Happy birthday to Truth Hawks! Without your presence in Second Life, we would all be a little less stylish, so naturally, your birthday should be celebrated grid-wide.
I went to The Arcade. I recently told you how burned I felt after the last round, but apparently, I don’t learn my lesson. I went again and found so many schoolgirl outfits, which is perfect for the back-to-school season. As if I don’t already have 100 schoolgirl outfits in my Second Lifetime, but I played, and I conquered.
My friend says I look like a bad schoolgirl, but whatever could she mean? Gogo is so sweet, definitely not a mean girl. The Seniha Back to School outfit is actually pretty reasonable for a gacha. You can easily put together a complete outfit with just a few plays.
I also love everything Movement makes, so I was happy to see their darling gacha offerings. If you love accessories, check out the Movement Zodiac Girl set. The set includes a planner, bag, and tablet.
It’s officially autumn in Second Life! The Bellisseria regions have changed seasons, and the best season has arrived. Bring on the cozy vibes and pixel sweaters.
A friend asked me recently, “Gogo, why do you ask so many questions about how much designers are making on Facebook?”
Yes, I ask a lot of questions on Facebook. I’m on pretty much all of the social media sites for Second Life, but people are especially chatty on Facebook, and I’m always trying to get a temperature check on the SL economy. Are people still making money? Are they making less than they used to? Is Second Life going to survive long enough for my Lifetime Premium Plus accounts to pay off, or will SL die before I’m profitable? So many questions.
I think about the SL economy probably more than the average resident does. Besides being an SL nerd, I’m also a bit of a finance enthusiast, and I love reading about the economy in RL and apparently analyzing the SL economy too. I think it’s smart to know when something is still worth your time and when it’s time to move on. If you’re no longer making the money you used to make here, there’s nothing wrong with finding somewhere else where your time and talent are worth more.
Another reason I ask these questions is because despite some designers doing very well in Second Life, I often see some saying they’re on the verge of being evicted or facing some other financial emergency nearly every week. There’s always a Second Life GoFundMe, and sometimes it’s from designers I would consider fairly successful from a distance. They’re talented, they have a recognizable brand, they have customers, so why are they still living paycheck to paycheck?
I’ve watched a lot of designers come and go over the years, for all kinds of reasons, and I actually think there’s something admirable about knowing when it’s time to leave. If you used to make good money in Second Life and you’re no longer making what you need, why cling to it until you’re completely broke? Find greener pastures. Maybe that means another virtual platform, maybe it means taking your skills and working for a company in real life, or maybe it means doing something completely different. At some point, if something is no longer working financially, you have to see the writing on the wall and bounce before you’re broke. There’s no prize for hanging on the longest.
Jian Pets announced last week that they’re leaving Second Life, and you can read their farewell message here. I think it’s smarter to move on and explore other opportunities than to cling to something that is no longer serving you. Second Life has been around for more than 20 years, but that doesn’t mean every successful SL business needs to stay here forever.
Speaking of being financially well, I went to the FLF Bday Bash and came home with a bunch of goodies for FREE! Gogo may be loaded in SL, but I still love freebies. I didn’t grab every single gift, but out of the ones I picked up, these are my favorite things:
Movement – Ladies Handbag
ALT3 – Afterparty FX Shine
Exile – Jordan Hair, Birthday Confetti Edition
Glam Affair – Manu Skin (Summer Special L005) – The rain on the face is awesome!
I mostly opted out of gachas years ago, but every now and then something comes along that I really want and I’ll spend a ridiculous amount of money trying to get the rare item. I do that with the understanding that this is the only opportunity to get it. Maybe it’ll never be sold again, maybe it’ll become impossible to find, but that’s always been the appeal of gachas. You’re paying for the exclusivity as much as you’re paying for the item itself. That’s how it’s worked for as long as I can remember. Designers have traditionally kept their gacha collections exclusive instead of retexturing them and selling them at a discount a few weeks later.
That’s why I was surprised to see PurpleMoon release a retextured version of the Claudette Dress and Monique Shoes, which debuted at The Arcade just last month, now in The Saturday Sale for L$75. My friends and I spent quite a bit collecting, trading, and chasing those pieces through the gacha. Had we known that the dress and shoes would be available for L$75 less than a month later, I don’t think any of us would’ve spent nearly as much trying to complete the collection.
For me, it changes how I look at the brand going forward. If something new catches my eye, why buy it immediately if there’s a chance it’ll show up in a weekend sale a few weeks later? I’ve always thought of weekend sales as a place for older releases or brand new items created specifically for the sale. I’ve never expected to see a reworked version of a gacha collection that was still practically brand new. I barely had time to unpack mine before another version appeared for a fraction of what many of us had spent.
This isn’t about telling a designer how to run their business. They can sell their products however they like. I’m simply saying that decisions like this affect customer trust. People remember when they paid full price, especially when that full price came from a gacha system designed around chance. If customers start believing they can get the same item a month later for almost nothing, many of them will simply wait. I also wonder if this is happening because so many creators participate in weekend sales that they eventually run out of older products to discount and start dipping into very recent releases instead.
Today’s outfit is a mix of PurpleMoon’s Claudette accessories from last month’s Arcade gacha with the retextured Claudette Dress from The Saturday Sale. Ironically, I actually prefer this printed version over the original solid dress. For anyone who missed the gacha, it’s an incredible deal. I just think there should be a little more consideration for the people who paid the premium the first time around. Gachas aren’t normal purchases. They’re intentionally designed to encourage people to spend far more than an item is worth in pursuit of the piece they really want, and more often than not, that’s the rare one. When that same design comes back almost immediately at a deep discount, it’s hard not to feel like you wasted a lot of money trying to get it in the first place.
Exile quietly released new textures! I tried on the latest Signe hairstyle and immediately noticed the redesigned HUD too. Obviously my favorites are the Blondes pack and the Fantasy pack. The Choice pack is great too if you’re indecisive and constantly bouncing between hair colors. I couldn’t decide between light pink or light blonde today, so I just wore both.
I always let my hairstyle lead the way when it comes to building an outfit. This whole look started with this playful hair. I wanted a giant bow to finish it off, and the Vale Headband from C’est La Vie ended up being perfect. I’m also wearing colors I normally avoid. Does orange and teal actually work together? I think maybe it does.
My last post about using AI to judge my face caused quite a stir on Facebook. I think Second Life residents on Facebook can be especially rude compared to other social media sites. I don’t know if it’s the demographic, and I don’t necessarily mean age, but something about Facebook makes people react with hostility to absolutely everything.
Moments like that make me appreciate the genuinely nice people I’ve met in Second Life over the years. One of those people is Kavar Cleanslate, the creator of Exile. A lot of you probably don’t know this, but Kavar has been my friend for a very long time and is honestly one of the nicest people ever. We actually live on the same region. Well… technically one day he told me I could rez my house there, and I just never left. It’s been decades now. LOL. I don’t think he knows how to ask me to leave, but honestly, would he even? He’s that nice.
And since this is a a hair-themed post, would you like to win early access to Hair Fair? You have six chances to win. Just follow Hair Fair on social media and like/comment with your SL username for a chance to get in early. I’ll be at Hair Fair before opening, so hopefully I’ll see some of you there!
Have you ever wondered what AI thinks you could do to improve your Second Life face? I uploaded two photos to ChatGPT, front facing and profile, and asked what I could do to make my avatar’s face better. Surprisingly, it said my face was nearly perfect, but that my eyes were too big. Omg, were my eyes too big?
It actually gave me some helpful tips, so I nudged the sliders a bit here and there. One of the things I’ve always been concerned about is my profile. It has to be great. ChatGPT suggested making my chin protrude a little more and my lips protrude a little less.
Another critique ChatGPT had for me was that my usual lashes were too glam, too full. I dialed it back with a new set of wispy lashes, but I don’t think I care about that critique. I love thick full lashes!
This new Twirl hairstyle from Truth Collective is so sweet. It’s a relaxed style with a low ponytail. I’m always super excited when I see a hair from Litterbug, Truth’s real life daughter. She might be the youngest hair creator in SL right now? And her side gig is making real life money, probably better than most experienced creators. When your father is one of the best… it’s expected. I’m glad the hair legacy continues.
I also tried on the new Halcyon Maxi and Shorts from Tres Blah, and purposely picked the print that reminds me of porcelain plates. I love it. This delicate print is perfect for lounging around the house. Even though we’re heading into summer, I decided to dial back my skin tone from 004 back to 003, a lighter tone that reminds me of a porcelain doll too.
Do you play around with your style and change it up now and then? I like to bounce around between 2-3 skin tones and blondes or brunette. Let me know in the comments!
Anthology event announced that May will be the last round. This is the only event that I’m a blogger for, so it feels kind of sad seeing it end after two years. But honestly, I also think there are too many events on the grid, so losing one is probably healthy overall for the Second Life economy.
Events create this rushed mentality for both creators and consumers. Before I even get a chance to unpack and show you my latest outfit, it’s already three releases old from the same creator. Now it feels dated, it’s no longer at whatever event it launched at, and I don’t even know if it made it to the main store. Events are not that great for bloggers.
My blog posts sell items long after I post them. Years later, people still find old blog posts and go shopping. That’s why event blogging has always felt weird to me, because the content expires so fast. I’ve always been hesitant to sign up for event blogging because I don’t actually want to feel obligated to blog anything. Anthology was super nice about it though. You just blogged a few items per round and could pretty much blog whatever you wanted. Blogger’s choice.
Even though I still blog fashion, I also want to blog about so many other things in SL. That’s why I don’t really sign up to officially blog for a lot of brands or events. If I’m only blogging, on average, once a week, I don’t want my content dominated by one thing. I’m too scattered for that.
So I guess this post is really just to say that Anthology will be missed, at least by me. It was me dipping my toes into event blogging and realizing I probably couldn’t handle a massive event with super strict blogging rules.
Anyway, don’t ask me why I decided to shoot these photos in the dark. Then I realized you couldn’t even see my shoes, so I had to go back and change the EEP light settings.
I love loafers, and these are the Elaine Shoes by Arltos at Anthology. I don’t know how long Arltos has been around, but I only really started noticing them fairly recently, maybe within the past two years? I wear low heels, loafers, flats, sandals, and sneakers. I’m not a fan of sky high shoes. They look uncomfortable, even on virtual feet.
Even though many brands in Second Life create amazing products, the way they treat customers can leave a sour taste in your mouth. When that happens, it makes you think twice about spending money with them again.
I’ve encountered more than a few brands I’ve supported that ignore simple customer service issues, like refunding a double purchase or answering a basic question. I’m sure most of us have experienced being completely ignored by a store owner or customer service rep. Some people know how to create great things in Second Life, but they never learn how to build loyalty.
On the other hand, the brands that go out of their way to be kind and helpful earn my support for years.
One example is Everfaery. Every time I’ve had a question or needed help, they’ve responded in a way that was even nicer than expected. Honestly, the fact that they respond at all already puts them ahead of many brands. Recently, I asked a question on Flickr and got a quick reply. That reminded me they also give L$50 monthly store credit to group members. On top of that, creator Fever Fae is incredibly talented, making clothing, hair, shoes, décor, and more. She has range, and she’s had staying power in SL for years.
Another brand that consistently treats customers well is Izzie’s. I’ve said it before, but it’s true. A few days ago, I saw their Nail Beds set and thought, “I didn’t even know I needed that.” Now I can’t imagine not having it. It adds another layer of realism, and I appreciate creators who think of those details. Plus, Izzie Button has always come across as genuinely kind.
Then there’s Truth. Creator Truth Hawks regularly gives gifts to the VIP group and runs solid sales throughout the year. I’ve also been a Truth hair blogger for years, and their relationship with bloggers has always seemed professional and respectful. That kind of relationship-building is one reason some brands last so long in Second Life.
My list of brands doing it right is actually pretty long. There are many wonderful creators in SL. But when a brand ghosts me after I’ve supported them, I remember it. I’m too classy to name names, but you know the type. We’ve all encountered them.
There’s one brand where I used to buy every fatpack. Now? Maybe I’ll grab a single item during a weekend sale and spend the equivalent of a real-life quarter. Why reward bad customer service with full-price loyalty?
At the end of the day, customer service matters. Talent may get people through the door, but kindness and reliability keep them coming back.
If there are any brands you love that treat customers right, let me know in the comments!
I was so excited to go to the Gaeta 1 / Zindra Town Hall, and I ended up leaving that meeting feeling disappointed.
First of all, I didn’t want to say this, but I will. The Town Hall could have been planned so much better. Dear Lindens, please make a question submission form, collect questions throughout the week, then choose the most informative ones to answer live. Letting everyone ask questions in local chat was complete chaos, and a lot of people couldn’t stay on topic. I was also surprised it was entirely handled through chat. You know that meme that says, this could have been an email? Yeah. That.
This meeting could have been genuinely informative if they had come in with a clear list of answers, explained exactly what residents need to know, then saved the last 15 minutes for open Q&A. Why that didn’t happen is anybody’s guess. Sometimes these meetings feel like Linden employees struggle with creating an agenda and sticking to it.
I was also disappointed to learn that residents who bought in on April 15 or after the expansion blog post went live seem to be treated like second class citizens. The relocation process should not prioritize only the biggest landowners or the people who have held land there the longest.
If I were managing this move, I would contact every current landowner, I think they said there were around 349, and ask two simple questions:
Do you want to move to New Zindra?
Can you move now?
If the answer is yes to both, put those residents at the top of the migration list and start moving them immediately. The people with more complex requests, unusual parcel needs, or plans to relocate elsewhere can be handled afterward.
Residents who are ready now should be first in line. Tier doesn’t stop while people sit in limbo, and it would be nice if Linden Lab remembered that.
I hope this whole thing wraps up within weeks. If the new continent is ready to go, I’m ready to move too.
And now onto what I’m wearing, because even when it isn’t a fashion post, it somehow becomes one.
Another round of Anthology just opened, and this shimmery dress is the Artemis Dress by Madame Noir. This dress is an example of when PBR is done so well it creates reflections and highlights correctly. With this outfit, I needed to find a place to serve as the backdrop for my photo. I opened the Destinations menu in-world looking for a music venue, and somehow ended up outside an 80s movie theater. I love The Breakfast Club, so naturally I had to take the picture in front of the poster.
Truth Hair recently celebrated its 19th anniversary in Second Life, which is kind of surreal to say out loud. Truth has been making hair for as long as I’ve been playing SL, and at this point the brand isn’t just well known. It’s one of the longest standing and most successful hair brands on the grid.
In a world where stores come and go constantly, that kind of longevity is rare. And that’s why what happened recently feels like a genuinely historic Second Life moment. A few days ago, I noticed a new Truth release called Cupid hair, and the credit immediately caught my attention. The hair was made by Truth’s real life daughter, known in SL as Litterbug.
I already knew she had joined Second Life about a year ago and had been creating hair accessories. But I didn’t realize she had moved into creating full hairstyles too, so of course I messaged Truth right away. I needed confirmation, because my brain immediately went: this is a first in Second Life!
When I asked if she created Cupid hair or just the clips, he replied that she made the entire thing, and added, “with a lot of questions.” She didn’t just casually log in and magically become a hair creator overnight. People forget that everyone starts somewhere, and even the biggest brands in Second Life were once new and releasing their very first item. And she’s lucky in the best way, because she has an amazing mentor in her father. Cupid hair is a beautiful first hairstyle, and if I didn’t know it was her first, I wouldn’t have guessed.
Once I processed it, I told Truth what I was thinking. This is kind of historic. Because with this release, Truth is now officially a two-generation brand in Second Life. That is not something we see often. Second Life has been around long enough now that we are literally watching a creator’s child grow up, develop the skills, and start creating for the same brand inside the same virtual world. If that doesn’t count as SL history, I don’t know what does. Truth’s reaction made me smile. He said, “Yeah I guess you’re right. That is crazy.”
Litterbug is Gen Z, and that detail matters more than people realize. Truth joked that she has a better idea of what fashion trends are because he’s “too old” now. It’s funny, but it’s also true.
Truth told me she’s been learning Blender for a couple of years and has done product visualizations, but she decided to try creating in SL because, as he put it, she thought, “why not make some money.”
Truth also told me she proudly calls herself a nepo baby, which is hilarious. In SL terms though, she really was rezzed into royalty, in the sense that she’s had access to knowledge, experience, and guidance that most creators never get when they’re starting out. And yes, having a parent with a huge brand is obviously an advantage. But it doesn’t take away from what matters here: very few brands last long enough to thrive for two decades and then have the creator’s child step in and start releasing, too.
Truth also said something that stuck with me. Watching her join SL made him realize again how hard it is for a new resident. Most of us forget, because we’ve been here forever. We forget how confusing the platform can be when you’re starting from scratch, even if you’re already skilled and tech-savvy.
That’s why this moment feels bigger than just a cute fun fact. She’s part of the age group Second Life constantly struggles to attract, and she’s here creating. If SL wants to be around for another 20 years, it should be paying attention to creators like her, and what it takes for someone her age to even want to log in, learn, and stay.
Truth Hair becoming a two-generation brand is one of those things that seems small at first, until you realize what it says about Second Life. A 19-year brand. A new generation stepping in. A real legacy. In a virtual world.
Second Life should be paying attention.
Now, onto what I’m wearing today.
My friend Sparkle sent me another sweet kitty from SeMotion Libellune as a gift, which means I now have my 100th cat in Second Life. I have so many at this point that I’m glad I don’t have to feed them to keep them alive, because that would bankrupt me.
I’m also assembling my Valentine’s Day outfit for the Hug a Linden event next weekend, and I think this look might actually work? The shoes are called Softly Struck from HANII, from the January round of Anthology. If only I could turn off the arrow on these shoes, because they’re so cute and I would wear them year round.
If you don’t get excited about a nice pair of wings in Second Life, can you even call yourself a resident? Even though I own all types of wings, from angel wings to fae wings and even wings made out of branches, I still get that little spark of excitement when I find a new pair I don’t already have.
These Briar Wings from Sparkle Skye are currently at Midnight Order. They’re made with delicate branches, tiny pearls, leaves, and strands of twinkling lights that you can turn on and off. I don’t really know where I’m going with this look yet, but I’m honestly just so pleased that they match my dress perfectly.
And can we talk about skins for a second? Why are there so many good ones being released right now? I’m extremely picky, yet I just fell in love with the new Bryce skin from Glam Affair. This skin has some of the nicest lips I’ve ever seen. I honestly wish I could get the default lips on a tattoo layer so I could wear them with everything. Aida Ewing, the creator of Glam Affair, has also been absolutely killing it with the brows. I don’t usually love default brows, but lately I’ve been loving all of them. I still wear the tintable version though, just so I can make them light brown.
Even though I’ve already added enough of Izzie’s tattoo layers to make this skin perfect for me, I still tried on another skin anyway… and of course I love that one too. I’ll save that for the next post. Stay tuned!
