space Destroyer hair with Stone base by Fashionably Dead ($175L/8pk - On Sale)
Skin: Alyx - Naughty (rdbrow) by Pink Fuel ($10L "With Love, Again" Hunt #26 - Ends 1.6.12)
Eyes: VaeColl.-Fool (Hollyblooms) by Plastik (A Very Rotten Christmas Hunt #11 - Ends 12.31.11)
Vest: Jay Deep V Vest (Striped) by Schadenfreude ($50 Linden Friday)
Earrings & Necklace: A Band of Jays by Silentsparrow (Puffling Present Pursuit - Ends 1.12.11)
Shirt, Shorts & Socks: A Band of Jays by Silentsparrow (Puffling Present Pursuit - Ends 1.12.11)
Bracelet: CHUM bracelet by Miel (Scripted text change. Group gift.)
Shoes: Eclipse "Brown Edition" by N-core (Group gift)
Tattoos: Shooting Star - Full Version by Para Designs ($175L)
Poses: Dance 38 by Animazoo (In the dance ball at The Rookery.)

Location: The Rookery (Accessed via the "Schadenfreude wants YOU for the Glamrock Army" poster on Lloyd.

Thrifty Tidbits

As promised, here is the outfit I said I was putting together a few days ago. It was built around one of what I call Schadenfreude's "wallpaper" corsets, because their fabrics match the wallpaper of the store's various rooms within the giant onyx elephant. I don't own nearly enough of these, but there was no way the cat-patterned one wasn't going home with me. As with all corsets in this line, the depth of the texture is delicious, it comes on several layers, and includes a matching tattoo (not shown here). At $200L, this corset is a bit more than I'd usually pay for a single outfit piece, but my past experience with Schadenfreude's merchandise told me it would be a good investment.

Speaking of money, since I made the decision to include prices in the item details at the end of each post, I've wondered if they give an impression that's contrary to my mission to bring my readers information about affordable fashion. Because, you see, I try to list the price that people who go looking for the item can expect to pay for it, which is often much higher than what I actually spent. (It seems a little cruel to list a bracelet for the $50L when any new customers who go looking for it will have to pay 4x more.) So, in an effort to give you a more accurate view of my SL consumer habits, I've decided to share with you a some of my favorite thrifty tidbits...

GROUPS
Retailer groups are a great way to keep up-to-date about sales and to pick up the occasional free gift. I also recommend joining a group or two which focuses on calling lucky chairs/boards like Lucky Chair Stalkers or Lucky Chair Zombies, or those which share deals related to a specific aesthetic like Dead Dolls of SL. Not only are such groups my top resources for saving lindens, but since they send out information from a variety of sources, they save me group slots as well. As far as I know, all three groups I mentioned are currently open to new members and free to join.

BLOGS
In addition to the in-world groups, I follow several blogs. Whereas the groups tell me about the freebies and sales, the blogs show them to me. I find blogs especially useful for deciding which sales to hit or hunts to participate in. I'm particularly grateful to the folks over at The Rumor and SL Freebie Hunters for all of the hard work they do documenting those things for me so I can spend more of my time taking photos and writing blog entries instead of 'porting all over the grid and standing around waiting for things to rez. Links for those two blogs and many more can be found along the right side of this page.



SALES
I own a few pair of Hoorenbeek's gorgeous-but-pricey boots, but I only paid $200L for each pair because I was able to grab them on sale. However, aside from the sales held by individual retailers, there are also the multi-retailer sales. My inventory holds several expensive pieces of jewelry and home furnishings which I was able to grab for only $50L or $60L as part of Project Themeory, Woeful Wednesday, Spruce Up Your Space, Fifty Linden Friday, or some other one-day sale. In fact, the Ploom skin I'm wearing in this entry retails for $950L, yet I only paid $70L for it as part of a recent Project Themeory sale. The same is true for my Para Design tattoos - instead of their usual $195L price tag, I paid $60L for them in a Super Bargain Saturday sale.


HUNTS/LUCKY CHAIRS/MIDNIGHT MADNESS BOARDS
Not only do I go through the information my groups give out about these things, but I keep an eye out in stores for lucky chairs/boards, Midnight and Mini Mania boards, and hunt advertisements. Some store owners put the hunt ads outside their store, so if you 'ported to a point inside, you might wanna swing your camera around and take a quick look at the entrance.


MULTILOOK
Yet another way I like to stretch my lindens is by buying items which provide me with a variety of looks, either with a color/texture change option or a selection of mix-and-match pieces. For example, as you can see in an earlier entry, the Ploom hair I'm wearing is color change - and not just the streaks, each color pack comes with a half a dozen choices for the primary hair color, as well as no-streak options. The leather pants I'm wearing are from Deviance and part of a fat pack which contains four pant options (on both layers) and two sculpted prim leg options. The Para Design tattoos fit into this category as well, with both color and greyscale options in three tones each - Dark, Medium, & Faded.

Whew! This entry ended up being a lot longer than I'd anticipated! If you stuck with it to the end, thank you, and I hope you found a tip or two to help you stretch those lindens.



Hair: Amerlee (Streaked) - Blacks by Ploom ($200L)
Skin: Maia - Vanilla - BR - Gloomy Day by Ploom ($950L)
Lipstick/Cleavage: Fresh Makeup 3 (Hair, Black Lip, Pale BIG) by MiaSnow
Eyes: Shine - Mint by MiaSnow ($220L / 9pk)
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)
Corset: Copper Cat Corset by Schadenfreude ($200L)
Upper Body Tattoos: Pink Rock - Black - Medium by Para Designs ($195L)
Belt: Strung Leather Belt - Black by Shiny Things ($150L / 2pk)
Pants: Leather Pants - Black by Deviance ($175L 4pk w/ 2 leg opts)
Shoes: Sense Xtreme Heel by N-core (prior group gift)
Pose - Standing: Pose_F07 by Ladybird (now closed)
Pose - Close-Up: Pose_F10 by Ladybird (now closed)
Location: After Dark (slurl)

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)

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

You can take the goth out of the country...

I always get a bit nostalgic when I shop at Nomine because it's where I bought my very first skin back in June of 2006. (For those who are curious, it was Leanan Sidhe in red.) While the layout and location have changed over the years, Nomine is still one of my go-to places when I'm trying to pull together a particularly gothy look. As you can see from the Dust Storm dress I'm wearing here, Nomine's Munchflower Zaius isn't afraid to deviate from the cliched styles and colors which so many goth designers rely on a bit too heavily for my tastes. I grabbed this dress at a $100L sale Nomine had awhile back, but paying the regular list price of $300L would be a worthy splurge. (Except for brightening it a bit, the first image here is untouched so you can see how well the prim bits of the dress mesh with the textures of the surrounding pieces.) The dress is available in 7 different color schemes, including Voodoo Pink and Bleeding Black. Stop by the store and slap the subscribe-o-matic to be notified of new releases and future sales.

My hair is a recent group gift from Magika ($50L for everyone else) in a limited Valentine's Day color which is sadly no longer available. However, they do currently have a free fatpack of female hair in the store (a bob with several different hud-controlled appearance and color options) as well as a back room with a wide variety of $49L and $99L hairs.

Though the Dust Storm dress comes with matching stockings, I decided to tomboy things up a bit and wear some of Schadenfreude's stripey socks. These come in a fatpack of 10 colors, which each color on 3 different layers for layering with other clothing ($100L). Schadenfreude's Elephant on Lloyd is one of my favorite places to peruse for pieces for my carny outfits (and not just because I get to slide down a fireman's pole), so I'm sure this isn't going to be the last time they appear in this blog.

The boots I'm wearing are one of two free pairs of shoes being offered to N-core group members. The other pair can be seen in my previous entry. Both pairs of shoes come with several hud-controlled options (including on/off and color options for the slouchy socks seen here) and the group is free to join.

Finally, I think the Croire pose I'm using in the photo below was one of the store's offerings in a recent hunt but, for the life of me, I can't remember which one. I try to keep better track of such information, but sometimes I get careless (or lazy) and the Forgetfulness Faeries gobble up the information like sugar junkies in a chocolate factory.




Hair: Nayla - Heart by Magika (Special Valentine's Color)
Skin: Fresh - Pale - Nude Blush by MiaSnow
Eyes: Xpressive - Blue - Lite by MiaSnow (FREE at the Fab Free Headquarters)
Face Piercing: Monroe Stud - Left - Platinum by Oh Tangerine
Necklace: Beaded Key Necklace - Trinity Blue by Magpie
Dress: Dust Storm Dress - HyaBlue by Nomine (matching socks not worn here)
Bracelets & Watch: Troupe Watch - Natural by Miel (scripted color-change)
Tall Socks: Knit Stripey Socks - Blue by Schadenfreude
Boots & Ankle Socks: 3" Ankle Multicolor Boots by N-core (Current Group Gift)
Tattoo: Shooting Star - Faded by Para Designs
Pose in First Photo: Show Off Yer Bling 3 by Croire

The first photo was taken on the island I call home, the second photo was taken outside of Haus of Darcy on Dark Tranquility.