SKIN FAIR 2014 – Marvellous in Meenakshi by Jalwa

I got to wear my first ever Jalwa skin last year, ‘Coven’, and it’s been a firm favourite of mine ever since. Chandra Masala makes blinking fabulous skins, and her Skin Fair submissions this year are nothing short of fantastic. When I saw the line up I KNEW I had to get my sticky-kitty mitts on ‘Meenakshi’ in the Cardamon shade, and that is precisely what I did.

For a start I love the colour of this skin. It has a really earthy, warm tone making it ideal for all kinds of wear. I imagine it would fare well in role-play for some reason, it just has that exotic, spirited air about it. In fact I got a real vintage vibe from it when I was playing around with different looks. I don’t know why that is actually; perhaps it’s just me but whatever spurred that feeling on I used it to great effect when styling this look. But I digress, let me tell you about this skin.

‘Meenakshi’ has a stunning face. She’s incredibly beautiful, with striking eyebrows that are skilfully sculpted, almost as though they are hewn from stone. But even though these brows are high drama, they don’t detract from the look. Instead they balance out the visage perfectly, complimenting the strong cheek shading and balancing out the perfectly rendered lips. When you try this skin on it’s worth increasing your lip size, even if it’s just a bit, just to get the full benefit of the scrumptious lips that Chandra has blessed ‘Meenakshi’ with. They really are a virtual sensation.

Onto the body and it’s just as elegant as the face, with details accentuated well and the suggestion of a blemish or two. I really like the cleavage on this skin, and the fact that there is a mole on the breast to draw your attention to it. This is a skin that looks great naked by the way, intimate details are extremely well done with a neat ‘private area’, ahem. One thing I especially like about this skin is the generous use of highlight on areas like the thighs. This is the kind of skin that looks excellent when worn in beach-wear for example, and I think if you’re a virtual beach-bunny then you’ll find this a very rewarding wear. Set your windlight settings to sunset and bask in Meenakshi’s warm, spicy glow. Utterly delicious.

So onto my snaps, which are a little bit 1970’s, hence my referring to them as vintage. I styled this skin in the fanatastic ISON suit that is available at this month’s Collabor88, and coupled with this fabulous ‘Harriet’ bob from Truth and rather ostentatious bow necklace from LARK came up with this rather funky look. It’s further enhanced by some make-ups that I picked up at Skin Fair 2014 (and will be further writing about) from MADRID SOLO, my new make-up label of choice. I’m wearing an eyeshadow and lip-colour from the ‘Seductress’ range, along with my favourite MONS eyeliner.

Incidentally, Meenakshi comes replete with her own line of eyeshadow and lip options too. They’re absolutely scrummy, and are featured to great effect on Sydd Sinister’s fantastic blog (Sydd is a ruddy fantastic blogger and if you’re new to her work check it out, she’s one of the most accomplished bloggers on the grid in my humble opinion. I’ve long been a fan:)

But as I’ve said before, it doesn’t matter what you wear on top, it’s the base that counts.

And in Meenakshi I’ve discovered an absolute winner. A skin that’s versatile and ready to be styled in whatever way I fancy, and every time I wear it I KNOW I’ll look good.