Category: second life resident blogs

JUST JEZ-THE MENS DEPT WINS AGAIN!

JUST JEZ-THE MENS DEPT WINS AGAIN!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

old fashioned Jez

It’s hard to believe that THE MENS DEPT  is celebrating its second birthday in-world, and of course it’s doing so in style. This monthly event has firmly established itself into the SL calendar and is always choc-full of inspirational menswear and furnishings and really is a favourite of mine. This is because it’s a one-stop shop for making your fella look fabulous. It’s made of win, it really is! 

Let’s be honest, there are so many regular events held in-world now that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but TMD is one that I rarely miss for a number of reasons. For a start I can be sure of finding super-stylish clothes for Jez to wear (because when it comes to his making choices he’s nothing short of useless) and for another thing it is a fantastic place to spot some of the most stylish, fashion-forward avatars on the grid. If you’re ever stuck for male fashion ideas, TP over to THE MENS DEPT and loiter with intent. It won’t take long before you spy some seriously tottylicious avatars, and if you’re cheeky (like me!) you can ask them where they found the items that they’re wearing. (Pro-tip: If you’re single this is a good way to start a conversation too! Shhh!!)

I’m especially impressed by the quality of items for this birthday celebration. Particular favourites for me are the THEOSOPHY ‘Monmouth’ spectacles and the CASA DEL SHAI dirty plaid and chambray shirts. The EUDORA footwear is gob-smackingly good, and the PUMPKIN Parka is perfectly styled and fits like a dream. There is so much to fall in love with here, there really is, and you would be a bit of a fart to miss this collection.  In fact, I’ve actually been waiting for this month’s TMD with baited breath,  because an old friend has come back to second Life after a considerable absence, and he’s been badgering me about the best places to find cool threads. My short answer to him was, of course, GO TO THE MENS DEPT! 

Anyway, back to Jez. So what did we end up with after our shopping spree? Well it was time for a change of hairstyle for my beloved, and INK hair is always a good place to start. They’re selling two styles at TMD this month, but it was the romantic ‘Foglia’ style that won me over when he tried the demo. Sometimes when you try hair on it just works, you know? Well this beautiful style is a perfect example of that occurrence. He looks dazzling in it doesn’t he? Teamed with this fabulous APHORISM shirt/waistcoat set he looked like an old-fashioned romantic,  ready to sweep me off my feet and read poetry to me. If only eh?

tmd 2.1As usual APHORISM uber-designer Rucy Byron has created an excellent product for the event, and this combination mesh waistcoat and undershirt is a must buy for role-players as well as the stylish hipster crowd.  The waistcoat is available in Herringbone, Houndstooth and Pinstripe patterns and is very dapper indeed. (Jez paired it with his favourite jeans, also from APHORISM. I don’t think he’s taken them off for the past few months to be honest, stinky Jez!) I also insisted that Jez treat himself to the fantastic ETHAM ‘Alexandro’ mesh combo blazer/shirt and the incredibly cool ‘Kotowari’ necklace from MANDALA. When worn with the blazer and shirt it makes a great alternative to a tie, and looks incredibly on-trend.

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Had I the cash I would have purchased everything from the event, but alas I don’t. However what I did invest in has made me incredibly proud,  because not only does Jez look scrumptious, he has some classy threads in his inventory that I know he’ll get loads of wear from, and such things make this Kitty very happy indeed! Oh, and a quick shout out to POSEOLOGY. They have a fab wee set of poses available at TMD this month, and they worked really well when posing Jez for this piece. Now please excuse me, I have to go ravish my boyfriend.

While I do that, why not go visit THE MENS DEPT? Here’s your taxi! 

SKIN FAIR 2014 – ALWAYS IN THE ADDY STYLE

SKIN FAIR 2014 – ALWAYS IN THE ADDY STYLE

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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More Skin Fair goodness to share with you. Addy Silvercloud was again another creator that  I wasn’t familiar with before the event, but her brand  ‘The Addy Style’, will be one that I will follow with interest going forward because I’m incredibly impressed by this skin, called Emanuelle. Despite the name there’s nothing 1970’s or even remotely sleazy about it (unless you decide to style it that way!)

Instead, you’ll discover a very accomplished, polished skin that hints at youth and vibrancy and features great colour, both in the tone of the skin and the make-ups in the range.  If there was a word I would use to sum up this skin, it would be adaptable, in the very best Catwoman-sense of the word, because it lends itself to both classy, polished looks and the more relaxed style I’ve used for the pictures with utmost ease.

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I particularly love the bold, glossy lips on this one. The face is extremely lovely, as you can see from these shots, and finished really well. The features upon ‘Emanuelle’ are neatly highlighted , and the colour upon the eyelid, especially in this particular version (make-up #2) really do their job well, adding style and definition.  This is a skin that oozes panache; it’s easy to dress up or down, and I chose to team it with some new releases from FAMESHED (R.O. Cat A Clysm headphones and Tableau Vivant ‘Valentin’ hair) to create a spunky, modern look. I’m going to comment on the brows again, which seems to have become a recurring theme for me, but these are really well drawn and look very natural. They fitted my facial features beautifully, but as I said before  it’s the lips that really are the icing on the cake for me. They’re a sensation to be sure, the epitome of Clara Bow. I just love them.
If you like to get naked then let me tell you that you won’t be disappointed by Emanuelle (to be fair you wouldn’t expect to be in a skin with that name now would you?) She looks good in the buff, but then again, so do the other skins from THE ADDY STYLE that I tested.

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The gorgeous bronze-toned beauty you see before you, retiring to her bed, is ‘Kaleya’. This was another  exclusive  at SKIN FAIR 2014 and  it features all the quality touches that you’ll find on Emanuelle. Again, she has fabulous lips, but the eye make-ups are also a real treat across the range, although I’m actually sporting the ‘Natural’ option in the un-touched picture above. I just think the hue of her skin is sublime, don’t you?

If you want to check out more of Addy’s quality skins be sure to check out her marketplace store, and also click HERE to visit her store and discover these two delectable skins in-world, you’ll be absolutely enchanted by them, I promise! 

SKIN FAIR 2014 – BODACIOUS IN BOOBIELICIOUS!

SKIN FAIR 2014 – BODACIOUS IN BOOBIELICIOUS!

by Lisa Millar ♥ 2 Comments

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 I’m still blogging skins from SKIN FAIR 2014 even after the event (I’m not the only one though, eh Willis?) My blogging schedule is very much built around RL commitments (RL ALWAYS comes first) and this week has been an interesting one, to say the least. Anyway, the skins I’m yet to blog are still available, but instead of being at the fair they’ll be available at main stores and are of course all worth checking out!

BOOBIELICIOUS is not a skin-label familiar to me at all. The name makes me think of Lolas Tangos  and even though I have some that I wear on occasion I’m not a fully signed up member of all things boobie-lover in world, but I do think they can look ruddy awesome, so I admit I was a little apprehensive opening the skin package that Quakestore kindly sent me, but I really shouldn’t have been because this is a fantastic skin production.

In fact, this is an exceptionally lovely skin all round. It’s called ‘RYKA’, and  I’m wearing it in the Maple tone, and I have to say it’s probably my overall favourite skin tone from the entire fair. It is a glorious colour; not quite a deep caramel and not too pale, but a lovely blended shade that looks healthy and really delicious! I feel like shouting “LICK ME! although I’d better not because I might get thrown out of rather a lot of places..ahem.

I’ve no complaints about this skin at all. It’s an absolute joy to wear, and the creator, Quakestore, has catered to every whim by providing  an absolute plethora of options. You can of course find every applier under the sun for this one too: bum, boobs, belly and hands and feet, and the make-ups are extremely neat; with definition where it counts. There are a number of eyeshadow options that are well worth checking out.  When wearing this skin I found the brows to be a bit straighter than my normal choice, but there’s real strength to them. They wear really well, and the blush is a wash of colour across the cheek giving a sporty, flushed feel rather than a high-end fashionista stripe across the bone, and it works beautifully.

There’s a lovely eyeliner option but I actually found that I really enjoyed wearing this one in it’s purest form, with a slick of lipstick. I do like the lip colours available for this one too, including a great black for grunging it up! The lips are a lovely shape and well-coloured and I even found myself sporting the teeth layer to great effect.  I’ve styled myself as a blonde for this one, and you know I really do think there’s a hint of the Kate Upton‘s here, can you see it?

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Incidentally the images haven’t been enhanced in anyway so you can see just how glorious this skin truly is. This Maple shade really does have ‘it’ doesn’t it? Gorgeous!

 If you’re tempted, and trust me on this, you really should be, then CLICK HERE to visit the Boobielicious Mainstore. (I did a quick visit and noted that the skin wasn’t in store yet, but you can fest your eyes on the other lovely skins and clothes while you wait)

Skin by Boobielicious:  Ryka Skin_Pushup_Maple_Pure  /Lipstick: Ryka Lipstick in Red (also wearing teeth layer)

SKIN FAIR 2014 – Kitty The Seductress

SKIN FAIR 2014 – Kitty The Seductress

by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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I think I’ve mentioned before on these pages how much I love a well done make-up. Skins can be incredibly expensive, but make-ups are a great alternative to forking out squillions of Lindens on a complete skin package. Done badly they can look utterly terrible; I’ve seen some with dreadful seams and outlines that wouldn’t have fit an octopus, let alone a Second Life avatar. But done well, they really can take your look to the next level.

This year Skin Fair allowed some make-up creators to exhibit and one that has really excited me is Madrid Solo. I knew as soon as I saw her stand that I would have a very good time there, and I was right. Her ‘Seductress’ range of lip and eye-colours has been an absolute find for me this year. Guys they are exemplary. Beautiful colours of shadow and lips to mix and match, and each one has been created to a very high-standard for a virtual cosmetic. Occasionally you can find that  tattoo-layer lipsticks don’t quite work on the lines of the skin.  Why would they? Skins are an individual product after all, and a cosmetic addition can sometimes be a gamble, but I’m delighted to say that I’ve worn, and enjoyed wearing, Madrid’s range of cosmetics with a number of skins from the line-up this year and they’re worked effortlessly.

In the shot above I’m wearing ‘Nar Mattaru-Freya’ with shadow and lipstick from Madrid Solo’s ‘Seductress range. Doesn’t it look fab? Of course you need a solid base to work on, and ‘Freya’ is a sensational skin without enhancement, but it really does go all the way up to eleven when these colours are added, don’t you think?

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Here I am wearing more colours on a different skin, the exquisite ‘Taylor’ in  Deep Tan from ELYSIUM.    This is a deeper tone than I would normally wear, but it is luscious and beautifully done. It comes replete with a bouquet of options to select from, including freckle options and brow colours, but I’ve opted for the lovely black brow here. By now you guys must have realised I have a brow fetish (well, as far as SL skins go!) but this one is a little different in that it doesn’t have the arching definition that some of the skins I’ve reviewed previously do. But that’s not a weakness, there’s something more real about the shape of these brows,  and when you zoom in you can see that they were created with great care. They look lovely.

 In fact the face on this skin, whichever tone you opt for, is beautiful. The shape of the nose is lovely, as is the shading on the philtrum, clavicle and across the body.  The colour is constant and works extremely well, and the contour-blush adds great definition to the face. You can find some excellent bespoke lip-colours in this range too (but for this snap I am of course wearing items from Madrid Solo’s ‘Seductress’ series).

But don’t just take my word for it. Go to SKIN FAIR 2 and find Madrid Solo’s store, go in and prepare to be transported to pretty pretty make-up heaven.  The ‘Seductress’ range is L$50 per colour, L$850 for the fat pack and you’ll receive 15 eye-make ups and 4 lip colours. But that’s not all, there’s also a free gift in store, and while you’re there be sure to check out the ‘Melancholy’ eyes and also the absolutely fabulous ‘the Nudes’, which is a range of ten perfect lip-colours in TWO sizes.  I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot of Madrid’s work on these pages in the near future, it’s utterly fantastic and I now consider myself a fan!