Review: Voluptia, Wanton Lingerie & Precious Mesh Corset

Once upon a time in a land far far away, there lived two queens.  Once step sisters from a great king who could not have his own children, the girls grew up together, best of friends, until their father's death.  Split form each other and ordered to each rule one half of the kingdom, they pushed through their ways the best they could, for without eachother, they were powerless.

Then one day, the girl bound in pink came across a book, tossed aside in the fire of an old monastery.  From that day forth, the kingdom began to whither, as she was faced with her growing obsession with her own vanity.  The queen in pink searched the land for anything to make her more beautiful.  After awhile, she heard of a tale of a great mirror, hidden deep in the chambers of her step sister.  Needing to find the last bit of beauty she could, she snuck into her sister's bedchambers, but alas, the mirror did nothing.  No reflection.  It sat there, broken, the little shards of glass glistening in the light.

"It won't work for you," the queen said to her sister in pink.  "It was enchanted so that only those who are pure of heart can see through it."

"You lie," said the woman in pink.  "You cannot be the only one who can see.  I am pure of heart for my beauty runs deep."

"Does it my little sister?" the queen said as she escorted the one in pink to the bench. "Sit and I will show you."  The queen in black sat down in front of the mirror, and after a swirling of light, her reflection showed back, even more beautiful than the queen herself.

In a fit of disgust, the vane queen in pink sulked down into the bench, her sister came over to sit with her in consolation.  "Fear not though," said the queen in black lace, "for I assure you, together we will be even more beautiful."

The queen in pink looked up at her sister.  "But all that I have done to our father's kingdom.  Surely that has not caused great pain?  Surely that has not tarnished my beauty?"

The queen in black, knowing that she had to console her hand.  "Come rest with me for the night."

"I cannot rest knowing what I have done to our kingdom," she said and she began to cry.  As the queen in pink cried, her sister took her by the hand to the bed.


"Rest and I will tell you how together the land will be pure again," the queen in lace said.  The queen in pink took her sister's guiding hand, and together laid on the bed.  "Rest with me, and rest your weary heart here.  For together, we will rule a great land, even better than our father's kingdom."

The queen in pink, no longer cursed by her vanity, cried on her sister's shoulder.   "You are forgiven," said the queen in lace, "And tomorrow we begin our reign together anew."


From that point forward, with the queen in pink trusting her heart to her sister, the kingdom began anew.  Crops flourished, the sun rose high and beautiful in the sky, and the kingdom lived happily ever after.






Wanton Lingerie (Sonja, red hair):

Overall: 10/10

Pros:  Great work!  Variety of style options included

Cons:  None

Stylings:
Outfit:  Voluptia, Wanton Lingerie for  L$199
Shoes:  Graves, Alpha Boots in Black for L$390
Hair:  Truth, Janice in Reds for L$250
Skin:  Al Vulo, Matilde in Cocoa for L$800
Rose:  random freebie


Precious Mesh Corset in Pink (Arizona, black hair):

Overall:  10/10

Pros:  Perfect fit, great look, classic timeless style.  Voluptia corsets are probably the best mesh corset in SL.

Cons:  None

Stylings:
Outfit:  Volutpia, Precious Mesh Corset in Pink for L$299
Shoes:  SimILar, Venezia in Black for L$750
Hair:  Truth, Francesca in Blacks for L$250
Skin:  Chaisuki, Vienna 14 Nougat for L$1389

Power's back!

We here at TRF got a little delayed.  Thanks to the beautiful balmy heat wave we've been having (and enjoying actually), we had a brown out, which led to a black out.  We just got power restored and are getting back to your regularly scheduled post soon.  But until then, a little hint for what's to come...

Review: Ley-ly, Upcoming Release "Lady"

Being in a family that grew up near the ocean, and by ocean I mean my father, and his father, and his father going back for generations, all were in the Navy.  Being from such a seafaring family, you pick up a few things.  Number one - you have a tendency to know how to ballroom dance.  Number two - you have a tendency to know a lot of music about the ocean or the sea.  Today's  feature is a new release by Marika Smedley of Ley-Ly Fantasies, which upon its release will retail for only L$100 in the store and on the Marketplace.  "Lady," as she has named it, is a long-flowing red evening gown with black jacket.  Though we prefer it with the jacket, you can also wear it without; it has long sleeves underneath.                                    

Ms. Smedley is an interesting designer.  She doesn't have a full-sim store.  She doesn't have a professional photographer toddling along behind her.  She doesn't charge an arm and a leg.  What she does have though is passion for her craft.  All of the items in her store, as she says on her profile, run less than L$200.  Earlier today even, Mom, while researching some extra information for this review, even bought two gorgeous gowns as well (Eve and Garbo), each for L$100.  In fact, in talking with her today, she said that all of her gowns retail for that price.  Mom even noticed that in her store, there were even more items for L$50 and L$25.  But, do not let the low price fool you at all.  These are gorgeous dresses!  

I love this dress!  Wearing it reminds me of all the great things about watching those seafaring movies, and listening to all the music from officer balls as a young girl.  This dress is like the memory of your boyfriend's or father's favorite aftershave.  It's like having him drape his suit jacket over you when the cool evening air chilled you, and him feeling those little goosebumps on your arm.  So much evening wear right now features low-plunging necklines and revealing arms, hems, and everything else.  This dress doesn't - but in being so conservative, this dress sets the trend and brings home memories of times gone by.  Wearing this you could be anywhere, anytime.  You feel as if you are the star of any great romance, or as if every great love song was written for you. 

You could go to any other boutique in SL and easily pay a lot more for Ms. Smedley's dresses, in fact, I believe that she really could expand her brand in SL and be able to bring more to us, but I also fear that in doing so she may lose what makes her clothing special.  The true definition of "Haute Couture" is high fashion made for only one person to wear.  By having her boutique be so hidden away from the general SL populace, it really is like this is true haute couture, but it's also gorgeous and functional at the same time.  Ms. Smedley really takes the best of SL fashion and makes it available to the masses at a very reasonable price.  Folks, if you can't afford to look good wearing this, then you can't afford to be in SL period.

Another wonderful facet of Ms. Smedley's marketing is her blog.   I've always tried to incorporate more than just a few pretty pictures into my blog posts, hence why I'm considered a reviewer more than a blogger.  But by providing information, I like to think that my readers get more from TRF than they would from other bloggers.  Ms. Smedley seems to take the same approach that I do.  Her blog not only has the required pretty pictures, but she also goes a step further and educates the reader about her influences on each dress.  Looking at her blog is like looking through a list of the top classic films of all time.  It's informative, it's enlightening, and it's refreshing to have more than the traditional SL blog. 

What I would like to see different though from the brand comes more from a marketing perspective, and I'm actually torn to include it here or not.  I usually like to include my list of potential downsides of a product.  This dress on its own has no down side.  However, there is still a very good possibility that potential customers may try to judge the book by its cover here.  I was first given a catalog of these designs from the creator herself, and I'm debating on whether or not to suggest expanding her brand by getting a photographer.  I know that she has a great product that more people in SL need to see, it's a timeless product really.  She needs her name out there more for more people to enjoy her artistry, and I think getting a photographer in to help will help that. 

Overall:  10/10

Pros:  Timeless, classic design, gorgeous work

Cons:  Audience may judge the book by its cover.

Special Review: Independence Day Specials

Happy Independence Day America!!!  *shoots off a firework*  It's great having the family here taking time from our normally busy schedules to be able to sit around and do stuff together.  We've go the radio blaring, Dad's already setting up fireworks for tonight, Mom's marinating vegetables for the grill, and our neighbor is already sleeping off his hangover (thank you Mom for helping with the photos this time as our regular photographer is... long story but mom's still gloating after winning the bet).  And now, two great outfits today from Vero Modero.

The first is a great little summer mesh dress which is one of the hunt items currently at VM.  We love this dress (the hat was compliments of Paris Metro Couture - part of the Watercolor Beach Dress, available in red or blue).  It is something you can wear to the beach or just out to a gathering with friends.  For the dress to be mesh, it fits extremely well and there are no open spaces around the dress which is a great plus.  Vero is another one of our fabulous designers that has got a great handle on working with mesh.  While we have the standard sizing shapes, I was easily able to wear my normal shape for the dress to fit right.  And for you ladies that have differently shaped avatars, the dress in the hunt comes in five different sizes.

Overall the dress is very well done and looks great with a few of my own accessories added to the outfit.  With dresses like this, I love to wear hats and jewelry sometimes, but as we all know hats do not always agree with our hair.  So, if you do use a hat you may need to edit your hair a bit (be sure to make a copy first - CatWa and Truth Hair both allow you to do this, and they not only look great but they don't cost a fortune either).  Other than that, this is an outfit that you can slip into quickly and be off to the party or sit and watch fireworks at the pier.

Overall:  10/10

Pros:  Good design, good texture

Cons:  Could come with a hat or some accessories


If you are in more of a jeans and a t-shirt mood, Vero Modero has also released their special Fourth of July group gift, free to members of their group which is also free to join.  There are men's and women's versions available.  We would have shown you the men's, but our male models were unavailable at the time of photographing this post (and writing, and editing, and you get the picture - he's still asleep).  This is a very, very nice outfit that VM has put out for everyone, free of charge.  The skinny jeans are cute, and the top and jacket enhance the outfit even more.  This is another outfit that VM has done a great job with as always.

I love this outfit, and even better, a lot of it is very versatile.  As the flag detail in the jeans are softened, almost like a well-worn jean, you could even get away with wearing them at other times of the year too.  The tank top is great - a perfect tank top really.  The jacket adds to the look, but you don't even need to wear it.  Overall the outfit is another great success for VM - great product.

Overall:  10/10

Pros:  Great texture, versatile outfit, great design

Cons:  Would love to see cuffs for the jeans.  I've never been a fan of the skinny cuffs. 





Now a word from Mom...



"Hello everyone and Happy Fourth of July!!!  If you're anything like me, there's nothing better on the Fourth than ice cold beer, a grill, and fireworks - and the louder the better!  I've been hunting through SL trying to find the best and I think I finally did.  Damanios Thetan of Collection Damani has solved your SL fireworks problems.  Mr. Thetan's Damani Fireworks DeLuxe are by far the best fireworks in Second Life.  I got us a set of them for our sim and we've had them going solid now for a good day - no lag, and they look great (and if you are lagging, check your graphics settings - I keep my anistropic filtering and antialiasing off and particle effects minimal unless we're taking photos, course we also run very few scripts on our sim).  I did have to turn up my particle effect a little bit though, and Mr. Thetan does recommend that you view these in midnight mode.  These fireworks differ from the traditional SL fireworks, which makes them even better.  In the past, you've had one single use prim that shot out particle effects, and after that, they were done forever.  Not Damani.  Damani uses a rezzer system to "fire" off a temporary prim that contains the firework in it.  You get a beautiful particle effect that looks realistic with a gentle boom that actually won't hurt your ears.  They look great and they sound great too.  There are two versions on the Marketplace - the Original for L$695 and the Deluxe for L$895. Only thing I found to be difficult with them is getting the perfect picture. 

Overall:  10/10

Pros:  Great fireworks, very realistic

Cons:  Can be hard to frame in SL unless you're in mouselook

Back to the Pumpkin... I mean The Redneck Fashinista..."

Thanks Mom  *blushes* Now, go get these from Vero Modero, go look great, feel great, and go own the night!

And now, Happy Independence Day to everyone, US or not.  As such, please enjoy these simulated fireworks created by YouTube user Armadillo1991 in the program FWsim (free to try for 4 hours, US$32.95 after - plenty of vids on YouTube):

Review: Carrie's Lingerie, Sloth Collection in Black

As she stands on her deck with the mountain breeze against her skin, she thinks of her love that is soon to be home.  As she makes everything ready she slips into somethign soft and inviting for the man of her dreams.  A little black number she call Sloth named from the Seven Deadly Sins.  As thoughts of him run through her mind and she feels the silk and lace caress her body as she
slips to a lounger to wait for her love to return...


Well everyone, once again it's time for a Carrie's Lingerie review!  Tonight's special treat is a gift from Carrie Bridger herself to The Redneck Fashionista.  The Sloth Collection is based on the original Sloth outfit from The Seven Deadly Sins, available only in store.  The collection however is available on the Marketplace or in store.  The original is available for L$575, each individual collection piece retails for L$425, and the a fat pack (containing four colors) will set you back L$1,488.  Much like her Vanity that we covered last month, Carrie's has branched from the original Sloth to make it in many lovely colors that is sure to please every woman's taste.

As always, Carrie's bats 100% with the absolutely gorgeous lingerie set.  Ms. Bridger has wonderful textures mixed with a great design that is a winner every time.  While the Vanity mini-collection featured only the texture pieces, which were not only lovely but a work of art, the Sloth mini-collection comes with a beautifully flowing flexi-prim skirt that really sets it apart from the rest.  Part lingerie and part silks, this will definitely woo your man.  Ladies we have a lot of thing in out arsenal to use to charm our men with, but this outfit is the icing on the cake.  Any man that can resist this outfit, ladies, is not human.

Folks, I've been in SL a long time.  I've seen a lot of lingerie over the years. But in this Fashionista opinion there is only one place to shop for lingerie and that is Carrie's Lingerie.  Also, don't forget to check out the monthly special at Carrie's, which is up only for the month, after that they're gone, so don't miss out.  Anything you purchase from this store is guaranteed by this Fashionista to be nothing short of superb.

Overall:  10/10

Pros:  Superb craftsmanship, sexy perfection

Cons:  You will want to buy the entire store

No Internet, No Power...

It's camping time here at TRF!  Much of the Central East Coast is currently without power or phones.  Cell phones work and we have an old generator at least so we're able to get this message out momentarily.  So, we're taking a mini-vacation until we know we can have service up and running as normal.  As for now?  A blackberry, as USB cord, and an old diesel engine can do wonders!

Stay cool everyone.  Time to conserve our phone battery and diesel fuel.

Review: Unique Megastore, New Artemis Dark Skin

The team over at Unique Megastore have come out with a new release, and asked the team here at The Redneck Fashionista to review their newest skin release, Artemis.  We were allowed to select one fullpack to review for you.  Artemis, in history, is one of the oldest Greek goddesses whose Roman contemporary is Diana.  Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, forest, hills, and the moon. With this skin, not only do you feel like a goddess, but you look like one too... and not just this statue.

Artemis is available at any Unique Megastore.  The full pack retails for L$3,499 with a single skin running L$1,499 and the shape for L$799.  Unique is also having a sale with select makeup options at 80% off, Artemis included.  The full pack contains four versions of twelve separate skins and a beautiful set of eyes made by Nany Merlin.  Our pack also included the shape, made by Iarita Beck. Each skin itself comes with and without a hairbase and cleavage.  There are also two skins that have an open mouth. 


Normally I have a few favorite skin stores that are not mainstream.  I've been to Unique in the past, along with several other of the big name, and while I liked their skins, I had usually stuck with my odd skin stores.


I have to say though, I like this skin.  It's not as dark as I'm used to, and it doesn't have the sheen that I'm used to either.  However, this is a very detailed skin, with the minor flaws that are normally photoshopped out still on the skin.  This is a very realistic skin.  Even better, the coloring of the dark pack works perfectly with any red hair, and will look just as good with a brown or black hair pack as well.  The freckles on the skin are absolutely amazing too, and Unique's decision to keep them on was a big attraction for me.  Though it may have been our connection to the SL servers while we were photographing the skins, not all of the skins appear to have as much freckling in the face.  The eyes are very realistic as well, and are a true photograph of an eye.  Though I prefer the Anara eyes I reviewed on Friday, mainly for the ability to customize them on the fly, these would be a close second and I would not hesitate to wear them if I needed to use a system eye, especially as they fit the coloring and complexion I am aiming for with my avatar.

The only thing I see with this skin that can be a detractor for some are the eyebrows.  While I actually like the eyebrows, they remind me of the height of Cindy Crawford's modeling career, Mom had a little problem with them.  She tried to pluck her computer screen!  Mom tends to go for thinner eyebrows on her skin.  If you are like her, and not a fan of the normal sized eyebrows in SL, then you will need to probably make a custom eyebrow shaper/hairbase for them.  It is possible to make them look smaller this way, but it does stretch the forehead a bit and change the shape of your face.  Also, we did not have a chance to test the skin with different eyebrow shapers or cosmetics.  If you're a fan of different cosmetic looks, this skin comes only with the base skin option, cosmetics need to be purchased separately.

Actually, and this is a suggestion for Unique - would it be possible in the future to include separate cosmetic options?  Either purchasable independently from the skins or have some in each skin pack?  I have seen other skin creators do this using the tattoo layers, and it always makes it easier for me to mix and match with outfits, as well as making me want to go back and buy more from that creator.  Knowing that I can have a makeup that will perfectly match my skin makes me feel better about purchasing a skin for this price.  

Overall, you do need to check the demo of this skin as it is a great skin.  All of Unique's skins are great, and our photographer even is trying to decide on one of the men's skins as well.   Great job to the crew at Unique Megastore - wonderful work as always.

 

Overall:  10/10

Pros:  Freckles, great detail, especially beautiful coloring for redheads (number 6 was our favorite for a perfect red lipstick).

Cons:  Eyebrows may be too heavy for some tastes