(Note: I’ve fallen way behind due to RL work, so here’s me starting a mahoosive kitty catch-up! GAH!)

One of the things I absolutely adore about Second Life is the ability to change your appearance on a whim. With a few clicks you can rapidly transform from human to something entirely different; be it a cyborg, an elemental creature or even a cardboard box. The limits are absolutely endless. Second Life is all about transition, change and development, and not just on a techy level.

Which is why for many of us it’s almost ridiculous that whilst we have so much diversity to choose from, we rarely venture from our core identities. Our shape our style of skin, our hair; we opt for variations on a theme and concentrate on polishing our avatar to an iridescent sparkle. We craft them over time; adding tweaks to the shape and finding a signature style that eventually becomes our look.  

And Kitty’s look has sure evolved over time. Back when I joined SL in 2006 I had no idea what I wanted her to look like. I plumped for a shape that was too skinny and top-heavy and her style took a while to evolve. As I’ve mentioned many times before, Second Life style blogs were just emerging at that time, and they were already proving their worth, helping me discover brands and be able to distinguish quality content creators from the sea of tat that was already filling the marketplace (or SLX as it was then) and certain corners of the virtual globe.

Like in real life, our image changes over time, but some things stay sacred. For example, in real life I have long locks, and I shudder when it’s time to have even a trim. But in Second Life, it’s very rare that you’ll see Kitty wearing anything longer than a shoulder length style. Bobs are Kitty’s thing, along with eyeliner, lashings of red lipstick, legwarmers, funky tees and jumpers and cats. (Obviously)

But even though Kitty’s core image rarely changes too dramatically, there’s one thing I do like to change almost as frequently as my underwear, and that’s my skin.  Skin making in Second Life is nothing short of an art in my eyes, and to be successful at it requires a deft hand and a delicate touch, and if there’s one thing I’m choosy about, it’s the skin that I wear.

My favourite skin designers have grown and changed over the years. I’ve always been a Curio girl at heart, but more recently I’ve tended towards Belleza. LAQ, Adam & Eve, Step Inside and Rockberry.  I love them all for different reasons and wear them for different occasions.  For example, if I want a skin with a funky make-up then at the moment I’m plumping for my Belleza skins with their perfect eye-shadows. A simpler look that can be dressed up or down with tattoo layers has me reaching for Izzie’s skins. If I’m seeking sheer luminosity and glow, perfect for wearing at a virtual beach, then that has me reaching for Step Inside’s ‘Runa’ line. There’s so much choice out there and I LOVE IT!!

A new brand for my list is Liliskins. Back in my early days of Second Life, before the dominance of brands like ETD and later Truth,my hair was often sourced at Calla. This empire was established by Tigerlily Koi, and she was expert at torturing prims into exotic tresses and created some of the best up-dos that the grid has ever seen.  As time passed and my tastes changed I veered towards other makers, but I still have acres of room in my inventory dedicated to Calla, and a few hairstyles I take out of dusty boxes and wear from time to time with a smile on my chops as they trigger happy memories.

Liliskins is Tigerlily’s contribution to the world of Second Life skin, and it’s a welcome addition indeed. 

Her store is  a reflection of her brand ethos and is elegant and beautifully lit with all her wares easy to see on display and purchase.  Not only that, but this is a store for the complete skin experience.  Tigerlily’s gone the whole hog, crafting skins, eyes and providing appliers for mesh boobs and slink hands and feet, so is offering a complete skin experience, from head to toe. You can even get dimples too!

When she dropped a parcel upon me of skins to try I was thrilled and enjoyed trying them on and thinking of the looks that could be best worn with them.The skins feature great colour, tone and shading but with a twist of nostalgia thrown in. These skins have an almost ‘traditional’ feel to them, retro if you will, but don’t for an instant think that’s a bad thing.  Oh no, far from it. These are skins that are less about complication and distraction yet totally about ease-of-wear and attractiveness. There’s no fuss and frippery, just a quality skin embellished with make-up that you can dress up or down as you see fit, knowing you look the part.  Confidence is key, even in a virtual world, and you can be confident wearing these skins for sure.

One of the flourishes that makes these skins different to others are the brows. They’re quite stylised, and almost Cara Delevinge heavy, but they frame the face and work extremely well with the make-ups that are available for the skins.

I mentioned that you could get all the appliers you could possibly want in store to enhance and provide the perfect finish to your look, but you can also add eyes into that equation. The eyes on sale here, at a very reasonable L$150, are well worth your time and Lindens, and feature some really lovely colour combinations. I really recommend the ‘Pale Olive Gold’. And when it comes to make up let me advise that the lipsticks here are just divine, with a pack featuring varying shades of gloss available for L$250.  My favourite being ‘Burnished Rose’, just delicious. 

Because I said there was a vintage feel to this skin, I’ve dressed it Gatsby-style for the shots. I added hair by TRAM, and a glorious roaring Twentie’s style frock by SENZAFINE to my skin ensemble. Looks the part, don’t you think? 

Last but not least, Liliskins is also holding a picture contest, and you have plenty of time to enter. It’s open until June 30^th, and all you need to do is submit your photo to the Liliskins Flickr Group for the chance to win some heftily stocked gift cards to enable you to further expand your Liliskin range. What’s not to love? Whoop!