It is a new month, well actually we are well into it, but I am a little behind. The Collabor88 May edition has started and it has the theme Daydream, which is a really nice theme, with a blend of light pastel colours to mix with other wonderful items. Also new is the gorgeous skin I am wearing in this post.

The skin is the latest Lily V2 release from Belleza, and as if you join their in world group, you will be lucky enough to get a gift option of this skin. Lily comes with 20 make up options on the skins themselves, with hair base and cleavage as well. Then on top of all that you have brows and hairbases in red and dark as a tattoo layer options, as the skin itself is done with blonde, and it is a really noticeable difference between the hair colours, startlingly so, so make sure you try on everything.

The skin has a wonderful body, and a beautiful face, I especially love the shape of the mouth…but stand out for me the most was the eye-shadows, each one just more beautiful than the one prior, the colours are glittery and really beautiful, and colours that I have not seen before, there is a purple that just blew my mind with love for it, and then I laughed because usually I am not a big purple fan as many of you know, but this make up was just WOW. As a special incentive to buy a full pack or a line you also get lipsticks on the tattoo layers. So make sure and get over to give Lily V2 a whirl and DEMO DEMO DEMO.

Atop all this beautiful skin is the Vivienne hair by D!va one of the guests at this months Collabor88, the guests that appear at this event are wonderful, especially this month, with Adorkable Poses also being a Guest, and you know how much I love my Adorkable Poses. Make sure you snatch up all the sets at the event as each set is only 88L and so pretty.

Other pretty items from the event are the skirts I have one, one is from The Sea Hole and is a pretty wrap looking skirt, I had one like this once upon a time, and it was so cool and easy to wear, as is this one, with the lovely large floral motif and bow. The other skirt is from Ingenue and seriously loving the detailed stitching and how beautiful it shows on mesh, love mesh texturing so much.The cute little top is by Kyoot, and it comes in five colours during the event, I am all about the revealing aspect of the top, as you could wear a cute bustier underneath, or even a longer tank top, but this time to show off my new cleavage – actually the non cleavaged option of the skin – by Belleza.

Other cleavage enhancing items in the post are the necklaces I am wearing, first off the feather one is from Yummy and is at Collabor88/may, there are also matching earrings, that come in either single or double options. They are really pretty and have that kind of earthy 70′s kind of look about them. The other necklace is from Toki Doki and I just love the textures and the overall style of this piece, I will be showing others in the future as Toki Doki has been doing so many amazing things of late.

Other great Toki Doki items are the new Queen boots, they are mesh and so adorable, they are like mini Cowgirl boots. An ankle length only version which would fit really well with pants. They come in the solid leathers as well as some combination colours, so they are fun to wear whichever way you decide.

Click HERE to SLURL’s  Page.

Poses by : Adorkable Poses @ Collabor88/May

Equipment Used:

VR Studio 3.0 and HUD and Library for location shoots – VR Foundry Mainstore , VR Foundry @ The Deck

Eyes:

Ellis – LeLutka

Lashes:

Natural Curl Sculpted Lashes – LeLutka

Skin Worn:

Lily V2 – Belleza 

Hair:

Vivienne – D!va @ Collabor88/May

Clothes:

Adela Skirt – Ingenue @ Collabor88/May

Daydream Skirt – The Sea Hole @ Collabor88/May

Soft Heart Cropped Top – Kyoot @ Collabor88/May

Shoes/Boots:

Queen Boots – Toki Doki 

Accessories:

Droopy necklace, Flowers Bag – Toki Doki

Featherweight Necklace & Earrings – Yummy @ Collabor88/May

LOVE ROCK – ocean waters – Callie Cline @ Collabor88/May

Prim Socks – Maitreya 

Once upon a time a Second Life profile was something to be proud of. Way back in the olden days, they even included a rating system. This system cost someone around 25L – I think it was 25 exactly but it was so long ago now I may be wrong – to then pay to rate someone for being good. I remember often getting IMs from customers at work, saying that they had rated me, and running with glee to my profile to see that my rating had updated. The system also said how many times a person had rated others, and once I met a man that had rated over 2000 avatars and I thought he was just awesome for doing so.

They got rid of the system, in a way I can understand that it would be kind of sad to be working so hard to do good things, customer service, helping people and so on, and having no ratings at all, because people did start to look at them as a measure of how professional or courteous people were. So I was sad face, but understood it being removed, and thought that the ones to lose out the most were actually the lindens, because that was some serious money back then, 25l each time, hundreds of thousands of them happening probably every day.

So then we had regular pretty profiles. You had your front page, the parts that showed your date of rezzing, the partner section – I love mine – whether or not you are pay info etc. Then you got to talk a bit about yourself, or others, or your dreams and aspirations…or you just got to be creepy if creepy was your thing. Then you have the handy profile slot for dropping inventory items…YAY we love those – mind you I love even more when it was made possible to drag to IM, but anyway. Then you had the web tab, the one where you could insert a link to your own site, or favourite site, then check-boxes for things you were able to do, and things you wanted to do. All fun, and sometimes the things people typed in on their own were humorous, but it was a cool feature as it used to really show at a glance if someone had the sills needed for a task – unless they were fibbing, and that happens.

Then Picks Tab, which was originally to share with others the places that you felt were worth visiting, a kind of lead by example type of ideal. If you had bothered to ‘Pick’ it, it must be good right? well not always lol. But it did become a very useful work and business management tool. If you run a business in Second Life, please always make your number one ‘Pick” the CURRENT landmark to your store/office. You can set the placement by numbering them before the name, so it would be 1. Main Store 2. Store Policies 3. Other Locations and so on.

Then came your Classifieds Tab, another useful resource because they allow for more keywords than picks do, and for as little as 50L a week, you can allocate them for your store, or wanted ads etc. I find them very useful when running events, as you can put out a 50L ad so that you appear in search with more keywords that may be needed. Be sure to uncheck the box that allows them to rollover every week if you are only having a short term run, so that you don’t get charged over and over again.

Then you have the first life tab, probably the most misused of the tabs, sometimes they include RL info, but I used to use mine for little tips and tricks that could be shared, like rendervolumelodfactor so that people can make sure they are seeing sculpts at their best – need to change to 4 if not already at 4. Or I would put links to blogs I like and so on, it varies.

Then you had my favourite tab of all time, NOTES! For someone that works or is overly social in SL this tab was a godsend. I put information about clients in there, I put redelivery info for customers, information on staff, and so on, in their own notes section, as it is only visible by you. I have come across notes on people that I have not seen in years, that are as basic as ‘ delivered Sydney hair april 2007′ to ‘met them at such and such’s house new years 2008′ to more complex things such as real issues with people that I needed to know about forever, like copybotting and such.

THEN DISASTER. They changed profiles, they made them complicated they removed options, and added others. But it is funnily enough and yes I talk way too long before I get to my point. It is the NEW options that are disgusting.

This week I have been using the LL Viewer. I don’t usually as it doesn’t work properly for me, and I need things to work or I cannot do the things I need to get done. So even though I have seen the new profiles in the past, I did not really grasp until today how really awful they are. We do not see what is visible on LL viewer, if we use Third Party Viewers and do not use web profile option. On the TPV’s you see things the way they used to be and all is rosy in the world.

Today I went to the profile of a content creator – no names – and I was needing to IM her in a hurry because of some work related stuff. She was not on my FL so I went to properties on an item in my inventory and it opened her profile. It then becomes a complicated task – even for an oldbie – to find the right button to find the hidden option of IMing someone – that in itself is disturbing and probably why this atrocity occurs – while on the ‘feed’ page, I was witness to things that I should not be able to see, messages from customers, customer service related messages.

Because IM’s as an option are not the visible option, the first thing that people are met with is an area to text, so they use it…but for people like myself and I am sure hundreds of thousands of other avatars, this is not an area we ever even see, so worse than missing an offline or a notecard going astray, this feed system goes unnoticed, which is even worse, because it is publicly not dealt with. A customer rants that they did not receive an item and to deliver it ASAP, and the message stays there for months, no one even knows it is there – except others using that system and visiting the profile – and even if the issue is dealt with promptly, unless the customer returns to the scene and acknowledge that, it sits in wait for someone to judge your business based on it. Also for some customers they may think that that is the best way to contact you, and not even IM you or Notecard you, then what, they think you are an awful retailer and write not only a scathing message, but tell everyone how you ignored them and stole their money?

If you do not hear from a store owner about an issue you have, do not use this function, send another notecard, send another IM they may have not received the first, it happens. Also be patient, just because you are online every day, does not mean everyone is, or is able to be, also things happen. People in Second Life run businesses 24/7 the commitment to it is incredible, when in RL business is 8-10 hours usually only 5-6 days per week. You would never get the response that is expected as a MUST in RL that you do in Second Life, so remember everyone is trying to do what they can, in the time they may be limited to.

Aside from all of that, it is public, and that should not be allowed. Customer issues should be private. LL should not make it possible to turn someones profile into a place for trolling and customers to feel that they are not being dealt with. This is too much like the so called reviews on Marketplace, but that is a whole other rant.

xoxSasyxox

At Culture Shock you will not just find clothing, shoes, hair, but also Furniture and poses and even prefabs. While I was there visiting I happened across a store called Hanaya, I had not seen this store before, and it was definitely quirky and cute. I bought a planter and it is cute and colourful. The true love I have though is for the Cowry Shell inspired Sculpture piece in the picture. It is made of wood and iron, and as a Pisces the concept of art inspired by the ocean really impresses me, especially the textiles used to create it…wood and iron not the norm for such things, the Cowry Shell will be available at the Home & Garden Expo that starts in two weeks. Make sure you check out their store, it has art pieces, furniture, gifts, and amazing sculptures, well worth a visit and look around.

I am also showing some of the beautiful pieces that are at Culture Shock by What Next. A music inspired set, but I am only showing  a few pieces, the cushion and poster art… and the cushion has lovely animations included, including the great magazine reading one. The items are fabulous and mesh items, so you will see the prints are all so vivid. I thought the music theme really suited the wonderful new Mesh tops from Toki Doki, these skull and cross  tanks are very chic rocker girl, and paired up with the zipper skinny jeans from Maitreya and the love rocker necklace set from Maxi’s it is all working like a dream.

Other items from Toki Doki in Mesh are the casual sandals that are such adorable flats with soft suede and pretty colours. The beach bags are not only pretty in the overall style, the colours are so pretty and the over-sized flower is just awesome. Definitely a must have for spring and summer combination looks.

Click HERE to SLURL’s Page.

Poses by : MiaMai Poses by Mavi Beck

Furniture by : Lounging Floor Pillow , Woodstock Framed Picture – What Next @ Culture Shock

Cowry Sculpture – HanayaMesh @ Culture Shock

Equipment Used:

VR Studio 3.0 and HUD and Library for location shoots – VR Foundry Mainstore , VR Foundry @ The Deck

Eyes:

Ellis – LeLutka

Lashes:

Natural Curl Sculpted Lashes – LeLutka

Skin Worn:

Jen Skin – League

Hair:

Yippie Hair, Toni Hair – LeLutka

Clothes:

cotton shirt (cross), cotton shirt (pink sugar skull) – Toki Doki

Zipper Skinny Jeans Pastel – Maitreya

Shoes/Boots:

casual sandals – Toki Doki

Accessories:

Beach Bag – Toki Doki 

Love Rocker Necklace – Maxi’s 

Spring/Summer 2012 Classic Nails – Izzies

Culture Shock started with a huge amount of excitement from all over the grid, the sim is packed the rafters and the delights are plentiful. I have been watching the show “Community” lately. As funny and silly as it is, it really is lovely how it shows a group of different people, from all walks of life coming together as friends…much like Second Life really, it doesn’t matter where you came from, what you have in RL or don’t have, the community can be really warm and provide a lot of support as people grow and find their own niche and develop talents. I am of course going with the positives here, because the negatives of late are just not cool, and as entertaining as some people may find drama and other trainwrecks within a community, I think that in the long run, you only damage yourself by participating.

The mesh shorts I am wearing today are from Ricielli and are part of their Culture Shock release. These shorts are fun and sexy, with a high waist and a kind of wrap skort effect, which is just fin and vintage inspiring. The prints are so bright and fun, especially the animal prints, and who can resist bananas, I thought it just meant they were going to be yellow, but nope, they are actually bananas soooo cute. I am wearing amazing Jewelry in the post too, the stunning necklaces in both pics are from Finesmith and the one with the amazing back is at Culture Shock with other amazing pieces. You can change the texture of the metal to others like silver and bronze etc, but the gold went perfectly with the look. Other pieces are from Maxi’s and I just adore the Fez ring which also has gold or silver and so many coloured stone options on click, so all the pieces are a wonderful investment in beautiful.

Click HERE to SLURL’s Page.

Poses by : Glitterati Poses

Equipment Used:

VR Studio 3.0 and HUD and Library for location shoots – VR Foundry Mainstore , VR Foundry @ The Deck

Eyes:

Ellis – LeLutka

Lashes:

Natural Curl Sculpted Lashes – LeLutka

Skin Worn:

Jen – League 

Hair:

Rykiel, Oscar – LeLutka

Clothes:

Summer Mini Shorts, Mini Top – Ricielli @ Culture Shock

Babytux Bra Top – One Bad Pixel

Shoes/Boots:

Salience Shoes, Esprit XTD – Maitreya Gold

Accessories:

Cowhide Tote Leather Bag – Ricielli

Safari Back necklace ( @ Culture Shock) , Taquila Sunrise Necklace – Finesmith Jewelry

Boho Bangles – Gold and Ebony, Eyelashes – Party – Swallow Wings, Fez Ring – Maxi’s by Maxi Gossamer

Spring/Summer 2012 Classic Nails – Izzies 

Full of colour and vivid prints are todays post items, more beautiful items from Culture Shock that begins in about 5 hours at 4pm. Remember that every store at Culture Shock will have vendors that are donating either 50 or 100% to charity, so gather up all of your friends, and their money and shop your heart out.

These stunning pantsuits are by Baiastice, and are also available at Culture Shock. I love the bright prints and colour combinations of the silky fabric. The strapless look is cinched at the waist with the great wrap belt look. The jewelry I am wearing is also at Culture Shock and are the latest releases from LaGyo. I love the paisley jewelry, and they are texture change with those wonderful seasonal colours we spoke about yesterday, so not only do they match so many clothing items out at the moment, but also the great nails from Izzies and other accessories.

The gorgeous hairs I am wearing are Mesh hairbase styled hairs from Vanity Hair. They are divine in their sleek style and really beautiful length…make sure and demo them really soon, because they are must haves.

Click HERE to SLURL’s Page.

Poses by : Adorkable Poses @ Culture Shock

Equipment Used:

VR Studio 3.0 and HUD and Library for location shoots – VR Foundry Mainstore , VR Foundry @ The Deck

Eyes:

Ellis – LeLutka

Lashes:

Natural Curl Sculpted Lashes – LeLutka

Skin Worn:

Jen – League

Hair:

Sunset Bld, Sunset Blvd. V.2 – Vanity Hair

Clothes:

Anais Mesh Jumpsuit – Baiastice @ Culture Shock

Shoes/Boots:

Santigold Mesh Pump – Baiastice @ Culture Shock 

Accessories:

Paisley Earrings & Necklace, Cube Ring – LaGyo @ Culture Shock

Spring/Summer 2012 Classic Nails – Izzies  

An abundance of colour in this post, and it was so much fun to shoot. I am so in love with the seasons palette  and so  is Whimsy, so much so that she asked Izzie of Izzies to make a nail pack in the seasons colours, to go with all the fabulous clothing doing the same at the moment…and faster than a bullet they were released today. So make sure you grab those as soon as you can, and you will be set for many of the styles released so far, and for future releases.

Culture Shock is about to open tomorrow, and we are all abuzz with talkity talk about the stunning designs and releases about to be unveiled, some are new, and those items that aren’t are always new to someone, so it is going to be a shopfest and a half. I think you need to de-prim and definitely de-script as there are monitors at the landing point to let you know if you are over the limit when you arrive, so do everyone including yourself a favour and take it all off first.

Ok so here we go, first off the delightful June dresses by Celoe, they will be released exclusively at Culture Shock for the duration of the event, and the Lake colour – not shown – is the charity fundraising colour, so be sure to grab it and all the others of course. I am enamored by this dresses neckline, or cleavage line truthfully. I love how the fabric is loose in that area and sort of sits just right where the eye should be drawn, very seductive.  The corset bone like stitching down the front is also a big turn on, as it again carries the eye to the hips and then the legs, all working like a shapely illusion, which is very arousing. I wore it with sexy and sweet hair, that way you can see that it does go from day to night, and depending on accessories, can be all sorts of fun to wear.

The boots are new from Ingenue and will also be at Culture Shock, they are beautifully stitched and styled, with lovely colours and come in standard sizing as they are rigged mesh. The mustard colour is an exclusive for Culture Shock that will not be available in the fat pack at all, so you need to buy it separate, and the money will go to the Charity that Culture Shock is fundraising for Médecins Sans Frontières.

Next up we have the two pics featuring items from Tutti Frutti that they will be releasing for Culture Shock also. The Pants are divine, and these are just one of the prints available, I love them so much…you know I always praise Bela’s print work on her regular clothing releases, but now with Mesh the colours and prints are just popping.  I paired up the pants with the beautiful skinny scarf that Mon Tissu is releasing at Culture Shock also, there is a beautiful print one called Malay that will be their fundraiser item – not shown, but this cream one was a perfect match to the ensemble, that and the divine envelope clutch that is also a Mon Tissu item about to be released at Culture Shock.

The Bag comes in two versions, hand held and under the arm, perfect for varied looks, and so over-sized and wonderfully crafted. The scarf and the bag are just the beginning I hope of more Mon Tissu accessories, as they really add to a look. The other Mon Tissu items are the caramel favorite flats, they are at FaMESHed until the 21st, and the two tone is so adorable.

Equally adorable is the Zoe top, another Tutti Frutti item for Culture Shock, this tiered top is very 70′s in style, and the print is stunning…I cannot wait for more mesh from Bela, she really knows how to do prints so well. The pants I am wearing in this look are the zipper skinny jeans from Maitreya, they are available now in pastels as well as the original denims released earlier. The colours are beautiful, the pink I wore for three days I think lol, but these yellow make me so happy, I love yellow, I used to live in a yellow house, and waking up in yellow rooms just add joy to the morning. I also love citrus colours, so the tangerine coloured hair from Wasabi Pills – all hair today is from Wasabi Pills – was a must do, and with the added benefit of the beautiful eyeshadow by Elymode that is at Summer Beauty Festival, and the new nails by Izzies.

I am loving all the accessories in this post, including the rings by Je Suis, these are also at Culture Shock and have so many options of colour change, in sets of colours, metal colours, rim colours and even RGB so you can fine tune your own colours, so many reasons to wear them lots. Also so you don’t just stand around looking fabulous, but strike a pose looking fabulous, some of the poses I am using by Glitterati are also at Culture Shock, soooo many things to see and buy buy buy.

So many great events for you to see this weekend, it is going to be a huge one, so make sure you pack a lunch…

Click HERE to SLURL’s Page.

Poses by : Glitterati Poses @ Culture Shock

Equipment Used:

VR Studio 3.0 and HUD and Library for location shoots – VR Foundry Mainstore , VR Foundry @ The Deck

Eyes:

Ellis – LeLutka

Lashes:

Natural Curl Sculpted Lashes – LeLutka

Skin Worn:

Cristina Skin – Izzies 

Alato Due – gold, Alato Due – coal Make Up – Elymode @ Summer Beauty Festival 

Hair:

Shiori ( @ Culture Shock ) , Jacqueline (@ FaMESHed) , Sybille, Monique – Wasabi Pills

Clothes:

June Dress – Celoe @ Culture Shock 

Dig In Mesh Pants, Zoe Top Mesh – Tutti Frutti @ Culture Shock

Zipper-Skinny Pastel * Yellow – Maitreya 

House Lounge Body in Sun – Royal Blue

Shoes/Boots:

Jude Boot – Ingenue @ Culture Shock

Favorite Flats Caramel ( @ FaMESHed ) Yellow  – Mon Tissu

Accessories:

Envelope Clutch , Skinny Scarf – Mon Tissu @ Culture Shock

Straw Tote Bag – Dark Brown – Mon Tissu

Cross of Assisi  – Maxi’s by Maxi Gossamer

voyante ring – Je Suis 

Spring/Summer 2012 Classic Nails – Izzies 

Another event that is on at the moment is the Summer Beauty Festival. This event is a wonderful outdoor fair setting, with a Ferris Wheel and adorable tents, the event is a group of creative make up designers from all over the place…a small event that will not only add to your make up collection but possibly introduce you to some stores you were not already familiar with. There are also some gift items out and around the event, as well as an amazing contest that you need to encourage every man you know to enter, as this is truly fun and exciting, and I doubt very much there is a man in Second Life that does not have some female clothing in his inventory – every single man I know has sat on a lucky chair for a girl he knows at least once lol. There are details on this fabulous Summer Beauty Drag Pagent HERE .

Glam Affair has been busy making not only a new skin but also many mesh clothing items. The gown I am wearing in red is lovely, it is that perfect Little Red Riding Hood red, so it really makes a huge impact – speaking of Red Riding Hood is anyone else getting a bit grumpy at all the Once Upon a Time changes to the stories we have been raised on ? I know it is a really awesome show, and I do love it but seriously I am getting a bit miffed with some of the grandiose changes.

The high waist formal skirt is just perfect for creating your own formal look, I added the One Bad Pixel Baby Tux bra top, removing the straps with the hud and leaving on the bow-tie, with the belted high waist of the skirt it was almost cummerbund looking so all worked really well together.

With any Mesh though it is always advised you try everything on and DO NOT just stand still. Mesh was created with movement in mind, but you need to make sure that the mesh moves with you, and not against you, and with demos provided, it is definitely up to you to be really sure of what you buy before you do.

Other wonderful Mesh items are the Santigold shoes from Baiastice, these pumps come with or without straps and are just really good looking platforms. The heel shape is unusual and stylish, and the shape and overall fit just make for some very comfortable and elegant footwear. They will be at Culture Shock which opens on the 4th so I suggest wearing texture clothing and no shoes and trying everything in sight.

Other newness at Culture Shock is this stunning style from Exile, that rhymes wooot. Ok so the Groove Theory hair is very chic and comes with texture change bands on the tail, you just have to click your nose, which is so cute lol. You  can also tint the bands separately by going into edit on something else and then clicking on the hair bands while using edit linked parts.

Other newness is the jewelry from Maxi’s by Maxi Gossamer. The rings you saw some of the other day, and today featuring the so sexy and very rocker like necklace and earrings from the two different sets recently released, again all sorts of combinations of necklaces so definitely an amazing deal, and also so creative as they are mesh and just divine to wear.

Lastly the skin, the new Giselle skin from Glam Affair. This skins face is lovely, a softer little younger look than previous on my shape anyway. The skin comes with 12 make ups, and a clean version – not shown – with hair bases and brows in blonde, dark and red. I am glad the red is available for more skins. The face has some different features than the previous ones, with a brighter brow/forehead area, which I have noticed on a few skins lately, as well as a different tone around the jawline, which actually gives it a more authentic made up face look, which I always find interesting with skins in SL if the designer goes in that direction – I do wish personally though that if someone was going to wear lots of make up they would remember that that means you cannot usually see freckles as those too get covered up with foundation. Or maybe that’s just how it is down here, or its just me, I knew people for years that didn’t even know I had freckles lol – anyway back to Giselle, all the usual great body details, and a lovely face. DEMO DEMO DEMO. I am also wearing two make up layers in the main pics, one is the great mask from Chelle and the other is a great glittery red make up from Elymode which is a gift at Summer Beauty Festival, where you can get both and more, so don’t miss out.

Click HERE to SLURL’s Page.

Poses by : Long Awkward Poses 

Equipment Used:

VR Studio 3.0 and HUD and Library for location shoots – VR Foundry Mainstore , VR Foundry @ The Deck

Eyes:

Ellis – LeLutka

Lashes:

Natural Curl Sculpted Lashes – LeLutka

Skin Worn:

Giselle – Glam Affair 

makeup – Glitter Brush – red (gift) – Elymode  @ Summer Beauty Festival

Masquerade Mask (Black) – Chelle @ Summer Beauty Festival

Hair:

Groove Theory – Exile @ Culture Shock 

Clothes:

Nui Dress, Nina skirt – Glam Affair 

Baby Tux Bra top only – One Bad Pixel

Shoes/Boots:

Santigold Mesh Pump-Shoe – Baiastice @ Culture Shock

Accessories:

Manicure Set – Pididdle @ Summer of Beauty Festival

Jewelled Skull & Heart set, Love Rocker Set, Ketama Ring, Roho Ring – Maxi’s by Maxi Gossamer