A Cherry Poppin' Good Time!

LIMO TO THE EVENT!

LOCO for my New POCO Pal

Is is a friend or is it an accessory? When given the chance to review Damien Fates of LOCO POCOS new PocoPal, I was very much intrigued...




My new, yet to be unamed friend is a little fox and I have to say he was very sly and stole my heart.

Each PocoPal is fully customizable, there are several holds, you have clothing options, fur options and much more.






So if you are looking for something to dress and cuddle, you can't go wrong with a PocoPal!

Skin: :GP: Sundust [light]Breeze-Pure1
Eyes: (Miriel) -Violet Plant (standard)
Lashes: (Miriel) Glamour
Shoes: 50 Flats - Jeweled Flats - Ice
Pants: **DP** Yumyum- drop Capri Pants-white smoke
Top:**DP**yumyum- frill camisole-butterfly
Ring~EyeCandy~ Brushed Silver Mokume Gane Ring
Hair: >Truth< Jess- Auburn

New Friend: Loco Pocos -PocoPal- FOX

When Gift Cards Go Bad! A Rant!

Today I got a notecard from Elate! many of you may know Kellie Iwish the designer. Kellie was using a gift card system and got a warning that there was a security issue. She and other stores were advised to discontinue. See the note below.



As many of you were already aware, Escort DeFarge, creator of the TMC store card system, had announced a security issue with his system. He recommended that, while the risk was low, designers should disable their store card systems to avoid potential loss. I hesitated to take these steps, because I know how frustrating manually redeeming a store card can be for both the customer and the designer, and I knew that many people had recently purchased store cards during the sale earlier this year. I didn't want to put such an inconvenience on all of those people. I decided instead to put my trust in my customers and hope that no one would abuse the system if given the opportunity.

For months the system continued to function properly and people were able to use the cards purchased for them. Unfortunately, as was bound to happen, a customer's card recently malfunctioned. Instead of letting me know that the card was not working properly, this person abused the system to get a large amount of merchandise for free. While it wasn't completely unexpected that someone would eventually take advantage of this bug, it was disappointing.


Kellie being the sweet and trusting person she is decided to hold off. The system was giving her no problems...Unfortunately the worst happened. One of the gift cards malfunctioned and became a no limit card.

This person used the malfunctioning card to purchase 23,000L worth of merchandise from Elate!

Kellie knows she made a mistake by not heeding the warning, but I wanted to get the word out to others. As Kellie said;

[17:36] Kellie Iwish: I was foolish not to deactivate the system. I hope other designers don't make this same mistake and end up being taken advantage of by evil people.

I did not ask Kellie the name of this person, but she did tell me that said thief been banned from the sim in which her mainstore resides. Sadly, this is probably the worst that can be done. There are no jails in SL.

The Face of Beauty

In RL skin is the biggest organ of the body. In SL it can enhance your shape and face making you unique.

Sachi Vixen of Adam n Eve has released a new skin in Evolution line called Beauty. Beauty is the first skin she has created that give the option of a hair base with prim bun attachment or now hair.

Those of us in the fashion world or shopping nuts appreciate being able to go to a high lag area with lower prims. (Hair Fair 2009 is coming soon you know)



The Rainbow Make-up (above) is a great springtime look that is colorful without being to over the top. I think I may have to go shopping to find something flowing and chiffon-like to wear.





Nude (Above) is the perfect everyday look.

The body has great shading and subtle highlights. Since I know some may view this from a non-home computer I have opted to be a little shy.



Sachi has informed me that this skin will be in 4 skin tones with bald and hair options (with prim bun attachment). Also included are pubic hair layer, manicure, pedicure and eyebrow shaper.

Plus, she is in the process of creating different hair base colors with different ethnicities. If you would like to see more of the lovely details, I highly encourage you to TP over to Adam and Eve and check out a demo for yourself. Beauty is available for purchase now.


Sachi also gave me a sneak at a release due later this week. This exotic Egyptian look is just great. Her highlights are great on this darker skin tone. The features shine through. This skin also comes bald or with hair and prim bun attachment.



I will admit this is my first Adam n Eve skin. I tend to gravitate to more photo-realistic skins and this fits the bill fantastically. I am glad Sachi gave this fairly new blogger a break.


LOOK 1 and 2

Skin: Adam n Eve - Beauty Skin t2 in Rainbow and Nude
Hair: Truth - Luna Hair - Auburn
Eyes: Miriel - Violet Plant


Look 3
Skin: Adam n Eve Sienna t2 Egypt w/ Hair and prim attachment
Eyes- Miriel in Quiet Green
Earrings - Indyra Originals -Nuvella Hoops in Gold

POSES from Striking Poses

Nifty Newness and Other Stuff

I have discovered a great appreciation to the dedicated bloggers that regularly post. I get an idea in my head and then finally get around to taking the pics and posting. So what you are seeing in this blog is new or mostly new outfits from a few of my fave designers.

First off we start with Indyra Originals. Indyra was on of the first places I ever bought lingerie from and not a year later I was lucky to be chosen for her modeling troupe. Right now Indy has been releasing items for her Spring/Summer Line. The newest is called Spiced Diamond.




This outfit has a selection of 5 colors to choose from including the richly hued deep sea blue I am wearing in the picture above.

La Capitaine shows a flirty yet modern side.



The Jacket is primarily sculpty/prims and works great with so many different items. The other day I wore it with Jeans and a tank top. This look is perfect for that afternoon Garden Party. The dress colors are red/white, black/white and yellow/white (show above)


Outfits and shoes can all be found at Indyra Originals


Kellie Iwish of Elate! has released a great new mini-dress called Silvia!


Silvia comes with several color options including, red, green, chocolate and blue.

With this dress I am wearing Prim Feet shoes from SLink! I finally took the plunge and after playing with a color picker and the omni-hud was successful in making a good skin match! Thanks to Alicia Chenaux for her great Tutorial "How Do I Tint My Prim Feet"

Reading the tutorial (link above) is an ABSOLUTE MUST READ before you go off and get a pair. There have been to many What The Fug blog entries over badly tinted feet. Don't let the next one be you!

Next on the newness is by designer Hyacinth Tiramisu of "Silent Sparrow". This dress is called Selador and its totally retro classy with 3 skirt options as well as some naughty pastie option if you want to go for a teasing topless look.

These 2 pictures, I believe show great examples of how versatile this outfit is.

Look One is with the Woofie Skirt ( I will someday be brave enough to ask what Woofie means)



Look 2 is with the Pencil Skirt. I find I am among the few that actually love system skirts. Really its just a matter of creating a skirt shape to get the right look.

The Jewelry featured is by Violet Voltaire. As many of you may have heard she is going to be focusing on her RL Jewelry Designing and is closing her store. Currently she is having a 50% sale on many of her items.

If you would like assistance in creating the perfect skirt shape take a look at this great "Skirtshape Tutorial" by Miko Origamu of Icing


My Good Friend Leah McCullough as just Re-Opened her store .:Naive:. with lots of new items and a men's line too called Magnesium.. The "Persephone's Nightgown" I featured in a previous blog is now up for sale along with some great dresses and casual wear.

First is a new dress in her Catwalk Collection called Grace.

The sequin texture has great sparkle without being over the top.

Then on the more casual side is The Cleo Hoodie and Shorts.

The Cleo Hoodie and Shorts are sold separately. Plus you get both white and black with a color stripe. (green, pink, yellow, blue and purple)

So there you have it. Links to stores can be found above.

See you in the shops!

Look One:

Silent Sparrow: Selador
Woofie Skirt Look:
Hair: Calico Creations -Seelie by (Dark Chocolate)
Skin: Curio/Gala Skins: Sundust Pin-up- Apple Pie 1
Jewelry Violet Voltaire-Glitterati in Black
Shoes: SLinK- Lovely Legs - Black

Pencil Skirt Look:
Hair: Calico Creations- Betty
Skin: Curio Gala: Sundust Pin-Up - Apple Pie 1
Jewelry: Accessories by Eolande - Cascade Set - Silver
Shoes: SLinK - Lovely Legs - Black


Look Two:

Outfit: Indyra Orignals - La Capitaine - Yellow
Shoes: Indyra Originals - Josephine -Black
Hair: ::69:: - Miracle - Faded Brown (may have new textures by now)
Skin: Curio/Gala : Sundust Pin-Up - Bee Knees 2
Earrings: Laughing Academy - Tisiphone Pendant Earring

Look 3

Dress: Elate!-Silvia - Plum
Skin: Curio/Gala: Sundust- Pin-Up- Starlet 2
Hair: Truth-Felicity 2 in Auburn
Shoes- SLink -Desire Sandal - Taupe
Jewelry- Accessories By Eolande Necklace and Jade Bangles


Look 4-Modeled by Tru Bohemian
Dress: .:Naive:. Grace Dress
Shoes: Maitreya- Grace Sandal in Black
Hair: Elle F - Cassandra Hair
Jewelry: Accessories by Eolande- Petite Pearl - Silver
Skin: Dutch Touch Skin - OnYx- Purple Special Ed. Sunkissed
Lashes- Miriel- Feathered
Eyes- Miriel- Light Brown


Look 5- Modeled by Tru Bohemian
Outfit: .:Naive:. Cleo Hoodie and Shorts and short socks in Black & Purple
Shoes: Baby Monkey - Dannie Sneaker- Charcoal
Hair: Elle-F - Jude Hair - Black 1
Skin: ::Tuli:: Faith Skin (Tan)

An Appreciation for the Classics

Today, I fell quite in love with Sand Shack Surf Co's new skins. While I hadn't been too sure if I liked how they looked on some others I'd seen wearing them, the moment the demo rezzed on me, I was sold. In my middle-years of Second Life, I almost exclusively wore Antonia Marat's handdrawn Lily skins from Artilleri. No other skin would tempt me, those were MY skins, I adored them. Until of course, some other skin did tempt me, and I fell into the deep pit of being a skin whore, and when I finally went back to my Lily skins, they seemed so blank and cartoonish to me, and they were guiltily forgotten. When I tried on Emma Gilmour's new skinline, it felt like coming home, and I instantly snapped up every makeup. I just looked so pretty, and innocent, and so *Niv*, the Niv I remembered from a time when buying skins and hair and clothes and shoes and everything was a major event, and I'd scrimp and save and laugh and play and all those other happy cliches from my salad days. After all, I can't do sexy. I'm cute. Cute cute cute! Completely reawakened my love for handdrawn skins. And handily happened to tie in with my thoughts of yesterday.

Those thoughts were: "Quality never goes out of style". I was going throgh one of my larger inventory folders earlier, in the naive hope of organizing it some, and I kept coming across all these designers who you never hear anything of anymore. Like, for years. And a quick check confirmed that most of them were still around, or at least still had stores open in SL, even if not active anymore, and their stuff is still SO GOOD, however old it might be. So my looks today are composed of (with maybe one? exception, aside from my lovely new skins) things that have been lying around in my inventory for years, and still rock. And I'm pretty sure are still available (I've tried to steer clear of some of my obvious favourites that are very much no longer around, such as Last Call and Savvy?).

My first look (above) is comprised of capris from Celestial Studios, which is one of my biggest cases of "Appreciation for the Classics", I still wear their skins alllllthetime, even though they were the skin of choice when I started SL, and seldom heard of now. My top is from a dress from Versteck, a store which I own pretty much all of, but didn't even realize was still around until I saw a post on Ana Lutetia's blog about some of their new releases. The cardigan is from Icing's Robot Love dress, which isn't that old and I believe was a hunt item, but gosh I adore it so, and the sandals are Fashionably Dead, long a beautiful handdrawn mainstay of my inventory, which I don't feel gets quite as much press as it should. And the hair is by Maitreya, from back in the days when they weren't so ubiquitous as hairmakers.

Secondly, a dress from a store long long inactive, but I was delighted to discover still has a location open. Argyle is a store I discovered in late 2007, about a week before the designer seemingly vanished from the face of the grid. Initially I loved Argyle for it's myriad vintagey gloves, scarves, and a neat-o suitcase with versions you could carry or sit on, what reminded me of them though was finding this dress, simple, unexpectedly elegant and a bit quirky, with exquisite texturing, like the whole store. The shoes are Jeepers Creepers' Lace Up Betties, a version of the first *good* shoes I ever bought in SL, and despite predating scupties, they continue to be a testement to how much things that were great back when they first came out can still be wonderful and current and stand up to all of today's shiny new awesomeness. And the hair, oh, the hair. I remember a time when this was one of perhaps three hairstyles I owned in Second Life, and Gurl 6 was the only hair store for me. Although today her textures may seem a little dated, my Gurl 6 folder still contains some of the most original, vibrant and versatile styles I own.

Finally, an outfit from a store that's very much still around, still active, but doesn't recieve nearly as much press as it used to. Nyte N Day used to be one of those stores all my friends used to obsess over, and now is all-but forgotten. And that's a pity, because their textures are beautiful, their prices good, and especially for basics, and components for mixing up your own outfits, they really are flawless. My shoes are Aphrodite Creations' Vintish, AC having been a massive staple of my shoe folder in times past, and are yummy. Gurl 6 for the hair again, another old favourite of mine, pleasantly informal and hippy-ish, with delighful curlybits at the ends.

A dive into your inventory can produce some great forgotten treasures, for those days when you're feeling a bit nostalgic, or just for awesomeness with the classics. Like the kind I have.

Credits:

Pic 1-

Skin: Surf Couture - Sun Care - Zinc Oxide - Gone Surfin'
Hair: Maitreya - Rae - Red
Shirt: Versteck - from Pipette dress
Cardigan: Icing - from Robot Love
Pants: Celestial Studios - Lulu Faded Cuffed Capris
Sandals: Fashionably Dead - Strappy Sandals - Black
Manicure: Celestial Studios - Deviant Nation - Black and Red Duo
Pedicure: Frick - Dark Red
Eyes: Miriel - Marine (standard) [in all pics]
Lashes: Sin Skins - Tipped Fluff Lashes [in all pics]

Pic 2-

Skin: Surf Couture - Sun Care - Zinc Oxide - Italian Ice
Hair: Gurl 6 - Softly - Strawberry
Dress and gloves: Argyle - Pete Plaid Party Dress - Grey
Shoes: Jeepers Creepers - Laced-Up Betty
Choker: Caroline's Jewelry - Kitten Cameo

Pic 3-

Skin: Surf Couture - Sun Care - Zinc Oxide - Flip Flops
Hair: Gurl 6 - Hard Candy - Strawberry
Outfit: Nyte n Day - Seraph Black
Shoes: Aphrodite Creations - Vintish - Black

Pose Credits:
Pic 1 - [LAP] (from the Simmer Down set but I forgot to make a note :(]
Pic 2 - [LAP] Cat's Meow - Starlet; Got the Time
Pic 3 - [LAP] Chubby set - C-Barbie1a; C-Barbie10

Perfect Vlintuition!

When I logged in this morning I had received a notecard from the Vlintuition Subscriber. Designer and owner Vlinder Reitveld is hosting a Happy Songkran Sale. The Songkran Festival is the Thai New Year Celebration. (Yeah I had to Google it).

To Celebrate Vlinder has marked down all her items to 100L or Less! Vlinder was my first taste of Ethnic Clothing in SL.. She has created traditional yet sexy outfits from India to Thailand to Korea.

You know me I can't resist and sale and the fact that I had just finished watching a show with a India/Hindi Inspired Wedding my first selection was her Sculpted Sari.

Finally I got to use my [LAP] Bolly all the time poses! The Sari comes with 4 choices of tops, the Sandals and the bindi/eye jewels. She has the jewels attached to the nose so I edited to attach to chin due to my lashes.




Though here you see me in a pink and black sari she has several textures and colors to choose from including the tradtional Red and Gold for weddings. Plus this is only one of many style variations she has


She also has a couple of great outfits for men! Here I got the Churidar in Green for Davey. I love the fact he lets me dress him!




The men's outfit come complete with sandals as well. These sandal for for a size 35 foot and are no mod. So men will have to alter their foot shape to get the right look. I also had to stretch the scarf .

Lastly is the Enchantress gown. Not so much an Ethnic Feel, but is a beautiful gown that comes with 3 skirt options, stockings, Gloves etc. Not to mention plenty of texture/colors to choose from. Since the gloves and the socks had the same texture I decided to mix it up a bit to give this Springtime gown a bit of Umph.



Paired with the long gloves from Sn@tch and jewelry from Alienbear I am ready for a night out on the town. Just don't ask me to walk too quickly in this tight skirt. *winks*

This Sale is only till April 15, 2009 so don't wait to long!

As usual store links are throughout the blog in BOLD Script.

Have a great weekend!


Look 1

Vlintuition Sculpted/Flexi Designer Sari (Pink and Black)
Includes 4 tops options, bindi and sandals
Hair ETD - Bonita - Black (Freebie)
Skin Curio :GP: Sundust [dark] Pin Up-Starlet 1
Lashes and Eyes: Miriel Eyes- Smoky Quartz
Jewelry: Analise *tal* Bangle Hoops and Earrings (Comes with Meela Silks Outfit)
Pose from [LAP] Bolly all the Time Pose Set

Look 2 (Davey)

Vlintuition: Men's Churidar Kurta Suit - Moss
Includes Sandal (size 35 foot)
Skin: Belleza - Ewan - Vain Grid wide Kissed Hunt
Eyes: Miriel - Standard Eyes - Earth (free)
Hair: Calico Creations - Romeo - Dark Midnight (Kissed Hunt Gift)
Pose: FallnAngel Creations -Falln God Stand 2


Look 3

Vlintuition: Enchantress (Violet Bouquet)
Skin: Curio :GP: Sundust [light] Pin Up-Cats Pajamas 1
Jewelry: Alienbear - Princess Felicity Set - White
Shoes: Zhao - Chelle - Silver
Hair: ETD - Aiiyana - Chestnut
Gloves: Sn@tch Long Purple Gloves
Pose: [LAP] Female Blogger set (system skirt)