On The Hunt: Dark Katz!

it's nekolicious!  =P

The Bleeding Edge: "Love Fight" by Body Talking

First ever free review product!  YAY!!!  I ran into Ari (owner of Body Talking) the other day, and she was kind enough to give me a sneak peek at her first pose prop...a pose bed entitled "Love Fight."  Upon first rez, the bed is decked out in gorgeous sunset colors...deep reds, vibrant oranges, and bright yellows.  However, all of the texture are mod, so the colors are totally user customizable (notice that I changed mine to a neutral white).  The bed uses a multipose menu system, with a total of 16 poses (8 "Femme" poses and 8 "Homme" poses), each of which is customizable (pose position and rotation may be adjusted via menu).  The poses loaded in the bed are SO CUTE!  They're playful, whimsical, and even silly at times!  My personal favorite has to be pose #6...soooo adorable!  Special thanks to Jonas for being my patient photography plaything yet again!  =P

 the calm before the storm

 CUDDLES!  *heart*

 round 1!  *ding ding ding*

 about to roll Jonas off the bed!  =P

 king of the hill!

 a tender moment

lovers' quarrel 

Jonas makes a nice footstool...don'tcha think?

Shape: Custom
Skin: Subaru ~ "Edward Earth Normal"
Eyes: L. Fauna ~ "CHAI Eyes Blue 4"
Lashes: Miamai ~ "No Alpha Lashes NO1"
Hair: Gritty Kitty ~ "Hoke-Troika Ash"
Outfit:  Vitamen ~ "Vinyl Boy White"
Poses: Body Talking ~ "Love Fight"

Models:  Sy Whitesong & Jonas Laviscu

Photographer:  Sy Whitesong

The Bleeding Edge: "January Inspiration" by Finesmith Designs

Yula Finesmith's Inspiration January collection hit the store directly after the fashion show, and it is AMAZING!  I love all of the pieces so so much, but my absolute favorite has to be "Lorena."  It reminds me of dandelions (my fav flowers), and I absolutely LOVE it!  My Photoshopping skills have improved dramatically over the last couple of weeks (notice the new watermark), but alpha textures are still the bane of my existence.  I tried my best to remove as much green screen as possible, but I'm afraid I still have a long way to go when it comes to removing all that green from textures as intricate as these:

Inspired by Lorena

As previously mentioned, this set reminds me of dandelions, which became my inspiration for this shot.  I finally gave up on trying to Photoshop this against a green screen, and just took the shot against a background in SL.  =P

Shape: Custom
Skin: Subaru
Eyes: L. Fauna
Lashes: Miamai
Hair: Find Ash

Shirt & Jeans:  Xplosion
Jewelry: Finesmith
Pose: Body Talking
Model & Photographer: Sy Whitesong

 Inspired by Blackbarbie

The curves on this set almost look like the fins of a fish to me, so I went aquatic with this shot, which probably turned out to be the best of the 5.  It also gave me lots of good practice playing with hue, saturation, and lightness...trying to get them to match the colors of the background just right.  =)

Shape: Custom
Skin: Subaru
Eyes: L. Fauna
Lashes: Miamai
Hair: 3636
Jewelry: Finesmith
Naughty Bits:  Xcite
Pose: Body Talking
Model & Photographer:  Sy Whitesong

 Inspired by Celestial

This set is so intricate and delicate, I knew I had to present it as a headshot to portray as much detail as possible.  It comes with 4 pieces total, 2 of which are shown here:  a veil, a necklace, a cuff that attaches to the upper arm, and a bracelet!

Shape: Custom
Skin: Subaru
Eyes: L. Fauna
Lashes: Miamai
Hair: Gritty Kitty
Jewelry: Finesmith
Pose: Body Talking

Model & Photographer:  Sy Whitesong

Inspired by Helen

Helen's Inspiration set is so futuristic looking, I knew I had to give this pic a sci-fi vibe.  The skin I chose was used by Wicca and Ari (well, the female version was used by them) in the Metropolis fashion show a couple of weekends ago, and was a perfect match for Yula's gorgeous creations!

Shape: Custom
Skin: ND/MD
Eyes: ND/MD
Jewelry: Finesmith
Pose: Body Talking

Model & Photographer:  Sy Whitesong 

Inspired by Zigi

The first of Yula's sets that I'm aware of to be inspired by a male avatar, Zigi is a new twist on an old male fashion standard:  the hat and tie.  The neckpiece comes in both male and female versions...the male version has a spiked collar at its focal point and is a bit more prominent, whereas the female version is more dainty and composed of sensual curves.

Shape: Custom
Skin: Subaru
Eyes: L. Fauna
Lashes: Miamai
Hair: UW

Shirt & Pants:  Xplosion
Jewelry: Finesmith
Pose: Body Talking
Model & Photographer: Sy Whitesong

Seen On The Scene: "January Inspiration Show" by Finesmith Designs

Today was Finesmith's monthly Inspiration Show, and it was AMAZING!  I'm IN LOVE with almost every one of the new designs Yula introduced this month, much to my wallet's chagrin.  =P  Pictures of the new jewelry sets to come.  SL was being a beast, so after my second crash I decided to use print screen rather than in-game snapshots.  Here are a couple of shots that I managed to salvage!

Jellyfish!  o_O

 My personal fav, Inspired by Lorena

Inspired by Zigi

 ARI!!!

 Tatanka Kaligawa

On The Hunt: "MENstuff Hunt"

Here it is...the mother (well, father) of all male hunts.  MENstuff was established to fill the void following the dissolution of the Make Him Over hunt, and features many of the same stores.  I started the hunt without Jonas, and failed MISERABLY.  I'm typically faster than him at spotting hunt items, but there's something about finding those black t-shirts that I just suck at.  =/  Frustration aside, the hunt is a lot of fun, and there are some great items available...totally free (I'm particularly excited about the outfit from Champagne).  There's also a styling contest at the end of the hunt, with 30K going to the best avatar constructed entirely from MENstuff hunt items!  Let the hunt begin!!!

TEST 001: "Engraved Hearts" by Finesmith Designs

After only minor prodding, I convinced my SL hubby, Jonas Laviscu, that we should enter Finesmith's Engraved Hearts contest...love you baby!  =D  I went right to work on a concept for the shot, first choosing one of the "Romance"poses from Body Talking.  Next Jonas and I collaborated on our outfits, deciding early on that we would be wearing nothing but Finesmith jewelry and our birthday suits.  WOO!  Jonas' outfit is comprised of several "Idioma" necklaces, wrapping their way around his muscular body in one continuous sparkling ribbon.  For my outfit, I used the "Leah" necklace as a loincloth, then made a belt out of approximately 5,000 strategically placed "Shae" bracelets.  To complete the look, I added "Yula's Tear" as a nipple ring, dangling from my chest.  For our photographer, I chose Ginevra Babii.  I absolutely LOVE her work, and chose her specifically for her usage of lighting.  I've asked Ginevra to produce 3 different interpretations of our concept, and below is the first of the 3!  For this variation, Ginevra chose an Asian theme.  She mentioned that the second variation is very nature inspired, and that the third will feature a fantasy background.  I'll post those as they're completed, but enjoy this one for now!

TEST:  FAILED

Shape: Custom
Skin: Subaru
Eyes: L. Fauna
Lashes: Miamai
Hair: UW
Jewelry: Finesmith
Naughty Bits:  Xcite
Pose: Body Talking
Models: Sy Whitesong & Jonas Laviscu
Photographer: Ginevra Babii

The Bleeding Edge: "Patty" by Body Talking

Ari (Arisia Ashmoot) has just released a new line of poses, specifically designed for the business professional, yet versatile enough to compliment any outfit..."Patty!"  The poses may be purchased individually, or the fatpack includes all 10 of the fabulous poses that you see below:

Shape:  Custom
Skin:  Subaru
Eyes:  L. Fauna
Lashes:  Miamai
Hair:  UW
Outfit:  Xplosion
Poses:  Body Talking
Model & Photographer:  Sy Whitesong