double double.

I’m back. Illness & computer problems aside, the small break was kind of nice. I do this because I love it, and coming back, I’ve had the chance to reflect on that sentiment and it’s true. That’s why I’m still doing what I do. :)

I have a lot to catch up on, including a few reviews. I wanna sing to the heavens about Dutch Touch‘s Sjors skin. Iki Ikarus is a skin master and wow, wow, has she come a long way since her first skin. Sjors is gorgeous and boasts my favorite lips and freckles in SL. If you haven’t slipped it onto your bones yet, please do so. Now. Love, Abra

all those bones.

Hi You,

I was randomly tping around the grid yesterday, and came across this great new-to-me skin shop, CStar Skins. I love the facial features of this skin! It’s super flattering and feminine. The makeup might be a tad overkill in most circumstances, as I usually go for a natural look, but I honestly love the heavy nude lipstick and mega lashes on this face. The cool thing about this shop is that all the skins are limited sale. All of them! I talked with the owner, Unico Solo, and expressed how cool this is. At one point or another, we all question our ‘identity’ here, what it actually ‘means’ and how to ‘preserve’ it. Certainly limited sale items are a good way of preventing an army of clone avis. The best way, of course, is to develop your own sense of style. Always. And to dress and buy items for your own style. (Eff trends, srsly.) I must note that although the facial features on these skins may sometimes vary, (there are a few different ‘faces’ at this shop) most of the variance is with the makeups. Which, I suppose, is what you would call ‘variance in style.’ The makeup that I am wearing, Obsidian, is apparently sold out at the main shop location. I purchased mine at a smaller location, here. Get it while supplies last! After that, it’s gone forever. Love, Abra

details below..

tuli broke my heart.

*heart flutters* I just want to profess my love for Tuli‘s new skin, Eva. Her VIP group received a wonderful Christmas gift– a preview of this gorgeous new skin. If you love Bella as much as I do- which was a LOT- then you will surley love Eva as much or even more. I feel that Eva can be compared to Bella’s younger sister: smoother skin, younger/wider nose, similar but unique features. All I have to say is I am on my toes waiting for the full release. Pure love. Love, Abra

details…

fresh faces.

Some fresh faces I’m enjoying! Love, Abra

life or something like it.

Cutie pie, $1L skin from LIFE. \\o// for cute free skin on Sunday. xo, Abra

sweet augustine. + chapeau tres mignon.

Hi all! Tyr Rozenblum of Tyranny Designs just released the Sweet Augustine skin line and I must say it is incredibly sweet! The line comes in 7 skin tones and 22 different makeups (!!), with the range being split into two fatpacks of 11. The makeups themselves run from very soft and demure naturals to bright colors to graphic and wild makeups that I’ve yet to see the likes of anywhere else! Tyr took a chance by making such daring makeups and I think she really succeeded at filling a missing element in skin design. I could see these makeups on rp cyber and fantasy people as easily as I could see them on your everyday stylish person. Here I am wearing tone #3.2.

Megg Demina of Chapeau tres Mignon made a super cute collection of wool pompom hats, which make perfect headwear for the changing of the seasons. I love these hats hard. There are 10 to the collection, from white to blue to purple to tartan, and my favorite is the crazy colored ‘multifun’. Chapeau is forever rewriting the rules for SL fashion and Megg makes even the most bizarre attire completely accessible and, most importantly, wearable to even the most reserved of styles. Nothing is off limits and quite everything goes. I really, really do love that about both of these releases. Pushing out those stubbornly planted edges of fashion. It’s the best of things that can do that. xo, Abra

details & more pictures below.

lei.

!Lei! is a brand new skin shop at Dirty Cute and I’m so pleased to be able to debut this line for you!! !Lei!’s skins are so sooo beautiful, as you can very well see. The features are young, soft and hand-drawn. What really gets me excited are the makeups!! Ohhhhhh the makeups!! Right now there are 10 different makeups available, in one skin tone, ranging from very natural to quite dramatic, and each skin comes with 2 to 3 different options that differ with each skin. Some of them come with freckles/no-freckles, others with light/dark brows, and even others with lighter/heavier makeup. I like the freedom of having multiple choices that are individual to each makeup, since depending on what type of makeup it is, it’d make sense for some to have freckles and some to have different brows, etc. Another feather I love are !Lei!’s breasts, click here for preview. They’re so soft looking and so real. No heavily sculpted shading or harsh lines. They are what breasts really look like! Perfect for us that pay attention to the details or take nude shots. !Lei! also offers some really beautiful and different looking shapes. If you are in need of a good shape, but want some individualism, look no further. I’m really smitten about this line and I look forward to seeing more awesome makeups and skin tones in the future. (There’s a darker skin tone in the works as I type this!) xo, Abra

ps. I ❤ new DP**yumyum hair, Drop hair and Tiny Bird Hair!!! Super cute!!!

details.

cleo.

Iki Ikarus of Dutch Touch just released the fabulous Cleo skins today. They come in 3 tones, each with freckle and non-freckle options. As you can see, I most certainly prefer the freckle versions. Imho, they’re the best and most realistic freckles in sl. The makeups range from natural to super intense. There are four different mini-collections available in fatpacks: natural makeup, Pip, Punk and Pip *specials*.

I pulled out my favorite booN hairs as well as the new Shag and fri.day releases, which are available today. Have a good weekend everyone. xo, Abra

details.

tuli.

I just wanted to express how utterly floored I am at the beauty of Tuli‘s Hope Gothic Group gift. It’s luminous and so flatteringly beautiful. Fri. released 4 new hair styles today. This is one of them. I’ll post some more photos later. xo, Abra

details.

Eloh.

The long awaited Eloh Starlight skins are out and I’m so stoked about them! I’m sure that anyone who reads this blog is familiar with Eloh and her Mother Teresa-like ways.* I myself have been eagerly following Eloh’s creation process on flickr, these many months, and have been getting more and more excited as I saw these skins develop. As you can see from Eloh’s documentation, a lot of thoughtful care has been put into each aspect of the creation process and it really shows. For me, this release has been nothing but the climax of the journey and I’m so in awe of how beautiful the collection is. I love their creamy, glowing texture, dimpled mouths and soft features. They come in 5 skin tones: Phaola, Polyxo, Eudora, Ambrosia, Koronis and each skin has two nose and eye options. The three mid-tones also have options for freckles and brow color. Eloh really outdid herself this time!

Now what comes next, and what I am so curious about, is how people will continue the creation process with Eloh’s so generously given Starlight resource files. I’m dreaming of creative makeups, cheeky colors and feature modifications. ;D

I’ve showcased the five tones. My combination pick? Eye A + nose A. My overall favorite, the incredibly etherial milkiness of Phaola! xo, Abra

*For those of you who may be new, or who live under a rock (we all do sometimes), Eloh is best known for giving away her amazing skins for free. She gives them as both ready-to-wear inventory items as well as out-of-world files which one can modify to their own liking. (Just remember to credit!) With this generosity, Eloh has been a pioneer in teaching people how skins are made and encouraging people to learn how to make- and even sell- their own. I’m sure all of us have an Eloh skin- or Eloh mod- in our inventory, and many of us have learned from her resource files. She’s completely changed SL for the better, in that way. Thank you Eloh!

details and where to find Starlight, below.