Otherworldly

I mean to have this out last week, but a nasty cold knocked both me and Ran out for half a week. We’re only now starting to feel somewhat human again. Fortunately, just in time for me to remind everyone of two neat things at Nomine:

First, the limited edition Loki gowns; there are still some left of most colours, I believe, so you haven’t missed your chance. Second, most of the rest of the store is on sale. Yes,it is one of the massive Nomine 100 L sales and it ends Monday morning, so hurry up.

Hot on the heels of the amazing Lotus skin—which I’ve reviewed before, but which you’ll be glimpsing again below—The Body Co. announced the release of its Generation 3 skins, featuring new bodies and skin tones, plus including a wide range of eyebrow options. As usual, I always have to hesitate a bit before going in on a purchase… but the other day I found myself deciding that a couple of the new skins were just too good to pass up, and so I picked up the newest male skins: Sky and Breeze.

A major fair with over a hundred designers going on right now, sharing their latest and greatest: Culture Shock. There’s all sorts of lovely things to buy, and many of the designers have created special items to release at it. Among them? A:S:S, whose beautiful period clothing is going to get another look, as they’ve released a special color of Etienne for their donation item.

A rather surprising notice yesterday piqued my interest quite a bit. Sent out over one of the blogger groups, it revealed that EVIAN—the skin production line from all-in-one shop Egoisme, which is quite the popular brand these days—was merging with skin brands DNA and Signature. Now, I think it’s safe to say that the merger of DNA and Signature is not, exactly, something shocking because of the fact that both brands are run by Simple Spad/Brox Riaxik. But EVIAN? I had no idea whether he was creating skins for them before, but I see Brox is listed as their skin designer at present.

But no matter the exact ins-and-outs of the merger, the announcement was joined by the release of a brand new skin: Riccardo from EVIAN, which clearly shows some of Brox’s particular hallmarks as one of SL’s most interesting male skin designers.

When Ran received the Etienne suit from A.S.S., one of their Culture Shock items, it inspired us to do a portrait for a pair of our MUSH characters. Not from our own game, this time, but rather from the now-defunct Cuendillar MUSH. I ended up digging out this opulent gown from Wunderlich’s for the occasion.

Freyja and I have always been especially enamored of historically-inspired clothing in Second Life, and it seems nothing more so than the clothing of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Case in point: A:S:S’s new Decades line of male clothing, which features a gorgeous array of late 18th, early 19th century clothing for men that takes the interesting approach of selling as separates for those who like to mix and match.

I still have quite a few things to cover that I picked up at various recent events even as there are even more events opening. Whew. We’re certainly spoilt for choice right now, and that’s even with me not able to wear most of the mesh out there. But now the deformer seems to be shaping up too, so maybe that will change soon enough.

That is a digression, however. Let us have a look at some sexy lingerie from Zaara, some pretty mesh jewellery from Maxi Gossamer, a new skin from Adam n Eve and some makeup from M.O.C.K. Oh, and some lovely, lovely furniture from Rustica.

The Fantasy Faire is winding down, but the stores featured there will still be around after it’s done, and they’re worth visiting. Our last featured designer at Devil’s Locket is Vengeful Threads, from creator Vixn Dagger.

Fantasy Faire 2012 continues apace—in fact, it’s been extended a day because of SL’s problems this Thursday—and there’s so many great designers present, it’s rather ridiculous. To continue the focus on Devil’s Locket, this time we have stunning, stunning furniture (and more) from one of Second Life’s premiere mesh designers, Maxwell Graf of Rustica, who’s also the official sponsor of the sim.

In this report from the Fantasy Faire, we are all ears for the shocking gossip about the high elven lady and her seelie lover.

Actually, we’re all ears for the fabulous new mesh ears from Illusions, but close enough!

Other Faire goodies in this post include the stunning Cernunna gown from Nomine and one of several new mesh hair styles from Wasabi Pills.

Fantasy Faire is going strong, and there’s an amazing array of talented designers spread across the various sims. One of our personal favorite stores is Nomine, which can be found on Devil’s Locket. Designer Munchflower Zaius has put together some amazing creations over the years, both in terms of skins and clothing, showing a range and imagination that’s second to none.

Gorgeous gowns are a necessary element of a Fantasy Faire. Every self-respecting lady and ethereal elven maiden needs to be dressed appropriately, after all. On the Shifting Sands sim, you’ll find Kouse’s Sanctum and a wide variety of very lovely gowns.

I am also wearing a Fantasy Faire skin from ND/MD Skins & Shapes.

Fantasy Faire 2012 is here, and there’s an amazing array of sims—created by some of SL’s leading designers—featuring scores of stores covering every possible theme you could imagine! One of our personal favorites has been and remains Tekeli-li, who can be found at The Tides. His unique jewelry, weapons, and hair have often featured a somewhat watery theme, so to speak (and how not, when one is inspired by the Lovecraftian mythos, with its ancient drowned city of R’lyeh where Cthulhu sleeps deathless?) So it’s no surprise that you’ll find an aquatic theme to this year’s offerings.

This years Fantasy Faire opens at noon today. There are eight sims full of great, imaginative designers and we hope to be bringing you quite a few looks at the wonderful things they have on offer. The Faire is organised to benefit RFL and each designer offers selected designs as donation items.

Our first look combines a lovely couple pose from Studio Sidhe with a wonderfully imaginative skin from Fallen Gods as well as a Petite avatar—who can possibly resist the little darlings? The Fantasy Faire certainly looks like a great place to find a lot of Petite-related merchandise.

Opening soon is One Bad Pixel, an all-mesh store that focuses on the saucier side of things. They have advised following their plurk to find out exactly when and where the store will be opening.

I was sent a preview of their opening collection and I’ll be sharing a few pieces with you today. I know, I know, full mesh clothing isn’t really my thing since I won’t change my shapes, but these pieces are so sexy that I had to dig out the shape that worked the best and get creative with angles. I do think that these mesh pieces are more proportionate than many others that I have tried, though it is all following the “Standard Sizing” system.

The fence I am using to pose with is from LostAngel and it is part of their Spring collection for the Pose Fair. It comes in two versions—single avatar and multi avatar—and features a total of 10 poses. This is a fun, versatile prop with some great poses that you can easily use in a variety of contexts.