Yummy

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    Stillwater Village

    Bygogo Fashion, Hair, iheartslFeed, JuicyBomb, Second Life, Uncategorized
    1 Comment
    Stillwater Village

    Hello from Stillwater Village! I needed a pretty place to show off my pretty new teacup from Sparkle Skye, so I found this gorgeous estate and decided it was the perfect backdrop for these photos. The trick to crashing an estate in Second Life is simple: act like you belong. Stand in front of houses or public buildings, but steer clear of homes where people are inside. I’ve never once been asked to leave. Most estates are surprisingly welcoming to bloggers and photographers.

    A little bird told me that today is Truth Hawk’s birthday, so happy birthday to one of the most prolific hair creators in Second Life. Thank you for two decades of beautiful styles! One of my earliest memories is wandering into Truth’s shop in an urban region, back when he only sold clothing. Are you old enough in Second Life to remember that? It feels like things have come full circle now that Truth is releasing clothing again. This top might be a little nipply, but I don’t care. It’s cute, it’s still modest in its own way, and I love it.

    Stillwater Village

    I spent the entire month of August without shopping. I survived retail blackout and came out the other side.

    Now I’m back just in time for autumn cozy vibes and everything the grid has to offer.

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    Something in the Water

    Bygogo Fashion, iheartslFeed, JuicyBomb, Second Life, Uncategorized, What I think
    3 Comments
    Something in the Water

    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.

    Something in the Water
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    Snow Rabbit Mesh Head Update! S@R W01X v3.0

    Bygogo Fashion, iheartslFeed, JuicyBomb, Second Life, Uncategorized
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    S@R W01X v3.0

    It’s day 10 of Blackout August and I still haven’t spent a single Linden. Gifts and freebies are fair game though, and yesterday I received an updated copy of the Snow Rabbit (S@R W01X) mesh head. I originally blogged this head over a year and a half ago, and it’s been updated several times since with great improvements to the HUD and features. This 3.0 update adds more volume to the eyelashes, so of course I had to try it.

    When I put on my saved S@R outfit, something strange happened to the shape I made last year. Rather than troubleshoot, I decided to start fresh with a brand new shape and pair it with a new skin. The S@R head reminded me how much I love it, especially since it works with EvoX skins. If only the eyes were compatible with the EvoX HUD too, that would be perfect.

    S@R W01X v3.0

    While creating the new shape, I noticed the nose is slightly crooked. Some Second Life residents would call that a charming feature, while others like me prefer a smoother profile. It does give the face personality if that’s your thing.

    Today I’m wearing the Magnolia skin from Amara Beauty. It’s new at The Arcade, but I didn’t buy it. My friend gifted it to me. Gifts don’t count toward Blackout August, but I’m keeping paid items to a minimum this month and digging into my inventory instead. If you own any Amara Beauty skin, you could pair it with the S@R head and get a similar look.

    One thing about the Magnolia skin that surprised me is that the no brows version is only available in the RARE. Annoying. I always wear no brows, so if my friend hadn’t sent me the RARE, I wouldn’t wear this skin at all.

    If you’re still thinking about joining Blackout August, you can start anytime. Maybe you want to slow down your shopping, maybe you want to save money. Both are good reasons. I’ve seen people make rude assumptions about participants, as if we’re all struggling with some kind of shopping addiction. LOL. I buy what I want, and sometimes I buy too much, but I’m not running out of Lindens or spending money I don’t have. The only time I run low is when I decide to buy a region or go to an SL auction. For me, this is about showing that shopping isn’t the only thing to do in Second Life. You could be like Philip Linden, never change your clothes, and still enjoy this world.

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    Aperture Viewer Presets

    Bygogo iheartslFeed, JuicyBomb, Second Life, Uncategorized
    1 Comment
    Aperture Viewer
    Raw snapshot taken with the Aperture viewer

    It’s day 5 of Blackout August. I made it through the weekend without buying anything, which feels monumental. I usually do most of my Second Life shopping on weekends, so I’m starting to feel more confident that I can go the entire month without shopping.

    If you’re quietly doing this challenge with me, maybe today you can try something new. Have you tried the Aperture Viewer? It’s the only viewer I’m using for Second Life right now. Today I made a bunch of photo presets in the Aperture Phototools Suite. It’s different from EEP settings because you can enhance colors, add depth of field, adjust glow, and so much more. If I figure out how to share presets, I will.

    I shopped from my inventory today. I can’t even remember when I bought this sandwich, but the time stamp says June 22. The shocking part is realizing I have thousands of items I’ve never blogged or worn. Let’s see how many we can uncover this month.

    Here’s a video showing all of my new raw presets for Aperture Viewer
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    Farm Girl

    Bygogo Fashion, iheartslFeed, JuicyBomb, Uncategorized
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    Farm Girl

    Can The Arcade be back if it never left? Maybe it went quiet for one round, but I don’t remember it ever stopping. Even during the gacha ban in Second Life, it kept going with those miepon machines. I don’t really care for no copy decor items, but for clothing and accessories, that’s fine. I’m not likely to lose those to rezzing errors.

    I looked at the latest Arcade gallery and didn’t see anything I wanted enough to play the game of chance. My friend, though, said she spent a boat load of money and ended up gifting me a bunch of her duplicates.

    Honestly, I think I’m happier when I don’t want anything badly enough to waste my time. This dress is cute, but to me, it’s only worth one pull. Not enough to keep playing and end up with extras I don’t need.

    Are you happy gacha is back in its original form? Do you still play? Let me know in the comments!

    Farm Girl
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    Rosalinda

    Bygogo Fashion, iheartslFeed, JuicyBomb, Second Life, Uncategorized
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    Rosalinda

    If you ever want to make an entrance in Second Life, you need a gown and a crown. The Rosalinda Crown from Sparkle Skye comes as a full double crown or two separate headbands. You can even get creative with the mix-and-match color options. I have no idea where I’m going in this look, but when the moment calls for it, I’ll be ready. You can find this crown at Midnight Order.

    Rosalinda

    Just Because is one of my favorite spots for gowns. The price is fair and the HUD gives you tons of colors and options. I’m wearing the Magnolia gown from Just Because, and I love that you can toggle the flowers on or off if you want something a little simpler. It’s no secret that I love gowns and dressing like I’m a 19th century lady.

    Rosalinda
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    Bows

    Bygogo Fashion, iheartslFeed, JuicyBomb, Second Life, Uncategorized
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    Bows

    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.

    Body Veins

    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.

    HANII
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    George&Gorgeous

    Bygogo Fashion, iheartslFeed, JuicyBomb, Second Life, Uncategorized
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    George&Gorgeous

    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!

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    Ethereal Essence Body Skin (Slim)

    Bygogo Fashion, iheartslFeed, JuicyBomb, Second Life, Skins, Uncategorized
    1 Comment
    Ethereal Essence Body Skin (Slim)

    Did I need a new body skin? No. Did I want a new body skin? Yes. Ever since Glam Affair and Not Found launched the new Ethereal Essence skin tones, I’ve been running around Second Life with a body skin from Velour that didn’t quite match. It was driving me crazy; even though I made it match reasonably well by using neck blenders, the body skin was for Velour tones, and I longed for a perfect match.

    I had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of a matching body skin to complement my face, so I waited patiently until the Ethereal Essence body skin became available in LaraX. My initial impression of this body skin was that it had a significant amount of body shine and pronounced collarbone shading. I found the shine a bit intense for my taste, so I decided to add the Collarbone Cover from The Skinnery, which turned out to be a pretty good match and softened the collarbones nicely. You can find these in the Body Addons Bundle at The Skinnery.

    Ethereal Essence Body Skin (Slim)
    Left: Ethereal Essence Body Skin | Right: with TheSkinnery Collarbone addon

    I wanted to showcase the body skin without any tattoo fixes to give you a clear view of how it looks. Despite some areas that I wasn’t entirely satisfied with, such as the collarbone definition, the uneven armpit shading, and the overly dark butt shading, along with the excessive shine, I was still quite pleased with the skin overall. It perfectly matches my head skin, and I believe that with some adjustments and updates, this body skin could be truly remarkable.

    While I could use a neck blender and pair another body skin with a close match, the neck shading never really complemented my previous skins; it often appeared flat. I feel that this body now aligns much better with my face than my previous body did, especially in conjunction with the new Ethereal Essence head skins.

    Ethereal Essence Body Skin (Slim)

    My hope for this body skin is that updates will address some of these concerns or at least offer an add-on that provides wearers with options for the collarbones and lessen the body shine and shading issues. I think that Velour and The Skinnery also make excellent body skins, so I hope they release a line for Etheal Essence. Izzie’s offers many fixes that I’ll likely use immediately to make this body skin feel more like my own, but I generally prefer when brands update their products based on customer feedback.

    Have you tried the new Ethereal Essence body skin? Let me know in the comments!

    Ethereal Essence Body Skin (Slim)
    Ethereal Essence Body Skin (Slim)
    Ethereal Essence Body Skin (Slim)
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    Night Lights

    Bygogo Fashion, iheartslFeed, JuicyBomb, Second Life, Uncategorized
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    Night Lights

    This Catherine Cardi and Skirt set from Orphic looks stunning in a darker color, so I chose to wear this instead of my usual bright and pastel shades. I paired it with a strapless bra from AlaskaMetro to maintain a sense of modesty; however, you can wear it without a BoM bra if you prefer, as it will still cover the necessary areas.

    In my search for the perfect backdrop to showcase this outfit, I discovered a region called CLAW on the Destination Guide. This area is filled with vibrant colors and dazzling lights, making it ideal for nighttime photography. The hues seemed to enhance the whole scene, prompting me to adjust my Heart Sunset EEP settings to create an effect reminiscent of a comic book.

    As you know, I have been immersed in inZOI for the past few days, and I think my Zoi bears a striking resemblance to my avatar. However, dressing up in Second Life proves to be quite challenging, particularly because poses are not inherently integrated into the environment. It requires considerable effort to find the right pose to effectively communicate my style. There is much that Second Life could learn from inZOI; I sincerely hope they’re taking note.

    Night Lights
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