So how was your bank holiday weekend? Mine was super-fruitful, literally! (Think the best melons you’ve ever seen…it’ll make sense in a bit:) My good friend and neighbour Amanda Shinji very excitedly IM’d me to tell me that she had a new shape and skin and couldn’t wait to show me. “Wee!” I thought, eagerly anticipating her arrival. Then she buggered off on her jollies for the Bank Holiday weekend so I had to wait until last night for the grand unveiling. It was worth the wait though, because she looks *fabulous*. She always did, but her new skin has made her look sensational. I was really gob-smacked when I saw her, and zoomed in on her chops to examine further. Bogeys aside we’re talking skin perfection folks. I already have some fantastic skins myself from places like Fleur and Laqroki but the skin that Amanda was wearing was really something else. The shading on the face and around her mouth was so expertly applied that her lips looked real, and at close quarters you could clearly see blemishes and moles. I was sold, but it wasn’t until she borked mid conversation that I thought, “Oh sod it, I’m bored” and zoomed over to Redgrave to have a look for myself. Note, the key word is ‘look’, I wasn’t planning on purchasing anything….(Stop laughing!)
I must confess that I had *never* heard of Emilia Redgrave until last night, which is crazy when you consider she’s a constant in the metaversal press during 2008. I guess my head must have been well and truly wedged up my virtual arse because I cannot believe that I have never discovered her until now. Alas, she’s suffered greatly at the hands of content thieves, scum-sucking leaches that they are, and had a large quantity of her skins stolen upon their release day. If the sources I read were correct, this resulted in her threatening to leave Second Life, but thank goodness she hasn’t because her skins are amongst the best I have ever seen, so it’s no wonder that they were so revered by the thieves who took them. (Quick note-if you see Emilia’s work anywhere else other than her official stores or outlets let her know…theft is still a huge issue across the grid and plain unnacceptable)
Back to the good stuff. Have you ever experienced the sensation of wandering around a store in Second Life and getting so excited in real life that you’re continually exclaiming and profaning and your mouth is just permanently hanging open due to a mixture of shock and awe? No? Well, go to Redgrave then and you’ll experience it for the first time, I kid you not! For a start, it would appear that Emilia is amazingly talented when it comes to perfectly capturing the faces of various celebrities. Usually when you see a so-called celebrity skin in Second Life they don’t look anything like the star they are supposed to be. That’s absolutely not the case here..Brad Pitt *is* Brad Pitt (that’s when my jaw dropped, when I saw him!) and there are other celebrities like Tyra (Banks), Beyonce and Rihanna here too…in fact the majority of the skins on sale here are celebrities,and should you want to look like one of these legends you can also buy the requisite shape and matching eyes to complete the look. I wouldn’t complain if I saw a few Brad Pitts’ wandering around the grid, but I do wonder what makes people want to look like celebrities..I don’t really get it. I’d sooner have my own shape and employ one of these skins over the top to give myself a ‘feel’ for that particular individual, rather than a full on representation of them, but of course that’s a personal choice.
It was so busy in the store (a good sign, make no mistake!) that the demos wouldn’t rez properly for me, so I grabbed a fistful and TP’d back home to try them on in the privacy of my boudoir…and it was lust at first sight. These skins are *divine*. Due to my Brad Pitt fetish I elected to try the ‘Angelina’ skin and although utterly beautiful it didn’t feel like Kitty enough for me..I dunno, the shape of the eyes and brows just didn’t click.
And then I tried ‘Kiara’ and was instantly transported into avatar heaven.
I’ve never seen body shading so perfect in my entire Second Life. Basically my norks look absolutely fantastic..The care that has gone into the toning and colouring around the cleavage and decolletage area is, without a doubt, the best I’ve ever seen. I want to get them out at every opportunity and shout, “Woohoo! Look at these babies!” because they are *that* good. My derrier is also absolutely perfect, and my face..well, see for yourself. It’s certainly me, but me after a very restful holiday in a health-spa. Or some serious collagen/botox….(Did you see ‘Super Botox Me’ on TV the other night? OMG!!!)
I love the make-up options that this skin ensemble provides and absolutely adore my lips..they look super juicy and nommable. If I had one wish it would be to have an uber red lipstick and smoky eyes combo, but I’m more than happy with the options that ‘Kiara’ provides. In fact, the only issue that I have with ‘Kiara’ is a relatively minor one, and that is around my lady-garden area. Basically, the seams near my flange are a bit wonky, and from the angle I was viewing it certainly held more than a passing resemblance to a badly-stuffed kebab..but you know what? I’m not bothered. It’s not as if my lower parts are something that I ever get out in world very often anyway. (Depends if I’m plastered in ‘The Crown and Pearl’ usually) and I never indulge in cyber-fumblings so it makes no odds. Besides, this skin more than makes up for what is a relatively minor issue by the sheer quality of the rest of the product.
It’s hard to encapsulate in words how this skin makes me feel- I guess it makes me feel a lot more ‘real’ due to its structure and subtle details like the moles and freckles that you can see on the tummy area…as someone who has a fair few moles in real life I really like seeing them on a skin. I’ve yet to meet anyone in real life who genuinely has a complexion like alabaster, so these little additions really do take the authenticity up a notch. The belly button is really cute too..no way is there any smelly stuff hidden away in there!
So there you have it, a new skin on the same old Kitty to add to the rest of my ever expanding collection. To think, when I first started out in world I balked at the idea of ever changing my appearance in this way because I thought I would be betraying the character that Kitty/I had become. Now changing skin has become as second nature to me as changing my outfit, and I’ve come to realise that it’s the shape underneath that really captures your virtual soul rather than the skin over the top. Each time I wear a different skin I’m enhancing my appearance in different ways, but if I changed my shape then I definitely wouldn’t be me anymore, so that’s not an option. It’s funny how you develop in world over time isn’t it?
I’m chuffed to pieces with the new me.. BUT what I’d really like is to meet a chap who has just invested in the ‘Sawyer’ skin at Redgrave. This is purely for research of course, I want to see up close if the male skins are just as wonderful as the female, and seeing as Jez *NEVER* reads this blog it would be fine if you decided to come and visit me at my home in Jasper Islands so that we can compare and contrast details. Ahem.
Anyway, Redgrave skins..go and check them out by clicking here….