The4.21.2014: Under the Tuscan Sun

It's been awhile since I've done a decor post, which is a shame since it's a favorite activity of mine. Always a challenge to get started but once I start mixing I have to be careful and edit. The setting for this post is Trompe Loeil's new Cortona Villas which you can pick up at Collabor88 through the rest of the month. I will talk about it more in a sec because it's so good it's sick.  Trompe also is a monthly participant at FaMESHed and has the most remarkable, over-the-top furnishings in her Whimsy collection this month.  The Alyce Bench is a favorite of mine and you can select many different texture types (velvet, leather, etc) and a myriad of colors as well as chose between adult and general poses.  I also tucked in the Candle Fireplace to replace the fireplace included in the Cortona because I loved the glow of the candlelight.  The other items in the room are mostly from the April collection at The Men's Dept. and The Chapter 4.  I spent a fortune on the gacha at Chapter 4 trying to win the adorable Elephant Cart only to discover how amazing all the items are in the set.

 An overall look at the Cortona Villas shows just what an amazing build Cory did for Collabor88 this month.  It sells for L$ 388 and my god, I remember when something as gorgeous as this would have cost thousands and thousands of Lindens.  Get it now at Collab if at all possible. The rooms surround a central courtyard that contains many little living spaces as well. There are all kinds of secret rooms and the doors open upon touch.  The build includes planters and numerous water features as well as a striking pergola at it's entrance. I did add the main fountain which is from Cory's March collection at FaMESHed (the furniture from which is PERFECT for this build). 

Credits:

Build: Trompe Loeil: Cortona Villas: available at April's Collabor88 round

Big Fountain: Trome Loeil: Valiano Fountain Stone Dirty: from March's FaMESHed round 

Sofa: Trompe Loeil: Alyce Bench Velvet Yellow: available at April's FaMESHed round

Fireplace: Trompe Loeil: Candle Fireplace Tile With Drape (drape is texture change): available at April's FaMESHed round

Audrey Chair: Abiss Design: Concerto Chair: available at the April The Men's Dept.

Leather Chair: Hideki: from Set 2 (rare): gacha at April The Chapter 4

Elephant Cart: Hideki: gacha at April The Chapter 4

Bust: Dinmael Bust (Coal/Gold): available at April The Men's Dept.

Mirror: Abiss Design: Deco Mirror: available at April The Men's Dept.

Record Player: Hideki: gacha at April The Chapter 4

Table: Convair: Noguchi Table: soon available on The Marketplace

Rug: Zaara: Ikat Dhurri Rug: gacha from March The Arcade

Asst Decor: Post, Bazar

Hair Fair: Miamai + the French Connection

If there is one thing that Monica Outlander of Miamai is the master of it's glamour.  Be it classic, avante garde, or romantic, she makes it look effortless.  She has released 5 new mesh hair pieces for Hair Fair 2012 and they are stunning. They are all unrigged and modifiable. I honestly could not pick a favorite. Hair Fair wraps up this weekend and the 2 weeks of it have flown by.  Soon the hair will be in the stores but there is an important reason to still visit and that is that Hair Fair is a charity fundraiser, with a percentage of sales going to Wigs for Kids.  If you are inclined to purchase, do so now and help out a child in need.

Before I start carrying on about these gorgeous styles I wanted to mention the gown.  HelenSue Helendale of DEW Designs shared her newest release with me, the French Connection gown, and it's just super stunning. The main dress is mesh and comes in standard sizes and she has added to flexi attachments for ruffles on the back.  You can remove these attachments if you prefer a simple, drop dead slim gown and the integrity of the dress remains intact. It was the perfect backdrop for Monica's hair pieces.

I got to say first off that I love Miamai's hair bases.  They come in several versions and Monica has picked the right one for each style.  I appreciate this level of extra attention to detail.  Giselle utilizes a hair base with a strong central part.  The hair piece sits high on the head with with an updo with a sturdy braid wrapping the front.  It has an extra texture layer to provide depth as well as a few loose tendrils.

 Yanne plays it tighter with sleek french braids running at contrasting levels on both sides of the head and ending in a tight bun at the back of the head.  It utilizes the same hairbase as Giselle (Style C).

Lika is classically gorgeous.  It uses a hairbase that is pulled straight back and has a large bun as well as braids that run the length of the skull and wraps around the back of the bun.  No whispies on this one.  It's perfect in it's formality.

Ixie is probably the most casual of the hair pieces.  It uses a partless hairbase (Style B) and is in the style of hair that has been swept back into a pony-tail and then made into an updo with a set of barrettes.  It also has a gentle flexie layer to make it less severe.

Kirge utilizes a hairbase (Style A) with that is side parted then combed tight to the head.  It features a two level bun and strong side tendrils.  The hairbase really makes the look for me and I think would be fun not only with glam but strong urban looks.

Now go get 'em at the Miamai booth at Hair Fair 2012. There is also an special gift updo available at the fair, that probably won't be available after the fair (hint hint).

Credits:
Hair: Maimai: All hairbases and updos are new mesh releases available at Hair Fair 2012
Gown: DEW: French Connection - Black
Skin: Filthy: July Group Gift - Cream
Lipcolor: Pink Fuel: Elly - Glam Lipstick/Smoked Plum
Jewelry:  photo 2: LaGyo:  Spring in Gold
               photo 3: Caroline's: Kennedy Pink Pearls
               photo 1 & 4: Zaara: Anuska Pearl Drop Earrings - Night
               photo 5: [HANDverk]: Wassily Black
               photo 6: Mandala: Kagetora
All Poses: Miamai

Color Challenge: Electic Indigo or The Day Eden was Ready to Throw her Computer out the Window

Oh, man. I've about had it with this dumb computer.  It was a top of the line iMac a few years ago but talk about controlled obsolescence; you cannot switch out graphics cards or make any updates.  They are like a big pretty laptop on a stick, which would be sweet if I still had the means to go buy a new stick, but with a teen eating me out of house and home and house projects, it just cannot be justified so I can take purty SL photos. Where is that sugar daddy when I need him?

This weeks color challenge was a hard one for me.  I haven't been a big fan of the purples since grape pop was a childhood treat.  But thank heavens for Zaara!  I love her Mahari dress and I remembered getting the indigo one back when SL Daily Deals was an event.  (I really loved that event but I can only imagine what a nightmare it was to administer.)  What's even more super about this dress is that it captures both the blues and purples that make up this color.  If you google 'electric indigo' you see some conflicting colors for it.  I am beginning to really respect Luna for offering these challenges.  Even picking a color can be really tricky!  G Field's lovely Eve pumps in purple had enough blue tones in them to work for me and I just had to use the Phlox facepaint from Osakki that came with the superbomb purple jumpsuit I picked up at her closing sale.   One of my alts rezzed at D!va and I saw the new style on the Lucky Board and went "Zoinks!  I need that!" and tped Madam Eden over there to win the board and pick up another version of it in Moonstone.  Eden is really selfish and does not share well with her alts!

Credits:
Dress: Zaara: Mahari - indigo
Shoes: Gfield: Eve - purple
Face Paint: Ossaki: Creativ.Facepaint: Phlox (came w/ the Flow Jumpsuit)
Skin: Glam Affair: Linn - Light
Hair: D!va: Yoko - Moonstone - New Release
Bracelet: Hoot: Cherry Blossom Bracelet: God of Wine: store is closed
Pose: Magnifique Poses: Prince Charming

Culture Shock: R.icielli / Bliensen & MaiTai

Continuing the awesomeness of all things Culture Shock with offerings from R.icielli and Bliensen & MaiTai.  These are 2 more of my favorite stores; R.icielli for modern high-fashion with a European flair and Bliensen & MaiTai for unique, quirky high quality jewelry.

I was honored to be able to review 2 of R.icielli's charity offerings at Culture Shock.  Culture Shock is in full swing now and there are 150 of the top SL designers participating in the fundraiser for Doctors without Borders.  Each designer is offering at least 3 items where 50 - 100% of the proceeds will go to this charity.  One of R.icielli's items is the fantastic IRIS bodysuit.  I didn't want to cover it up with skirt or jacket so that you could see the item in it's entirety as I know that rez might be a challenge there for a few days.  It's a perfect item to pair with a skirt or slacks and R.icielli sells lots of items in complimentary colors which makes it an excellent base piece.

Another of R.icielli's charity items is the fantastic SUELLEN mindress in cherry.  One of the things that draws me to R.icielli is their great ability to create works that rely heavily on sculpted pieces and I think their dresses are some of the cleanest, chicest works on the grid.  The texture has a fantastic shimmer for modern look for evening.  I paired the dress with one of the many sets available by Bliensen & MaiTai for Culture Shock, the Tomorrow's Cherry set.

 

Tomorrow's Cherry's is a gorgeous set with a cherry blossom branch as its primary texture.  The set plays off a gorgeous pairing of gentle spring tones.  It is modifiable but for me it needed no modification beyond positioning, so without scripts it should not tax sims as you travel about.  Plurabelle Laszlo has offered several items for Culture Shock and I will do a full review at a later point as her work cannot be missed!

Credits:
me1:
Bodysuit: R.icielli: IRIS Bodysuit it Autumn: exclusively at Culture Shock
Belt: R.icielli: VANESSA belt in sangria at the main store
Stockings: Zaara: Nishar Leggings in burnt olive (naturals pack)
Skin: Fall Out / Fall In: Deliciouz Skin - Devin (cougar): exclusively at Culture Shock
me 2:
Hair: LeLutka: Rykiel in Toast
Dress: R.icielli: SUELLEN minidress in cherry: exclusively at Culture Shock
Jewelry: Bliesen & MaiTai: Tomorrow's Cherries: exclusively at Culture Shock
Hair: Elikatira: Rythm

Fashion For Life: Baby Monkey

Sunday finishes up Fashion for Life for this year and I wanted to show one last place.  Baby Monkey was one of the first shoe stores I visited and it continues to be a favorite.  I've known Pixieplumb Flanagan, designer and owner of Baby Monkey and she is one of the kindest, most generous souls I know in both worlds.  She makes her debut this year at FFL and she has some adorable shoes at the event, as well as some great gifts and gachas. The Bardot Spring Pump is her FFL charity offering and it is available in several colors to dress up your warm weather outfits.  I love stacked pumps because they go well with both retro and modern looks and I particularly love the little zipper on the heel.  The zipper and shoe trim can be gold or silver with a touch.  You cannot beat Baby Monkey for quality AND value!  Her shop is located on the Arbus sim, sponsored by Evie's Closet.  Once you have arrived on Arbus you can directly tp to her store here.

Credits:
Shoes: Baby Monkey: Bardot Spring Pumps at FFL
Lingerie: Zaara: Trikaya
Hair: Elikatira: Blind also at FFL on Bourke White
Stockings: Sheer: Knee-highs: Free!