Otherworldly

Occasionally we see a fantasy skin that really captures our imagination… and lately, those skins seem to be coming from Fallen Gods. The latest entry in their fantasy skin line is Depth, and it’s pretty amazing, as you can see below.

Mesh clothing and I may not always get along, but mesh hair and I have quite the love affair. In fact, since mesh came out, I have probably bought at least three or four times as many hairs as pieces of clothing. Just call me Lady Godiva.

This week there were entirely too many tempting mesh hairs released and it was with great difficulty that I limited myself to a new release each from Exile and LeLutka.

Volstead is a new brand from former PixelDolls creator Nephilaine Protagonist. Currently sold only on the Marketplace, the starting collection consists of two shoes and two gowns. The clothing was created for Shady Falls, a 20’s era roleplay sim, so naturally the style of the clothing is appropriate for the period. It is also all done in mesh, which lends itself very well to the kind of gowns one would expect for the 20’s. But, you don’t have to roleplay to wear it, of course!

I find that unlike a couple of years ago, I am not spoilt for choice when it comes to new, great skins that suit my tastes. There’s a lot of new releases, true, but there’s also a lot of releases that fall within a fairly narrow range of style. Fortunately, there are still some very distinct skins out there. One such is the fresh release from Hart Larsson of PXL, a beauty called Faith. I decided to focus on the two new tones added to the range with this release, Olive and Ebony. You’ll see both side-by-side in this first shot, though the rest of the shots are using the Olive tone, which is my new favourite from PXL. These shots do use Windlight and shadows, so make sure to demo the skin yourself to see how the tones look in your preferred lighting.

Other new items featured in this post come from Cynful (for My Attic), lassitude & ennui (for L’Accessoire and the If I Were Rich hunt) and Bent (for the Archie Appeal fundraiser).

Another round of Zodiac started yesterday and the Virgo event will run from the 23rd of August to the 17th of September. I quickly picked out some favourites yesterday, such as the nifty bucket prop from Cheeky Pea and Exposeur and the Kasia outfit from Evie’s Closet. Together they made me think Cinderella.

There’s good news and their’s bad news. The bad news first: the legendary Munchflower Zaius has announced that she’s done with making regular skins, and will instead focus on fantasy skin lines in the future. But the good news? One last release of “regular” male and female skins, though in a pale range. And so we have Nephilim, the last “normal” line of male skins.

A new round of Collabor88 has just started. It is the 1 year anniversary for the event so there’s an extra large number of creators participating and the opulent theme for this month is Baroque. No wonder I found more than a few things to take home, such as a new Trompe Loeil prefab, a gorgeous corset from Ingenue, hair from elikatira and a Glam Affair skin.

Vintage Fair 2012 opens in just a few minutes and the three sims will be offering shoppers a huge array of vintage-flavoured products, from avatar accessories to props and furnishings of all kinds. I was lucky enough to get a preview of some great hairs from Wasabi Pills as well as two fabulous props from LostAngel. Both Ran and I are also wearing new skins; he’s wearing the male Nephilim skin from Nomine and I am wearing the Hollywood skin from Adam n Eve, another Vintage Fair release.

On July 23rd, Zodiac opens. A new monthly, themed event (have I mentioned I love themed events?) centered around the Zodiac. I am already looking forward to Scorpio very expectantly, but first up is Leo. And for that sign, Faery Sola of Studio Sidhe has made a lion which she very kindly gave me a preview of.

Also, don’t forget that Hair Fair is still going strong; the hair I am wearing is one of Wasabi Pills mesh hairs for the event.

We finally got some actual sunlight here in Sweden, but last night I did manage to shoot some more Hair Fair 2012 photos, this time to feature a few hairs from Alice Project on the Hair Fair - Flower sim.

First, however, I really have to congratulate the team behind the Hair Fair for this years build. I am on a pretty poor connection while on vacation and my laptop isn’t all that great, but I was actually able to pop in and grab a few things as long as I kept my draw distance down. Things seem to rezz very well and the layout is easy to navigate. Plus, it looks great.

Munchflower Zaius of Nomine has been creating skins in Second Life for as long as I’ve been around and then some. But now she has announced that the brand-new Nephilim line will be her final line of non-fantasy skins. That alone is a good reason to try these skins out, but an even better reason is the fact that these are really lovely skins. And if you like your skins pale or even paler than pale, you are in for a treat. The Nephilim line comes in six shades, with at least three of these being paler than what many skin makers offer as their lightest tone.

On the Hair Fair - Garden sim you will find Leverocci and from them comes the second hairstyle I’ve chosen to feature from Hair Fair 2012. It is another long mesh style, this one with a bit of femme fatale feel, and since Leverocci offers a mix pack with selected colours I was able to get my hands on a range of options for a good price. But it had to be a red for this shot.

Hair Fair 2012 is finally here and with it comes four sims full of brand new hairs. As usual, the fair benefits the Wigs for Kids charity, so you can shop and contribute at the same time. Mesh is, as expected, big this year and the hairstyle of the fair has to be the braid across the shoulder; I’ve seen a bunch of great ones.

My first pick is a mesh hair (for long hairs, I find it hard to even consider anything else now) but it isn’t a braid. Instead, it is this charming style from Exile, found on the Hair Fair - Sand sim.

From the 9th to the 15th the One Voice fundraiser is taking place on the Mesh sim. The fundraiser has been organised to raise money for Gala Phoenix of Curio who has been caught up in a legal battle concerning her skins. She explains the issue in detail on her blog. Since the potential exists that any other creator could be targeted in a similar manner, many Second Life creators have decided to take part in this fundraiser to show that they will not idly allow such things to happen.

One Voice features a large number of creators who, on very short notice, have setup to sell creations that benefit Gala Phoenix at either 50% or 100%. Many have even created new and sometimes exclusive items for the fundraiser. In this post, I am showing just a few pieces, from Solange, elymode and mE. I am also using poses from Bent available at the fundraiser and I am using a Curio skin.

With the Ashima blouse, Zaara is making her first foray into mesh, and I am happy to report that the style of this blouse is one that has the potential to work very well even if you don’t like to change your shape for mesh. The billowing sleeves, the drapery across the torso and the loose fit over hips and bottom means that it is very forgiving. It is also great for wearing with mesh pants since it covers the sometimes problematic waistline, so I have paired it with a pair of jeans from One Bad Pixel. My shoes (and feet) are from lassitude & ennui and my hair from Wasabi Pills.

Finally, I am also wearing a jewellery set by Dark Mouse which sadly will be closing soon and is having a sale on all her jewellery and hair. Don’t miss that!