I haven’t reviewed a Glam Affair skin since last year, cos I’ve always felt that the skin tone was just a little bit gray. When I saw the preview pic of the new Leah skin, I thought it looked unlike previous Glam Affair skins, it had a really youthful face and the tone looked brighter. When I tried it on, I thought it was a huge improvement over previous skins but the tone was still a bit dull. I used a warmer Windlight setting for these images cos my regular Windlight setting really washed out the skin.
Warm WL setting vs. my Regular WL setting
I noticed that this skin has light freckles on the face & also lots of pores!! I’m not a fan of freckles OR pores, so I really debated reviewing this skin. I think if the face was smoother, the skin would look a lot nicer.
I tried this skin with both Blonde and Dark Brows, and I really like the Dark brows better. The Blonde brows looked de-saturated, and didn’t really go with light Blonde hair at all.
Even though I’m not crazy about the brows or the tone, I think that the face is very pretty and the lips shape is just fantastic. With the right Windlight setting and some tattoo blush (which I wore above), the skin can look very cute in photos.
Have you tried Leah? Visit Glam Affair
What I’m Wearing:
Glam Affair – Leah (Natural) 07 D
Truth – Hilary (Cocoa/Swedish)
Mon Tissu – Sweetheart Tank (White)
About Post Author
Yep! I picked up Leah Light last week and haven’t looked back. Her red eyebrows and hair base were the clincher for me, as I’m a perennial redhead and like to be fair skinned. While not a dramatic change from my previous skin (Unique Kirrsten) which I wore for 2 years (!), I’m getting loads of compliments when people take a close look inworld. So, I’m converted!
Aren’t pores and freckles natural? Do most skin creators not strive to create skins that look as natural as possible? I know this skin was made with redheads in mind, who do usually have freckles. Glam Affair’s skin release before this didn’t have freckles, which you may have liked more. As for the tone, if you found that one washed out looking, you could’ve worn to tone slightly darker. Personally I prefer a natural looking skin, as opposed to looking like a Barbie doll.
Pores does not always = natural. Nice skin IRL do not have huge pores like that.
Also, I think Strawberry wore a darker tone and reviewed the skin — the pores are even more prominent here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/strawberrysingh/6999234191/sizes/o/in/photostream/
‘Pores does not always = natural. Nice skin IRL do not have huge pores like that.’ made me snort hard. You DO know there is a difference between what skin looks like in RL and what it looks like in glossy magazines when makeup artists and Photoshop wizards have done their daily duty, don’t you?
I know that irl or SL, those pores are huge by my standards and I don’t find them to be a desirable feature on skins. No offense to anyone else that likes the texture that large! I take a lot of close-up portraits so they’re always visible to me and I prefer smoother face texture (not necessarily flawless, just not quite so large/sharp).
Actually, my one complaint about Glam Affair skins has always been that they’re a little too smooth. I love things like pores and freckles and little spots and blemishes…but then, I guess we all look for different things in our skins. I like the little flaws that give a sense of realism.
I’m with you on the grey undertone to GA’s skins, though.
I just want to say that your honesty in this review is much needed. I raced to Glam Affair myself when the skin came out and tried it on, and yes, the colors look warmer unlike the past releases of the grey tint, there was just *something* that didn’t make me buy it. It’s still sitting in my DEMO folder in my inventory because I didn’t get that feeling that I do when I know something is just right. I’m a darker tan in RL so my skins normally are darker in-world, too and the darker ones look like an ashen color, not MY RL tone like other skins are. And I haven’t seen ONE blogger do an honest Glam Affair review and I thought it was just me being picky but you stole the words right out my head with this review. Thank you!
I agree. The dark skin tone, tan and whatever the next darker tone is, are very grey and ashen. I did like the face and how well it fit on my shape. But I would rather have the freckles as a tattoo layer option. I would also like to see a small set of tattoo lipsticks included with the skin, not as a separate option.
Pores or too much sharpen tools on the texture?
And while I’d hate to bore you with naughty request … although … no more full body reviews and pics as we used to see in older skin reviews?
hum.. i do like a lot of this skin.
That was my first skin from this brand exactly because it looks more youthful than the other ones.
Freckles and poros are not problem in my opinion because i like the detail about poros that Glam Affair have and that differentiates Glam Affair from other skins – freckles are also cute in my opinion and the lips are gorgeous, really.
I’m never using blond hair, so the eyebrows color for blond hair really dont make any difference to me but in this point i agree with you – they work good for androgen looks or so but i already saw great looks on flickr using the eyebrows in blond colors and looking really good in blond girls, or maybe is just my opinion, again. They look very good in a more ‘elaborate’ look. (my english is not good, not always i can find the rights works for what i mean)
About the tone of the skin i must to say i also like it – in my opinion is much better than pinkish or orange tone skin like many other brands make their skins.
There was only one thing about this skin that i dont like – it does not come with teeth option (that is another thing that i love) so i use lipstick with teeth from another skin because i take pics with shadows and then alpha teeth are gone and im lazy to be editing every single pic to put teeth were they dont belong. And i think that using lipstick from other brand kinda of take off the ‘essence’ of the skin – it is like using another skin.
So, i barely can wait for the next release from Glam Affair that have all that i like – the tone, freckles, poros and TEETH.
Anyway, good review, that is your opinion that probably others agree the same way as i dont and many others also dont agree with you but yet, every one has the right to have their own opinion.
That is part of the reason we blog, right? We can show our personal taste of everything, but it is OUR opinion.
Scared to leave a comment but was encouraged to do it anyway. so here goes.
I tried leah, cute face as you said. The lips are very cute, as well. Have to ditto Lourdes here, on the darker tones. In my windlight as well, it looked kind of flat in tone. The darkest tone seems to be better but flat still. it feels like it was tinted dark or something. I miss the skin that she had that did have a nice tone in dark and tan, I think it was called sofia. the original one, not the lightened one.
I couldn’t help but grin when I saw that you review a Glam affair skin cause to be honest no one is less suited style-wise to do so. Like the name Glam Affair already says, these skins are made for women not girls – the glamorous ones who actually manage to create a real look beyond jeans and little tops.
I have seen those skins all over the fashion magazines and featured by high-class fashion bloggers. They all used different windlight settings but none made it look as flat as the one you use. Maybe your settings are not really suited to allow decent pics of more realistic skins that do not have the typical plastic barbie appeal?
High class fashion bloggers? LOL
Yes, it’s a real shame that bloggers are allowed to blog things that they like, in their own style.
>these skins are made for women not girls
>high-class fashion bloggers
No one likes a negative skin review, but I think you’re taking Second Life too seriously right now. You should drop the condescending tone and spend some time away from the computer.
To clarify: No one likes a negative skin review when it’s their own work being judged*.
Cake, he’s just defending his woman, the creator of the skins. It’s his duty to diss Gogo and anyone else who isn’t crazy about some of the details on the GA skins. I’ll just roll my eyes on that one, and move along. 😀
You did not just tell someone in a condescending tone to ‘drop the condescending tone and spend some time away from the computer’, right?
Nope, because my tone isn’t condescending. I’m honestly in disbelief anyone would talk about a “high class fashion blogger” when all this shit takes place in a pixelated environment. People take Second Life WAY too seriously sometimes.
Gogo’s settings are better than yours, that’s for sure.
I looked at your blog, and all your pics all look like you opened them up in Photoshop and then overlaid them with a grey layer. Why are they all so dull and dark looking? Or is that what pretentious — oh excuse me, “high-class fashion bloggers” — do these days?
I don’t think Takuya ever counted our own blog ‘high class’ but reading and comprehending are skills that not always seem to go hand in hand as some of the comments here (and also those in that pity plurk) showed.
But thanks for looking, sooo much appreciated. <3
Takuya seems to admire this so-called ‘class’ of bloggers, so it’s not much of a leap to think that perhaps the drab photos were an attempt at emulation.
It’s neither much of a leap to think that perhaps you lack the skills to edit a picture or you’re in that ‘class of bloggers’ that felt offended by his comment cause the cap fits… Anyways, you’re kinda cute when you’re mad. But only kinda. Keep trying, buttercup, so far your attempts at trolling seem faint but you show some potential.
I wasn’t trolling, was simply calling it as I see it: it’s laughable that you would thumb your nose at Gogo’s pics when hers are superior to yours. Your pics look like they all had some kind of grey fill added, hers doesn’t. 🙂
Know what? This may be old, but just coming across this infuriated me. This blog has stayed in my memory. This blog is successful. It’s one of the few I have seen in my 6 years on second life that stuck with me- why? Because this bitch has STYLE. That is why ANYTHING pops itself up as /memorable/, it possesses something unique and colorful (figuratively) amidst a backdrop of monotone.
I clicked your name, seeing that you had linked your blog. I investigated to see who had the fucking audacity- and my god, you are painfully plain. I realize everyone has different tastes, but you are an absolute fool for not keeping those sharp-tongued fingers of yours in check. This blogger has such flare that I can recognize her pictures in photo searches just by her shape, and I am far from a regular here, I might only check in once a month or so.
I don’t even know how to wrap this up, but here’s the summary: Shut the hell up.
I agree with the gray skintone. Unless you are going with the lightest tone the rest are washed out and really unflattering. I like tan skin tones, so glam affair are not for me. I also don’t like to pay 1L for demos to find out.
I have to say, I totally agree with your comments regarding both skin tones and the pores. And for those of you making comments because Gogo (and I) do not like the pores on a skin, the fact that *some* bloggers managed to make the skin look tolerable by changing their windlight settings and/or messing about in photoshop – to my mind – is hardly a *good* thing. If I want to look freckled or as though I’ve been standing in the sun too long, I can do that in real life. As far as I’m aware, visible pores, in real life are not considered a good thing so why would they be considered a good thing in sl? It’s all very well to say you are in pursuit of realism – but since I can have realism by simply looking away from the computer, I say let’s go for the less real and more beautified look. I think Glam Affair has really missed the boat with Leah and let me also say “new” or “expensive” does not always equal “Good.” In fact, many times, “expensive” just means overpriced. I have to give Gogo props for an honest review.
I don’t think the price point of Glam Affair skins has ever been something that is really unreasonable. Quality is Quality. They aren’t bad skins and they are worth the few bucks they cost to get, but I will note that your blogger profile lends itself to think that price point is an important factor for the services you provide in SL. Such is not the case with most designer skins.
um… that’s really an interesting way to semi-insult someone.
The way I see it is this. I am the buyer. I have my own “quality” standards. If a given skin maker does not meet my quality standards, – in this case -gray skin tones, huge pores and odd shading especially on darker skin tones other than super pale then by definition that skin maker is not *quality* and by that definition, they are also overpriced. This is a matter of taste, of course.
I should also explain that my initial comment was not really referring to price per se, except in reference to the point that whenever someone starts slinging phrases like “high quality” and “haute couture” around, what they really mean is, we’re better than you and price usually has a bearing on that. The general assumption in the world is that if it costs more it must be better… which is obviously not true.
As an example, five different “designers” make the same exact outfit from a template without changing one single thing on that outfit. It’s the way it came out of the template box only. Five different makers put five different prices on it. If the assumption is that the price that’s higher is better… then the maker that put the highest price on the item, regardless that it is identical to the other four items aside from whose name is on the box … is going to sell more. And that’s ludicrous.
The commenter who called Gogo “barbie” more or less what implying that her tastes weren’t “high” enough in some aspect to appreciate large pores on skins. To which I can only say, bzuh? and scratch my head. Because anyone who has ever dealt with skin care for very long knows perfectly well that large pores are NOT desirable in real life because among other things, the pores are more likely to catch and hold oil and bacteria which can lead to many skin diseases and conditions.
And finally, just as a matter of information, I don’t find that there’s one thing wrong with my own method of doing business when I did business. I am closed now, mainly due to health reasons. Thank you so much for your semi-snide response.
There’s no semi-insult needed.
And your explanation of your post isn’t either. I’m an intelligent human being who can read. I guess the easiest thing to say is. Glam Affair skins aren’t cheap. They Shouldn’t be they have a following. It seems however, like you expect for someone to simply lower their price on a skin because it was made on a template but still differs from those five other designers work. If it’s not your cup of tea, then guess what? Move on.
Again, I’m not being semi anything – the reason your still not in business is because your products didn’t sell well enough for you to sustain and retain customers. If they did, you would still have your store up. IE: Armidi
Anyway, I’m not going to get into an argument on possibly the one silliest things I’ve ever read.
I don’t care about your health, your store, your pixel life, or your RL one.
“As far as I’m aware, visible pores, in real life are not considered a good thing so why would they be considered a good thing in sl?”
It’s funny, but I like pores, freckles and even small scars in sl skins, but I don’t think freckles look cute in rl. No way. I don’t like round face in rl, and many people doensn’t aways (I’ve grown seeing all beauty magazines teaching how to use the right make-up and right hairstyle to “hide” round face and make them look better), but I like this in SL. I like the “imperfections” in SL skins because they make it look more real, but I’m not extremist, I don’t want acne, celulitis and striae on my SL skins LOL
But the only reason I bought the Leah skin is because of the pores and freckles, and pretty lips of course. I agree the blonde eyebrows look albino for me, but I don’t wear blonde hair, so it’s ok. The other skins by GA look too artificial for me, skins with no textures at all and as that guy said, it’s for “high fashionistas” (something like this, I’m lazy I won’t go back and read the entire comment again), I’m not a “high fashionista madamm” I’m a girl wearing my jeans and top and looking for a youthful pretty face.
This skin with regular windlight looks too pale. I always prefer Honey skintones and the huge pores/freckles is also unflattering for me. I have that top from mon tissu too!
One thing that people need to consider with blogging is that everything is based on Opinion. Gogo – I think that your review was done very well and pointed examples at why you like the skin yet have the critiques that you do on it. Everyone else needs to realize that. While I admit, I am a fan of a lot of your postings, I will also say that I don’t think that your opinion of the skin was a bad one. It was more of a caveat emptor rather than a negative review. So let’s stop putting all the passively aggressive adjectives like, “Barbie” and “High Fashion” in our responses and just deal with the fact that the review is what it was meant to be.
An objective viewpoint from one of SL’s Bloggers. Get over it ladies.
And just to add my two cents in – as someone who uses a darker avatar I thought the skins were divine in most senses.
Everybody’s entitled to their own opinions but there is one thing I don’t understand here.
Why do I read, even on plurk that the skintones are “grey” and they have changed? I know for a fact that they haven’t changed since Sofia came out, and that is over a year and a half ago….
I wear Leah and other Glam skins often and I don’t see them being grey, not even on Gogo’s pictures they look grey. Could it be a matter of windlight setting maybe?
I didn’t see a “Grey” anywhere either.
Must be a settings or a monitor thing I suppose…
Opinions and feedbacks are ALWAYS welcome in Glam Affair, that’s why Aida sent the skin to Gogo. And feedbacks are the reason behind Leah. We try to listen to our customers and they were asking for a less ‘glam’ skin, more realistic with details like pores, freckles and moles. Probably not everybody can appreciate that (and we don’t pretend it) or can’t appreciate the way Aida did them but again, it’s a personal opinion. All I can say is that Leah has been one of the most sold skin along with Mary and Amelie (and sold even more), something that points out that our customers were happy of something different.
We pick bloggers with different tastes, not only ‘high class’ or whatever. In our pool are bloggers that DON’T use photoshop and just publish the pics as they are, and still look nice. I am personally proud of Aida because she is one of the few skin creators in SL that don’t use templates at all since she is a photographer RL and uses her skills to bring something *different* in SL. Again we don’t pretend that everybody like Glam’s work, not really from bloggers that still consider flexy skirts or prim heels worth to publish and review in the age of meshes. They can always buy cheap skins based on templates used by thousand other designers and not even retouched.
About the price. Speaking of ‘based on templates’ skins there are stores that sell their not original and re-re-re-re made skins for 700l$, with two options. Glam’s packs are not only original works but also offer at least 8 and sometimes 12 options, for less than 1k. Doesn’t seem that expensive. For low budget people Aida also offers 70l$ packs in the dressing room with the same number of options and quality.
That said, I will suggest Aida to consider the feedbacks about the tones but I will always be proud of her work and I will always find her skins beautiful. But I guess that I am not objective.
So, thank you all for sharing your opinions and thank you to Gogo for pointing out hers. Aida will keep sending review copies and not expecting feet licking.
Hi M4ri1yn,
Your response is really one of the classiest and nicest I have ever seen from a creator/friend of creator. I don’t want to keep shying away from brands just bc I feel that a ‘negative’ comment might turn them against me, so it is great that you’re open to ALL feedback and not just glowing reviews. I also think that a lot of people will read my post and disagree, so as they say, all publicity is good publicity? 🙂
I appreciate the maturity of your response! It’s tough when anyone gives less than positive feedback on work, and Glam Affair should definitely be proud their skins are template-free. Paired with the fact your store offers both high-end clothing as well as an outlet for those can’t afford much, Glam Affair is a label with some obviously cool people on staff.
M4ri1yn,
I am absolutely so impressed with your response. 🙂 Classy, to the point, and very genuine 🙂 Well said! <3 For me personally, Leah has been my favorite GA skin, but it's not going to suit everyone. There is a valid reason why there are so many successful skin stores in Second Life. People buy skins for different reasons.
I also commend Gogo on her constant honest reviews. She has saved me quite a bit of money in the past for being so honest about items…and well…she's also tempted me to spend a lot too because she showcases items in a great way.
Just remember folks…there's a reason you all keep coming back to her blog. There's also a good reason why Glam Affair is such a successful and popular brand. 😉
My curiosity got the better of me so I checked the skin out. The pores are huge looking if you do a close up, and the freckles look like a stretched texture on my avatar’s face, even using various different shapes I’ve bought or made. The pores on the nose and cheekbones wouldn’t be as big an issue if there were continuity throughout the skin (forehead, lower cheeks, etc), but it’s just in that one area so it looks off. Shading on the arms and legs is a little overdone as well, imo. I bought the skin because it’s fine for anything other than close ups.
So 24 hours after my snotty little remark I check this thread again and my jaw drops in the light of a discussion about pores, freckles and shades of grey as well as prices and templates.
I guess it is time to apologize, hu? No, not to Gogo. I still think her ‘skin review’ does not deserve the name and the bitch fest she started with her little ‘people think I am not high class’ pity plurk (btw thanks for linking to our blog and the Leah skin review) was slightly ridiculous including some comments made by a dimwit suggesting to bitchslap me till next month. Seriously?
No, I sincerely apologize to Aida and M4ri1yn for causing this shit fest with my comment. They work hard, they have incredible talent and creativity and surely don’t deserve that their work gets ripped apart by a ”let’s swing our pom poms for Gogo’ plurk mob.
That being said I looked at some of the accusations. I guess we can tick off the pores and freckles topic, can’t we? I mean the ads clearly show those and if you don’t want them people, just don’t buy them. Easy, hu? The second point is the ‘grey’ debate. I went through the Glam Affair flickr group pool and various feeds and looked for skin reviews about the Leah skin. I found the following bloggers who – so I was told cause what the hell do I know about blogging – seem to be pretty respected for their styles, reliability and photography: Nana Minuet, Frances Benelli, Kaelyn Alecto, Zoe Gloster, Mokatana Boa, Willow Zander, Caelan Hancroft, Sylvia Olivier, Prue Genira and Grazia Horwitz. That list is in no particular order and surely not complete but forgive me it is 3.30 am at my end of the world.
All those ladies had extensive features about this skin on their blogs. They all used different windlight settings and umm… I don’t see any grey. I’m sorry, I am trying but I don’t see it. Then I went through my contacts’ closeups of the Leah skin and again, no matter what windlight settings were used, there’s no grey. So it might be – and yes, this is just a suggesion, an assumption, a wild guess – that those complaining about grey shades either need their monitors adjusted or simply have the wrong settings for decent skin reviews.
But again, what do I know? And again, I apologize to Aida and Mary. In other terms I regret nothing.
Snotty remarks gets you some plurk linkage 🙂 I don’t share it to throw myself a ‘pity party’ but to share with people on my TL how overly rude some people can be in SL. Don’t like my skin review? Write your own. Don’t come here saying I’m not “high class” enough to review this skin properly. I see what I see, and I always write everything from my own observation. I’m sorry you didn’t like the plurk shout out, linking it was not meant to cause you any distress, cos you did choose to leave your name along with the comment. If you hadn’t, you’d just be one of the many rude anonymous people to comment on this site, and I appreciate people who can stand by their words more.
I have never and will never hide my opinion behind anonymity. I might be an asshole but I’m no coward. For me this topic is closed. I just wanted to apologize to two people I respect for what they do and what they are – there are not many like them in SL as this whole affair has once again proven.
Let me get this straight.
Gogo posts her opinion about a skin, the opinion is negative. You post a response, the response is negative. Responses to your response are also negative.
Then you get upset that someone linked to your negative response, which caused further negative responses (all on someone else’s blog, where this is all hosted). You then post another response stating you aren’t sorry for whatever you said, plus you namedrop a bunch of other people in an attempt to make Gogo feel bad somehow and avoid apologizing to her.
Grow up.
If you tell him to grow up, here’s my advice to you:
Shut up!
Seriously, let go. What an attention-whoring ego train are you riding here? You’re stuck deep enough in Gogo’s butt now, just let go.
Circlejerk detected. You link to the same blog Takuya does.
Circlejerk says what? You link to a blog featuring chelle makeup. *rolls eyes* I can still see your feet wiggle, crawl deeper.
Someone said something rude about my blogging ability, so I mention it on my small and private Plurk TL, and their friend pasted it to them, and they came back here and accused me of throwing myself a pity party on Plurk… and here we are. Let’s all just stop. It’s really not that big of a deal what people think of me, I am very used to the sometimes negative reactions to my posts. Critique is critique, it’s up to the designer to do what they want with it.
If anyone has any other comments about the skin, feel free to post it, but don’t fight with each other in the comments! 🙂
@Bunny: If you don’t understand why I link to Chelle in my blog when I have my own brand, I’m gonna need you to do this.
@Cake: You should have already collected more clicks on your blog by your ego-wanking here than you could ever dream of considering the more than below-average content. Don’t get greedy! 😉
I’m absolutely in love with “Leah” from Glam Affair, love the pores and freckles!! I wear the natural tone, wich is perfect to me. I used to wear “Elly” from Pink Fuel but “Leah” looks more realistic to me and not so youthful. Keep up the great work Aida!!
See gray? Try this:
http://www.wikihow.com/Calibrate-Your-Monitor
Or depending on your age maybe this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract
*bows* Always happy to help some ladies in need.
I’ve had a Glam Affair skin in the past and while I loved the face and my boyfriend was a great fan of the nipples, I could just never get past the “grey” tone of the skin. I was hopeful that with Leah, it would be better and it was slightly, but still had a grey feel to it. I really respect your honesty in your blog and it’s good to know I am not the only one.
Having said that, I think GA has some of the most beautiful faces on the grid. Every time I see someone wearing a GA skin in a blog post, specifically Strawberry Singh or Harlow Heslop, I am in awe of how gorgeous they are. The skins don’t work for me and apparently the WL settings I use on a daily basis, but I do think they are very well constructed skins and I wish them continued success.
every color looked nice on me but the tan, but i’m a blonde. it’s a cool shade of tan, i’ll say that much. i liked the dots on the cheek, i would have though they were freckles though.
I like your honest reviews Gogo <3
Well i have tried the leah demo and think its unquie and pretty, but im not so big fan of skin's like that but the lips keep's shouting after me so i'm keep pondering if im going to buy it :]
“…Again we don’t pretend that everybody like Glam’s work, not really from bloggers that still consider flexy skirts or prim heels worth to publish and review in the age of meshes. They can always buy cheap skins based on templates used by thousand other designers and not even retouched”… Who was M4ri1yn talking to? That was not a very friendly comment, GG.
Now, knowing Aida sent u that $%FG%R64 skin review, i apreciate ur honnest comments about that item.