The Aqua Coincidence

Sometimes things just come together beautifully. Mar logged in today to grab this beautiful group gift from LeLutka: the Dini minidress in ‘ocean’ (boys, there’s a gift for you in LeLutka’s group notices, too). A rummage through Baby Monkey’s group notices brought up the Candy Girl pumps (with colour change option; they rezzed in this colour!), and the Surfer bracelets and necklace. Exodi VIP group (250L$ to join) yielded yet another massive pack of skins and eyes: Stephanie ‘Hot Date’. Lastly, a quick trip to Silk Road to check out the new dollarbie hairstyles by Waka & Yuki  – Mar is wearing the #55 hair here.

So, all in all, one complete aqua-coloured outfit came together effortlessly!

Kunglers, Exodi & Hairy Situations

Mar’s time in-world has been limited of late, but she’s managed to put together a pretty look for springtime (it is just around the corner, right?!). She started off with the January group gift from Kunglers Fashion Design (50L$ to join group) which is this lovely sheer dress. It’ll be in group notices until January 30th. Pairing it with the freebie Maya Pumps in stone from Baby Monkey (I just went to the store and I’m not sure if these are still available; Pixieplumb had them in a great freebie pack for a long time, but I can’t find them now), she headed to Hairy Situations to grab their new release gift (so glad to see this back in the store!): the Cookie style, in nutmeg.

The skin is from the re-issued group gift from Exodi VIPs group (250L$ to join, but worth it; there are not one but two full-tone packs of skins in group notices right now). This is Stephanie 2010 in the ‘Beck’ tone. Also worn are the Au Naturel eyes in blue, from the other Exodi group gift (Stephanie ‘London Bound’, which includes eyes and other items, too).

Hints & tips: Taking a flattering photo

We’ve all got ‘em: those embarrassing and unflattering pics of us taken by well-meaning friends and relatives. Taken the moment we looked down, so we appear to have ten chins, or snapped at the exact second we bent down on the beach to pick up our kids’ bucket and spade, revealing an arse big enough to block out enough sunlight that everything dies in its shade.

In Second Life there are no excuses. Our avatars are exactly as we want them to be: as skinny/tall/curvy/muscular/whatever as we want. They’re our fantasy selves; we dress them up, and many of us take pictures of them. However, there’s something that I’ve noticed increasingly as I’ve browsed blogs and sites dedicated to SL: the trend for photographing the avatar, full-length, from above, and it makes me want to yell: “STOP!”

When you photograph your avatar from above, you are foreshortening your legs to such an extent that it throws your entire body out of visual proportion. While this doesn’t matter in torso-only shots, it can be incredibly unflattering in full-length shots, especiallly if your avatar doesn’t have long legs to begin with. I hate to say it, dear readers and bloggers, but when you do this you are doing yourselves no favours when your legs look as short as (or even shorter than) your torso!

Mar’s pretty damn leggy, and her legs are skinny, so it’s not as noticable in the pics below, but if (for example) you’re a muscular guy with average legs, you’re going to resemble an Oompaloompa if you’re not careful. Sorry; there’s no other way of saying it. So, below, are three shots of Mar: on the left she’s photographed from above (over head height), in the middle she’s photographed from directly in front (waist height), and on the right she’s photographed slightly from below (knee height). Note what each camera position does to her avatar. Want longer legs? Angle your camera just slightly upwards.

Come on, people. You work hard on those avatars. Don’t let them down when you’re taking pics of them. Be aware of your camera angles!

Rozoregalia group gift

Rozoregalia have put out a beautiful group gift in their store: the green Belial earrings. Join the Rozoregalia group and head to the store. Wear your group tag and click the ad on the wall at the back of the store to get them. They’re unisex, so guys you can go for these, too.

A New Year gift from LeLutka

LeLutka has just sent out to its group members a beautiful gift: a group-only colour of their Saffron Pumps, in neutral green. This colour will never be sold in the store, and once it’s gone from group notices, it’s gone for good. So, if you’re in the group and haven’t received these shoes, check group notices; if not, then join (it’s free) and get them, because they are gorgeous.

New Year Glamour

The seasonal SL social whirl isn’t over yet! New Year’s Eve is almost upon us, with party invitations popping into inventories everywhere. Mar’s rummaged out four party frocks for the celebrations: three short n’ flirty ones, and one with a bit more glamour. Stockists are at the end of the post.

We start with yet more items being added to the 10L$ sale at Pixeldolls. Starting with very short n’ flirty, Mar grabbed this Ghost dress in the beautiful ‘ocean’ shade:

Hop behind the cut for more.

Be a belle and a beau thanks to Belleza

If you don’t count land, then a good skin is one of the most expensive things you will buy in Second Life. While there are great freebie offers out there, some are better than others. The Belleza freebie offer (just inside the door on the left for a free male and female skin) is one of the best out there, but if you have 250L$ going spare, I would urge you to join the group, too (it’s a pay-to-join group, so make sure you don’t accidentally leave it, because you’ll have to pay again to re-join!)

The average price of a male skin at Belleza is 2000L$, so we’re looking at serious money here. Female skins start slightly lower, but you would still be splashing the cash to get a great skin. But for the 250L$ price of joining the group, you will get regular group gifts of skins, both for men and women, and right now is no exception.

Search groups for Belleza (and make sure you join the one called -Belleza- which was created by Tricky Boucher, as there’s a similarly-named group out there) and pay to join. In group notices, dated December 25th you’ll find six gorgeous pre-release skins: three for men and three for women, in three tones each. These skins will remain in group notices for exactly two weeks from the date they went in, and after that they’ll be gone, but stay in the group, as Belleza are incredibly generous to their group.

Mar’s eyes in this post are the freebie Sunset Eyes from Eponym, and the hair for her male incarnation is a current Christmas group gift from kMADd Enterprise group (free to join, and there’s female hair, two more male mohawk styles, plus three great pairs of eyes in that gift!)

Duh! It’s a Malt Christmas!

This gorgeous little red dress with sculpty skirt was sent out to Malt’s group, and can also be found as a dollarbie under the Christmas tree in the Malt Store:

Mar’s teamed the dress with Duh!’s Red Short Boots (Xstreet SL and in-world [look up!]) for just 10L$. Hair is Bonita in black, from ETD’s discount section (dollarbie fatpack).

Working girl

I’d like to thank the male avatar who flew overhead and promptly homed in on Mar when she was putting together this photoshoot, forcing her to flee the scene. Perhaps he thought his luck was in? ;)

This limited-time offer Dirty Princess complete outfit from LaRosa is just 49L$ on Xstreet SL at the moment. You’ll get: coat, dress, earmuffs, stockings, and boots. BE WARNED: this outfit is not for the modest. If you want to wear panties, you’ll have to sacrifice the garter belt, as that comes on the underwear layer, and there’s nothing between you and the fresh SL air if you wear it. You may also have to tint the teeny skirt prim darker to match the skimpy black skirt (which I forgot to do!)

Hair is Bonita in black, from ETD’s discount section (dollarbie fatpack).

Hop behind the cut for a couple more pics.

Brisk and businesslike

While Second Life is a playground for many of us, for some of us it is also a business venture, and the kind of fashion that often finds its way to the blogs is not suitable for the more professional virtual existence.

At the moment, the Pixeldolls store is having another 10L$ sale, and Mar found some perfect items for the SL businesswoman there, as well as taking a quick trip to Bare Rose and House of Curios, for another suit and some accessories.

Shoes worn throughout this blogpost (unless stated) are the 10L$ colour-change Chunky Stilettos from House of Curios, and the glasses are the colour-change 50L$ Rectangle Female Glasses, also from House of Curios. Hair is the free fatpack (in all colours) of Berri, by Truth at The Gnubie Store. Stockist locations are at the end of the post.

Here, Mar’s grey suit is Liason SystemDress Noir, from the 10L$ sale at Pixeldolls. Beneath it she’s wearing the Demi Cami Tintable, also in the 10L$ Pixeldolls sale. Stockings are the SLBM Women Socks from the Business Suit at Bare Rose (more on that in a moment).

Hop behind the cut for more business looks, that will take you from boardroom meetings, through Dress Casual Fridays, and right up to cocktails at the hotel bar on those business trips away.