Month: August 2016

Summer isn’t over!

Aeon Fashion, LotD, Reviews

Kids may be going back to school, and I may be thinking about heading back to my own classroom shortly, but Kamiri is making sure we know that Summer isn’t done!

Venusia_c008

  • Kamiri — Venusia Butterflies, Flowers, and Wild Sequins (2016/08 group gifts for Kamiri, FitMeshFanatics, and Maitreya Gifts)
  • Spyralle – Honu Bone and  pāua shell necklace and earrings
  • Island Style Designs – Head piece plumeria
  • Luminesse — Sea Turtle Purple Agate necklace & earrings
  • The Dark Fae – Boardwalk Flats Skittles (Slink)
  • Chez GiGi — Monaco Gold Evening Sandals

Venusia is all-mesh, and comes in five classic mesh and classic fitmesh sizes, as well as Belleza, Maitreya and Slink versions.  You’re sure to find something there to fit you.

The elegant design is perfect for the beach… or for an evening out.

Venusia_c002 To top it off, Kamiri brings us not one but three gifts in August, each a different version of the same beautiful skirt and top, each with a two-texture hud.  That’s right!  SIX variations!

Stop on by Kamiri, and check out the lovely gifts and the rest of their wonderful wares.  You won’t be disappointed.

Remember, like aloha, Summer is something you can choose to carry all year ’round within you.  A hui hou!

Womenstuff hunt #4

blue LotD

More wonderful fitmesh!  Have I mentioned I like fitmesh?  🙂  Another prize from the Womenstuff Hunt going until the end of the month.  Hurry and find some wonderful free (or nearly free) outfits!

maggie may_002

This set of shorts and top comes with a HUD with 4 color combinations that will suit most people (even us redheads!)  It’s in standard sizes and has fitmesh sizes for Maitreya and Slink.

maggie may_003

A little mix-and-match

Aeon LotD

One of the things that I don’t do enough of is a bit of mix-and-match.  Sure, swapping jewelry around is one thing but I confess that I don’t do enough mixing of separates.  But it is a lot of fun when you find interesting combinations that work!

I was considering an outfit for the monthly bellydance-themed party at Eden recently, and fell in love with this skirt from Bellydance Goddess.   Add a belt, and some beautiful bangles, and what for a top?  Would you believe the top from Spyralle‘s Heliconia Opal?  You bet!

HeliconiaBellydance_c004

HeliconiaBellydance_c026I confess, it’s a lot of fun taking pics while belly dancing.  🙂

HeliconiaBellydance_c020

Mahalo!  A hui hou!

Womenstuff Hunt #3

blue LotD

Wow, just wow.  This wonderful fitmesh dress is just fantastic for a hunt gift!  It has fitmesh in standard sizes and specific sizes for Maitreya, Slink, and Belleza.  This is another prize from the Womenstuff Hunt going on until the end of the month.  Run out and find some wonderful outfits just like this one!

blue glitter_003

The dress makes brilliant use of materials and comes with a face and body light to get the glitter to really sparkle!  To appreciate it, you need the Advanced Lighting Model on in your viewer.  The designer has even included matching sandals for Slink High feet, and a matching clutch as well (not shown).  As I said, wow!

blue glitter_002

Womenstuff hunt #2

blue LotD

People are so creative, and then they name their dresses “Dress R12” hehehe.  This is another hunt prize from the Womenstuff Hunt.  Don’t forget you have until the end of the month to get out there and find some wonderful new outfits!

dress r12_001

The dress is in standard mesh sizes.  Unfortunately it’s not workable with Lara without some umm major shape surgery 🙂  But it looks great on system!

dress r12_004

dress r12_003

Shake your tail feather

blue LotD

While out on the Womenstuff hunt, I came across this wonderful mesh corset in both black and white versions as this month’s FREE group gift from GLITTER!  It’s not fitmesh, just standard sizes, but you can’t complain, I mean, it’s a gift!  I love the generosity of some designers, and I hope I pay them back at least in some small way with these blog posts 🙂

tailfeathers white_001

It’s a little tricky on Lara, but ohh it’s worth it.  I know what I’ll be wearing to our next burlesque event!

tailfeathers white_003

Womenstuff hunt #1

blue LotD

Over the next few days (maybe weeks!) I’ll show you some of the hunt prizes from the Womenstuff Hunt for August.  It runs until the end of the month, so run out and find some L$0 and L$1 hunt items!

swimsuit purple stripe_001

Retro one pieces seem to be in at the moment, at least in SL.  This is the second one I’ve come across in a few weeks.  It comes in standard mesh sizes and also has fitmesh sizes for Belleza, Maitreya, and Slink.

swimsuit purple stripe_002

Avatar Complexity

blue Stuff

The big thing with the new version of the SL Viewer and the new release of Firestorm is Avatar Complexity.  Linden Labs have an article and video on it.  I thought I’d find out just how complex some of the usual items I wear are.

A naked avatar (and I mean completely naked with no hair, no nothing, gawd I look weird bald!) has a render weight of 1000.

System layer clothing, and foot shapers seem to have no effect on render weight.  I added multiple layers and the render weight didn’t change.  Alphas, as you would expect, drop render weight (but they seem to have to be a big alpha to much affect the number.  Wearing the Slink hands and feet alpha has no effect.  A full body alpha drops you to zero, but I suppose hands and feet on a standard systems avi are so simplified… *grin*).

Now, to get to my “base” naked avatar that I use to build outfits that force me to use system layers (by which I mean, I can’t use Maitreya Lara), we have:

  • Mayfly Deep Sky mesh eyes x 2: 2350
  • Slink Casual hands 2.5 x 2: 4552
  • WoW Skins Lashes: 3046
  • Alli & Ali Serafine Hair Fire: 34231
  • Slink High Feet 3.1 x 2: 5136
  • Slink Flat Feet 3.1 x 2: 4752

So, if I am wearing Slink Highs, my render weight is 50315 or 49931 for Slink Flat feet.

*Gulp* now for Maitreya Lara:

  • Maitreya Lara Alpha: -400
  • Maitreya Lara 3.5 body: 7338

Adding all this up, Lara in addition to the above, we have 57253 in Slink Highs and 56869 in Slink Flats.  Whew!

So, the really big contributor is my hair.  Serafine is a short bob, so let’s see what a rigged mesh short bob (very similar to Serafine) weighs.

  • ICONIC COCO: 44351

!!!!

And let’s see what a long rigged mesh hair is:

  • Exile Stone Cold Seduction: 1277

!!!!

This last number makes it abundantly clear that it doesn’t matter how complex the object appears to be, but in reality the software is directly measuring how well designers are making their meshes (be it prim or imported mesh via DAE).

I predict that we will see serious designers start to list the render weight on their market place listings to try and differentiate themselves from others with similar products.  We sure live in interesting (Second Life) times!

No place like home

Aeon Fashion, LotD, Reviews, Sponsored

Enchantment is honouring L. Frank Baum’s greatest creation, the Wonderful World of Oz — and Silvan Moon Designs has an amazing exclusive just for this event, Evanora of the East.

Evanora_c007

Evanora_c030

The Evanora gown is all mesh with Slink, Maitreya, and Belleza fitmesh sizes, as well as the standard mesh sizes.  Gloves and wispy flexi bits are included, as is a mesh collar.

Evanora_c004

I’ll admit, I took too many pictures, but you can tell the outfits that I am in love with — they are just too much fun to take pictures of.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy taking them!

I’ll leave on on this thought, one of my favourite quotes from L Frank Baum, with Dorothy and Polychrome, the Rainbow’s Daughter:

“You have some queer friends, Dorothy,” she said.
“The queerness doesn’t matter, so long as they’re friends”.

Aloha, my friends!