I started with my most favourite Og Juju jeans by Tres Blah.  I used to wear these constantly, especially after I started wearing them with the free cuffs.  They’re perfectly worn and definitely suit my casual tastes.

After that I looked for a t-shirt to wear, and this one by Canimal jumped out of my inventory and right onto my avatar.  I swear.  And its message is kinda true, too.  Cuz I do spend a lot.

When you’re looking for shoes that are good looking but older, where else could I turn but one of my favourite shoe stores, Shiny Things?  These pink Supernovas are perfect, and I still wear them occasionally.

Hair and skin was harder than I thought it would be to choose.  Since I wanted to wear something that is still available, and most designers of hair and especially skins tend to retire their skins, I had to dig deep into my inventory boxes but I think I came up a winner.  Celestial Studios is sadly still dormant but at least all of their old items are still available.  This skin is from their ginormous Vogue skin line, specifically the Brown (Light) makeup from the Muted Eyes series in the Amber tone.  I no longer have any old hair that is still available, as ETD’s Sim is closed and unavailable now and that’s the only old hair I still have (even though it’s boxed now).  That would have been the obvious choice though.  So I dug a little deeper and found the Secret hair in Full Moon from The Abyss.

And finally, my watch. From the incredibly missed and incredibly talented Caliah Lyon of Muse.  Her mainstore is gone but she still has a small space on the old Last Call sim, so you can still get it.  I actually did get this watch from that store.

I love this blog challenge.  It’s a great idea, Aly, and I can’t wait for the next one!

Belleza has recently released Elle, the third skin in what I like to think is a group of sisters.  Elle seems to be the middle sister, not quite as sophisticated as her big sister Jesse, and not quite as innocent as her younger sister Alyson.

Elle also offers more skintones than before, with two tones more than the last release, Alyson, and five more tones than what was offered with Jesse.  A new Fair tone has been added, which is more pale than Pale, and a new Mocha tone, shown above.

Also, I want to show off the new “Katey-kini”, Nayar’s latest release named after his partner, and it’s a super-cute bikini.  Yes, there are minor seam issues but they’re not generally too noticeable with your average AO.  I think the good points of the bikini far outweighs the seam issues, and the huge back bow is the best part.  Except maybe the halter top that creates killer cleavage, even if your boobs are tiny!

Worn:

Hair – Truth Sehra in Cocoa \ Skin – Belleza Elle 3 in Mocha \ Bikini – Nayar Katey-Kini in Tropical \ Bracelet – Muse Kailena in Ivory/Amber \ Pose – Long Awkward Pose.

Designer Tricky Boucher is a pretty generous guy, always offering group gifts to his subscribers.  I need to keep remembering that, because for some reason I keep leaving the update group when I need room (though once it was completely by accident), and I absolutely hate paying the L$250 group joining fee more than once.  I think I’ve paid the Belleza one three times now, and I’m not ever leaving again!

I also believe it’s a great way for all of your subscribers to try on all the skintones and check out the body without having to venture down to the store to pick up demos.  Don’t get me wrong, trying on demos to look at all the makeups is essential for me, but I like to have a starting off point too, to decide which tone’s makeups I want to see.  I am wearing the group gift in the Medium tone above.

The Nayar Katey-kini comes in nine prints/colours, five of which are sparkly for those who like to shine.

Worn:

Hair – Maitreya Green 2 in Chocolate \ Skin – Belleza Elle Group Gift in Medium \ Bikini – Nayar Katey-Kini in Blue Plaid \ Jewelry – Sigma Opus in Sea \ Pose – Long Awkward Pose.

Look at this bow?  Isn’t it gorgeous?!

The back of the Elle skin is no less impressive the front, either.  From the random mole placement on the right shoulder blade, to the truly rockin’ ass shading, this is a body you’d not only be unreserved about showing off, but you might even look for opportunities to do so!

Worn:

Hair – Truth Nicky in Swedish \ Skin – Belleza Elle in Pale \ Bikini – Nayar Katey-Kini in Bumblebee \ Pose – Long Awkward Pose.

Purchasing Options:

I know that some have expressed disappointment that you can’t get the multiple brow options in each skin purchase, but for the most part, I think it’s a fairly good way to do it.  Most often, people do not change their hair colour in SL, or at least not their hair colour family (like if you’re a brunette, you’re usually always a brunette, even if the actual shade changes sometimes).   So having the skins and skintones separated by brow colour is pretty smart.  Obviously, a dark mocha skin will not look good with blond brows, so that is not on offer if you want blond eyebrows.

Blond Eyebrows:

Skintones – Fair (new tone), Pale, Sunkissed, Medium, Tan.

Makeups – 12

Prices – L$1200 per skin, L$2500 per line of four, L$5000 for all makeups.

Brown Eyebrows:

Skintones – Fair, Pale, Sunkissed, Medium, Tan, Deep Tan.

Makeups – 12

Prices – L$1200 per skin, L$2500 per line of four, L$5000 for all makeups.

Dark Eyebrows:

Skintones – Fair, Pale, Sunkissed, Medium, Tan, Deep Tan, Mocha

Makeups – 20

Prices – L$1200 per skin, L$2500 per line of four, L$8000 for all makeups (except Fair has 12 makeups, and costs L$5000 for all).

Teleport to Belleza

Teleport to Nayar

The Smexy pose set is just that, a full set of 10 poses designed to show off your sexy and sultry side, and the switching between poses is standard & smooth.

5th & Oxford has put on a sale for nearly everything in their store at 50% off!  This is the biggest sale they’ve ever had, according to the information given and it’s a great time to stock up on skins and clothes if you’ve been holding off!

Worn:

Hair – Fri.day Melanie 2 in Passionate Red \ Skin – L.Fauna Lapine in Pale 2 \ Clothes – 5th & Oxford The Tease in Sapphire (including gloves & stockings) \ Shoes – Maitreya Slinky Stilettos in Black.

The Diva set (10 poses) doesn’t really seem to be named correctly to me…it seems a lot more fun than Diva-like, but I guess everyone has their idea of diva-tude, right?

VISIT ADORKABLE AT THE POSE FAIR!

Worn:

Hair – Truth Heidi in Cocoa \ Skin – Laqroki Ania in Fair \ Striped Tank – Fri.day Striped V Layering Tank in Pink \ Under-tank – Fri.day Boyfriend Beater in Pink \ Shorts – Maitreya Jeans Shorts in Vintage Blue \ Shoes – Shiny Things Supernovas in Pink Bloom \ Necklace – Muse Claire Ballet Slipper Necklace in Rose \ Bracelet – Mandala PearlRain Bracelet in Pink.

This week was no exception to the awesomeness.

The Spring Bloom dress is so lovely and perfect for spring, which it’s starting to feel like where I am.  It’s March in a couple of days and it has not snowed all winter here.  So I am hoping, knock wood, that it means it won’t!  One can only dream.

So anyhow, where was I…right!  The Spring Bloom dress is a short frock with a ruffly skirt and a low cut scoop-necked tank style top.  It comes in several different colour combinations and lookit the bow on the back!  I love bows.  The hair worn with the yellow dress is also a newer one by Fri.day called Miley, and the one on the left is Carrie.  I love the casual ponytail styles they keep coming out with and rocking the hell out of!

Also worn:

Skin – Dutch Touch MaAn (left) and Roos (centre/right) \ Shoes – Maitreya Gold Shanti (left), Esprit (right) \ Jewelry – Muse RFL 2008 Heart Lariat (no longer available, sorry!) (left), Whippet & Buck Little Bit of Pretty Necklace (right), Mandala Pearl Rain bracelet \ Poses – Diesel Works.

Another very cute dress released recently is the Sweet Heart dress, shown here in Citrine (left) and Pearl (right).  It’s really late and I can’t think of what to say about this dress except look how gorgous!  So go get it.

The other week was a good one for hairstyles with flowers in it.  First Truth came out with Berry, and then this lovely Marie style came out the next day, with a separately attached bloom (so you can wear it with any hairstyle!)  It has to be said that Fri.day has always paid a lot of attention to the small details and making sure that their customers get their money’s worth.  The flower comes with 3 different attachment point options!

Also worn:

Skin – Dutch Touch Amber \ Shoes – LeLutka Saffron pumps \ Jewelry – I’m not going to tell you because looking at this photo now, it kinda looks like it didn’t rez properly but I’m not going back to redo the photo now! \ Poses – Reel Expression.

The comfy cardigan is one of my favourite releases this year.  I’m such a sweater whore.  The jeans are also one of the newer releases, and look at the cute pockets on them!  They do a booty good.

Under the sweater, I’m wearing the Fri.day Basic Cami in white, and this colour is only available as a freebie at the Sunny sim.  Yes, that’s right, a freebie.  This is one of the best cute camis, and I love that it’s not *too* low cut, so it’s good for layering under cardigans like this!  My hair is the brand new effortly classy Summer hair, and I didn’t think of it at the time, but the flower from the Marie hair would be perfect with this to sort of dress it up a bit!

Take the taxi to Fri.day and check out their latest springtimey looks!

Also worn:

Skin – Dutch Touch MaAn \ Poses – Reel Expression.

I have never made a secret of how much I really love the system skirt.  It is so beautiful when done well, and incredibly sexy.  To me it is, anyhow.  Ella is a casual day dress with a plunging V neckline and a wide wrap waist.  It comes in several colours in a floral print, and the little cap sleeves finish it off nicely.  These dresses are L$250 each.

Read more below the cut!

Oh My God I love this dress!  This reminds me so much of something Joan would wear on Mad Men.  Did I mention yet how much I love that show?  Yeah.  The bow and sash can be worn on the front or back and the contrasting colours work very well together.  The texturing is sublime, too.  If you love this as much as I do, you’ll want to pick them up at L$250 each.

I am a huge fan of the jaunty little hat that comes with this Fraxinus dress, it’s so freakin’ cute!  With the sweetheart neckline and flared skirt, this dress is perfect for a party.  The laced back adds interest to the deceivingly simple frock too.  This dress is L$350 each.

And finally, the dress that started off my spree at Ingenue this time, Japonica.  I don’t even remember where I first saw it or how I became aware of it, but wow is it gorgeous.  The huge flower at the waist reminds me of something Carrie Bradshaw would wear, except this is less giant and more classy.  Each colour the dress comes in has a contrasting flower, but I think this one is my favourite.

Now, I bought a bunch more of Ingenue’s outfits, and this post could go on for about 4 more photos, but I don’t want to bore you all with how much I love this store.   So instead, just go down to Ingenue and take a look for yourself!

Credits:

All hair by Truth and Friday \ Skin by Belleza (Allyson preview – when is this coming out already?!) \ Shoes by Maitreya and Ingenue (read more about the Ingenue pumps in my post tomorrow over on On Your Toes).

Phoenix Rising has some really gorgeous gowns, and I can’t believe I hadn’t ever heard of them until a couple of months ago.  I completely missed out on these beautiful dresses when they were released, but I’m definitely caught up now!  Natasja’s Seduction is lovely gown with a huge black skirt, and the bodice comes in several colours.  Now, while I do work for Phoenix Rising, I wouldn’t blog anything or work anywhere I didn’t love.  And the key necklace comes with the dress.  And I love key necklaces.

I know I’ve blogged the Icing Joli Bouquet dress before because I absolutely adore it.  I own every colour now, and I wish there were more!  I love the train especially, though if you’re not a fan of trains, it comes with a skirt without the train.  The roses at the waist are a perfect embellishment as well.

I recently bought the Ingenue Harlow dress for a different blog post, but I had to pull it from that one to instead blog it for my top five picks.  It’s different, bold and infinitely gorgeous.  I need to go back and get the rest of the colours now.  I wasn’t sure how much I loved it when I saw it and only got the one colour!

I used to work for Blaze as a greeter.  In fact, it was the first job I ever had in SL, and I got it about a month after I rezzed.  It saved me from having to do any of the standard things some people do to make money, like stripping or working in a hideous club.  I’m really not a big fan of clubs in SL.  The only one I ever liked was Seven Ultra Lounge.  Anyhow….the Gem gown is my all-time favourite one.  Look how sexy it is from the front and the back!  Blaze is a master at gowns, and I miss him being around and releasing more pretty stuff!

Now, I know that was my top five, but I couldn’t do a gowns post and not mention Last Call.  I know Last Call is gone, and Ginny too (may he rest in peace), but there was a reason Last Call went out on top.  The gorgeous texturing and details, the prim work…all spectacular.  I know a lot of people have maybe gotten rid of their Last Call items, but those people are nuts.  Or maybe I’m a packrat.  Whatever.  I will never get rid of any of it, never!

Well, it took me more than a week.  It may have taken me more than two weeks.  But my top five in seven different categories series is finally finished yay!  Now I just have to finish my series on shoes over on On Your Toes, and then I won’t feel like such a blogging slacker.

So today it’s all about the jewelry.  The items I mostly always forget to wear.  But there is so many beautiful pieces, and so many great designers it was tough to decide which to feature as my top five.

Muse, though now an inactive store (*sniff*), still has some of the best-made and beautiful jewelry around.  I love the textures used on her pearls especially, so I am showing the Margaux necklace.  One good thing about her store being so quiet is that I can buy all the older stuff I didn’t have already, because back in the day I didn’t buy fatpacks.  If I had to choose, though, I’d choose for Caliah to come back!

Paper Couture has been featured on my blog recently, but that’s because their jewelry is absolutely amazing!  My rings folder is almost all Paper Couture.  I don’t even know what else to say except GO GET IT.  And if you’re looking for older pieces, they keep all that stuff on XStreet.

Luc is sadly another store that seems to be inactive.  Why do these amazing jewelry designers seem to go away and stop making stuff?  Though I *suppose* I can understand the need to take a break from SL, I just hope they come back too.  Luc, rebranded from Earthtones, makes so many different styles of jewelry, but somehow it’s still all very recognizable as his work.

I really love Zaara‘s jewelry.  It’s really unique and very pretty, and there’s so many items that are so versatile, dressing up a casual outfit or adding the special touch to something far more formal.

And finally, we have Mandala, one of my favourite new stores ever.  I love virtually everything in there and every time I go I find something new to wear.  I recently splurged on the fatpack of the Pearl Rain sets, these are just so beautiful.

Well, day four is done!  OMG I don’t think I’ll ever finish this series, but if I do two or more blog posts today, forgive me, ‘kay?

Okay, that’s not true.  But I wanted to explain away the delay in getting out these posts, which was supposed to be daily.

Anyhow, lingerie.  The clothing that a lot of “fashionistas” won’t buy, because they won’t ever wear it or have anyone see it.  But there’s some really gorgeous lingerie and undies out there, and I buy it and parade around my skybox in it.  I don’t care that no one besides me sees it ever.  So these are my picks for my most favourite top five.

Fishy Strawberry came out with several different styles fairly recently, and they’re all pretty different and really sexy.  The Ignition set is my personal favourite, though all of them are very cute.  It comes in tons of colours and it can be worn in several different ways, which I definitely look for when buying lingerie.  This can be worn as just a bra and panties without the garters and corset, which also looks super sexy.

Also worn -  Skin: LAQ Ania 01 in Fair \ Hair: Fri.day Deena in Timid Brown \ Jewelry: Muse Margaux Draped Pearl Necklace in Black, Muse Celine Pearl Necklace & Earrings in Black, Muse Claris Pearl Bracelet in Black.

For some reason, I only just discovered these new lingerie sets by Blowpop, then of course I went a bit crazy and bought a ton of it!  This is the Yvette set, which is simple but gorgeous.  Though it is just a bra and panties, it makes your avatar look heaven-bound, emphasizing your curves perfectly.  I had to show you the ass shot because your ass looks so great in this!

Also worn – Skin: LeLutka Jade (can’t remember the makeup number) in Dark \ Hair: Truth Lillian in Night \ Jewelry: Zaara Karmuka Necklace in Wood.

Insolence has been one of my favourite lingerie stores forever now, though I heard camilla was AFK for a very long time (though it was during my absence, so it worked out just fine for me ).  This is one of the first sets I ever bought, but I still love it every bit as much as I did that first day, though there are lots of other, newer, probably more technically excellent lingerie sets.  Alice is available in several different colours, this being brown.  The bra shows off your cleavage just spectacularly too!

Also worn – Skin: Belleza Jesse group gift \ Hair: Truth Candice in Chestnut \ Jewelry: Earthstones.

I adore Casa del Shai, especially their lingerie which there is just not enough of.  It’s always got some little detail that makes it a bit more special to me; this Adriana set has a black system skirt which makes it okay for a sexy naughty secretary type outfit, not to mention the cool key on the corset binder.

Also worn – Skin: Eclat (Ara’s Makeup – not sold) \ Hair: Truth Grace in Treacle \ Jewelry: Paper Couture

And finally, we have Zaara‘s newest release, the Kanti set.  There are tons of little details in this set that I adore: the mesh panel on the back of the panties, the fact that the stockings don’t have lace at the top, which I do also like but I have too much of, and the fabulous decollatage of the bra.  She promises this to be the first in a series, and I look forward to seeing what else she comes out with.

Also worn – Skin: L.Fauna Lapine in Pale \ Hair: Maitreya Zoe in Chocolate \ Jewelry: Paper Couture.