Much Ado About Apples

The next person who mentions apples to me will end up as one! In a pie. The worst PR fiasco of millennium, I tell you. And I should know, seen a few. Millennia, I mean. Why no, I do not look that old, thank you. I am quite aware. Oh, just healthy lifestyle, no secrets. …I said no secrets, you unraise that eyebrow right this moment.

So the little brat ran away to live with seven men in the woods, right? I can relate, we all make these decisions in our youths: momentary whims, rebelling against the silver spoon in your mouth, defying the castle and its treasury, be your own woman and imagine cooking for yourself is somehow cool and edgy instead of ridiculously tedious.

What was I to do? I was supposed to look after her or something. The least I could do was to check up on her and let me tell you just two words: dwarf. kitchens. Rats and rats and dwarf bread that can be used as a murder weapon, occasional mushroom and more rats! I just wanted her to eat healthy, how could I possibly remember she was allergic?

So, enough about apples. Fancy a pear?

A new event called Enchantment opened today. It focuses on fairy tales, this round on the story of Snow White. You can find the gown by The Muses and the jewelry by House of Rain there and only there: the items are event exclusives.

Scene: Enchantment

Body: Skin: Essences – Noodles Light Rose 02 Brunette | Eyes: Adoness – Bestia Eyes Lion* | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Hair: D!va – Ana Type B Onyx | Hands: Slink – Avatar Enhancement Hands Elegant1

Outfit: Gown: The Muses – Mirror, Mirror Red* | Jewelry: House of Rain – Poison Takes Hold choker/diadem/tiara amethyst/pearl/gold* | Pear: Teawood – Autumn Snack Pear Yellow

Poses: HopScotch – Short Tempered 4 | Kirin – Florence Pose 2 | D.Luxx – Vogue 04

Curiata Curliques

There’s something irresistibly alluring about masks: temptation of the unknown, promise of adventure, theatrical illusion, the base premise of being something or someone else than you are.

Perhaps it’s that combination of unknown and adventure that also makes them so sensual. Especially when so intricate and covered in decadent curliques as this Curiata mask by Illusions. The equally sensual lingerie set by SAKIDE can be found in Perfect Wardrobe until February 9th.

There had to be gold in the look: rich, luxurious hues of it. Like in these Bali earrings by Bilo, for example. Or in the Timea ankle boots by lassitude & ennui, both new releases. Something about the way the closures of the shoes twisted made them a natural companion for the mask.

As for the furniture, going for the Marquis set by ~Libertine~ was an obvious choice. If you’re going to be draped in decadent curliques, might as well lounge in an area to match the mood.

Scene: Furniture: ~Libertine~ Marquis Full Set*

Body: Skin: League – Sia Fair Bloom | Eyes: Poetic Colors – Summer Wheat | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Eyeshadow: Beautiful Freak – Flamina Sunset* | Lipstick: M.O.C.K. Cosmetics – Crema Lipcolor Sanguine | Hair: D!va – Asami Type A | Hands: Slink – Mesh Hands Casual

Outfit: Mask: *~*Illusions*~* Curiata Mask | Lingerie: SAKIDE – Glitter Love Lingerie Black* | Shoes: lassitude & ennui – Timea ankle boots black/gold* | Earrings: Bilo – Bali Earrings Warm Reds*

Poses: D.Luxx – Secrets 03 | Part of the furniture.

Dahlia

Film Noir spells femme fatale to me. Drama back in the day when it was still a good thing, sophistication and seduction in the same packet, determination, intelligence and attitude. They were in control, knew what they wanted and knew how to play the game to get it. The Black Dahlia dress [ SAKIDE ] made for Cinema is all of those things.

Femme fatales require drama in their looks, there’s no subtleties between black and white, it’s all edge. The Willow hair by Alice Project works for this perfectly. It’s an editorial hair for creating the effect of wind blowing your hair to the side and it comes in both higher and lower versions (for more or less wind) and mirrors so you can decide which side do you want your hair to move in. Obviously editorial hairs really work only for pictures, but yegads we need more of them. So brilliant.

The makeup is by Adore & Abhor and it’s available in Cinema. It’s called Payback and it felt extremely fitting for Dahlia, as did the Queen’s Gambit necklace by lassitude & ennui. The necklace was probably intended for more fantasy looks, but in here it creates an obvious mystery to be solved. Where did she get it? Why do people want it? What’s its secret?

Dahlia’s outfit comes with two versions, this is the longer gown. Both are partial mesh, meaning that the top and pants are system layers and the skirt mesh, which means one size fits all. I love these hybrid mesh creations since I don’t have to cut off parts of Sonya’s body to fit in them.

The dress, makeup, hair and necklace can all be found in Cinema, which lasts the whole of October. [ SAKIDE ] is in Film Noir, lassitude & ennui in Fantasy/Musical and *Alice Project* and Adore & Abhor both in Action/Adventure.

Scene: Shady Falls Sim (1920’s roleplay sim, be polite when visiting)

Body: Skin: League – Sia Fair Bloom | Eyes: IKON – Sunrise Eyes Light Arabian Blue L | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Makeup: Adore & Abhor – Payback Lips & Eyes* | Hair: *Alice Project* – Willow High & Lower*

Outfit: Dress: [ SAKIDE ] – Black Dahlia Dress* | Shoes: G Field – Flower Pumps Eve Black | Stockings: Black Lace – Black Sheer Stockings | Gloves: Sn@tch – Leather Gloves Black | Ring: Mandala – Milky Nails White | Necklace: lassitude & ennui – The Queen’s Gambit*

Poses: aDORKable Poses – Confident Leo 1 | !bang – Stand 135 | D.Luxx – Secrets 03

Mint Chocolate

There isn’t actually any chocolate — mint or otherwise —  in this post, the colour combination just reminded me of it so much that I got cravings for some. The look itself is all about autumn when you do already want to wear more for the cold and rain, but don’t have to wrap yourself up in heavy coats just yet.

The pictures are taken in SLOW sim where you can also find NODe+ shop that sells these umbrellas. They have arm poses as usual, open and close and even come with rain, of which there was plenty in the sim. I tried to catch some drier moments for pictures, so ignore the fact that she’s prancing about with an umbrella without a drop of rain on the water.

There’s several new releases here: Muriel boots by Dare Designs, Softpaw Glasses by ::: Krystal :::, Tiffany hair by Alice Project, new group gift earrings by Maxi Gossamer and the latest fishing outfit by Sn@tch. The fishing outfit comes with stockings, shoes and earrings, but I wanted warmer tights and boots for this look. The hair comes with Alice’s trademark colour change HUD of countless fantastic choices and is available in Collabor88.

As for the minty skin, it’s one of the Glam Affair gacha ones from The Arcade. Remember that it’s ending soon, so if you don’t yet have everything you want it’s time to go play!

Scene: SLOW Sim  

Body: Skin: Glam Affair – Roza The Arcade Gacha Events 09 | Eyes: IKON – Horizon Eyes v2 Dark Turquoise | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Makeup: M.O.C.K. Cosmetics – Glitter Pop eShadow (The Hunted) | Hair: Alice Project – Tiffany Infinity* (in Collabor88)

Outfit: Top, Corset, Skirt, Armwarmers: Sn@tch – Midnight Hour | Tights: Sn@tch – Goth Tights Green | Boots: Dare Designs – Muriel Steam Teal Mesh Boots* | Earrings: Maxi Gossamer – Lealao Amber | Glasses: ::: Krystal ::: – Softpaw Glasses Ebony* | Umbrella – NODe+ – Umbrella v2 N010L

Poses: Amato – Pose Play 01 | HopScotch – Pose Fair Dollarbie 1 | D.Luxx – Secrets 01

Superhero Twins

It was really the first thing I thought of when I saw the new Ethos skins from Fallen Gods Inc. Naked superheroes! Most likely alien superheroes on top of it since the costumes are actually their skins. Born to be heroes! The colour combinations were so much fun to play with that I had to make two and call them twins.

The skins are actually just a single colour with a tattoo layer on top of it. The colours are the four above and you can combine them in any order and preference of your choice. You can also use the tattoo layers with other skins, give a touch of colour to the normal human ones.

I did not have mirrors for these poses, so I used the same pose per picture and flipped the images in photoshop. I also had a lot of fun trying to make the pictures look like they were taken from a superhero comic, too.

Now all they need is a team name and a secret base and they’re all set! No need for a space ship, these two look like they’re perfectly capable of flying through space and surviving.

Twin 1, Gold-Blue: Skin: Fallen Gods Inc. – Onyrica Ethos Blue* | Body Tattoo: Fallen Gods Inc. – Onyrica Ethos Gold [TaoTattoo]* | Eyes: IKON – Witch Eyes Greed | Hair: lamb. – Whoop Dee Doo Sci-Fi 

Twin 2, Red-Green: Skin: Fallen Gods Inc. – Onyrica Ethos Green* | Body Tattoo: Fallen Gods Inc. – Onyrica Ethos Red [TaoTattoo]* | Eyes: IKON – Witch Eyes Envy | Hair: lamb. – Whoop Dee Doo Red Lobster Buffet

Poses: D.Luxx – The Vintage Tootsie Roll 09 / N/A / !bang – Stand 139

 

 

 

Iridescent Roots

They truly are. The colours are vivid, alive and seem to shift within the shape the longer you stare. I am talking about the new skin release by Fallen Gods Inc. called Roots.

The name is an obvious nod toward the wood styled texture, but with colours like this it is no part of any common tree! I was tempted to go full out dryad again, but I’ve been doing that too much lately, so instead I felt drawn to an alien of sorts… perhaps trapped in a tomb on some strange planet, encountered by explorers.

I wanted her eyes to stand out, so I used one of Repulse’s Mystic Eyes, but then added glow prims by Adoness on top of them. The hair by [CIRCA] is an old hunt gift from Crazy Hair Hunt and I was really surprised about how well its colours matched the skin while still keeping a strange alien nature vibe.

So she has a near-coral hair of occasional fish-in-a-bubble with a radiant wooden body: obviously she encompasses all the natural elements within her. Who knows why she was locked up in this tomb by Garden of Dreams, but guess whoever opens the door shall soon find out…

Scene: Garden of Dreams – The Tomb (244 prims, 40×40 footprint)*

Body: Skin: Fallen Gods Inc. – Onyrica Roots* | Eyes: Repulse – Mystic Eyes Aqua + Adoness – Mystic Glow prims | Hair: [CIRCA] – Sparta DeepSea Army Hair CHH3 | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious

Poses: D.Luxx – The Vintage Tootsie Roll 09 / Del May – Black stand / Art Body Store – My Cute Wings 09

 

 

 

Captain Escargot

In case you haven’t realized yet: it’s Steam time! Steam the Hunt is going on again and you can find the shop slurls, hints and pictures of prizes here. The pocket watch is a prize by *Amaranthus* and is of course normally at the waist, like it should be.

Captain Escargot is named after my favourite prize of this round,  Escargot-a-vapeur by Sextan Shepherd. It’s one of the many prizes in a mini hunt at Joy of Steampunk Museum. This particularly fancy snail-mobile has plenty of living areas inside and is perfect for fashionably eccentric steam captains. If you like steampunk, but don’t have time for the whole hunt, this spot is what I recommend. It’s fun to explore and you can get the hunt gifts while oggling about.

The Time Watcher’s Gear (goggles and pack) is by [ContraptioN] and the Knight of Darkness outfit & hat are by RokumeikaN. The latter is a prize from Twisted Hunt, I just liked them together. Both hunts last for the whole of September, so there’s still plenty of time to cam about.

Now all we have to do is wonder what does a time watcher see through those goggles, while travelling around on a steam snail-mobile…

Scene: Sextan Shepherd – Escargot-a-vapeur (Steam Hunt: Joy of Steampunk Museum Mini Hunt)

Body: Skin: Glam Affair – Roza – Natural 03 D | Hair: Wasabi Pills – Cookie Mesh Hair (Night Shadow)

Outfit: Suit & Hat: RokumeikaN – Knight of Darkness (Twisted Hunt) | Watch: *Amaranthus* – Flower Medallion: Copper/Vapor: Pocket (Steam the Hunt) | Goggles & Pack: [ContraptioN] – The Time Watcher’s Gear (Steam the Hunt)

Poses: Niqotine Poses – KissMyGunM20 | D.Luxx Poses – The Vintage – Sugar Smacks 05 & Tootsie Roll 09

Zodiac: Virgo

There’s another round of the Zodiac event going on, this month obviously themed around Virgo. I am highly partial to these logical, analytical and practical people. They make sense. They communicate in ways I can understand, exchanging facts and information back and forth in an organized, interested manner.

If you want to imagine nutshell stereotypes for them, there’s librarians, archivists, secretaries, scientists, I’d even put detectives in here. They have highly analytical minds, perseverance nearing stubbornness and great attention to detail. If you want a job done in a professional, organized, thorough manner, you call a Virgo.

All this logic and using their brains for detail analysis does have a side effect of being somewhat oblivious to feelings, including their own. There’s so much more interesting things distracting them in the world that introspection doesn’t occur to them and over-emotional people feel like a headache. Combined with the Virgo trait of perfectionism this usually heralds some problems in romantic relationships.

As friends Virgos are reliable, kind and helpful. They prefer to show their friendship with actual deeds instead of words, practicality over emotions. If you like logic and rationality, if you like it when things make sense, there’s no better people to hang out with than Virgos. Being down to earth yields a bountiful harvest of results, after all.

I had to dress my Virgo girl in a practical manner and set her in a library, there was no way around it. The skin by Essences, the satchel by Casa del Shai and the clock by Conspiracy Theory are all from the Zodiac event. The shirt that is practical while dancing at the edge of quirky is by *Perception* and the boots that several of my Virgo friends love to bits are by lassitude & ennui. The library of awesome is by Garden of Dreams: 423 prims, 40×40 footprint, poses for all your research needs!

Scene: Garden of Dreams – The Library* | Clock: Conspiracy Theory – Maxwell – Astrological Clock – Postal | Books: BP* antique books/Drowsy

Body: Skin: {.essences.} – Virgo Brunette | Hair: Love Soul – Hair*055*Jet Black | Eyes: Poetic Colors – classic frozen silver bright | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Eyeliner: {.essences.} Eyeliner V2.0

Outfit: Shirt: *Perception* – Flutter-Sleeve Top — Earth & Sea Damask* | Pants: Sn@tch – Community College Capris (black) | Boots: lassitude & ennui – Wanderlust Brown Duotone* | Bag: Casa del Shai – Virgo Satchel Chestnut | Glasses: Air – Cresta

Poses: D.Luxx – Secrets 03 / Del May – Brain Ache / Olive Juice – Here Comes the Sun (+ book pose)

 

 

From Harlem to Montmartre

By walking. In heels. Don’t try this in real life! The pictures are taken during a short trip from Virtual Harlem to Virtual Montmartre, both of which are gorgeous sims.

This Wiggle-dress by ~Sassy!~ was amongst my very first must-have-purchases from the Vintage Fair. There’s a great variety of eras and styles in there, but in all honesty this is what I always end up getting. Pencil skirts from the era and styling when classy and sexy still went hand in hand. These are system layer clothes with mesh part replacing old prim parts, perfect for those who struggle with standard sizes. I wish more designers realized that there is actual demand for these at the moment.

Lynn-hair by *Alice Project* was perfect for the lady in red with its sharp bangs and luscious curls. There will be hairflips galore, the attitude is a necessary part of the styling. As are the poses, both by D.Luxx from Vintage Fair.

Vintage Fair covers three sims that are probably rather full still. When you get in, you can find *Alice Project* in Classic and Sassy! and D.Luxx in Retro.

Body: Skin: League – Sia Fair Bloom | Eyes: Poetic Colors – Poison Ivy | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Lips: M.O.C.K. Cosmetics – Morado Otoro Makeover | Liner: Pin Me Down – Liner 6 | Hair: *Alice Project* – Lynn Infinity*

Outfit: Dress: Sassy! – Wiggle Dress Wine | Jewelry: Concrete Flowers – Cherry Set | Gloves: The Secret Store – Fine Gloves White | Stockings: Blacklace – Black Sheer Stockings | Hat: LaGyo – Splatter Roses Fascinator Red | Shoes: G Field – Flower Pumps Eve Red

Poses: D.Luxx Poses – The Vintage – Sugar Smacks 05 & Tootsie Roll 09

 

 

52 Colours: Aqua Island

Miss Aqua Island turned out to be a somewhat quirky-artsy summer girl with just a touch of vintage. The colour itself is paler-than-aqua blue-grey pastel that I had trouble nailing down from my inventory, so I turned to The Sea Hole to rescue. Once I located this cutesy romper, the character concept was pretty much clear.

I went to pose about in Ely’s sim, since her talents cover more than just pretty pictures: her landscaping is always ridiculously gorgeous. Absolutely perfect for summer pictures for someone like me, who is more about lakes and forests than beach.

The only thing I brought with me for the pictures was this exquisite Victorian sundial by Dark 7. It’s a new mesh release and there’s sundials also for those with more gothic or steampunk tastes, but this one just begged to go with this look so I used that instead.

I also have to squee about the hair — even when it’s mostly blonde — because finding a new (to me) shop that makes cute bobs is always a wonderful moment. The shop is LaViere and this particular bob is one of their new Hair Fair releases. The accessories are a mix of Zaara, Maxi Gossamer and LaGyo. I am completely addicted to all the big flower things by LaGyo and always delighted to get an excuse to wear any. Like now.

Credits – Scene: Sundial: Dark 7 – Garden Sundial Victorian S*

Credits – Body: Skin: Glam Affair – Giselle Light Kajira D | Eyes: The Plastik – Oni Cumulus Pond | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Makeup: M.O.C.K. Cosmetics – Oceans Breeze Heart’s Desire Makeover & Clear Lipgloss | Hair: LaViere – Ambush/Creative Dye Blue tip | Poses: D.Luxx – Pencil 04 / D.Luxx – Pencil 06 / Frozen Panty Poses – HI5-BUNNY-07

Credits – Outfit: Romper: The Sea Hole – Nicosia Sun Suit sky | Necklace: Maxi Gossamer – Ashanti Necklace 1 Disk turquoise | Bracelet: Zaara: Vyomini chained bracelet turquoise silver | Flowers: LaGyo – Peonies headband aqua