Lazolli's "Devon Aoki" Skins: A Review

So I'll be honest with you all, and maybe I've been living under a rock, but up until a few weeks ago I had no idea who Devon Aoki was. I started seeing a couple of places release Devon Aoki-inspired skins. I Googled and found a page with some pics of the American-born supermodel/actress-- and immediately saw why someone would want to create a skin inspired by her.. shes got a really unique look, style, and beauty-- so it comes as no surprise that many content creators have used her as their muse.

Then, by chance, Loring Halsey of Lazolli made a set too-- and she passed me on a few makeups to take a look at. Please click the image below to enlarge :)


As with all Lazolli skins, Loring Halsey has provided a huge range of makeup styles which I think will appeal to just about anyone. Usually her eye makeups are pretty bold-- but I like bolder eyes iRL too. As a shapemaker I've started to notice that the bold eye makeup can make your eyes look HUGE, so I took a little time to modify my shape so that the eyes still looked proportional to the face. I'm a big fan of the eyeshadow color variations-- of the ones I pictured up above they can range from subtle to bright and colorful-- and the eyeliner comes in various styles and thicknesses.

I can appreciate that the lips and eye makeup are hand drawn and well-blended. I'm not a big fan of obviously-photosourced lips (or any other body part for that matter!). A lot of photosourcing in the lip area tends to look stretched out and, to be honest, kinda freaks me out. But the lips on these skins are really crisp and the colors are beautiful-- check out the two-toned lips above! LOVE that! :)

If I had to complain at all about the skin, I would say I had minor issues with the nose. It's the only place on the body where photosourcing didn't seem to be very well blended, and in-world it gives the tip of the nose a flat, slightly glitchy appearance. It's something you dont really notice in photos unless you look at the nose from an angle, again I think it's pretty minor-- especially if what youre looking for is just the overall Devon Aoki "look". Its definitely manageable with the right shape!

Overall, I'm a fan of the body style, there's a lot of detail in the shading and highlighting, not overly muscular in the abdominal area-- and no noticeable seams that I could find.. overall a really nice body that comes off looking really cute and youthful.

So head on over to Lazolli and try on a demo of these cute skins for yourself-- and as a special offering, Loring has placed out the shape I created (the one I used in the picture) and it will be available for FREE for a limited time inside her store, as well as in the past notices for the Lazolli in-world group!

Enjoy!
~Averie~

TP to Lazolli Skins!

Hair Fair 2009 - Averie's Favorites

I was lucky enough to gain access to the Hair Fair a little bit early, got a chance to shop around, and wanted to show you some of my favorite pieces from designers so far :) I'm including direct SLURLs to the booths so you can find the styles easily if you like them! Enjoy!

(Please click image above to enlarge!)

Pictured from Left to Right:
-- [Decoy Hair] Zoey - Golden Brown
-- Lamb - Babys on Fire - KitKat
-- Find Ash - Innocent Phase - Light Brown/HF'09 Limited
-- Truth - Esme - Cocoa
-- Curio - Paper Tiger 1 - Light Brown
-- Raspberry Aristocrat - Adora Hair - Brown Driftwood

Also pictured:
Skin: Gala - June
Eyes: Zanzo - Diyu Eyes in Youming
Tank: Whippet & Buck -Hykova Buttoned Tank in Peach

The hair fair opens in less than an hour!!! Have fun shopping everyone!
~Averie~

NEW "Lila Striped Tops" from Decoy

I'm always on the prowl for casual, versatile tops to wear around everyday. When I heard that my longtime friend, Annette Voight of Decoy had a new set of tops among her new releases this week, I excitedly TPed over to her shop! There, I discovered the Lila Striped Tops --available in 16 different bright, summery color combinations.

Please click the images below to enlarge!

From left to right: Blue/Green, Classic Beige, Classic Blue, Classic Green,
Classic Navy, Classic Purple, Classic Red, & Classic Yellow

From left to right: Forest, Grey/Pink, Grey/Teal, Pink/Orange,
Purple/Pink, Yellow/Blue, Yellow/Orange, & Yellow/Pink

Like all of Annette's work, the designs are all hand-drawn, so no photosourcing here! Additionally, the stripes are really well done (I can appreciate the work that goes into a striped shirt, I know its really hard to execute well when you go from photoshop to the avatar mesh). The cut of the neckline with the exposed shoulders is really flattering, and I also love the button detailing in the front! There's also probably a color here that will satisfy just about any need you could possibly have!

So if you're looking for a great colorful summer shirt or outfit, hop on by Decoy! You're sure to find something fabulous :)

~Averie~

Photo credits:
All shirts from Decoy
Hair: Exile "Jade" in Cheyanne
Skin: Gala Phoenix (Curio) "April" in Redbud 1
Eyes: HooT "Smolder Eyes" in Muddy

Painting SL Purple

When I heard that today was "Paint SL Purple" day, I couldn't have been more thrilled. Purple not only is my favorite color, but also represents the amazing cause that is the Relay for Life (which I'm proud to be a part of this year!).

To celebrate, I've put together my ode-to-purple, with some very special pieces from around the grid.

The stunning violet dress pictured above is from Thimbles and I've had it in my inventory for a while but found this was the perfect time to dust it off. What better occassion then a day devoted to purpley goodness? I love how the skirt poofs out and the detailing of each prim as they overlay. The scarf with the bow is a really beautiful touch as well.

I was delighted to receive the gift pack of purple hair styles from Violet Morellet of ::Inorite:: via her Subscribe-o-Matic. Not only did the hair match the Thimbles dress perfectly, but it came in a ton of different styles, all totally beautiful (some not released in her store yet!). If you'd like the hair too, hop on over to Inorite and check the past notices in the subscribo!

Incase you haven't heard, the new skin brand ::L'ORING:: is the resurrection of Lazolli (formerly owned by Nariko Shinn, now Loring Halsey-- same person, different name!). With her new brand she's made some beautiful new skins, but has also brought back some of our old favorites. Shown above is the beautiful Takako skin that she's got up in her store for free--- an absolute steal for such a cute face! I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Take a closer look at the pic above (click to enlarge) and notice the fantastic purple eyes from Zanzo. They just released a new line of men's skins, inspired by Edward Cullen of the Twilight series, and alongside the skins they also released a beautiful line of vampire-worthy eyes called "Diyu". The entire range of eyes are colorful and bright, great for those of you looking to stand out--- I've found theres a pair of eyes in this set that can go with virtually any color combination of an outfit I put together! So extremely versatile, deep rich colors. Definitely check these out if you love eyes!

So what are you waiting for? Put on your best purple today and support the "Paint SL Purple" initiative and the Relay for Life!

~Averie~

Outfit details:
Hair -- ::Inorite:: Masumi - Start Wearing Purple (Subscribe-o-matic gift!)
Skin -- ::L'ORING:: Takako(re-release) 01D (free gift in-store)
Dress -- Thimbles "Half For Me" dress + scarf
Eyes-- Zanzo "Diyu" Eyes in Abi