2014 Fantasy Faire: Ice Queen

My workdays have been running very long, which leaves me less time than I'd like to organize a cohesive look and then take some pictures - but I think I managed fairly well, for all that. There's only two days left to the Fantasy Faire for this year, so now's the time to go through and see what you can find to both bring you happiness, and to add to the donation to Relay for Life for this year. I found some lovely things on Hope's Horizon, and there are many more there than I have the time to share. My headdress, for example, is a gorgeous release from Aisling which has been all over the feeds; it comes in summer and winter versions for a donation - I'm wearing the winter - and the gem on it is color changing, as is the chains hanging from it. I went with the iciest display possible to build my Ice Queen to rule the towering edifice there. I love the curves and edges of the crown, and it also comes with a lovely matching collar with similar decorations - though sadly it didn't layer over my halter top. The chain hanging through the whorls and spikes adds a wonderful, flowing effect while still keeping a hardness to that delicacy.

The dress is from The Library, and is also available at the Fantasy Faire. It's a fantastic, Elizabethan style with a tame ruff at the neck and subdued Spanish Farthingale shaped skirt which is rigged loosely to the legs. The biggest break from the Elizabethan style is in the shoulders and arms; this gown replaces the usual square cut bodice and partlet with a halter top which skims right above the bust line, and pairs it with a closely cut square bodice across the front. The sleeves are capped slightly on the halter, and then begin again at the upper arm only to end with a poofy, three quarter sleeve. It takes the relatively refined and unique silhouette of an Elizabethan gown and modernizes it, adding in more visible skin without sacrificing elegance. I really like the texturing of the bodice and forepart, as well - a textured white on white which shines faintly in the light without being overpowering. The narrow gray banding at the waist and bodice finish the whole thing simply, and I'm glad they're so narrow and flat; something more ornate might distract from the truly unique features of the sleeves and halter top.

My skin is green in honor of a lovely set of skins passed on to me by Orc Inc, and came with matching ears. Orcs are green, and so I went temporarily green just for fun. They came with every single applier known to Orckind (or faekind) which was wonderful; as you can see my SLink hands match perfectly. I don't use most of the other physical add ons, but given that Loud Mouth is included, I think you can rest assured that Orc Inc will match any bit of bodily mesh in very short order. I added on a really simple updo from Underscore which was passed to me ages ago, and which works beautifully with my Aisling crown. The curling bun with the tendrils of hair dangling is simply lovely, and the smoothness of the rest of th elook makes it perfect for more flamboyant accessories. I was particularly happy with how the strands of hair curled through the open metalwork of the crown, and shifting my Orc Inc ears so that they worked with both crown and hair was a breeze. The earrings and necklace with the faintly blue stones to match the winter metal of my crown are an old release from Lassitude & Ennui which, as you can see, more than survives the passage of time. While the petals and leaves are more of a spring theme, the silvery white and blue continued my white on white theme so well that I couldn't resist. Finally, the white cosmetics on my face are part of my vast collection of unique, artistic tattoos from Nuuna; one advantage to going green is that the white shows up so clearly against my darker skin.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Orc Inc, Rii - Wasabi
Hair: Underscore, Burc Hair
Crown: Aisling, Sumiana Crown
Ears: Orc Inc, Long Elven
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Cosmetics 1: Nuuna, Tila
Cosmetics 2: Nuuna, YUA
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Elephante, Ice
Jewelry: Lassitude & Ennui, Dewdrop
Clothing: The Library, White Queen (Fantasy Faire)

Poses: !bang

Location: Hopes Horizon
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

The Domination of the Frost

We're entering one of the hardest months of winter, when all of the fluff and shine has begun to harden to ice and sleet; when months of icy cold have frozen spirits; this is when Jackie Frost, the younger and in some ways crueler spirit of winter, comes out to play with people who thought her big brother Jack was bad enough. February was always the whinging month, when what was once fresh and clean, turning the world to a land of clouds, became hard and gray and enough already. Jackie Frost is made of stone, her heart a barren rock formed in the palms of Fallen Gods (now with SLink appliers), impervious to the frost sliding silvery white fingers along her curves and sprouting out curling tendrils of ice which catch the wind and flow in the breeze. Besides the frost, the only nod to clothing she wears are filigree bands holding jewels gathered from the farthest reaches to the north, the shapes inspired by her filigree wings and all bearing the touch of Sax Shepherd Designs.

She's marked her face with frost in narrow bands, like those created by Nuuna, long stripes interspersed with small dots of ice. Cupping her heels are the long fingers of winter made real - disembodied hands from ieQED whose spikes touch the ground and cut through any pretense. They are Surreal (Event) in their formation, unearthly in their function; surely only the stone of her body and flutter of her wings make it possible for them to support feet impossibly high. And yet she walks, her hair (from Wasabi Pills) edged with frost and held up by the breath of icy winds itself. She summons rime out of still waters, and where she steps crystals and death itself are left behind, panting for the warmth of unsuspecting mortals. Fear her when she stalks the nights, taking ever wider routes and seeking doorways that haven't seen her footprints for centuries. Keep windows tightly shut, fire burning brightly; beware the kiss of Jackie Frost.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Fallen Gods, Materica - Black Marble
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Christy
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Cosmetics: Nuuna, Aza White
Wings: Sax Shepherd Designs, Filigree Fae Wings (Soon to be Released)
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Jewelry: Sax Shepherd Designs, Winter Fae (Fantasy Gatcha Festival)
Bracelets: Sax Shepherd Designs, Frills ~ Ione Diamonds
Nails: Fallen Gods, Materica Frost
Clothing: Fallen Gods, Ice Crystal Outfit
Shoes: ieQED, Hand Spike (Surreal Event)

Poses: Long Awkward Pose

Location: Winter at Icewater Village
Light Settings:
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 49: Relaxed Greenlands

In the spirit of Relaxed Greenlands, I decided to go red and green this time. The actual colors were a sagey kind of green and a lovely gray, but when I put on this hair from Underscore and it happened to be red, I adored the effect so much I simply couldn't resist. Underscore is good for big, relaxed hair - the kind of hair that looks good on music albums and fashion plates. I'm really loving this color, too; rich and red with enough pale highlights to not be totally unrealistic. It's rigged, and the shape is loose enough that it looks good with many a head tilt. I tucked on one of my many gatcha prizes from Schadenfreude, this amazing crown. I am lacking only one of the rares (Majesty Crown, oh how you taunt me) but even the commons are lovely and striking; this one is a common, though I ended up buying it at a yard sale, as the gatcha machine was obsessed with giving me hearts and diamonds. My eyeshadow is from Nuuna, who always does a wide variety of colors, and I like the fierce edge this style gives my eyes, especially when combined with bright red lips from Essences. The lower lip is a little thinner than my skin, but I actually rather like the effect - it looks like I'm a refined vixen, instead of a lipstick slatherer. These wonderful poses are at least partially the result of my finally joining the !bang VIP group, just in time for two on-sale sets of poses. I particularly like how casual and natural !bang poses are - much less "on the runway," and much more out in the world.

The jewelry is a combo of two stores - Earthstones for the earrings and necklace; I hadn't planned on buying this style, but it was so perfect with the color scheme that I indulged, and I'm so glad I did. The bracelets were free, part of a hunt, and are from DV8 - a store which went on hiatus a while ago but which has re-emerged onto the grid with some new offerings. I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do with the changes to the grid while they were gone - mesh rigging has become much more refined, mesh bodyparts are rampant, and can you imagine DV8 velvet with materials? The dress is an older release from Lassitude & Ennui, an it really fit the challenge better than I could have dreamed. It's one of the rare dual-layer dresses - a sheer layer only slightly above an opaque one, with an invisilayer which will smooth away any pesky hip bits that might otherwise peek through. I particularly like the satin shine of the ribbons along the bottom, and the variances of green over the entire gown - the darker and lighter sage of the bodice are rich without being overpowering, and the paler skirt is simply lovely and fades naturally into the hues of my shoes. These shoes are one of the latest releases from Eclectica - an her shoes have simply become divine. Unique, lovely, and always with tons of color options, I'm really excited to see what she'll come up with next.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Hair: Underscore, Bad Medicine
Crown: Schadenfreude, Storybrook Royalty (Gatcha Arcade)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Nuuna, Ara Green
Lipstick: Essences, Lipstick Red 02
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands and Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands and Feet
Nails: Bliensen + MaiTai, Strawberry
Jewelry: Earthstones, Genie Set
Bracelets: DV8, Palais Bracelet (Hunt Prize)
Dress: Lassitude & Ennui, Patience Dress
Shoes: Eclectica, Catherine Gothic

Pose: !bang

Location: Flanagan Falls
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY An Incongruent Truth
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Under the Sea Expo: Sea Witch

The Under the Sea Expo has begun, which you probably know if you've been watching the feeds, and it is glorious. The one thing I missed during the Fantasy Faire was an undersea sim - even the watery ones were well above ground - and this expo is feeding that need in spades. There is also an awesome storyline hunt which I'll be covering more in depth soon, I promise. Many of my favorite stores are here, and even more stores I don't know but which blew me away from the beginning; even if you aren't usually a mer, this is an event not to be missed.

I made my big splash with this incredible mermaid set from Tarnished, one of several being sold at the Expo. It is prim, working around the mesh of the legs to form a single tail, and with an enormous fantail at the end. It moves beautifully, especially with the little hip fins, though there is the usual difficulties with working with alpha. I wonder sometimes if Second Life will ever address those - they can be truly troublesome. It comes with fingernails for the system hand, bright red talons suitable for ripping out the throats of even the most difficult sailor. In order to make myself suitable for the public gaze, I added this amazing top from The Muses' release for this Expo - you'll see more of it in the future, I promise. The long sleeves also come from The Muses; they are called gloves, but i can easily pair them with my usual SLink hands and they look simply stunning. The scale pattern along the arm (applied with a glove layer) fits so well with the Tarnished tail that it seems like they were made for each other.

To complete my transformation from mild mannered Faerie to vicious and alluring Siren, I leaned heavily on tattoos and cosmetics. I wanted to maintain the illusion that I could actually be under water, so everything but the tail and my hair was skin tight, and so I marked up my face and torso with some of the more theatrical releases from Nuuna, who is sublime for unusual and striking cosmetics. The lips are from my solid-color go to store, Adore & Abhor, a perfect dark red with a delicate curve. Finally, to fill out my shoulders and torso, I pulled out a tattoo released ages ago from Silentsparrow, which is a layered pattern of curls across the entire length of my body, though the leg ones are well covered by my scales. It actually has a color tintable layer, which I made a rich crimson to match the rest of my look. Finally, Wasabi Pills graciously offered up one of her hairs in Flaming Cherry to finish off the effect - a Siren bathed in blood was born.

As those of you who have been mer know, they offer a specific challenge when it comes to Animation Overiders and Poses because the legs have to remain together in order for the tail effect to be maintained (mesh tails sometimes have more leeway, but even they can be distorted by parted leg animations). For my AO, I dug deep into my inventory and pulled out a really fun one from Falln Angel Creations, which comes with each of his mermaids - he also has a more extensive AO for sale at his store. For static poses I did a quick run around the Marketplace, and while I ended up mostly using poses from Chisa Creation, Hopscotch has some lovely other ones made to go with a mesh tail, and some of the water poses from Glitterati (closing soon) worked beautifully as well.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Hawk2
Eyes: Nomine, Stained Eyes
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Face Tattoo: Nuuna, Warp
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, Shreveport Lips
Chest Tattoo: Nuuna, Meta Red 70%
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Bikini: The Muses, Siren Red (Under the Sea Expo)
Torso Tattoo: Silentsparrow, Tenebrae Tendrils
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Nails: Orc Inc, Goth Nails
Mermaid: Tarnished, Fire Coral Mermaid (Under the Sea Expo)

Pose: Various

Location: Under the Sea Expo
Light Settings: TOR, Sunrise - Ultimate
Water Settings: NB, Turbud Reflections

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 10 - Wooley Cinnamon

This weeks color combination, Wooley Cinnamon, went in a very not wooley, not cinnamon sort of direction. I started with the basic idea that I wanted to show off something from The White Armory. She gives out a new group gift every week, so I've been collecting for a while, but my inventory backlog is such that I haven't pulled any of them out in ages. I was beginning to feel backlog guilt, so I opened up a ton of boxes and, well... things went a little sideways around the time I found this gorgeous tan dancing dress. I'm not wearing the included empire skirt or wings; instead I dressed it up with corset accessories from Rosal - specifically her Unmei set, with a little visit by her gloves (please release more gloves!). All of her sets come with an amazing tinting HUD which allows you to target each part of the included items and tint them into literally any color you want, which meant it was a cakewalk to set up the orange colorcheme to match up with the tan and accomplish Wooley Cinnamon in a very futuristic weird manner. Like I said... not very wooley, not very cinnamon. An over the top outfit requires an over the top hairstyle, which is how I ended up pulling out this style from Secrets Hair. I also wanted to pass on that the store is having a Fatpack Sale on the Marketplace until March 10th, so go check it out! Lots of styles, lots of colors, only 600$L each.

Further accentuating the over-the-top look I stumbled into, I ended up pulling out some of the stark, stylish, unique cosmetics from Nuuna. The combination of bright colors, stark lines, and both cutouts really makes her cosmetics unique, and I thought they suited the look. An old set of lipsticks from Skinthesis were the perfect balance - I don't think these are for sale anymore, but I still really love them. Finally, after playing with a few different hair accessories, I settled on an old Halloween release from Kouse's Sanctum as both matching the colors and matching the theme; I'm a sort of weird space princess... person... something! Finding a location was thankfully easy. I caught sight of Francesca's monochromatic style and headed off to tint it weirdly orange using windlight. The layering of trees, the isolated spots with little decorations, and the gorgeous castle which resolved into a lonely music hall up front all seemed to fit with this stylized, almost Visual Kei effect. This is not a style I often even approach, so I'm finding my headlong plunge into stark, stylized, over-dramatic effects rather bemusing!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 04-A
Eyeshadow 1: Nuuna, Neuro Orange
Eyeshadow 2: Nuuna, Tiia orange
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Lipstick: Skinthesis, Liquid Heat Pipes
Hair: Secrets, Jupiter - Blonde (Promotional Item)
Crown: Kouse's Sanctum, Ambrosia Tiara - Halloween
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Collar: Rosal, Unmei Neck Corset
Gloves: Rosal, Viron-M
Dress: The White Armory, Blythe Dancing Gown (Group Gift)
Corset: Rosal, Unmei Corset
Boots: Rosal, Unmei Boots

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Francesca
Light Settings: Places Abracadabra
Water Settings: Phototools Ship Light

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Mardi Gras in New Toulouse

Most of you probably don't know this, but I started on Second Life participating in various philosophy events. Philosophy is not often associated with fashion, but I was also very interested in style and appearance and spent a good amount of time dressing myself up. This was in rather sharp contrast to a lot of the other people, who tended to have basic skins and very basic clothing, often several years out of date, and who usually wore the same clothing. I didn't try to make a big deal of it, but I discovered how noticed it was when one of the men made a point of my dress - characterizing it as attempts to attract men, and solely that. I often feel like the outside being stylish and carefully put together tends to make people assume the inside is rather vapid - and being a blond (most of the time, obviously I'm not here) probably doesn't help.

My personal philosophy centers aesthetics as a high value - less out of choice, and more because over time I've noticed that part of how I determine something is moral includes whether it is also aesthetic. It is moral to show grace toward other people, and patience, and kindness, but it also creates beauty in the spaces between people - where you and I meet - and I value that beauty as an integral part of morality. I also think beauty has value of its own to bring about peace of mind, encourage attention and care, and simply make a world in which it is worth living and loving. Although modern US culture degrades beauty, art, and creativity as unnecessary and vapid - I consider it both central and critically important.

Speaking of beauty, the first Flux event is going on and the theme is Mardi Gras. I've never done much with Mardi Gras, but I have to admit I really enjoy the combinations of colors - purple, green, and gold make for gorgeous contrast. The hair is a recent Wasabi Pills release, an over the shoulder pony tail which I'm wearing in a bright shade of green. It's mesh, which means head positioning is a lot easier but the people who might be able to see it are fewer. The Cross Cosmetics from Nuuna were a purchase at 4.44.444 a few months back - something I grabbed on impulse, thinking it might be neat to layer in different cosmetic effect in the future - and it turned out to really pull my look together.

The L.Fauna purple lipstick is a perfect match for the other colors, and placing it over the cross of yellow really made a striking contrast. I layered on top the eyeliner from Adore and Abhor, which is available at the Flux event. They're set up to obscure the eyebrows in favor of blocked in black, and while usually I don't aim for such a theatrical effect, I have to admit I love it here. I also love the mask from Frooti with it's feathers, perfect for a masqued ball, which came with a number of poses. Sadly, none of them were easy masque-in-front-of-the-face poses, but I did what I could! I also added in an adorable beaded and feathered necklace from Forsaken. I'd love some bracelets and anklets to match - they would be so fun!

The dress from katat0nik is really the central point, though. It comes in three different colors - this is the traditional Mardi Gras colors, but there is a pink based one which would be sweet for Easter, and a red one which seems very Queen of Hearts. it comes with these cute little hand cloves I layered over long white gloves, as well as the adorable little Jester Crown. The staff in my hand is a separate purchase, but it can color change to match each of the different dresses. The dresses also come with three different skirts. The one you see has a masque on it hanging form a chain - all of which is three dimensional sculpting which gives it a truly lifelike effect - like it was sewn on. The second skirt is a bare panel. The third skirt is a transparent one, perfect for a sexy little look and to show off the cute panties with their bow-topped garters.

I finished the whole look with these wonderful Alice Project shoes which are tintable in a wide variety of colors - platform, heel, shoe, and strap all separate in their tinting (and with a huge number of heel options, from platform to the spike heel you see above). I also added in these very inexpensive stockings from Eclectic Firefly in place of the ones included with katat0nik's dress; I love the faded diamonds and the confusing mix of diamonds which make it look multi-layered and ease over that tricky ankle line with aplomb. My only complaint, and it is a small one, is that the socks go only to the ankles and the underwear adds up tot he waist; I would love thigh highs to go with my cute little garters, and they would have made the stockings even more useful in a variety of Mardi Gras outfits.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Eyelashes 1: Flugeln Bise, 05-A Planty
Eyelashes : *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyeliner: Ador & Abhor, Checks Face Paint
Facial Cosmetics: Nuuna, BodyCoss Makeup - yellow
Lipstick: L. Fauna, Lipstick - Purple
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Taleen Mesh Hair - Grass
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Necklace: Forsaken, Feathered Harlot Beads
Dress: katat0nik, Jester Dress - Purple
Gloves: Swan Lake Gown Gloves
Mask: Frooti, Mardi Gras Mak
Staff: katat0nik, Jester Staff
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortais, Nestling Finger Talisman
Stockings: Eclectic Firefly, Mardi Gras Leggings
Shoes: Alice Project, Faelin Pumps

Poses: Frooti, Carnival Masquerade

Location: New Toulouse
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT That Spells Moon 3

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only