Category: Hair

Out of the frame and onto the page..

Out of the frame and onto the page..

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I’m sure you’re all busily engaged in getting ready for Halloween…I mentioned in my previous post that I’d spill the beans on some corking Halloween outfits, and rest assured you have PLENTY of options for looking fab.  It’s just over a week away now, so time to get shopping! Here’s my first outfit for you to enjoy..
Incidentally, I love this photograph, which I took using a prop at MC. Even though I have my own photo-studio I often use the facilities there because of the variety of poses and backdrops available. It’s always busy but I don’t mind waiting, it’s a fabulous and very generous assett for the Second Life community.
I’m wearing a mixture of freebies, cheapies and paid for items, and I think the resulting outfit is fab. It’s a slightly-neat distressed/casual look (I don’t know what else to call it!) featuring a couple of elements that I found on X-street that I strongly suggest you go and get. They’re budget pieces but great for building up an authentic Halloween look!

Base:
Shape is of course one of my own, and it’s my shape of the season, ‘Winter’, which is just L$10!! BARGAIN or what?! ( Beautiful face, I’m sure you’ll agree)
Skin – by Curio – Acorn Frex Light ‘Vixen’ in Gunmetal 1. ( This is a ruddy amazing set of skins. The best that Gala Phoenix has produced yet, imho)
Eyes – Amis Black Neko Eye in Yellow/Gold. ( As you know I’m a fussy mare when it comes to my eyeballs and usually only wear Miriel, BUT I discovered these Amis eyes and immediately fell in love with them, so I bought the whole lot…simply stunning.)
Hair – The hair is one of Truth’s latest releases, ‘Isle‘ in Night. I dunno about you but he’s breaking me with all his creativity at the moment. His releases for the past couple of months have just been breathtaking, and he’s skinting me..stop being so bloody talented man!
Nails – The nails are actually a component of Snatch’s ‘Fish for this-Dead Pretty ‘ outfit, more from that later, but I’m wearing glove nails called ‘Zombie’ from that set.
Ears and Tail -This is the first of two X-Street SL sets that I’ve found at bargain prices that really fit the bill. This one is called ‘NekoPumpkin’ by SLC, and I like having orange ears and tail as they make a nice contrast to dark clothing and hair..the set is L$50 so it’s a gift, and a nice item to have in your inventory. (The other set I’ll cover later)

Clothing:
Legwarmer, Armband, Cuff and Nails are from Snatch’s ‘Fish for this-Dead Pretty’ outfit. It comes with a skirt, dreads and top and would look great if worn with a zombie skin for Halloween..I just chose to keep a few elements of it on while I messed around..as you do…to be fair they look so fab that I’m reluctant to take them off.
Jeans and paws ( Just out of shot) are from !K&L! on X-Street SL, the ‘Angry Kitty’ set which is a blinking bargain at just L$50 and contains practically everything you need to be the best dressed Neko in town ( except shape, skin and eyes) I love the !K&L! bargains and I snap them up greedily each time a new one is released.
Top – this lovely top is part of a gift set from a store called Ova Hauled, which I found out about via Stacia’s wonderful Virtual Neko. I’m gradually getting much more into the Neko scene and finding myself reluctant to remove my ears and tail these days…so I’ve joined the ‘Virtual Neko’ community and learning lots loving it…
( Thanks to everyone on the forums there for their patience and practical help!)

Bear with me as I’ll get this post up and THEN add URL’s where relevant afterwards…anyway, hope you liked this Halloweeny look and feel a tad inspired!

Skin/Shape Expo 2009- Perfectly Portia!

Skin/Shape Expo 2009- Perfectly Portia!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

One of the most eagerly anticipated, and subsequently blogged, skin releases this year had to be Portia from Adam & Eve.  To be honest at one point the fervour was so great it kinda put me off, so I hadn’t had the opportunity to experience it myself until the expo.  Now I understand why the fuss was so great! Portia is uber-nomworthy as I’m sure this photo demonstrates. The body is rendered perfectly, all the highlights and shading in the right places and little details such as excellent elbow and foot detailing prove Portia’s worth. Her face though is exquisite. The name really conjures up posh-totty in my mind, and as you can see this lady is all that and thensome! Her make up is excellent, and this is proven by the fact that I’m wearing a larger-than average shape in this photo. I’m wearing ‘Cherry Dahling!’ from my Kittylicious! range of shapes, and a lesser skin on such a shape can often prove difficult to wear on a shape such as this. The reason is simple- the blush on some skins isn’t blended enough and directed only upon the cheekbones, so on a larger shape this makes the face shape look awkward and in some cases renders the skin unbearable on a bigger frame. Not so Portia- as you can see the blush is subtle and blends beautifully across Cherry Dahling’s cherubic cheeks. I love the lip colouration on this skin too- I’m all for vamp, red lips and dark eyes and I can get a little obsessive about it to the point of forgetting that sometimes neutral works better. This skin is a case in point..ravishing is the word I’m looking for. Incidentally I found some long forgotten PE hair called Portia when I was searching for the skin in my inventory, and isn’t it a gorgeous style? All that I needed to finish the look were some earrings from Redgrave et voila, Portia Skin, Portia hair..Portia perfection!
Skin/Shape Expo 2009 – Beautiful Bella

Skin/Shape Expo 2009 – Beautiful Bella

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


In my travels across the grid I’ve encountered many a discerning customer, and when discussing virtual appearances with them I can more or less guarantee that where skins are concerned, one particular designer is mentioned more than most….Tuli.
Little wonder when you consider her work, especially the range of Bella skins. As their name would suggest, these skins are indeed objects of beauty and each one, whichever make-up or skin-tone you choose is a veritable treasure. The photograph here shows precisely what I mean, look at the tummy area and you’ll see an arc of colour subtly blending over the abdomen towards delicately suggested hip-bones. Nothing feels rushed about this skin-indeed, the colour and overall soft tones of the range are positively languid. When it comes to skins my own opinion is that soft works better *unless* you are going for an edgy look ( eg Punk, Goth) That said, you’ll notice on this skin the face is especially well defined in comparison to the body. The lips are strong, as are the cheekbones and in this particular make-up the winged eyeliner is especially striking. (Kitty tip- quality skins have the best eyeliner, FACT. Some skins when worn distort the eyeliner and it ends up looking more like a splodge rather than a definite line. A quality skin designer knows and accommodates this, so ensure when buying such a skin that you try the demo on first with the shape or shapes that you know you’ll be wearing frequently with that purchase)
I chose to wear my Kittylicious! Vanity shape with this skin as I liked the way that the long, fluid line of the torso and the curve of the hip struck such a great balance with the skin, and as before the hair I’m wearing is by Truth.
I’ve blogged three skins and shape combinations and I hope by now you can see just how good the expo is. I noted again earlier that I couldn’t rez into the sim again, so I’m taking that as a good sign that it’s really busy and raising buckets of cash for charity…which is something I’m going to blog a lot more about tomorrow. Until then, I leave you to bask in Bella’s glory..

Skin/Shape Expo 2009..Kitty pops her Rockberry!

Skin/Shape Expo 2009..Kitty pops her Rockberry!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Here’s the second of my skin postings from the expo, and again it’s a superb example of the talent and skill that is on display. If you tried to get in today you may have struggled because it would appear that the sim has been jam-packed with lusty shoppers for most of the day, but don’t be disheartened, there is plenty of time left to enjoy it.

All the interest that the Expo has generated just highlights how competitive the Skin Trade (cue Duran Duran) actually is, and with good reason; skins are probably the most important item in your inventory, and with so many excellent designers on the grid these days it means that second rate just isn’t good enough anymore. Creators looking to provide the ultimate skin experience for us virtual consumers are continually raising the bar in their campaign to make the perfect skin. Designers spend hours, days even, in their quest to ensure that their finished products are deemed worthy enough to be worn by the masses..and I’ll be honest in that I don’t envy them one iota..can you imagine the pressure?! Yes skins are costly, but when you see works of art like this example from Rockberry, wouldn’t you agree it’s worth every linden spent?

I was a Rockberry virgin prior to the expo but no longer…My berry has been well and truly popped by this amazing skin-‘Farrah’ in Tan. Like the Curio skin that I blogged yesterday this one has depth and structure that is utterly astonishing to behold. I LOVE the way that light and shade has been skillfully worked into this skin at the exact points on the body that would be highlighted in real life. The torso, clavicle and shoulder blades are well defined and drawn, and the colouring is, as you can see from this picture, sublime. ‘Farrah’ has a lovely face, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, and the shading upon the eyes is very alluring, whilst the lips look dirtily damp and inviting. I love the fact that you can buy this skin with a built-in tattoo, something I’ve never experienced before because I’m always a bit wary of tatts, but I’m bowled over by the body art on this skin. It looks faded like a real-life tattoo, and the edges of the design are ever so slightly blurry, making it look realistically worn-in. I just adore it..

I thought following the Curio skin was going to be hard but actually it hasn’t been at all. This is equally wonderful but in a very different way. I’ve photographed the skin whilst wearing my ‘Selina’ shape, which has lovely long legs to show off the tattoo as it  snakes all the way down to the ankle, and I’m also sporting YET MORE new Truth hair and a frock from League. I’ve not added any jewellery for a few reasons, there’s a lot of detail here in the drapery of the dress, the pattern upon the skin and also the texture of the hair, so anything else would just detract from the overall effect…which is just ruddy marvellous, even if I do say so myself:) Another one to check out at the expo, when you can finally get in of course..hope you like!