I'm all decked out for Polynesia, this month's Genre theme. The US has two named territories here - one is the state of Hawai'i, known for it's laid back nature and rich heritage, and the other is American Samoa, an unincorporated protectorate that is largely unknown to most USAns. Both are island chains grouped in with the rest of Polynesia, enjoying tropical weather. American Samoa, along with a lot of Polynesia, was annexed by other countries during the continuing colonization of the late eighteen hundreds, finally ending up under US. The President of the US remains the Head of State, though American Samoa also has it's own Constitution and elected government separate from that of the US, and they send a non-voting delegate to the US House of Representatives. Culturally, American Samoa and Hawai'i have many similarities through their mutual connection with the US despite having different original cultures. Also, most residents of American Samoa are Samoan, while a lot of Hawai'i is Asian immigrants with the native population greatly diminished and their cultural heritage interrupted by laws denying them their language and practices until very recently. I can't imagine what it would be like to be denied your past only to have people transform it into something for sale - part of me wonders at putting on the colors and dress of a place that is still here but so separate from me, but I can't deny the beauty of the islands and an attraction to cultures of respect and mutuality.
Stargazer Creations created a lovely sun-kissed brown skin tone for Genre, with delicate texturing and a lovely face. I had to modify my lips a little to suit, but I love the final effect. It comes with Omega appliers for the whole body as well as appliers for the .:Soul:. Uni ears.The color is warm and even without the slightest hint of ashy, with clear shading and seamless between my SLink hands and feet, and my legacy body. I paired it with slightly curly hair from Adoness in a complementary shade of brown, the included flowers goldenrod to call up the hues of my gown and keep my whole look slightly antique. There are a ton of colors, both naturalistic and dyed, and the flowers are color changing via a HUD. It fit perfectly out of the box, and I especially love the little tendrils all over and the full, high cut in back. It has a breezy, casual style which helped to set the theme and mood for these images. The dress - a fun maxi from Kastle Rock Couture - helps as well with it's huge graphic flowers and textured trim. All of the colors make it an ease to accessorize; I tried it with purple, green, and teal flowers but settled on the goldenrod to emphasize the soft gold of the lighter parts of the dress. It comes in all standard sizes, fitmesh versions of all standard sizes, and also styles for Belleza, Maitreya and Slink! No matter how you head out on the grid, Kastle Rock Couture has you covered.
All of my poses come courtesy of an old favorite, Nantra, who broke out the Hula gestures for an exquisite dance party. All of her poses were clean, without any distortion of the body, and there were several that were fantastic for highlighting harder to photograph areas like the hands and feet. I especially love the gentle curves of the arms and legs, so evocative of the curves of mountains and shore around me. Up close you can more clearly see one of the four facial tattoos from Appliers 'R' Us. All of them are available in white (shown) and 50% or 75% saturated black, and the white can be tinted as I did here to echo the soft cream of my gown. I'm showing off the texture layer, but there's a HUD included which uses the Omega system to apply and offers a lot of control over which layers on a head it's applied to, so you can layer the tattoo in with other facial marks. Above the tattoo I'm showing off the latest eyes from The Stringer Mausoleum, shaded with her characteristic clarity and skill. There are three sets available - green, blue, and brown - and each comes with three color options and a metric ton of sizes: legacy prim, mesh, petites, and system layers. Around my neck is the latest fun, worn jewelry accent from Bliensen + MaiTai. Taking on the shape and hues of a copper fishhook, it hangs easily from a thrice-wrapped cord. I love the artistry and curves of it, delicately dangerous. It's a fitting hint to the fire underneath the Polynesian islands, and rounds out my gorgeous Genre look wonderfully.
( More pictures here. )
Credits:
Skin: Stargazer Creations, Ahomana Skin (Genre)
Tattoo: Appliers 'R' Us, Maiea Facial Tattoo v.3 (Genre)
Hair: Adoness, Thalassa (Genre)
Eyes: The Stringer Mausoleum, Shyanne Eyes (Genre)
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Ears: .:Soul:., Uni
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Necklace: Bliensen + MaiTai, Fish Hook Necklace (Genre)
Body: SLink, Hands & Feet
Nails: A:S:S, Lilly
Outfit: Kastle Rock Couture, Island Dream Maxi Dress (Genre)
Shoes: Glamistry, Aster
Pose: Nantra
Location: Polynesia
Windlight Settings: TOR, SUNRISE Barcelona
Water Settings: Glassy
Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping
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