Tag: AVALE

UPDATED WITH INFORMATION ABOUT ERIKA ZERO PLUS! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies—The New Free Erika Zero Mesh Body by Kalhene (and Where to Get Free Clothing and Shoes for It)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Since writing this blogpost, I have learned that the Erika Zero mesh body is no longer available for free; instead, you can pick up an improved version (with detachable, tintable nails, optional belly and butt deformers, and a high-heeled feet option) for only L$50 if you join the brand new Erika Mesh Body group. You will also need to join the Erika Mesh Body group to pick up all the group gifts at the Kalhene store. Please see the last update to this blogpost for more details.

If you’re in the market for a nice, low-lag, free mesh body, you’re in luck! The Kalhene Erika mesh body, which I reviewed previously here, is now offering a version called Erika Zero, which consists of a Bento, Bakes on Mesh body with flat feet, plus one outfit (top, shorts, and sneakers). To pick one up, just teleport here to the N-Core/Kalhene store and buy it for L$0 (no group needed). Warning: word has gotten out and the store is busy!

The notecard included with the Erika Zero body package states:

ERIKA Zero are a simplified Bake on Mesh Body. The pack includes the Erika Zero body, shape, one skin and basic outfit.

Full Erika Version Includes:

  • Complete Erika mesh body modifiable.
  • Body shine and oiled skin levels.
  • Individual hand poses.
  • 5 Hand nails shapes with 32 colors and removable.
  • 4 Feet indvidual shape (Flat, Medium, TipToe and Pointy)
    with 32 colors and removable.
  • Includes a feet long nails add on.
  • 3 Nipples sizes with HD textures and tintable via HUD.
  • HD Pubic Hair with some hairy shapes and tintable via HUD.
  • HD Mesh Vagina with animated states.
  • HUD Built-in Breast and Butt deformers.
  • Breathing and Butt jiggling animations.
  • Alpha Cuts sections.
  • Built-in Add-ons: Bubble Boobs, Petits Seins, Petite Waist and Squeeze Legs.
  • 4 Bento Mesh heads.
  • Transgender Add-on in 4 sizes and Penis states via HUD.
  • Adult Playset with some accessories.
  • Cel Shading effect Add-on.
  • Weareable body deformers Add-on for Breast, Belly, Back and Butt.
  • Wardrobe with some outfits and clothes for Bubble Boobs, Petits Seins and Squeeze Legs.
  • 5 BoM Skins and Eyes.

Please note that the Kalhene Zero body does not include an alpha HUD, or any kind of HUD, for that matter! However, you can always use Bakes on Mesh alphas, like the ones that come with your clothes you buy. You can also pick up free packs of clothing alphas from various locations on the grid for free (like the Little Black Dress store). You can also pick up free sets of body alphas on the SL Marketplace; here are four:

The Erika Zero body is the perfect wearable demo for you to road-test, and try out various Bakes on Mesh skins with, before deciding whether to spring for the full-priced version! I have it for one of my alts, and I am seriously considering buying the full-price version for a couple more. (Please see the note at the very end of this blogpost—right now there’s a 25%-off sale going on!)

While you are in the N-Core/Kalhene store, be sure to join the Kalhene group for free, which enables you to pick up eleven group gifts from the Kalhene gift wall:

In addition to clothing, the gifts include several shapes for the Erika body, which are all illustrated in the gallery below. I have found that the Kalhene Erika body adjusts extremely well to the body sliders, allowing you to make your avatar as thin, thicc, or curvy as you desire! The default shape included in the Erika Zero package is quite pleasing, I think (see the first image below), but as you can see, you can get this body much more curvaceous!

Erika Zero (default shape)
Anisa Shape
Kumi Shape
Kiera Curvy Shape
Regina Shape
Kiera Regular Shape

So, now I am also going to share with you where you can pick up free clothing designed to fit Kalhene Erika mesh bodies (both the free and full-priced versions). First stop is Hilly Haalan’s freebie store, where you can snap up no less than seven outfits for Erika (see red arrows below):

You can also pick up some nice free footwear for the full-price Kalhene Erika feet, which allows for high heels. The Kalehen Zero free body only allows for flat feet, but don’t despair! The good news is that shoes designed for Maitreya Lara feet fit the Kalhene mesh body, but only up to the ankle—Maitreya shoes with lacing up the calves, or boots, won’t work. Fortunately, on the opposite wall from all the Kalhene Erika freebies are a nice set of Amy flats with a fatpack HUD. You’ll probably have to adjust the foot size smaller on the body sliders to make them fit, but they will fit, and look great! They come in a complete fatpack of colours, with either silver or gold trim.

Now, let’s drop into a few other places where you can pick up free clothing for your Erika body. At Reed, you can pick up a free dress fatpack, Andreza, plus the sexy Amore outfit fatpack (just join the Reed store group for free):

Then hop on over to Spotlight, and head to the gift wall next to the front counter, where for another free group join, you can get two fabulous dress fatpacks (Leina and Samara), plus a top fatpack (Luka). Just pay the vendors one Linden dollar each, which will be automatically refunded, and they’re yours!

Avale offers a gift of that classic wardrobe staple, a little black dress which comes in a size for Kalhene Erika; just join the Avale group for free and click on the yellow gift box icon to receive your present:

BlondeQueen is also offering a jumper for free (with a free group join):

The DM store has two freebie/dollarbie fatpacks, which include sizes to fit Kalhene Erika, as shown in the diagram below (with the relevant group to join indicated):

Rebane has four gifts of tops and bodysuits for Erika (again, the group is free to join):

And did you know that The Free Dove, the venerable and long-running freebie store run by Palomma Casanova for 17 years, has now been replaced with a memorial named in her honour? It’s a brand new freebie store/shopping mall called Palomma Plaza, with many new free items (plus a few carryovers from The Free Dove) and yes, there are fabulous freebies here for the Kalhene Erika body as well!

Palomma Plaza has a new central spawn point, but save this SLURL to your inventory, then right-click on it and select Show on Map from the drop-down menu, and simply follow the red arrow/column of light to pick up three lovely gifts from Grumble and Scrappy Scorpion!

All the Second Life vloggers are saying that the free version of the Erika mesh body is only going to be available for a limited time, but I don’t know for how long. Also, the full-price version of Erika is currently available for 25% off, at L$1,995, which is also a great deal! Note that the full package includes a very nice capsule wardrobe with ten outfits. Again, I don’t know how long the sale will last, so if you’re interested in either the free or full versions of this mesh body, don’t wait!

Also, if you have either the free or full versions of the Kalhene Erika body, you need to join the Dreamer’s SL Discord server (here’s an invite), where they maintain a kalhene-erika discussion channel, just for free and inexpensive gifts for that body!

Happy freebie shopping!

P.S. I wanted to show you yet another fetching free outfit for the Kalhene Erika body, this wonderful Grace dress, which actually consists of two pieces, a blouse and a matching long skirt. It is the Enchantment Dark Academia Hunt prize from Web Dew. You are looking for an open book, and the hint is: “Cozy place, pillow and coffee.” Quite easy to find! 😉

I paired the Kalhene Zero body with the skin included in the package (which is LeLutka Evolution compatible, not LeLutka Evo X!), and used the LeLutka Lilly Bento mesh head, which was a freebie from three Christmases ago. The long nails on the Erika Zero hands don’t quite fit the historical, Victorian-era nature of this look, and they unfortunately can’t be changed, but hey, this entire avatar look is completely free, from head to toe! (I once again used the free Amy flats from Hilly Haalan.)

Not too shabby for zero Linden dollars, I must say!

UPDATE May 20th, 2023: Well, in response to numerous user requests, the creator of the Erika Zero body has upgraded the body to include the ability to wear high-heeled shoes! Just teleport to the same location in the N-Core/Kalhene store where you picked up the original Erika Zero mesh body (SLURL), join the brand new Erika Mesh Body group for L$50, and you can pick up the new group gift of the Erika Zero Plus body (just click on the mannequin):

A note from the creator posted to the Kalhene Second Life group says:

Hi, after the high request to include tip toe feet to be able to wear heels, we have updated “Erika Zero” to “Erika Zero Plus”. Now includes flat feet and tip toe, removable finger nails, belly and butt deformers, and more…You will be able to get it joining the – Erika Mesh Body – new VIP group. Only for a limited time.

The Erika Zero Plus package contains:

  • a shape, two skins (medium and tan), and two bodies: one with flat feet (the original Erika Zero) and a new one with tiptoe feet, so you can wear high heels now;
  • separate fingernails, which are tintable, and which you can replace with other nails (see below for some free nails for Erika hands);
  • two body add-ons called “Belly Flat” and “Butt Up”, which work with both the flat-feet and tiptoe-feet versions of the Erika Zero Plus mesh body;
  • a mini wardrobe: bikini bra and thong; shorts; a tank top and shorts outfit; sneakers; and stiletto heels.

Remember that the tiptoe feet on the Erika Zero Plus mesh body are compatible with shoes made for Maitreya Lara feet, but only up the ankle! You can also pick up some free high-heeled shoes specifically designed for Erika bodies from the Hilly Haalan freebie store, which I mentioned higher up in this blogpost. There are three pairs of high-heeled shoes available for Kalhene Erika feet, as shown by the red arrows in the image below:

The Diletta Beaded Heels from Hilly Haalan fit Erika feet, and come in a full fatpack of colours

If you wish to replace the included fingernails with others, there are two free fatpacks of nails available from the group gift wall at the BINGE Events store (just join the BINGE Events group for free, and click the panels indicated by the red arrows):

The Aline nails fit Kalhene Erika hands, and come in eight textures

Apparently, the Erika Zero Plus mesh body package is only available for a limited time, so don’t delay in picking this up! Even at the cost of L$50 to join the group, this is a true bargain, and as we have seen, more and more designers are now creating clothing for the Kalhene Erika mesh body.

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Gifts from the Cosmopolitan Christmas Tree

IMPORTANT EDITORIAL/HOUSEKEEPING NOTE, PLEASE READ:

Many of my regular readers are probably wondering why I have written so much about Second Life this month, instead of all the other metaverse platforms I could cover.

First: My faculty union at the university where I work went through a five-week strike which ended in early December, and we are now in a rapidly worsening Omicron wave of the coronavirus pandemic. I am STRESSED and UTTERLY EXHAUSTED and I need to take a break. Second Life is my happy place, and my preferred way of dealing (or, perhaps more accurately, not dealing) with messy, painful, chaotic, dumpster-fire reality these days. I am therefore taking December as a vacation from this blog (with a few exceptions, such as this blogpost).

Second: As I have often said before, Second Life is the perfect example of a mature, fully-evolved metaverse, which the newer social VR platforms would be wise to study and emulate. Do not be so quick to dismiss Second Life as quaint and outdated! At a time when the concept of the metaverse is suddenly very popular again, you can learn many lessons from studying SL. For example, merchandizing avatar fashion (such as that profiled in this blogpost) is now a very hot topic in the blockchain/crypto/NFT space; Second Life content creators have been earning full or side incomes by creating and selling avatar fashion for over 18 years now!

Thank you for your patience and understanding. I do expect to return full-throttle to blogging about any and all aspects of social VR, virtual worlds and the metaverse in January 2022!

Every December, the Cosmopolitan shopping event (SLURL) has a large Christmas tree placed between the entrance doors, which is a sort of Advent calendar, but in a different form. Every day, more and more stockings are added to the tree as decorations, and each stocking is a free gift from a participating vendor. Join the !!Cosmopolitan Club & Lounge!! group for free to pick up these gifts.

However, because the stockings all look alike and are attached to all sides of a three-dimensional, cone-shaped object, and therefore it can be very hard to keep track of what you have already taken and what you haven’t! Here’s a useful tip, from a previous year’s blogpost, on how to tackle the tree:

If you insist on visiting every day, the layout of the stockings around the tree can be somewhat confusing compared to traditional Advent calendars, and you might land up collecting the same gifts multiple times. You might want to use this tip provided by SL blogger Chic Aeon: once you have clicked on a stocking and received its gift, right click on it, Select More from the pie menu, select More again, then select Derender, then Blacklist. You will no longer be able to see that stocking on return visits! (These are the instructions for the Firestorm viewer; I do not know what the equivalent is for the standard Second Life viewer.) This is a genius tip! Thanks, Chic!

Another tip: derender the Christmas tree first; then the stockings will appear to be floating in mid-air, and they are much easier to find and click on! 😉

Today my avatar Moesha Heartsong (the Naomi Campbell supermodel of Second Life!) models some of my favourite gifts from the Cosmopolitan stockings. I do apologize for using a pose stand for these images; I can work much faster this way, and therefore get this blogpost out to you more quickly! I do not know how long the Christmas tree will be up at the Cosmopolitan event, so don’t delay in picking up these fabulous freebies!

First up is the Mei jewelry set from Supernatural, a choker and two necklaces (three separate pieces which you can wear together as shown, or separately as you wish). The Mei set comes in gold and silver versions, and each version comes in four different colours: black, red, pink, and white.

From AVALE comes the Gorra party dress with a dark silver skirt and a colour-changeable top (the included HUD gives you 11 colours). Sizes: Maitreya, Legacy, Freya, Isis, Hourglass, and Kupra.

ZVI’s gift is this cropped top with a choice of 20 colours via a HUD (sizes: Maitreya Lara, Meshbody Legacy, INITHIUM Kupra, eBody Reborn, Kalhene Erika).

Blossom&Seeds offers you this Costa Rica dress in sizes to fit Maitreya Lara, Belleza Freya, and Meshbody Legacy bodies:

From Shybird comes the Mina party dress, which comes in a fatpack with a whopping 64 options (32 colours in silk and 32 colours in suede!). This dress comes in sizes to fit Maitreya, Legacy, Kupra, and eBody Reborn.

The Eliza outfit (in the stocking from Meva) consists of a red dress and a white jacket with a belt. The dress and jacket can be worn together as shown, or you can mix and match with other items from your avatar’s wardrobe.

Off-Line’s present is this Nali dress in salmon, which comes in opaque and sheer versions (sizes: Maitreya, Legacy, Freya, Hourglass, and Kupra).

The present from Amias is this delightful grey Deer Sweater! There are versions for both male and female avatars: Maitreya Lara & Petite and Legacy & Perky for the women; and Belleza Jake, Signature Gianni, and Legacy for the men.

Seniha very generously gives you a complete fatpack of the Rosse outfit, consisting of a bodysuit and boa/fur stole, each of which comes with a HUD with a dizzying array of colours and textures to choose from! You can tint the top, belt, and bottom of the bodysuit separately via the HUD, for even more options!

From Little Fox comes the Darling set of top and matching panties in cherry red (Maitreya, Legacy, Freya, Kupra sizes).

The gift from Masoom is this pink Minerva gown (which comes in both regular and windblown versions). The gown comes with a gems HUD and a separate package of tintable panties to wear underneath. The Minerva gown comes in sizes to fit Maitreya Lara, Belleza Freya, and Slink Hourglass mesh bodies.

The stocking from Poison Rouge contains this haute couture Alma de Rosa hat in coral pink:

This is the Makina pigtail hairstyle from Ayashi, which comes with the HUD as shown, with eight different anime colours and a tinting feature to make your hair any colour under the sun!

Petite Maison offers a lovely selection of home decor (seven separate objects):

And finally, for something completely different, we have this set of unisex Bakes on Mesh cosmetics from Poema, the Editorial makeup pack! You’re all set for your next Vogue fashion shoot!

Again, I don’t know how long the Christmas tree will be up, so go TODAY.

Happy freebie shopping!

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Gifts from the Eighth Anniversary of the Cosmopolitan Shopping Event (Part II)

You might be interested to learn that I was one of the people who won a free Second Life avatar name change in their recent contest! (I did pay to upgrade another avatar to Premium to change her legacy name; I posted about that saga here, with detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to change your legacy Second Life avatar name.)

So please allow me to introduce you to Asako Kiyori (formerly stuck with the rather unfortunate moniker of Zelda Leeming):

Asako is wearing:

Mesh Head: This is a static (non-Bento) mesh head called Du by Altamura, which I picked up a couple of years ago as a free gift at a small shopping event whose name I have forgotten; I picked a skin tone on the included HUD that matched the Jenny body below).

Mesh Body: the Jenny Altamura mesh avatar head and body I picked up as a hunt prize from the 2017 Women’s Only Hunt; the Jenny mesh body is now available at the Freebie Megastore at London City (free; one skin tone; has Bento hands and head; more information here); but please note that you cannot remove the head if you pick up the freebie version in London City!

Hair: Nebula by Firelight Hair (a former Advent calendar gift; the Firelight group is free to join)

Blouse: Never Surrender blouse in midnight blue by Entice (a free Advent 2019 calendar gift which is no longer available, but you can pick up the same blouse in a purple colour as a free Stay at Home Club gift at the Entice store).

Pencil Skirt: Moon black pencil skirt by Virtue (if I remember correctly, this wardrobe staple was one of the free group gifts from their Advent calendar one year; the Virtue group is free to join, and there are almost 50 group gifts at their gift wall at this exact SLURL).

Pumps: Jai pumps by Rowne (free group gift; group is free to join; these shoes come with a HUD with 15 different colours to choose from, to match just about any outfit).

TOTAL COST FOR THIS AVATAR: FREE! (As you can see, it pays to visit the Advent calendars at some of these stores every day in December!)

So, I decided to take my newly-renamed avatar over to the second round of the 8th anniversary of the Cosmopolitan shopping event to vacuum up some fabulous freebies to augment her wardrobe (here’s the SLURL; you will have to join the Cosmopolitan Club & Lounge group for free to pick up all the gifts).

Here are three dresses from the event that I quite liked!

First up is a sexy little red dress called Kiss – Red Star, from the AVALE booth—perfect for that (virtual) night out on the town!

Next is the 8th anniversary gift from Little Fox: this fun. curve-hugging, bubblegum pink Terry jersey dress! You can easily dress this versatile piece of clothing up or down as you desire with the right shoes, jewelry, and accessories:

Finally, we have the cozy brown knit Christie dress, the gift from Eternus, which comes with a separate gold-and-leather belt as shown here. You could easily wear this as a sweater over a pair of jeans!

This second round of the Cosmopolitan 8th anniversary shopping event ends on May 30th, 2020, so don’t delay, head down today!

Happy freebie shopping!

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Gifts from the Très Chic Fifth Anniversary Event

It is the fifth anniversary of the Très Chic (“very stylish” in French) shopping event in Second Life, and like most anniversary events, many of the vendor booths have a free gift for you to pick up (you just have to join the Très Chic group for free).

The first item I want to show you today is NOT a free gift, but I just loved it and had to have it! It’s rare indeed for this freebie fashionista to make an impulse purchase when perusing the merchandise for sale at a shopping event. This medium-length Mona Muse bodycon dress by SEUL comes in a pleasing variety of solids and prints, and this print called Ascending was an instant buy for me! (Notice I am still rocking my favourite accessories, the champagne glass from Hive and the wonderful, over-the-top diva cigarette holder by Kunst! I just get such a chuckle when I load up Vanity Fair and she’s still smoking away.)

I’m quite sure that the artist who painted this never in his wildest dreams imagined that they would appear on a dress in Second Life! (I’m assuming this painting was in the public domain, or some art gallery somewhere is gonna be pressed like a panini.)

On to the gifts! Here’s what the gift boxes look like:

First up is this outfit consisting of a top and separate, colour-coordinated skirt from Neve, which both come with a HUD with four colour choices each, plus options to wear the top tucked into the skirt as shown, or untucked.

I have added the beautiful golden Nefert choker from Poison Rouge (which gives me a definite Wonder Woman vibe), as well as the ultra-teased, ultra-high Athina hairstyle by Vanity Hair, which includes a HUD with all the essential hair colours, ombre tones, and even streaks!

This Chic top and skirt (the gift from Scandalize) come in plain and polka-dotted versions. This hair-and-tweed-cap combination from no.match is called No Joke, which comes with a HUD of brown colours and would work equally well for both men and women:

The Lake pulled-back hairstyle by Sintiklia comes with a style HUD, four different kinds of separate left and right bangs, and a HUD of ombre tones. The delightful Seinab top and tartan miniskirt from MOWIE come in a fatpack of colours:

Here we again have the Sintiklia Lake hair again, and the shockingly low-cut red Lola dress By AVALE, which thankfully comes with a separate bra, which comes with a HUD with nine colours and lace textures, paired with the the Queen choker by ANDORE, which includes a HUD with six metal choices, and ten choices for the gemstone:

Here Vanity Fair is wearing an eye-catching, asymmetrical pin-striped dress called Anyka, which is the gift from -zk-:

Now that I am finally done and finished with all the bullshit from Google AdSense, I can actually show you this provocative see-through Marika dress from from Mangue, which at least comes with matching panties to protect your vajajay from public display! The dress and panties come in four colours each: black as you see here, plus white, pink, and red. The black Aimy necklace pictured here is the gift from Nanika.

Our final look is a combination of three gifts: the Nadin grey denim skirt by SAVIN, which goes very well with the lovely floral Camomile top by Eternus. This outfit is topped off with the Très Chic hat by Miu:

Vanity is also wearing:

  • the Kimberly Catwa Bento mesh head
  • the Maitreya Lara mesh body
  • Daria skin by The Skinnery
  • Dasha hair or Lady hair by Truth (when not wearing a gift hairstyle from the Très Chic event)
  • and, of course, my favourite forest green Darcey eyes by Suicidal Unborn!

Happy freebie shopping! The current round of Très Chic runs until June 10th, 2020 so you do have plenty of time to snap up some fabulous freebies for your female avatar (and I would strongly urge you to wait a week or two before you try to teleport in, as the sim is currently jam-packed with shoppers!).