Category: Hair

Another SL Meme: Pet Peeves

Another SL Meme: Pet Peeves

by Lisa Millar ♥ 2 Comments

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Darn you Strawberry Singh and your epic Second Life memes! I jest of course, but Berry’s latest meme asks a very valid point, what really winds you up about the virtual world we call home?

I have to be honest, this wasn’t an easy meme to respond to.

I was worried I’d put a few noses out of joint, so I have tried to be gentle. I’ve also not included all of my peeves, as some need to be kept closer to home. But it certainly got me thinking, so thanks again Berry! (I wonder what she’ll come up with next?!)

  1. RUDENESS.  Yes I get Second Life is a virtual environment, but that doesn’t mean that you leave your manners at the loading screen. If you’re ill-mannered in real life I’ll think you’re an asshole. If you’re ill-mannered in Second Life I’ll think you’re a special kind of asshole. It takes a certain kind of individual to sit behind their keyboard and type something mean or just plain-rude to someone in a virtual environment.
  2. ANTLERS. I’ve had just about enough of seeing antlers everywhere in Second Life.  Don’t get me wrong, I have seen some absolutely amazing clothing featuring deer motifs, and I’ve also seen some equally amazing jewellery featuring it too. I’ve also seen some fabulous antler chairs, antler light fittings, in fact antler home furnishings galore! I mean, what’s next, an antler toilet brush? It’s like a never-ending weekend at Ted Nugent’s house!  If you’re role-playing, I get the need for antlers. If not, just please cease and desist before you drive me into full-on Fenton mode.  Before you know it we’ll all be going moustache mad, how ludicrous would that be?  Oh, wait, that’s already happened..
  3. GROUP NOTICES:if you send them, PLEASE for the love of all-that-is-holy, SPELL CHECK them and if English isn’t your best language then please get someone who speaks it to proof-read for you before you send out. I do actually pay attention to group notices, and they often  tempt me to go and investigate offers and items. But if you issue them exclaiming things like; ‘Plz check this now!’ without a LM, or something like ‘Hurry! This price won’t last forever’ I will just delete. Pro-tip: Notices should stand out, because they need to attract customers. They require a punchy yet informative title to draw your customer in to opening them and reading them. Therefore be original, be witty, be playful but most of all be bothered to actually tell me what you’re sending the notice out about!  Sell me the product that you’re advertising and include a picture or I just won’t bother to read any further.  So many people out there must make wonderful creations that I never get to see because their notices are written so shabbily, so just don’t. If you’ve taken care over your creation, take care over your advertising too!
  4. SOCIALISM. Well, actually no, that’s not the pet peeve, but THIS is:

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There are so many furniture builds featuring this particular set of books that you would think we’re all political nerds in Second Life. Obviously the majority of us aren’t,  but I bet we all have these books on our shelves! I bet if you search your inventory you’ll find furniture featuring them. It’s not just the lesser known creators that have used these either, some of the uber-established furniture making names have featured them on multiple occasions and it just drives me to utter distraction. I’ve seen carefully constructed furniture utterly ruined by adding these bloody books.  If you’ve taken the time and care to develop and build a fantastic, original item then why ruin it by including something that can be seen a myriad of other places on the grid?! The mind boggles. Please stop!

5. BAD DESIGN: OK, this is quite a broad-ranging response, so let me try and clarify it a little bit.  I’m talking about ugly, cheap textures deployed upon builds. Build shapes that look dated and six years past their prime. Skins with no depth or shading upon them, and the worst thing, clothing, especially gowns and skirts, made with those cone-shaped prims that  legs tend to stick out of in a manner worse than Angelina Jolie at an awards ceremony. Please don’t misunderstand;  I don’t want to come over holier than thou on this and I realise that taste is a very personal thing, but I find it hard to believe that with so much design inspiration to be found on the grid people still create what is, quite frankly utter garbage. What boggles the mind even more is that occasionally they expect to sell it….WTF?!

Peeved Kitty wears: 

Kitty likes to eep!

Kitty likes to eep!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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“Eep, “ is a word that I use a lot.

An expression of surprise, excitement or just plain for the heck of it, eep fits the bill for most occasions when a “Yikes” “Jings” or “Weee!” just won’t do.

It is a most excellent word.

It is also the name of a hair brand that has caught my eye over the past few months, producing great hairstyles with wonderful hair textures at excellent prices, and my latest acquisition from them is by far my most favourite.

It’s a classic Mary Quant bob. I LOVE bobs. They’re so totally versatile, and I will never be sick of wearing them in-world. Each time a hair-maker releases a new bob on the grid I’m there, feeding my rampant bob habit. The last time it was Magika and the superb ‘Plenty’, but this time it’s eep and the (somewhat disappointing title by comparison) ‘eep hair 009’

It’s a beautiful bob.

It’s static, but that’s fine. The sharpness of the cut doesn’t require movement, and the shaping of the hair frames the face perfectly.

And that’s pretty much it.

There’s no overt fuss and frippery with eep, and I like that. There’s no pretension with the brand to speak of and that’s a strength too.  It doesn’t even have a  store as such.  

In fact, even though the hair is pretty simple, it will make you, well, “Eep” with excitement.

And that’s no bad thing in my book.

“EEP!” said Kitty. A lot.

Kitty wears eep  hair 009 in fire 3 from the ‘Reds’ pack.( Pack contains six colours for L$250, other colour packs are available and just as awesome) 

 

Weekend At Kitty’s

Weekend At Kitty’s

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Image..is going to be a relaxed affair. Slobbing about and eating nonsense while the weather plays silly beggars outside. At least the sun always shines in Second Life eh? 

There are still LOADS of events to enjoy in world. The Arcade is still going strong, as is the Skin Fair, and you’ll find it a lot easier to get into both at the moment now that the initial hysteria has blown over. Both events are still busy though, and this pleases me. So much hard work goes into arranging and organising events such as these that it’s satisfying to know the contributors will be heartily rewarded with lots of lovely Lindens.

So, speaking of Lindens, I spied something nice and sassy to splash mine on earlier this week. It’s all Sable’s fault. She turned up at mine wearing a splendid shirt and sweater combo that it was all I could do not to kick her and her missus out of the house while I rushed off to grab myself one.

Quality meshwear is reassuringly expensive, and this ‘Cropped Double’ from Auxiliary is just that.  But that’s because it’s entirely original, created using Photoshop CS5, Zbrush and Maya by the brand owners Ivy Graves and Tyr Rozenblum. No templates are used here. It’s all hard work, and the quality shines through, with the textures perfectly applied and the shaping  made just right. Even though it’s a simple shirt and sweater combo it would be so easy to make a hash of it. Sloppy design and crude detailing are the undoing of many a mesh item, but no such worry here, it’s utterly spot on in the execution.

The plaid texture choice is perfect, the buttons and stitches are clearly visible and the shape of the jumper with its chunky cuffs compliments the attached shirt perfectly.  Something else that impressed me about it, daft as it sounds, was the sharpness of the collar. It’s well defined and sits beautifully on the body, and here’s another thing, the back of the Cropped Double is just as impressive as the front.  Where the textures meet at the back the item is finished well, and it sits in a pointed hem just above the centre of the buttocks. It wears very well indeed.

In fact, it’s not hard to picture wearing this in real life, and I also discovered  when wearing it I could wear a size smaller mesh than I usually sport, which was interesting to me…quality counts!

Probably the best thing for me about this piece though is that it looks like it took time to make, and that’s always what I want to see when I wear something in Second Life. When I splash the Linden-cash I want to be able to love what I’m wearing and know that I got good value for money.  I also want to make an impression for the right reasons, and Auxiliary is the kind of label that ensures that will always happen. Cropped Double is available in a number of designs  at L$300 a pop, and I think I’ll be making a return visit to stock up…

But that’s no hardship, the store is a joy to wander around, filled with enticing items that are clearly lit and well laid out.  I wasn’t the only avatar paying a visit to the store either, which is always encouraging.  It’s impossible NOT to make a shopping list during your visit either; I’ve got my eyes on the Owl ‘Slouchy Tank’ for example, as well as the very ‘Alluring Mini’ skirt range. I’ve also fallen totes in love with the brilliant ‘Bunneh Hoodies’, perfect for Easter of course!

A final note, just because this is a virtual world it doesn’t mean that  customer service should ever slip.  When I purchased my Cropped Double, Second Life was having a fit, so I didn’t receive my item. I’m pleased to say that when I dropped a notecard on  Tyr Rozenblum  with my transaction history it was remedied in a flash, no quibbles at all. That’s something that I always find reassuring and makes me want to return to buy more!

So however you choose to spend your weekend, I hope it’s a corker. Mine as you can see will be spent raiding the fridge for wine and cooking up a nice juicy steak..although I should really be wearing an apron to avoid splashing my nice new top! Ah well…toodles!

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Kitty wears:

Kitty Is Feeling Erratic..

Kitty Is Feeling Erratic..

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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Erratic is one of those stores that I would quite happily own *everything* from.

It sells sensational clothing; mainly of the street wear/urban/club variety and I’m totally in love with their mesh pieces.  The top that I’m wearing in this snap is a perfect indication of the quality that you’ll find on sale. The texture and shading on this ‘Carly’ sweater is superb. Yes, I know it’s just a plain black jumper, but detail matters so much, especially on the plain stuff. The gathering above the cuffs really looks the part, and the style of the fit, which is sloppy and sexy and baring one shoulder, is really neat.   Even better than that, there’s a natty zip detail on the back. Not something you’d constantly be aware of, but a great inclusion and it adds an authentic touch. There are loads of options available, but even better than that, there’s a 50% off sale!!

I swear to high heaven I would have bought tons of stuff (had I the lindens) but I settled for my glorious aforementioned ‘Cory’ Oversize sweater at the bargain price of L$165.  There’s a fat-pack available containing all twenty varieties of sweater, and there are some great colour combinations and patterns available, all of them expertly created. If I had the Lindens I’d invest, but alas, one is being frugal. Boo to frugal. But I digress; it’s well worth a visit to Erratic just to salivate all over this glorious knitwear (Ewww!) but while you’re there be sure to check the store out thoroughly. You’ll find some great truly essential wardrobe pieces, including the delicious’ Amy’ silk blouse. This is a great item, with no buttons and a loose fit that would look fantastic worn with flats and jeans, but can easily  be dressed up with heels and a mini in no time at all. Also worth your time is the ‘Carly’ hoodie and skirt combo.   It costs a measly L$190(during the sale) and features a fabulous sleeveless hooded top and long skirt.  It’s available in a variety of colours and designs, and any one of them would be an excellent choice but the pieces can be worn individually too. I chose the plain black option for my mix and match happy and I’m delighted with my purchase because I think I’ll get TONS of wear out of this particular ensemble. The sale lasts until March 31st and I urge you to pop along and spoil yourself.

Also worth your time this week  is The Boutique, featuring a sensational array of items filled with the joy of Spring! Alas there’s not a Daffodil in sight, but plenty of Sakura blossom themed items from a variety of some of the most acclaimed designers on the grid. You’ll find some new Belleza skins here (useful to know if you haven’t been able to get into Skin Fair 2013 yet!) and you’ll also find dresses, poses, hair and some fantastic eyes from Ikon. I really do feel that Ikon create the best eyes on the grid. They’re always great value too, the range of sizes included in packs is fantastic, and the group gifts are always a delight, just like the ‘Ardent’ eyes that are on offer here.  There are four colours to choose from; Skyfall, Blossom, Bone, Parchment and Growth. Each of them feature a blend of colour radiating from the iris, with the most fantastic light and reflection built in.  I treated myself to ‘Bone’ and ‘Growth’ and couldn’t be happier with them. They’re sensational and really add so much to your look. I also found some great poses from !Bang at the event, as well as a gorgeous mesh dress from Peqe, that comes with a hud for changing the colour of the belt. There’s LOTS to see and enjoy here!

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Last but not least I’m still rocking this ‘Runa’ skin from Step inSide. It’s taken a LOT to get me out of my Belleza skins but I’m definitely loving the way this wears. I’m having so much fun adding make-up layers to it from various sources (this fabulous eyeliner is by Mons) as well as use the specific makeups and lipsticks specific to the release. I strongly recommend it; don’t forget to look for it at Skin Fair 2013!