2014 Fantasy Faire: Future Found

I'm only wearing a couple of Fantasy Faire things, picked up along my wanderings through Asperatus. Tucked in my hair is this fun and animated hair stick from Curious Kitties, and I really adore it. It spins and sparkles, and the ribbons are flexy so they curve beautifully as it moves. My other accessories include some lovely wings from Una which I've shown many times before - they are a longstanding favorite, and though the black hides more of the details than the other shades, it is a lovely counterpart to my gown and the flowers tucked into to joins are so adorable. My lipstick is one of my favorite reds from L. Fauna, and is one of the few bits of color in all the black; the other bright red is in my nails, an oldie but goodie from A:S:S - one of my favorite nail color stores. The shades are always so vibrant, and the styles so interesting.

My clothing is also a Fantasy Faire donation item, and it is a really charming Victorian era gown in rigged mesh. It comes in a variety of colors, but I'm showing off the simple black with gold buttons - it also can have silver buttons - and I paired it with some boots from Lassitude & Ennui from the same era. I really love the layers to it, and how the bustle is fit over my skirts. The length is also really fun, long enough to be decorous but short enough that I can show off my shoes. I just wish the bustle section and gown had come separately or were mix-and-match in some manner; it would have been really fun to be able to combine different colors either through wearing two different, rigged things, or by tinting them separately. All in all, though, I look a proper Victorian Miss in dress, even if I can never aspire to be one in behavior.

The last day of Fantasy Faire, and I'm slowing down; I won't be able to do everything I'd hoped I would, with posed pictures taken on every sim, but I will be able to take pictures of every sim, so that's something. I'm on the last sim in my rotation, and my Fairlands story is beginning to pick up some speed, so hopefully I'll be finished before the Fantasy Faire Flickr Group is closed again, and everything rolls up for a year.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Sparkles: Folly, Rainbow Sheen
Hair: Magika, Safe
Hair Stick: Curious Kitties, Elemental Hair Stick (Fantasy Faire)
 Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick: L. Fauna, Red 1
Wings: Una, Steampunk Wings
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: A:S:S, Glamour Silk
Clothing: Lassitude & Ennui, Henriette (Fantasy Faire)
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Phoebe

Pose: !bang

Location: Asperatus
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Cherry Blossom Princess

This has been a very eventful month already, and I've had such fun - but I'm feeling a little poor. The nice thing is, even if my pockets are empty, my inventory is full, and I had such a ball pulling together items from a few different events to make a fantastic, royal look. I also found a gorgeous new sim for pictures - Nagare - which has a wonderful, formal design with beautiful cherry blossom petals flying around like magic. I found myself quite entranced by them, and by the ever-present rain which is only barely visible in these pictures; it was soothing without being overwhelming. I'm seeking soothing a lot these days; life has been pretty hectic and upsetting, and so I dive deeper into the things I love - pretty clothing, taking pictures, and baking. The poses I used are all from Fit for a Princess, a royal set from Lalochezia which worked well with my gown - though sometimes the sleeves caught on themselves here and there. I'm really looking forward to see more poses from this store.

Speaking of pretty clothes - this gown from Junebug is another of the Fit for a Princess event offerings, and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it on the feeds - though picking a single color was really difficult. I love the poofy quality of it, something difficult to render in rigged mesh, and the layers of fabric. The ripples of fabric fall well even with different leg poses - in the top picture you can see how a lifted foot kicks the skirt up like a breeze is ruffling it without causing unnatural jaggedness in the fabric. The corset bends with motion well, as well, and I love that the sleeves are bell like but don't cover the wrist, allowing me to show off some bracelets. The texturing is also gorgeous; the lace of the bodice adds some texture to the whole look, and then is repeated in the sleeves only semi-transparent; having only a few spots of complicated texture really make them stand out. The seams are thick and rolled at the waist, and bands of velvet trip along the sides of the bodice; I find touches like this add to the verisimilitude of an outfit and make it seem more polished. I paired it with the sets of creamy lilies and roses from The Annex at We <2 RP which I simply couldn't resist. I tinted them more cream to match the gown, but otherwise they were completely perfect - especially when I found the bands of pearls of the headband framed the forehead braid of this hair from Wasabi Pills perfectly. I love it when two completely different stores release items which fit together as if they were made for each other - and this is definitely an example of that. I added a necklace and bracelets from League for that final bit of creamy pearl, and again it looks like it was all made for each other, and simply perfect. Given how much older the jewelry is than the rest of my look, it's really amazing how seamlessly it melds in to make the perfect princess glow. The final piece were these gorgeous wings from Una, which I've gotten a lot of use out of - I'm glad I played the gacha so much to get so many colors, though I wish I could have been able to buy a fatpack. They have a formal, elegant appearance which makes me a perfect, clockwork pearl princess.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Stella
Flowers: The Annex, Purity of Spring (We <3 RP)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Adore & Abhor, Princess Wish
Wings: Una, Steampunk Wing
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Adore & Abhor, Princess Destiny
Jewelry: League, Pearls & Lace
Dress: Junebug, Principessa (Fit for a Princess)

Poses: Lalochezia

Location: Nagare: Home of the Blue Lotus Clan
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Precision Blue
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Adore & Abhor's Sixth Anniversary

Adore & Abhor is having a sixth anniversary, and she's throwing a party where the Special Releases are all for us.

Adore & Abhor was one of my first stores, back when it was very small, used a lot of system skirts (remember skirt shapes?). I was almost tempted to wear one of her fifty linden friday purchase in bright pink and blue... but then I remembered this amazing Valentine dress she made in mesh based off of one of the first dresses she ever made, and I simply couldn't resist. The overall color scheme is more 'mature coral and teal' than 'brilliant hot pink and neon blue' this year, but that doesn't mean I've abandoned my hot, neon roots - and neither has Alice Project, who released three ombre hairstyles for the party, shiny and sparkly enough to make me a very happy faerie. They really are a throwback to oldskool Adore & Abhor, which makes me so happy. I found then initially through a hunt and was drawn to the bright colors and cheerful setting - and ended up chatting with one of the owners before I realized she was the owner. It wasn't until much later that I became a blogger for the store and got a better idea of little things like... there being two owners; I had met both Airedine and Sileny - in the context of Adore & Abhor even - and somehow just been continually confused about who owned the store, instead of sensibly thinking there were two of them. I can be a little bit of a slow study - ask them about the couple of months where I sent each of them complements about something the other had done!

A lot of the rest of my look is either from Adore & Abhor, or being released in honor of the sixth anniversary - like my really cute skin from Pink Fuel. I picked it up and the SLink appliers to match - you spend about a hundred linden per skin tone and limb, and there are appliers for just about everything else under the sun. The shade is a lightish-medium one, and comes with a panoply of rainbow colored eyebrows; I'm planning on keeping it handy for any future improbable hair moments. I embellished it with some cosmetics from Adore & Abhor, but please believe me when I say it's adorable on its own as well. Pink Fuel was actually on the short list of skins I was considering when I did my skin change. My shiny little crown is another Anniversary Special, this time from Krystal, and it reminds me so much of Adore & Abhor's crown theme that it simply makes me wriggle all over with glee. I finished the look with bright and sparkly things form elsewhere - a mismatched pair of heels from Boom which caught the colors in Alice Project's hair perfectly, and lovely wings from Una which I managed to mismatch even though they're gacha; lets call that proof I have a problem, hmmm? I had such fun dressing up in pink and blue; I can't wait to do it again soon.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Pink Fuel, Sora - Sugoi
Hair: Alice Project, Steph for A&A
Crown: Krystal, Miss Imperial
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Blush: Adore & Abhor, Princess Star Blush
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, Princess Arisen Lipstick
Wings: Una, Steampunk Wings
Hands and Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands and Feet
Dress: Adore & Abhor, Valentine Lolita
Shoes: Boom, Locale Heels

Poses: Don't Freak Out

Location: Mysterious Wave
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Lilack
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

25L Fall Fete: Fall Day at the Beach

Tomorrow is when the 25$L Fall Fete is ending, and I have it on good authority that in addition to a lot of 25$L items, there might be some freebies lurking around as thanks for another wonderful year. I escaped the damp rain of the fall to go to the beach, though! A little chilly, this time of year, but my beach cover from uNA was perfect for the purpose, and high enough that I only got it wet when I went wading deep in the waves! It's rigged mesh in several sizes, with charming drawstrings along the hips, and the texturing is very colorful and fun.I was very sparing with the accessories this time, leaving the main focus on the kaftan and my gorgeous, rigged mesh hands and feet from SLink. My one wish, and it is a very minor one, is that SLink might come out with a variety of skin textures to lay over the skin colors, allowing for a more pure match to my rather textured skin. In dimmer light it's not visible, but in the bright light of the beach, faint seams can be seen. I love them all the same, though; they finish off the limbs of my avatar in such a gorgeous manner that I keep pausing to stare!

I picked a loose, flowing style of hair from Secrets as the perfect accompaniment. It's a thick style with a loosely coiled texture to it, with those adorable curls at the end - like my hair is drying all frizzed and full of salt! I wanted something which looked rough and sun-warmed, and this fit the bill perfectly. To add some color to my pale skin, I layered on a reddening tattoo from Fallen Gods; it was meant for winter, but I found the effect worked well for the beginnings of a sunburn! Really, next time I should put on more sunscreen. I brightened my lips with a lovely gloss from Mock, just a faint amount of pink as if slightly chapped and wind-blown. As you can see, below I'm grinning and that comes with narrowed eyes - a challenge for those of us vain enough to wear eyelashes. I actually keep an extra set of my usual lashes which have been narrowed for the purpose, but sometimes you just have to edit for an angle and hope no one looks to closely! Since my eyes are larger than the norm, fitting lashes can be a bit of a trial, but I don't think I did to badly with the combination of Flugeln Brise and SLink below.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyelashes 2: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Blush
Skin Color: Fallen Gods, Winter Flush
Hair: Secrets Hair, Sunshine - Nordic (promotional item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Hands: SLink, Mesh Hands
Outfit: uNA, Beach Kaftan
Bikini: Umi Usagi, Garbera Bikini
Feet: SLink, Mesh Feet

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Arcachon Atlantique
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Rebranded Skies
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only