New face skin! I’m wearing the new Briar skin from Amara Beauty. I haven’t been wearing Amara much since I switched to non-Velour body skin tones. Amara right now only creates skins for Velour tones, which makes it hard to match with whatever body skin I’m wearing. At the moment I’m wearing Session body skins, which only comes in four tones. It wasn’t easy to match, but I think I made it work.
I like this face so much, it’s nearly perfect. I added a few of Izzie’s face tattoo fixes, but other than that the skin looks great right out of the box. If you like a face with defined features and a polished look, this one’s for you.
I’ve also been wanting to blog about the Belle Epoque Reopening Hunt since August, and I finally got around to it now. You have until September 30 to check it out and grab 22 items for L$10 each. I love this dress so much, and I already own it in another color. The hair I’m wearing is a free gift from Wings. If you’re like me, you love a good freebie and mixing it with paid items.
Now that Autumn’s here, I’m so excited to bring out all of my cardigans and sweaters. This beautiful Maple Cradi from Orphic even has a built-in hand pose, which I usually avoid, but here it’s cute and it works. You can find it at this month’s Anthology event.
Are you tired of me starting every post with Blackout August? Well, it’s day 22. The original creator of this challenge, Imogen Aurelia, deleted her link on Flickr and kept part of it on Facebook. I’m not even sure she’s still doing the challenge herself, but I’m pushing through. I’m determined and almost at the finish line. What this challenge has shown me is that I’ve been selective for a long time, so while it started out kind of painful not being able to instantly grab that new hair I wanted, it also revealed that I don’t actually love everything made in SL, and I don’t need to have it right away.
For today’s look I dug deep into my inventory and remembered how much I used to love a brand called M.Birdie. I don’t think it’s open anymore, since the store’s Flickr is gone and the SLurl in the designer’s profile leads nowhere. I liked this store so much, but most of my items from them came through gacha events. Everything I have is made for Maitreya, but I managed to wear it with LaraX because this top is roomy and I used the alpha layers. If you still want this top, even though it’s at least seven years old, you can still find it on the Marketplace. If you know what happened to the M.Birdie store, let me know in the comments.
When my friends heard I was doing this challenge, they gave me tips on how to cope with not shopping. One of them said, “You could go spend store credit.” Which is true, I could, if I even remembered where I had store credit. The truth is I don’t want loopholes, I want to go without. I’m still blogging for a few brands and new items are hitting my inventory often, so I don’t feel completely deprived. I decided to sit out on promoting much of it this month, but that doesn’t mean I can’t promote it later. The great thing about Second Life is that when brands create items, they can keep selling them for years as long as the quality is good and people still want them. There’s this constant push to buy new and wear new, but I think that actually does brands a disservice. A dollar earned from a new item or an older one is still a dollar.
If you like the idea of Blackout August, you can start any time. Wearing items you already own shouldn’t ever feel like a betrayal, and it won’t make your favorite brands think less of you. They probably won’t even notice.
I love when clothes have frills and pretty little details. As soon as I saw the Everly Blouse from Tres Blah, I knew I needed it. I guess I’m leaning into the cottagecore vibe now, but with pants. I’m still not sold on long mesh skirts. Sometimes they make me feel like my butt looks wide. This blouse looks perfect with the Locket Choker from Rebelle, like they were meant to be worn together.
Have you ever seen something in Second Life and thought, “How has no one made this before?” Izzie’s just released Body and Face Veins and I swear I am never taking them off. Face skins in SL keep getting better and better, but body skins still feel flat in comparison. It’s harder to update body skins often so designers usually skip it. Faces are easier to tweak which is why we get a new one every week. But just this little detail of veins layered on top of my skin gives me the realism I have been missing.
If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend, check out Anthology, Shop & Hop, SeraPlus gifts and more. I picked up some great finds from all of them and a few were even free.
I have to tell you this hilarious story. I was looking for a place to take my blog photos today, so I searched for “combat” in the Destination Guide. I teleported to a region, set up my shot, and just as I was about to take the photo, someone teleported in and instantly killed me. I got sent home. So now I am at the Cannabis Airfield & Harbor region taking these photos instead.
My whole look today is inspired by the Lois set from Art&Ko. It comes with overalls, a top, belt, shoes, and even a little walkie talkie. This is such a change from what I usually wear. I don’t normally go for camouflage prints, but I decided to commit and go for a full combat look with a touch of glam.
The Aurelia hairstyle from Ade has the best hairline I have ever seen. I love how natural and well done it looks. Ade hair has really cute styles and the textures are really nice. I just wish the blondes were a little more platinum. The brunette colors are absolutely gorgeous.
I’ve been thinking about SL22B, Second Life’s big birthday celebration, which is coming up next week. Around this time every year, I also find myself reflecting on whether I would buy SecondLifetime Premium Plus again in 2025.
Back at SL20B, Second Life introduced SecondLifetime Premium and SecondLifetime Premium Plus. It was a limited offer, and I was able to buy just one SecondLifetime Premium for $749 dollars. Then during SL21B, they gave us the option to upgrade from regular lifetime to Plus. I went for it and spent another $1,150 dollars to upgrade my main account. I also bought a brand new SecondLifetime Premium Plus for my alt at the full price of $1,899 dollars. So altogether, I’ve spent $3,789 dollars for two lifetime accounts.
Did I need two lifetime accounts? Last year, I would have said yes without hesitation. I wanted to lock in my Linden Homes permanently. I do not consider myself a creator, so the free uploads were not a huge deal for me. I also do not care about being in a hundred groups. The biggest appeal for me was living rent free in my Linden Homes. That was enough to justify it at the time.
Back then, I had a lot more confidence in Second Life as a company. These days, that confidence has faded. Would I buy another lifetime subscription this year? No, I would not. If they offer it again in very limited numbers, I guess my choice to pass gives someone else a shot at it. If you want one of these, you should pay attention during the Meet the Lindens event at SL22B next week and be ready to submit your ticket fast.
Lately, I keep asking myself how long a Second Lifetime really is. I hope the answer is forever, or at least long enough to break even. We are living in unpredictable times, and Second Life could disappear at any moment. None of us want that, but at the end of the day it is a company, and companies can go under. Everyone who bought Lifetime like I did is hoping Second Life stays around long enough for us to enjoy the full value of our long lifetime subscriptions.
Remember George? I decided to log on to my mAlt to check out the Avatar Welcome Pack, and I found the AO to be the only really useful item. The rest of the clothing required changing bodies, and I already have the Gianni Body from Signature. I’m quite pleased with my progress on George, even though I only dressed him once in December. Back then, I gave George L$10,000, and he still has a few thousand left. I decided to be frugal and took a quick glance at the FabFree blog for male items. I stumbled across a great tip about the L$400 store credit at Bron. Since I had never heard of Bron before, I decided to visit, and I discovered a lot of nice items there. I used the store credit to buy a new shirt. The Adrian Vest from Bron reminds me of Thomas Shelby from Peaky Blinders, so that’s the look I went for. I think George looks fantastic, and best of all, it was free!
Taking photos with other avatars would be so much better if we could pose them too. I struggled with this particular pose, but I managed to adjust Gogo’s pose, and it turned out well in the end. This pose is the 125 Couples Bento Pose from Hera.
Would you like to see more of George on my blog? Let me know in the comments!
Do you know about Void lashes? I’ve seen this brand gain popularity and support from various creators, so I decided to find out what it’s all about. I absolutely love the default LeLutka lashes that are attached to the mesh head, so I never felt the need for a third-party add-on. However, I woke up yesterday and decided to delve into Void lashes.
Void is created by a resident named Pure Void. Their marketplace store showcases a selection of lashes that are rigged for various popular mesh heads. I decided to get a demo of the popular Void Demure Lashes, and to do so, I had to teleport to the store. To access the store in-world, you must accept the land experience. At first, I was annoyed by this, but once I visited the store and experienced the region design and animation sequence, I was thoroughly impressed. It adds so much to the shopping experience, making you feel as though you’re stepping into the introduction of an anime movie.
I chose the Void Demure lashes because I wanted to wear them with Mila’s Obscura Eyelashes. This motivated me to learn more about Void lashes, because I love all of Mila’s lashes and wanted to wear these as well. Although the Void lashes are pricey at L$1,499, they come with a customization HUD and are rigged for numerous mesh heads. Upon opening the EvoX package, I found a version for each of LeLutka’s heads, including the latest, Camila. This indicates that Void continually provides updates, making it a worthwhile investment.
The lashes allow you to wear the top, mid, and bottom lashes or turn them off entirely. I have only seen people wear these lashes with all three options, and they often appeared somewhat droopy and busy to me. I was very glad to discover that I could turn off the mid lashes! Additionally, there’s a HUD for customizing the gems and toggling the alpha settings between blend and mask. I highly recommend using blend mode because when you set it to alpha mask mode, it can look like chunky spider legs on your face. While some may appreciate that aesthetic, it simply does not resonate with me.
Blend vs Alpha Mask mode
Overall, I believe the reason that residents are choosing to wear Void lashes is that they offer a different look compared to the lashes included with their head of choice. They can also be longer, more intense, and come in various shapes. Personally, I felt that the Void lashes gave my eyes a hint of droopiness, yet they also appear quite dramatic.
If you’re looking for something different, check out Void lashes! Even if you’re not, the store is worth a visit; it provides the best land experience I have encountered in Second Life.
I’ve been playing Once Human quite a bit with my friends lately, and it’s really opened my eyes to what makes Second Life so special. While there are definitely aspects of Once Human that Second Life could learn from, like implementing log-in and engagement rewards, here are some key things I genuinely appreciate about Second Life:
Weather-Proof, you can’t die from extreme heat or cold.
Free Teleportation, getting around the grid is a breeze with free teleportation.
Unlimited Appearance Changes, I can switch up my look anytime I feel like it.
No Grinding Required, I can enjoy the game my way without endless grinding.
As a first-timer in the post-apocalyptic MMO world, I was shocked to discover that changing my appearance comes at a cost—tokens! The grind is real, but playing with the right friends makes it wildly addictive.
Right now, I’m taking a breather to try on some adorable items from the new round of Anthology. It’s still Spooktober, and I’m totally obsessed with the Broken Doll Joints overlay set from Badwill. I snapped two photos—one with the cracks and one without—and layered them in Photoshop. Afterward, I erased parts of the cracks that I didn’t want to keep. It would be amazing if there were options to mix and match the cracks across my body! I’ve never seen a broken porcelain doll tattoo before, so I was thrilled to rock this look.
Today, I’m wearing the Paige dress from Seeker, which comes with a HUD featuring fall prints and solid colors. I can even customize the dress, straps, pockets, and metal buttons! And I’m always on the lookout for the perfect pair of loafers, and the Mood Loafers from Cheezu is so well made and it looks like it’s in PBR. They come with a HUD for changing the color of the shoes, soles, and socks—so stylish!
Hi everyone! I was super excited to try on this Nicki hairstyle from Truth. I like all of Nicki Minaj’s experiments with bright hair colors. This Nicki hairstyle comes with some special hair colors not usually part of Truth’s colors. You can wear the hair with fun prints or turn the prints off with a HUD.
Today, I’m channeling a different music artist. Can you guess who? When I saw this bright red hair color, I immediately thought of Britney Spears in the “Toxic” music video.
Also, don’t miss out on Anthology this month. My adorable dress is the Lucie dress from Jack Spoon. This dress is PBR, giving it a bit of a nice sheen. I did notice my aerola on one side was visible through the low-cut top, so I added nipple covers. Thankfully, my body skin from The Skinnery includes them.
And since Halloween is just around the corner, I went with a red and black theme today. I’m also baking some sweets in my friend’s sweet retro kitchen! My baking accessories are the Chromaluxe Bakeware set from Waffle, which you can also find at this month’s Anthology event.
Even though I seem to buy a new skin every week, I just couldn’t resist getting another one. This is the Cheryl skin from Amara Beauty, available at Access. I’ve added a lot of makeup tattoo fixes to this skin; if you want a step-by-step guide on that in a future blog post, let me know in the comments!
I went to checked outAnthology, a new event, that starts on the 19th of each month. It’s like stepping into a slice of pastel-colored Italy with Italian-esque storefronts and staircases connecting different levels. It’s a lively setup, giving off that festive theme park energy but in a virtual setting.
With Anthology making its grand entrance, I felt it was only fitting to dress the part. I picked out the Eostre Dress from Enfant Terrible, which comes in both sheer and opaque options. The best part? The dress includes a HUD that lets you play with the colors of almost everything—the straps, petals, skirt, and even the underskirt. I chose the sheer version, which manages to be both sophisticated and appropriately modest thanks to the underskirt.
No ensemble’s complete without a little sparkle. That’s where the Kirana Armlets from Michan come in. They perfectly match the dress, and with the customizable HUD, you can change the metals, the jewels, and even hide certain parts of the armlet for a more personalized look. It’s got me thinking I should step up my game and wear long dresses with ornate jewelry more often.
