Hair Fair 2014: Damselfly

Hair Fair 2014 is here!  4 sims of wonderful hair, 100's of them by new designers, runs until the 27th of July.
As in previous years Hair Fair 2014 is a charity event and all purchases give at least 15% of it's proceeds to Wigs for Kids,  has been providing Hair Replacement Systems and support for children who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, Alopecia, Trichotillomania, burns and other medical issues at no cost to children or their families for over 30 years. If you look around you will see some styles that have an even larger donation amount, some even at 100%.

The official Hair Fair blog can give you all the information you need regarding the fair.  The Hair Fair committee has done a brilliant job in creating a shopping environment that is as lag-free as possible. However, you are encouraged to strip down or even wear a full size alpha to hide your avatar. Thankfully, there is also the Hair Fair Demo Group so you can pick the styles that you must have and find their slurls on the Hair Fair blog.  There are also little "busses" you can rez and use to ambulate your way around the fair. These are located throughout the venue.

So let's talk about the hair already!  I am featuring the 3 new releases for women from Damselfy.  I must admit I have recently become quite a fan of Damselfly after seeing a gorgeous style on my friend, Kat Alderson.  The textures are superb and the hair is so realistic looking. There are a multitude of textures at 125 and are contained within a HUD so that you don't have to have a billion hairs in your inventory.

Credits:
Photo 1:
Hair: Damselfly: Praise - Color 106 from the Mixed + Faded HUD: available at Hair Fair 2014 on the Noirette sim.
Dress: coldLogic: Ayres - Blush: coldLogic's 50 % off sale has been extended until Monday, July 14 due to the horrible server issues that affected the vendors of so many designers! so GO
Bangle: ISON: Safari Tribe Bracelet - Gold: currently available at Collabor88
Bag: Glam Affair: Business Tote Bag - Candy
Shoes: Baby Monkey: Fauna - for Slink High Feet (removable strap - just chose a new color to restore the strap): HUD contains 32 colors. Group Members get 50% off many new releases during the first week of release.
Skin: Glam Affair: Cassia - Arctic 06: at Summerfest for one more day!
Hands/Feet: Slink: Flat hands / High Feet
Photo 2:
Hair: Damselfly: Tabby - Color 415 from Mixed + Faded HUD: available at Hair Fair 2014 on the Noirette sim.
Shirt: coldLogic: Crane - Celery: SALE SALE SALE
Shorts: coldLogic: Sumner - Soot: SALE SALE SALE
Bag: Zenith: Leather National minority bag - Choco - available in rigged/nonrigged versions. Includes HUD to change trim: currently available at Collabor88
Shoes: Baby Monkey - Olwen - for Slink High Feet: HUD contains 32 colors. Group Members get 50% off many new releases during the first week of release.
Skin: Glam Affair: Cassia - Arctic 06: at Summerfest for one more day!
Hands/Feet: Slink: Flat hands / High Feet
Photo 3:
Hair: Damselfly: Eilana - Color 204 from Mixed + Faded HUD, hairbase 106 (included): available at Hair Fair 2014 on the Noirette sim.
Shirt: David Heather: Oen Buttondown - black - PUPPIES!: currently available at The Men's Dept.
Pants: Aphorism: Loaded Slim Jeans (women's version / men's version available, too!): currently available at The Men's Dept.
Shoes: Just Design: Roma - Pink for Women's Slink Bare feet (men's version available, too!) : currently available at The Men's Dept.
Sunglasses: ieQED: Wright Glasses - black : currently available at The Men's Dept.
Skin: Glam Affair: Cassia - Arctic 06: at Summerfest for one more day!
Hands/Feet: Slink: Flat hands / Bare Feet
Poses: marukin: Poppy: currently available at Collabor88.

3.27.14: Returning from the Dead and Channeling Claire

So I've been horribly sick for the last 2 weeks with some unknown ailment; maybe it was the flu but I did get a flu shot. But I've been feverish and achy and pretty much out of commission besides short stints on SL to talk to the bossman and get messages.  Instead, I've been catching up with House of Cards on Netflix.  I don't know about you but I tend to be one of those people that hang on and wait to watch, primarily because I am so sad when something is done and you have to wait again. So I've been clinging to them and decided that since I was basically a miserable, throbbing mess that this would be a good time.  It was and I'm still hanging on to the final episodes of Season 2, but I've become obsessed with Claire and particularly the way she dresses.  To say her dress is understated is an understatement...she takes clean and simple, which I happen to love, to an extreme.  The accessories I am using would be way over the top for her, but this is SL an The d so I get to do it my way.  The Liv dress from Color.Me.H.O.F. is nothing short of perfection. The texture choice is crisp and the seams are just right.  For me it is the perfect palette to dress up carefully.  You can pick this up for cheap at Collabor88 for about another week.  I added two accessories from ieQED, because Sigifaust has a great range. Both of these items are upgrades from pieces she made for HANDverk, her previous brand.  The scale paudrons are newly textured and matierials ready, and gorgeous as you can see in the small image.  The Rose Sandals are also an update, now made for Slink High Feet and feature a new open toe.  You can pick them up through the first week of April at The Theme Park.  They are gorgeous.  The Sylvia skin from Glam Affair in the Jamaica tone is a nice change for me. I tend to go super pale and I needed some color after feeling so green at the gills.  It is also discounted at Collabor88.

Credits:
Dress: Color.Me.HOF: Liv Dress - taupe: available at Collabor88
Bag: Glam Affair: Business Tote - Candy: available at Collabor88
Paudrons: ieQED: Scale Paudrons - Gold
Shoes: ieQED: Rose Sandals - Orange: available at The Theme Park
Skin: Glam Affair: Sylvia Jamaica - Base B: available at Collabor88
Lipstick: Glam Affair: Sylvia Lipstick 01B: available at Collabor88
Eye Shadow: Glam Affair: Sylvia: Eyes Makeup 01: available at Collabor88
Hands and High Feet: Slink
Skin Appliers: Glam Affair: Jamaica
Hair: Tableau Vivant: Hathaway Hair: dark blonde
Poses: an lar: from the Sorow Series

2.7.14: Miss Tuffsy

Hi everyone.  Continuing to show some of the awesomeness you can get right now at The Fantasy Gacha Carnival and We <3 Role-Play.  The Arrow Paudrons from ieQED are nothing short of amazing.  Sigi knows her way around a paudron.  They are so stylized and sleek and are available in 4 metal textures. Each set includes both a solid and metal offset.  They are a unisex item and perfect for both RP'ers and for a bit of POW over "normal" clothing. You can pick them up right now at 25% off normal cost at We <3 Role-Play.

The rest of the items I am showing are from The Fantasy Gacha Carnival. The event has now been open for a week, so you may have better luck navigating it.  The event is ginormous and not to be missed.  It has really encouraged me to break out of my usual clothing rut and I am having fun with it. To say "I don't RP, so I don't need to go to that" really would be sad.  The variety is amazing, the quality is great and gachas are so much fun and cheap.  I will detail the items in credits.  Do not miss this event!

Credits:
From We <3 Role-Play
ieQED: Arrow Paudrons: Gold/Titanium - 25% discount at the event
From The Fantasy Gacha Carnival:
Dress: Haste: Ripped Dress: Black
Halo/Trident: May's Soul: Gold Halo is rare and Gold Trident is ultra rare
Pose: Rack Poses: Veni, Vidi, Vici! Pose #5 (includes sword!)
Eye Shadow: Highlife: Fantasy shadow - Yellow
Nail Appliers: The Wicked Peach: Dragon Scale set (includes both hand & feet Slink appliers
Other:
Hair: Sugarsmack: Elan - Coco Pudding
Skin: Glam Affair: Katya - Europa 03
Slink Hand Appliers: Glam Affair - Europa
Mesh Hands: Slink: Avatar Enhancement Hands - Elegant

1.28.14: The Fantasy Gacha Carnival: Preview 1

It's been much hyped and it's time is nearly here.  The Fantasy Gacha Carnival opens on February 1st and runs until February 28th.  

I am dumbfounded by the sheer amount of variety of items that you can win at the event.  I will admit I am not an RP'er.  I'm far too much of an introvert and loner, but as a person that appreciates good design I think the event will be enjoyable by the RP'er and fashionistas alike.  

Right now the number of high quality events is completely overwhelming.  I've been quite distracted by RL lately but need to talk about this amazing gothic arch display made by Atelier Visconti. The Aurora Elven Arches can currently be purchased at The Liaison Collaborative. The fountain, benches, flying buttress arch set and lighting are all rezzed separately giving you a lot of control over the scene. Even with everything it weighs in at less than 30 LI.  It's a dream.

Everything I'm wearing (sans hair, skin, eyes) will be available at The Fantasy Gacha Carnival. I'm really in love with the Valkyrie dress that you can win in many rich colors from the gachas by Cellar Door.  I added the iron nipple rings from the Fae Jewelry Sets from Sam Shepherd Designs.  There are a variety of metals and items (circlets, belts, earrings, etc) that will be fun to collect.  The crown by ieQED is a marvel.  The one I am wearing is the rare golden Stag crown. There are 3 different types of crowns, all original mesh and material enabled, available in copper, obsidian and silver as well as one perfect ultra-rare Stag crown in pitch for the most regal of rulers. Lastly, my armlets are from Meshed Up whose gacha includes armlets, boots, circlets and the rare collars in black, brown and sand. The detailing on them is quite lovely and I will have to use them again and provide a close up.

Do not miss this event!

Credits:
From The Fantasy Gacha Carnival: Begins February 1
Dress: Cellar Door: Valkyrie in Vermillion
Nipple Covers: Sam Shepherd Designs: Iron
Armlets: Meshed Up: Brown
Crown: ieQED: Cache o' Crowns: Stag Gold Rare
From The Garden @ The Liaison Collaborative:
Arch et.al.: Atelier Visconti: Aurora Elven Arches
Other:
Skin: DeeTalz: Jarla Exclusive My Attic Nordic: available only @ My Attic for less than 100 L: insane!
Hair: point .b (Analog Dog): Tangled - Marsala

1.17.14 The Theme Park II

Hi there! Most of the items I am wearing can be found exclusively right now at The Theme Park.

Coquet is offering the Vintage Glamour dress in three colors. With it I am wearing tea.s' Love Me Not necklace and The Wicked Peach's darling White Corset nails for Slink hands (includes 6 colors).  There is also a dark set and both packs include appliers for both hands and feet.  All of my poses are from an lar's Like a Lady set.  Being a blogger herself, I've noticed that an lar's creator Katya Valeska knows a lot about body position and her poses are well crafted.

Though not from The Theme Park, I wanted to do a close up of Wasabi Pills new Emily hair for FaMESHed and one of Glam Affair's new Mokatana skins for Collabor88. Wasabi has added some new textures to the HUD for hair decorations and the hair is so retro and glammy and a perfect partner to The Theme Park's Vintage Romance lineup this month.  Glam Affair, which I cannot seem to stop myself from purchasing more, has some new makeup's for the Mokatana line. Love the subtle pink tones in this one and the skins include facial moles, lip glosses as well as the standard eyebrow tones and arch varieties.

ieQED made some amazing mules for The Theme Park.  Again, my complete fail at photo sizing affects the puffs on the mules.  The shoes are 100% original mesh, which includes the very cool puff, which is something I've not seen attempted in mesh before.  They are available in 3 colors and more coming soon, which is a threat to the creator, Sigifaust Resident.

Senfazine is offering the Rosalie Vintage Dress.  It is floor length and available in 8 colors.

Credits:
from The Theme Park
Dress: Coquet: Vintage Glamour
Jewelry: tea.s: Love me not necklace (earrings also available as well as various metals)
Nails: The Wicked Peach: White Corset (for Slink hands)
Shoes: ieQED: puff mules
Gown: Senfazine: Rosalie Vintage Dress
Poses: an lar: Like a Lady
Other:
Skin: Glam Affair: Monkatana 05: available at Collab88
Hair: Wasabi Pills: Emily: available at FaMESHed

Snowy Solstice

Hi everyone!  So many great new releases that I need to chat about.  I dragged my pal SigiFaust over to Beetlebones to play Suetabulous' newest gachas, Artic Friends.  Insanely cheap at 50 L per play, two machines are stuffed with adorable animated animals and avatars.  These amazing creatures transform based on your animation (e.g. standing, sitting).  They are not rezzable but the prizes come in these little domes and you can edit and remove the dome if you want a rezzable version: 2 prizes in 1!  Maybe I was lucky yesterday (I wish) but I won quite a few rares.

I'm really excited about the new subscriber gift at ieQED.  The unisex Antler Paudrons have been specially textured textured in a candy cane version and include both red and green bases (they are so vivid under normal light settings).  You can also pick them up in the ieQED inworld group that is free to join until January 5, 2014.  Group benefits include 10% store credit for all in-store purchases (possibly some events) as well as 50 L store credit/monthly (coming soon) and exclusive group sales.  Wasabi Pills has been cranking out new releases again and I love the new Casey hair for a nice off-the-shoulder flowy look.  Maitreya also has new releases and I love sales and could not resist the new Stagioni Boots in the group exclusive Artichoke texture (at a reduced cost, yay)!
Credits:
Hair: Wasabi Pills: Casey:  Rye - New Release!
Skin: Glam Affair: Mokatana skin:America 03 w/ lip gloss 02 (included): available @ Collabor88
Paudrons: ieQED: antler.pauldron.candy.cane: available in red and green: NEW subscriber gift, also in ieQED group archives.
Coat: u.f.o.: Nerd Duffle Coat - Red: originally released for Geeks'n'Nerds
Skirt: Coco: Pleated Mini Skirt - TartanRed
Socks: Maitreya: Dahlia Socks - Magnolia: New Release!
Boots: Maitreya: Stagioni Boots: Artichoke: New Release: Group Exclusive Color at Discount!
Owl: Beetlebones: Artic Friends: Snow Owl (rare): Gacha, 50 L per play
Poses: !Bang

Let's Give it up for Santa!

Think of all the fun I've missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed
Next year I could be oh so good
If you'd check off my Christmas list 

 (Santa Baby, J. Javits, P. Springer)

Santa looks like I'm full of it, which I usually am. Call me the Christmas Queen cuz there is a plethora, a cornucopia o' holiday themed items all over the grid right now.  Absolutely no reason to not be festive, so shape up and cheer up!  Read the credits below for item information so that I don't end up being too wordy here.

Credits: 
Sleigh: Trompe Loeil: Holiday 2013 Couples Sled: Available in Dark (shown here) and Light (white w/blue embellishments). 18 LI Includes several snugly and adjustable couples sits for your daily dose of holiday spooning: Available at The Garden @ The Liaison Collaborative.
Santa: !! Follow US !!: Christmas '13 Santa Claus: Truth in reporting here. This very grumpy but cute santa is a mesh item that includes a sleigh and a bunch of presents around him. All uploaded as a single object with a super low LI of 7.  I just wanted Santa and so I ended up derendering everything but him and a bag, which was tons of fun since my horrible graphics card causes me to crash with nearly every photo I take.  Follow US has a ton of adorable, inexpensive items on the Marketplace, but I recommend if you just want the santa don't be as miserly as me and spend a few Lindens more on the Santa with just the bag.
Dress: The Secret Store: Sarah Dress Coat - Carmine: available at Collabor88
Hair: Wasabi Pills: Sally - Golden: available at FaMESHed: cute hair bow is texture change via HUD
Skin: Glam Affair: Mokatana skin - America 03: available at Collabor88
Eyes: IKON: Destiny Eyes: Clarity
Hands: Slink: AvEnhance Hands: one Pointed and one Elegant
Stockings: Cannibelle: Spot of Winter Tights - Brown (from Darks pack): Slink Appliers included.  A slew of cute new releases at the store, all very reasonably priced!
Shoes: ieQED: Gerda flat for Slink Flat Feet: available at The Seraphim Social. Mesh, materials ready. These shoes are really quite splendid with painstaking texture details, including scuff marks on the bottom and little nails that attach the heel to the sole, as they would have been in the days of Hans Christian Andersen. I just kept crashing and couldn't take it anymore
Feet: Slink: AvEnhance Feet Female Flat
Poses: Imeka: from the Katie set: available at Collabor88

Studious

Hey all.  I apologize for getting so behind on blogging; this has been one of the most trying weeks I've had in a long, long time on top of my continual struggles with my lame graphics card.  I now have strange objects, like big blue squares showing up in my photos, leaving me to take photo after photo until I finally get one without.  The two events at the top of my must-see list are Shoetopia 2013 and starting today, the Geeks'n'Nerds Fair.  Shoetopia is in it's second week and runs to November 30. Geeks'n'Nerds is a hugely fun event organized by Sash Arabello and Inka Mexicola that runs through December 7. It is full of witty, nerdy and goofy goodness.

I gave some thought to what qualifies me to blog stuff of nerdish character and my list is long.  For one, I am fairly oblivious to the "social" aspect of Second Life, preferring to adore people's creations and understanding their creative process.  In RL I am guilty of being a rabid fan of Pokemon and have been playing since the game was created.  I think that makes me more of a dweeb than a nerd :)

Credits:
From Shoetopia:
GOS: Dita from the Bordello Collection: Nerds can be incredibly sexy. Premiering at Shoetopia.
From Geeks'n'Nerds:
Dress: Orion: Sash Dress - Argyle.  Perfectly preppy yet body hugging.
Glasses: 22769: Nerd Glasses - repaired: everyone needs them.  I've been looking for a good replacement for my old textured ones forever!
Nerd set: Collage: literally! awesome detailing and shading
Shelf: Collage: Flower Power Shelf: Here we go!
Rugs: Collage: 8 Bit Ruglets - adorable
Pose: photo 1: Double Take: from the Neon pose set: ossum action poses!
Other:
Cabinet: junk: Milo Cabinet - Dotty
Chair: Di's Opera: Seated  - Mus: in-store gacha.  <3!
Hair: LeLutka: Serena
Ring: ieQED: araw ring - red: large set of special colors of red or blue currently available at Typhoon Haiyan Fundraiser

Pale

New events! New stuff! The competition for your Lindens is so fierce these days.  I should just purge my inventory every six months because it just keeps getting better. 

Credits:

Hair: Wasabi Pills: Rene - Rye: New Release currently at FaMESHED

Paudrons: ieQED: Dragon Paudron - Platinum Black: New Release currently discounted at We <3 Role-Play (available in 4 metals w/solid & contrasting versions)

Dress: !RAWR.R: Vintage Belle - White: Exclusive Subscriber Gift (3 colors included) This is the new brand for DahliaJames GossipGirl who owned Doux Couture - so nice to see you back!

Boots: Beetlebones: Fowler Laced-Up Boots - Bone: New Release currently at Collabor88

Catfish

You hang around the internet for too long and it happens to you...or are you the perp? New starting tomorrow at The Men's Department, ieQED offers Real Eyes realize Real Lies in chain or ring version in different metals at a discount so significant that they are easy to gift to your favorite impostor.  ieQED is a kind of new brand; Daphne Klossovsky of HANDverk has re-branded into ieQED and is using a different avatar for the brand, but those of you that have followed HANDverk can continue to rely on the same exceptional quality and originality with ieQED.

Also debuting at The Men's Department are S O R G O's new IDGAF glasses in wood or golds.

Credits:
Neckchain: ieQED: Real Eyes realize Real Lies: new release available this month @ The Men's Dept.
Glasses: SORGO: IDGAF sunglasses -Gold version: available this month @ The Men's Dept.
Hair: ISON: Heidi
Tank: Eater's Coma: Slashed Tank - nude
Jeans: ISON: Coated Denim - gray