TETRA

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    I Can’t Stop Buying Skins

    Akeruka

    I went to the FLF Bday Bash primarily for the gifts but ended up walking away with a new skin! I got the demo, found it super cute, and after a bit of deliberation, I couldn’t resist since it was only L$50. If you’re like me and love free gifts, this event is a treasure trove with tons of them inside the lanterns in front of each shop. I have to admit, I have a bit of an addiction to collecting these gifts— sometimes I use them, sometimes I don’t. But who can resist a great deal?

    Now, let’s talk about the skin! It’s from a brand I hadn’t worn before: Akeruka. They’re famous for their mesh heads, but did you know they also create skins? The fatpack is just L$350, but I decided to go for a single tone. I opted for the Lara skin in Porcelain tone because my usual go-to shade, Chantilly, seemed too tan this time around. Many brands produce skins for Velour tones, but Chantilly can vary widely across them. So, I chose a lighter tone and paired it with the Sorbet tone from The Skinnery for a perfect match.

    Akeruka

    I initially wanted to wear this Lara skin with lighter add-on brows, but the no-brows version wasn’t a good fit. The eyeshadow sits very high and, on the no-brows version, it ends abruptly instead of fading out. Despite this, I’m determined to make lighter brows work eventually because I love the look. For today, though, I decided to go brunette since the skin was too pretty to pass up.

    I also rediscovered my love for KUNI hair recently. I went to their store during a hair sale and ended up purchasing four different styles. With Materials turned on, the hair looks incredibly realistic. There’s no AI at work here, only the magic of Second Life. I don’t remember KUNI hair textures looking this amazing pre-PBR, so the combination of PBR and Materials must be doing wonders.

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    Autumn

    Autumn

    Hello from Winchester Harbor!

    I have a thing for layers, and I’m not just referring to the countless tattoo makeup layers on my face. I’m talking about clothing layers—complex and intricate outfits, which, unfortunately, are somewhat rare in Second Life. Autumn is almost here, and I couldn’t be more excited to layer up and frolic around golden leaves and cozy landscapes.

    Today, I’m wearing this adorable Peony dress by Cheezu, available at Kustom9. Deciding on a color was tough until I discovered that Cheezu offers the entire fatpack for just L$449! What a steal. This thoughtful pricing means they consistently get those slightly higher sales, rather than just L$300 for a single color. It’s a win-win—less decision-making for me and more value for them. More brands should adopt this smart pricing strategy.

    To complete my layered look, I’ve paired the dress with an Off-shoulder cardigan from Tetra. Though this cardigan is an older release and hasn’t been updated to LaraX, it’s roomy enough to perfectly complement the LaraX dress I’m wearing. I’m thrilled I can still enjoy this piece.

    Layers bring such joy and variety to fashion. Here’s to more cozy, layered adventures this autumn!

    Autumn
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    Summer in the City

    Summer in the City

    Good morning from the beautiful City of Portofino!

    The latest round of the Anthology event has just opened, brimming with summery delights! There are so many tempting accessories and makeups this time around. I couldn’t resist dashing straight for the Asuna Sunglasses from BONDI and the Tifa Sandals from C’est La Vie. Make sure to check out the shopping guide on Seraphim.

    For today’s look, I’ve paired my Anthology treasures with the stylish Sonya Sweater & Top from Tetra. Tetra always delivers immaculate creations, so I typically don’t scrutinize the mesh quality. However, this time I noticed a few issues—the back of the sweater wasn’t rigged quite right, with some odd breaks around the back and arms in standard poses. This is a good reminder that, no matter how much you trust a brand, it’s always wise to demo and inspect an item from every angle.

    All the photos in this post were taken using a PBR viewer with minimal editing. I simply cropped the images and added a subtle blur to the background. With the current conversation around overly processed SL photos, fueled by AI enhancements, I prefer to keep my editing minimal. Due to time constraints, I spend only a minute or two on each photo, primarily focusing on cropping and saving the file.

    Happy shopping and enjoy the summer vibes!

    Summer in the City
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    Tropical Vacation

    Tropical Vacation

    Hello from Badu-Fiji! You can take a virtual vacation in Second Life to anywhere, it’s just a teleport away. When I landed at here, I was instantly greeted with a lei gift. I’ve been in a tropical mood since I bought this Tropical Vibe decor set from Movement. I intended to share a link to this product from Flickr, but, it seems the brand’s account has vanished.

    Since I started blogging in 2007, I’ve primarily used Flickr as my platform of choice to connect with Second Life residents and brands. Flickr stands out to many users due to its comprehensive set of features suitable for photo hosting combined with its social networking capabilities. However, there has been a worrying trend where several Second Life community members have experienced bans from Flickr. Such bans are often linked to violations of Flickr’s policy, which prohibits commercial activities on free accounts and the uploading of content deemed moderate or restricted.

    Rather than upgrading to a paid Pro account, many affected users opt to start over on alternative platforms. These alternatives may initially be free, but like Flickr, they often introduce fees after reaching certain usage thresholds. Thus, migrating does not fully escape the issues related to costs.

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    Glam Affair Skin

    Left: Glam Affair Skin – Feoui | Right: with BoM tattoos added

    The new Feoui skin from Glam Affair Skin is one of the cleanest skin I’ve ever seen from the brand, it comes without heavy shading on the face (especially Glam’s signature one side of the nose is more shaded than the other side). I’m not a fan of that, but I get why some skin designers are doing it to give the face more depth or simulate shadows, but it’s so awkward in normal lighting. When I tried on this Feoui skin, I was pleasantly surprised it’s so clean! I still ended up adding a bunch of BoM layers to the face to remove blush, change eyelids, and and few touches to make it more Gogo.

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    Is Second Life bringing back Lifetime Accounts?

    Friday
    At my Linden Home

    Way back in the day, when the platform was new and some of you reading this weren’t born yet, Second Life residents could purchase a Lifetime account for $159.95 (later raised to $225) that offered them 4096 sqm of free land tier along with a generous L$500 weekly stipend.

    Ever since I became a Premium member in 2019 to get a Linden Home, I’ve been asking Second Life to bring back Lifetime accounts. Well, it looks like my pleas have finally been heard because Patch Linden referred to it during the SL20B Opening Ceremony! We don’t have all of the details yet, but based on Patch’s speech and the SL20B Global Sweepstakes Grand Prize being a SecondLifetime Premium Subscription, this is a clear signal that Second Life is bringing back an updated version of the Lifetime account and calling it SecondLifetime Premium.

    Here’s the live stream where Patch refers to Lifetime accounts:

    “…with our premium perks, we need to bottle Second Life sunshine and sell it as an anti-aging serum… hmm… lifetime… lifetime… premium… lifetime… those words just seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly. I think I’m having an idea, perhaps something to discuss further at my Lab Gab session with Strawberry Linden, starting Monday, June 26th at 1:30 p.m. SLT.”

    Patch Linden
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    Previously in Second Life

    Another SL Glow Up
    My Second Life Avatar + Stable Diffusion

    Welcome to another Previously in Second Life post! Here are some interesting news around the grid you may have missed:

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    LeLutka Vivian Mesh Head

    LeLutka - Vivian Mesh Head

    I was not expecting to try another mesh head so soon after Ubon, but I could not resist trying on this LeLutka Vivian head at Skin Fair. This event opens on March 10th, but you can join the Juniper Events group to gain early access. I’m a blogger, so I gained entry through SL Bloggerati and was able to go a little earlier for the media preview. I really appreciate when events have early access groups for people that aren’t official bloggers. More events and brands should utilize media preview groups to get even more coverage.

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    Accidental Sex Sim-ing By Elle

    Urban Life

    Last week I was in search of a well done urban based sim for the above photo of Ms. Elle. Even in my SL past, urban sims could be seriously hit and miss and were often not updated.  Honestly I had absolutely no idea where to even start when I began this endeavor but I had an idea in my head for this photo that I wasn’t willing to let go.  To remedy this, I went directly to my beloved Explore Second Life group on Flickr to find a spot that might work for me.  One of the few urban sims that popped up after searching a few pages was one called Sexy Cat.  Yeah I know…I should have gotten a hint from the sim name but it seemed “clean” in the photos and well done therefore I thought to myself – Mission Accomplished!

    Any who, I popped on over and found the sim to be relatively uninhabited – the only other avi on the sim had a profile description that more or less said “Second Life Explorer”.  So I sent Elle on a nice leisurely stroll in search of that perfect photo spot – something that would make this outfit definitely stand out.  As Elle made her way around the place, I went through a mental check list in my head:  Nice urban grunge feel (check), Bodega like stores (check), nice use of colors (check) and once the spot was found I was definitely ready to Rock and Roll!

    Well midway through my photo taking a shadow appears on my screen and it stays there for a good long while.  Of course in my head I am thinking “Dude, I am standing here not moving, looking like a dumb ass so….GET OUTTA THE WAY!”  Then the familiar “ding, ding” happens and  I get this IM from the male resident:

    [2017/01/02 10:52] xx: hey hun

    At this point, the sighing commences on my part as I begin formulate my wordy reply:

    [2017/01/02 10:53] Elle Couerblanc: hello  (So thoughtful and elegant a reply, right?  Now profile perving commences and the vedict for this fella was “harmless”)
    [2017/01/02 10:53] xxxx: how are you
    [2017/01/02 10:53] Elle Couerblanc:: fine (suddenly I feel the need to check out the land info tab.  Whoops – all the key words are there that should have been a huge red flag about the point of the sim when I tp’d in!)
    (Okay now…wait for it…wait for it – the important question suddenly jumps into my brain.  After a brief pause I type the words……)
    [2017/01/02 10:53] Elle Couerblanc: is this a sex sim or something? lol
    [2017/01/02 10:54] xxxx: yes
    [2017/01/02 10:54] xxxx: sexy avatar
    [2017/01/02 10:54] Elle Couerblanc: haha oops I just liked the looks of it
    [2017/01/02 10:54] Elle Couerblanc: thanks but I am just here taking photos (Now I feel bad…the guy really thought I was here for the same goals as him!)
    [2017/01/02 10:54] Elle Couerblanc: sorry
    [2017/01/02 10:54] xxxx: its ok hun

    And then he continues on on his way leaving me to my work.  Well you can’t blame the guy for trying, but unfortunately for him I was not his target audience!  It was definitely a case of right place, wrong girl for this gentleman.  At this point I am laughing at myself in real life for my total reborn noob mistake!  Anyway Mr. Redacted Name Resident, I hope you found what you were looking for that day!  Because regardless of anyone’s reason for being in Second Life, as long as you can legally buy cigarettes in the US and it involves others who can legally buy cigarettes as well (AND are on the same page as you), you are definitely entitled to live out your dreams in Second Life, whatever they may be!  Rock on with your ePeens friends, just avoid the Blingis if you can!

    +elua+ Jordan_Ombre Basic pack @Kustom 9
    CATWA HEAD Catya
    Lara Hurley– Diana Milky *Catwa Appliers* with Lara Hurley Gia Lips
    Maitreya Mesh Body – Lara
    -VA-F-VISTA BENTO PROHANDS
    2byte ] Angel glow cap(wh)
    Vinyl – Ephixa Leather Jacket @ uber
    Vinyl – Bebe Bra – Cotton @ uber
    Vinyl – Ephixa Hoodie @ uber
    TETRA – Silk Track Trousers (Midnight)
    Shoes – [VALE KOER] THE VASIFORM GROUP GIFT

    Pose – Label Motion

    Location – Sexy Cat