Mindlessness

Let me just say that I have absolutely nothing to contribute today to the blogosphere. There isn't an intelligent thought running through my head right now. I think it's the weather.

I do want to mention that I had a very nice conversation with Alejandra from Wetherby's last night. She is just a lovely lady and as kind as they come. I believe that people who are truly good people to their core should succeed. Wetherby's has a lot going on this week - new Midnight Mania boards, lucky chairs, freebies. I would encourage everyone to visit the store and please don't just take. It would be nice if you would buy something that you see that you like, just to support someone who is making SL a better place for all of us.

That's my friend Professor Afterthought wearing a wonderful Wetherby's creation - the clothes are perfect for avatars who need a professional appearance, like the Professor.


I have been spending some time exploring some of the featured sites in SL, and finally made it to Welsh Lakes. It was so peaceful and relaxing that I just had a seat on the beach and watched the water while thinking about why there are mean people in the world. I wondered whether sometimes, I can be mean. I know I'm irritable occasionally, and I just don't understand the motivation behind much of what goes on in SL. I wonder if it is possible to voice irritation without being mean about it. I wonder if being irritable is bad. Should it be stifled, or does that just lead to boughts of explosive violence and heart disease?

Isabeal ponders meanness while wearing her own black t-shirt, a white Bauhaus cami from Sn@tch, leggings from Ducknipple, hair from Magika (Le Look), and Violet Voltaire cameo jewelry.

The Eyes Have It

For some reason, I have an obsession with eyebrows. It is a RL obsession that sends me searching for the best eyebrow tools and experimenting with different eyebrow shapes. I sometimes watch those makeover shows to see the difference that just a good plucking can make.

I think eyebrows are just as important in SL to an avatar's appearance. I first realized this when helping my sister find a look when she was a noobie. She had some awful high arched eyebrows that made her look a bit....frightening. Just a different bald base fixed everything, making her the beauty that she is now.

It is important to experiment with different eyebrow looks, which are often found on the bald base that hair designers hand out when you buy hair. You are not required to wear a particular bald base under hair. They are interchangeable. So, once you find one with the right eyebrow shape for your face, it might be a good idea to rename it to something memorable (like "Awesome eyebrows") and keep it in a handy folder.

Different eyebrows work with different shapes, and there is no eyebrow shape that will work with everyone. A pointy brow, for instance, might look striking when paired with rounded features, but might be too severe for an angular face. Here are some examples of eyebrows and how they work for my face. I think it's interesting how a simple changing of the brow can completely change a face's character.

Like many newbies, my first brow experience came from Alady. As you can see, the brow shape is very rounded, but the color is meant for a blond. The shape is nice, but the color is off. So, I had to keep searching.






Diversity is a common first stop for those new to SL because of their very generous newbie voucher. The eyebrow shape on their bald base is in stark contrast to Alady's. It is rather high and pointy, but also blond. It kind of gives me a wide awake look, but I worry about looking a bit mean. Still not quite the right shape for me, but notice just how different the character of my face looks with only a change of brow!







The beautiful Sirena, with her fantastic blog and lovely scripted hair, has a shop that I also highly recommend. Her eyebrows, though, I found didn't really do justice to my face. Also made for blonds, I thought they made me look a bit sad. Perhaps if I'm feeling a bit blue, they will be the perfect look to complete a skin with runny mascara.




Some of the most beautiful hair I have seen in SL comes from Calico Ingman Creations. The eyebrows have an unusual shape - perhaps a bit quizzical. Another blond shade, they also are not quite right for my face shape.






It wasn't until I discovered Frick that I finally found the right eyebrows for my face shape. I am absolutely enthralled with their skins (and am wearing one of the "Retro Betty" skins in the photos here). Their skins come with two different eyebrow shapes, one rounded, one arched. Both are tinted darker to go with my dark hair. The rounded one gives me a lovely calm look - perhaps a bit dreamy.




The arched brow is a more retro look reminiscent of the 50s pin-ups. It is a look I love. So far, this is the look I'm going with. Of course, brow shape is a matter of personal taste. But just remember, it is an important consideration, and sometimes just a brow can make all the difference in the world. That, and, of course a beautiful singing voice....

"I dreamed a dream in time gone by...."



*hair from Exile :-)

The Things Nightmares are Made of

I was wandering around some of the featured sites in Sl, just people watching and killing time. Little did I know that I would serendipitiously run across something which would re-awaken a long gone nightmare. When I was a kid, I made the mistake of watching The Hand, a frightening movie about a murderous disembodied hand that crawls its way across the floor seeking out victims.

I lost sleep for a week after that movie, fearing that the hand was lurking under my bed just waiting to pounce. I had forgotten that movie, or so I thought, until I ran across this young lady wearing, of all things, a hand outfit. I was frightened and very disturbed. Not only was she wearing disembodied hands, but they were robot hands - soulless hands - the kind that can easily turn murderous. This poor lady is but one step away from having all those hands wrapped around her poor pixel neck squeezing her breath away (avatars do breath, you know). I don't think I could sleep with those hands even in my inventory, much less on my body. Now, she's a cute girl (aside from the bad baby in womb tattoo), but I don't understand the hand outfit. It just scares me, and it should scare her, too.

Happy Easter

We've all been getting into the Easter spirit in Ghostly Forest. Along with going on Easter egg hunts, we've all been dressing like bunnies and hopping around the place. We made flower pots for each other and decorated our home with family photos. I felt a longing to connect to the pagan roots of the holiday, so I had a long meditative sit on our henge whilst contemplating the connection between fertility and spring, like bunnies do, you know?


Lilly, however, felt a more gothic spirit as she focused on glowing pink accessories and scary eyes.

Now, where are all the cats when you need them?

Pretty and Free

I suppose I've become a big fan of freebies and hunting. Here's my latest get-up. It was all free (except for the hair). At Malt, I found the easter egg and joined the group. The dress is from the easter egg hunt, the bag is a group gift, and the shoes were free from xstreet. They're the new prim toes shoes. It was difficult getting the color right until I realized that I shouldn't pay any attention to the scripted color and look at the advanced menu color under curser tool instead for guidance.

The skin is one of the new sneak preview skins from Diversity. The hair is not free from Armidi.

This outfit is nice, but it is definitely something I would never ever in a million years wear in real life. Me in pink? Imagine that! My friends would run screaming something about Stepford Wives.

The picture was taken at the new Wetherby's store. My sisters work there as models. I had to see the show and check out all the new dresses. It's a beautiful store, and Alejandra is very sweet to my sissies. Her dresses are pretty cool, too.

Where are my people?

Now I'm relatively new to SL, mind you, and I've already discovered that SL is filled with vampires, furries, gorians, strippers/escorts, fashionistas and nekos. I don't fit into any of those groups, though. I identify more with Buffy than with Spike, I've never wanted to be an anthropomorphized animal, I am really not into B&D (it's WAY too sexist for my psyche to handle), I don't understand the thrill with seeing avatars strip. It's like watching nekkid barbies. And I like cats, but I don't want to have to deal with a tail and ears.

So, where does someone like me find others in second life who fit into this "none of the above" category? Where do they hang? What kinds of things do they do? Are there support groups for the uncategorized? I'm just asking. I think I need it.

Fotoscope

I spend the day exploring the fotoscope sim. There are some wonderful poses throughout the sim. I played a bit with the environmental settings and took lots of pictures.






I don't know why it is so fun to capture screenshots on Secondlife. Maybe it's because I get to go places and do things that are completely impossible in real life. I mean, who wears a corset top in the snow? I even made a snow angel - with bare skin! It was cold and snowy today in RL, and it really sucked, hence the pouty face below.


I'm wearing my own shirt, freebie jeans from Ducknipple, boots from Moloko, skin from Frick, and L$1 hair from Diversity.