Please note that I am taking a vacation from the blog for the next two to three weeks, except for sponsored blogposts (and the occasional review such as this).
UPDATE June 25th, 2020: The free Kalhene Ariadna female mesh body has been removed from the SL Marketplace, after Linden Lab received a DMCA complaint. More information is available here.
The creator of the Ariadna Kalhene mesh head and body (which I first wrote about here) has been very nimbly providing regular updates! The current version is 2.3 (which you can get for free on the SL Marketplace here, where it has racked up nearly 100 glowing reviews in an incredibly short space of time). Please note that, although the product description on the SL Marketplace item still says version 2.2, you do receive the latest version, 2.3, when you purchase it. Here’s a look at the HUDs for the body mesh and the included starter wardrobe for the latest version:
Among the newest features are blinking eyes (a separate attachment), and four styles of eyelashes. Version 2.3 of this body also has a new script system compatible with appliers for nails, eyelashes, pubic hair and stockings.
My former go-to mesh body for wearing fashion designed for Maitreya Lara was one of the free or paid-for versions of the Altamura mesh bodies, where I found that tops tended to fit very well, but bottoms (especially bikini bottoms) sometimes had problems. Often, I would have to alpha out the entire pelvic area on the Altamura bodies to get Maitreya Lara clothing to look right. (I have noticed that designer support for Altamura mesh bodies has been increasing lately, though.)
But over the past two weeks, I have been testing out the Kalhene Ariadna mesh body with various clothes and shoes designed for Maitreya Lara, and I have found that most such apparel fits it like a dream! Now, it’s not 100% perfect. Please keep in mind that for some clothing, the included alpha sections on the HUD might not be fine enough, and also that this body does not support medium-height shoes, just flats and high heels designed for Maitreya feet. But for a freebie body, this is very good news!
In fact, I am going to say that this body is the winner when it comes to Maitreya Lara compatibility, compared to every other free or inexpensive mesh body I have tried! Dagger Faulkwing, who is similarly impressed with the Ariadna body, said on the Freebie Queens SL Discord:
Ariadna is now the only body I wear unless I want to wear Slink shoes, then I wear the free body being given by out by the MM Board at LucyBody, Atenea*.
Below, I have an avatar who is wearing the Kalhene Ariadna mesh body and head, sporting a Maitreya Lara dress and shoes she picked up as freebies from the Second Life 17th Birthday Gifts Boardwalk, which fit perfectly:
The dress shown is the Vibsy minidress by Pulse, and the shoes are the Yuna heels from Sheba. The hair is also a SL17B gift; this long hairstyle is from Love and is called Lovely (it also serves to cover up the breast areola area on this daringly low-cat dress!). The skin is the Elvira skin from 7 Deadly S[k]ins in the fudge skin tone, part of a fatpack of Elvira skins I got for free from one of their camping chairs during their recent 7th anniversary celebrations! I simply love this look, and the best part is, it is completely free, from head to toe!
I think that the Ariadna Bento mesh head is absolutely gorgeous, straight out of the box, without having to adjust any of the head sliders! But one of the best features of this body is that the head is a separate attachment, and you can replace it with any other Bakes on Mesh-compatible head.
The following look comes from combining the Kalhene Ariadna body with the recent free group gift of the Strong Face Bento mesh head from the Genus Project (I decided to play with the many makeup options on the included HUD, and I went full glam!):
The dress is one of my favourite fashion freebies from Coco Designs, the Stretch Tube bodycon dress in berry red. (I blogged about this dress before here.) The red pumps are included in the Kalhene Ariadna package, and come in five different colours.
The hairstyle is a free group gift from Sintiklia, called Raphael; I learned from the Freebie Queens SL Discord that the Sintiklia group was free to join, so I took advantage of it. You’ll have to check yourself to see if the Sintiklia group is still free to join by the time I publish this blogpost, but if it is, join! You’ll pick up many different hairstyles for free. Even if Sintiklia has reimposed their group join fee and you’re flat broke, there’s still a free gift wall in the store with some hairstyles and makeup.
Once again, this entire look from head to toe is free!
Below, I have paired the Kalhene Ariadna body with the recent free group gift of the Freya Bento mesh head from Catwa, wearing the Elvira skin from 7 Deadly S[k]ins in the pineapple skin tone (an Advent calendar gift from last Christmas):
Her dress, pumps—even the bikini/panties under the dress!—were all included in the Kalhene Ariadna package:
And the best part is, once again, I was able to assemble this avatar look for zero Linden dollars! (This hair was a free group gift from Sintiklia, Called Minaj.)
There is a rapidly-growing market for shapes for this body (just do a search for “Kalhene” on the SL Markerplace). I tested out several freebie and dollarbie shapes for Ariadna, and my favourite starter shapes are those from a package of four sold for free by a store called D’Lea Lee by Pleyades Halsey, called Ideal (here’s the link).
Here is what one of the Ideal athletic shapes looks like:
And here to compare is one of the Ideal curvy shapes:
Of course, all these shapes are just starting points, which you can adjust as you desire to get “your” look. I find that this body responds very well to most of the head and body sliders.
In summary, the Kalhene Ariadna Bento, Bakes on Mesh body is an excellent product that just keeps getting better and better! I am seriously impressed with this product.
If you want to stay in the loop about this body, given how often it is being updated by the creator, there is now a free Second Life group you can join for news and updates. Just copy and paste the following link into the chat box of your SL client:
secondlife:///app/group/bd0eb745-549d-a04d-0b0c-28ffb08e88a0/about
To get the developer’s kit for appliers or to create mesh clothes, shoes and accessories, please send a notecard to the creator, Claudia Urdaneta, with your request. Claudia has also been very responsive to user feedback and bug reports!
Thank you for making this fabulous free mesh body, Claudia!
*If you are curious about the Atenea mesh body from LucyBody, I blogged about it here.
Unfortunately, the Kahlene body has been taken off the marketplace. I heard it was because Maitreya had complained to LL, but that might just be a rumor.
You know, I was half expecting this. Fortunately, I picked up one for all of my Second Life alts.
I checked and my body allows me to copy and transfer, so I think I can still give it to my alt. But it’s really disappointing that newbies to SL can’t get the experience.
(sorry for misspelling Kalhene in my original comment…)
Hi Minusseven!
I just double-checked the latest version of the Kalhene Ariadna mesh body which I picked up just before they stopped selling it (version 2.4) and it is NOT transferable. What version are you using?