AFK

Ok not quite afk, but... I'll be on the road for awhile, making that trip from California to Kentucky; a permanent one. Should be fun with two chatty little girls in the back seat, should be on the road for about 3 days.. and then who knows after that when I'll get things back up and running. So... uhm... yeh... afk.

Skins Galore - Freebies

Ok…so…I’m broke…and…in a crazy shopping mood. Since a little before Halloween, designers have been throwing out free skins; group gifts, Halloween hunts, etc. I’ve picked up a bunch; I’m not blogging them all, but there were quite a few worth a picture and a mention.
For the most part I’m just going to let the pictures do the talking.

I’m also going to attempt to NOT be offensive..but..It’s not like I’m posting to win awards and none of these designers is on my friends list..so..w/e. We’ll shoot for “if ya have neffin nice to say…stfu” and see if we can land in “ya dun gotta be mean…even ugly is beautiful from some angle”.

And here we go.

This one is called sUmi, by Tuli Asturias.
Soft, delicate, and pretty, with a lot of cute little around the eye thingers.

The breast cleavage rocks imo. The knees are cute…and the female bits are tastefully understated. Nothing else on this skin really stands out to me as flawed. It’s just a well done skin all around and there isn’t much else to say.

Meredith, Also by Tuli Asturias; less delicate, but equally pretty.
Tuli's skins are a pretty good mix of hand-painting and photo-sourcing. The best of both worlds.

Tuli’s skins are a pretty good mix of hand-painting and photo-sourcing. The best of both worlds. Same body as sUmi. Great cleavage…and the little belly pooch is growing on me. The little details are more evident on the sun-kissed tone than the lighter tone. Same body but on this tone the leg and hip highlighting, as well as the knees, jump out at me more. Don’t know what to say that I haven’t already; They’re nicely done. I’d buy em..but..alas..still broke.


I believe this one is called Gizelle, at a store called Tea Lane, By Teagan Blackthorne.

I look a bit asian here...but I like it. This skin looks more hand-painted; I usually go for more photosourced, but this is really pretty.

The breast detailing is soft but clear. Nothing looks out of place. It’s very tasteful. Not too much cleavage shading (aka silicone boobs) and not too little. Lovely photo-sourcing. And what a cute apple-bottom butt. Even the female bits aren’t scary. Eyebrow color is adjustable. My fav features of this one are the breasts and the belly, which like the rest of the skin, is done softly but not too softly; looking fit without looking like you’ve got a rock hard six-pack from your second job as a female wrestler. (EDIT: this is a splendor skin mod, so all comments made about the body, shouldn’t be credited to the designer listed, but to Sezmra Svarog)

Symphony Skins by Claire Harford???
I don't usually go for a skin this dark, I like being pale...but BROKE..hello! So this is what I get. It's beautiful though. I would buy it...in...a lighter tone of course.

The breast shading is nice. The skin in general is a little more mottled than I prefer, but it’s nicely done. The nipples are blurry, but not so much as to be unrecognizable. The body on this skin leans heavily towards the photo-real side, without being obnoxious and in your face. It’s quite soft and pretty. My fav features of this skin are the face and the delicate chest detailing under the breast that give the indication of a rib cage. I’ve seen that overdone on other skins..and I have to say, it’s so much more successful when it’s an impression given rather than a slap in the face. So…kudos on that.

This one is probably a little bit out of the "normal" range, but I think it's super adorable.
Called spydr skin??? By AnneAlyce Maertens.

I do not recommend viewing the body in this skin tone. It’s probably adorable in other tones…but this..not so much. I’m definitely more drawn to the face here. I’m pretty sure this is an eloh mod but I could be wrong. Anyway..yeh..check out the OTHER skin tones..if there are any..I haven’t been to the store. (EDIT: eloh eliot skin mod [another skin])

Splashing Doll, Violette, by Kryptonia Paperdoll.
I had a little bit of trouble adjusting my mouth for this one, but it was worth it. Another very pretty find.

This looks like pretty much the same body as the gizelle skin, so I’m wondering now if these are eloh or splendor mods? Same soft breasts, same apple bottom butt..etc etc etc as the gizelle skin. Meh /shrugs. In any case, the bodies are exactly the same, except for the skin tone, and that the gizelle skin has some belly freckling. (EDIT: this is a splendor skin mod, so all comments made about the body, shouldn’t be credited to the designer listed, but to Sezmra Svarog)

Creampuff skins, by Rosemary Galbraith of Rosemar.
I remember some of her first skinning attempts...lots of talent here.
I haven't kept up with what she's done lately, but I picked these freebies up and had to take pic...
very nicely done.

I like the body shading/detailing on the darker skins. While it’s the same for the lighter skins, I can’t be certain it translates as well as it does on the darker skins. But I’m very pleased to see a completely different body. A lot of the skins I’ve been seeing over the last year, remind me of someone or other else’s work, and this one definitely does not. Very original…just my opinion.

Minnu Palen's newer mms Moscow skins.
I've picked up a few of the mms skins here and there...This series is my fav of hers so far. I probably won't be dropping the big bucks to buy em...too pricey for my tastes, but they are very nice. If the prices were lower, I'd buy these like candy.

Heavily photo-sourced, a little mottled, which is to be expected. The heels of the feet…no, I’m not talking about the soles, are gorgeous. Strange feature to single out, but it’s true. The female bits look nice. The mms breasts have never been one of my favs. They just look a bit too ashy and under-developed to me..I want to grab a lotion bottle and a miracle bra. There’s nothing wrong with them at all though. The butt comes up a little short…and the tummy shading is a little more athletically inclined than I like..but there are plenty of features to make me overlook those. The hip area and the belly area below the six-pack is awesome, and…to be fair..the six-pack is well done.

End note: While skin mods can be fun, I really do not agree with creating a store that largely SELLS, for profit, mods of another designer’s work. Sure the permission has been provided, and making makeup is fun. But you haven’t created anything…you’ve modded something someone else has created. Take a little pride in yourself, in your skills, your talent and your own work..and really make something. And if you’re going to make makeup for someone else’s skin…consider a much much lower price; that designer didn’t pass those free templates over to you, for your own little get rich quick scheme. That’s..just…tacky. kthxbai.

Credits:

Outfit: Malt Fashions, Autumn Tunic in white

Hair: ETD, Laine

Ears: Hybrid Elite

...

Happy Halloween

Sinistyle Sim

Another "places" post. This and more can all be seen at the sinistyle sim.

Search Sinistyle in places.

It's a pretty impressive build. Go check it out.

New stuff from Smerk Gorilla

Ahhh yes, some new stuff from the infamous Hot Gear by Smerk Gorilla. The "Beanie Hat" is personally my favorite. He has a great variety of styles for the hats and beanies, the shoes are also by Smerk. Check him out, he's completely re-doing Los Altos and it looks incredible so far.

Definitely worth giving it a look.

Credits:

Skin: Jan, Redgrave

Shorts Outfit: Summer Breeze Polo- Dark, by Rockwell Maltz (Made Men)

Pants Outfit: Redgrave, Jeans Black & Redgrave, Sweater Black Striped

Tempura Island

Search in world for Tempura/Tempura Island.
I don't usually go gaga over sim builds but this place is gorgeous. This is just one of the areas...each area looks a bit different.
Check it out.

SL Maternity wear

Not to knock SL designers out there, but seriously...there's a huge shortage of CUTE, WELL-MADE maternity wear available in second life.
I've seen an over-abundance of ugly shit.
That's right..I said UGLY SHIT.
But, I have found some cute stuff too and some of it isn't even maternity wear, but it's so damn versatile it can be used for that.

For Starters, This one has been around the grid for a while. It's not super old but it isn't exactly new either. I love it though.
It's absolutely adorable, and that isn't a word I would usually use to describe maternity wear, in rl or sl.
This outfit is called Mom in Pastels, made by Bella Rosencrans of Pixel Passion.
It's the only maternity outfit she makes..but it's well worth picking up.
It's just as cute without the prims and a great low-lag outfit as well.

Next up, a cute little outfit from Fishy Strawberry, made by Fae Eriksen.
Not a maternity outfit, but I was happy with the way it stretched over my huge belly. The outfit is called Buttoned Dress, and Mini Hood.
I'm actually wearing this with a Camie Cooper tank undershirt layer for a little more coverage of the boobs.
There's nothing wrong with cleavage but...
less is more imo.

Up Next....a flirty little number called Heaven Sent by Camie Cooper...
I think it's about a year old but..still one of my favs.
Let's pretend it's spring again...I haven't found any fall maternity wear.
Anyway, Cammie Cooper has a ton of adorable Babydolls...too many to blog, but there's something for everyone.

Formals are a killer with a pregnant toon.
Just pray ya don't get roped into going to a damn wedding.
But...if you absolutely must...
I suggest stopping over at Evie's Closet for this cute empire number called Aria.
I seriously went through every formal in my inventory of over 50k items...and this..was the only dress i could find that worked with my ginormous belleh. It comes in some really nice colors and lots of wear options.
I love it.

Andddddddddddd...Massive stuff from Aoharu.
Lots of their babydoll type of dresses are pefect for maternity wear...I don't have much to say...I'll let the pics take care of that. I check for new cute stuff here as often as possibly. Their items are reasonably priced and adorable..not to mention different....Sometimes I get a lil miffed at seeing designers churn out the same old same old...so...
this stuff can be a nice change.

This one needs no explanation. a Dernier Cri freebie for halloween that I just couldn't resist. How fucking adorable....a fat bee. It's well made...I'd pay for this...
but free works too.