Tag: Essenz

UPDATED for December 10th! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Advent Calendars and 12 Days of Christmas Calendars in 2022

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

It’s that most wonderful time of the year! And I’m talking about the time where on-the-ball freebie fashionistas can scoop up dozens of free gifts from the many Second Life stores which have either an Advent calendar (running Dec. 1st to Dec. 24th or 25th) or a Twelve Days of Christmas calendar (usually running between Dec. 12th or 13th and Dec. 24th or 25th).

Lists of Stores with Advent Calendars and 12 Days of Christmas Calendars

The Advent Calendar list by TeleportHub.com

If you’re looking for a list of such calendars, here are some that I have found useful (note that this list will be updated as I find new ones; many are not published until later in the day on December 1st, or even on December 2nd!):

  • TeleportHub.com’s Advent Calendar Store List 2022 is already up!
  • UPDATE 9:53 p.m.: December Advent Listing by Fabulously Free in SL.
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Holiday Sales and Advent List from Seraphim.
  • UPDATE Dec. 6th, 2022: Dreamer’s 2022 Advent Calendar List, from the Dreamer’s Virtual World blog (there’s also a gallery on Flickr). Dreamer’s list also tells you which calendars allow you to collect the previous days’ presents, either for free (no group needed), free with group, or paid with group! Very handy info to have. What I like to do for those Advent calendars where I can pick up all the previous days’ gifts, is wait until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, teleport in, and then pick them all up at one time!
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Second Life Syndicate has a Google spreadsheet with over 200 Advent and Twelve Days of Christmas calendars, which you can access here (scroll down and click on the link that says “Commenting Spreadsheet”, which can only accommodate up to 100 people at one time; a second spreadsheet, called “Published Spreadsheet”, will be published soon, but is not yet available).
  • Low Price Fashion in Second Life is a little-known Japanese blog which, last year, posted a daily roundup of that day’s Advent calendar gifts. I expect they will do the same this year.
  • Last year, the very hardworking folks over at the Russian-language VKontakte group Second Life – FREE posted a daily roundup of that day’s Advent calendar gifts, with pictures! And those Russian freebie fashionistas are doing it again for 2022. They even went so far as to create an alphabetical list of stores with links to pictures of each day’s Advent gift! Bookmark this list and check back daily; this is probably THE easiest way to actually see each day’s calendar gifts without teleporting all over the grid, collecting and unpacking items! (Please remember to use the Russian-to-English translator in your Chrome browser, or Google Translate, to read the posts in this Russian-language community. You do not need to set up an account on VKontakte; just click on the “Not Now!” link every time the nagging pop-up appears asking you to log in.)
  • UPDATE Dec. 10th, 2022: I don’t know how on Earth I could have missed this wonderful resource until today, but Second Life YouTuber Naria Panthar has a Discord server, which you can join here. And in that Discord server is an #advent-calendars channel, where somebody posts pictures of as many Advent calendar gifts as they can find! There’s much less clicking involved than with the VKontake group I mentioned above, all you have to do is scroll through each day’s listings! Even better, a direct SLURL to the gift is included. A big thank you to hupe, who makes these valuable posts! This might well be the best and easiest way yet to see what each SL store is offering, without having to teleport all over the grid, and then unpack and try on gifts.
A sample of hupe’s work from the #advent-calendars channel on Maria Panthar’s Discord

Ryan’s Picks: Stores I Will Be Visiting Every Day

This year, instead of wearing myself out trying to hit every single calendar on the grid, I will be focusing my energy on just a select few which, year after year, consistently offer the best gifts. Here are my top picks for 2022!

  • Firelight Hair has a Twelve Days of calendar running from December 13th to 24th (you do need to join the Firelight group for free). You have to pick up each gift on the day it is offered. The gifts are mostly women’s hairstyles, but there will also be a few unisex styles. All hair gifts usually come with a mini 2 or 3-colour HUD.
  • 7 Deadly s[K]ins always has an advent tree in their store, with generous gifts every single day from Dec. 1st through to the 31st! Please note that you do have to join the store group, called SEVEN – [7DS]; there is a group join fee (when I checked on Nov. 30th, it was L$500). To get each day’s present from the tree, simply pay the vendor L$1, and it will automatically be refunded. If you missed a day, you can buy previous days’ gifts for L$25 each. Apparently, they are also giving away gifts each weekend, so pop in!

In the room immediately to the left of the 7 Deadly S[k]ins Advent tree, you can purchase a fatpack of skins for L$1 from the Today’s Offer board, as well as pick up another free skin fatpack from the Giftboard, plus there are six Mini-Mania boards to try your luck for even more skins (see arrows in the picture below):

  • WOW Skins had extremely generous gifts of skin fatpacks every day in their Advent calendar, and I expect nothing less this year! (UPDATE Dec. 1st: Looks like this year it’s just single skins each day, no fatpacks!) You do have to be a member of their group (the group costs L$350).
  • Essenz has an Advent calendar running from Dec. 1st to 24th, where you can pick up a gift of high-quality women’s footwear every day (you must be a group member; the Essenz store group costs L$350 to join). If you missed a day, or you are not a group member, you can pick up previous days’ gifts for only L$50 each.
  • Every year, the Baby Monkey 12 Days of Christmas calendar (Dec. 13th to 24th) offers a free gift each day (women’s clothing and footwear). All the gifts together form a complete, colour-coordinated capsule wardrobe! You do have to show up each day to pick up that day’s gift (no group needed; just pay the vendor L$1, and it is automatically refunded).
An example (from 2 years ago) of the gifts from the 12 Days of Christmas calendar at Baby Monkey; every year, the gifts form a colour-coordinated capsule wardrobe in three colours!
  • JUMO will be giving away lovely gifts of women’s apparel and jewelry from Dec. 15th, 2022 to Jan. 1st, 2023 (no group required, and you can visit on New Year’s Day and pick up all the gifts at one time). This is the place to pick up some beautiful ballgowns and costume jewelry!
  • Last year, SOFIA had some absolutely gorgeous ballgowns and jewelry in their advent calendar. This year, their calendar will run over 20 days, from Dec. 5th to Christmas Day. You must join the SOFIA store group for free to pick up these presents!
  • ALB Dream Fashion will have a calendar again this year, stuffed with gifts for both male and female avatars (the first Advent gift is already available when I checked on Nov. 30th!). If interested, join the group now while it is still free (the name of the group to search for is “LAMU GROUP”). Per the notices, it will be L$500 to join beginning Dec 1st, 2022.

UPDATE Dec. 3rd, 2022: I just noticed that ALB Dream Fashion has provided a sneak preview of some of the presents from their Advent calendar! As you can see, they will have an assortment of wonderful gifts this season, for both male and female avatars.

  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Both Vagrant (womenswear) and its sister store Zerkalo (home decor) have Advent calendars running from Dec. 1st to 24th (both require a free group join).
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Salt and Pepper will be offering clothing gifts on December 1st, on the weekends, and on Christmas Eve, and gift cards on weekdays, which can be applied to any merchandise in the store. The Salt & Pepper group costs L$300 to join.
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Glitzz has an Advent tree encircled with 24 teddy bear-adorned giftboxes, where you can pick up each day’s present for free (no group required). Previous days’ gifts can be purchased for L$25 each.
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Celestina’s was slightly delayed in setting out their Advent calendar gifts, but the first few are now out, in a row along the front counter of the store. If you act quickly, you can pick up the gifts from both Dec. 1st and Dec. 2nd today, a strapless violet ballgown and a salmon shrug. The gifts for the next few days have previews on the boxes, and they look very nice! You must join the Celestina’s group for free to pick up these presents. If you miss a day, you can buy that day’s gift for L$35.
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Seniha (womenswear) has an Advent calendar located outside their store. You need to join their group for free to obtain each day’s gift.
  • UPDATE Dec. 3rd, 2022: The advent calendar at ALTER is giving away lovely gifts of women’s clothing (you must join the ALTER group for free to get these gifts). If you miss a day, you can buy the previous days’ presents for L$55 each.
  • UPDATE Dec. 3rd, 2022: If you’re looking for something a little bit naughtier in your fashion, why not visit the Advent calendar at Erotik? Join their free store group to pick up each day’s gift. Previous days’ gifts can be purchased for L$35 each.

A final note: I regret to say that, unlike previous years, I will not be doing a daily round-up of Advent calendar gifts each day, either here on the blog or in the RyanSchultz.com Steals, Deals, and Freebies Second Life group (although I will still post some fabulous freebies and bargains to the latter, as I come across them). I’m sorry, but it’s just too much for me this year.

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

Happy freebie shopping!

UPDATED AS OF DECEMBER 12th, 2021! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies—What Advent Calendars and 12 Days of Christmas Calendars I’ll Be Hitting This December (2021 Edition)

TWO IMPORTANT NOTICES, PLEASE READ:

I am taking a vacation from blogging for the entire month of December. Between the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the recently concluded faculty strike at my university, I am utterly exhausted, and I need to take a break. I hope that you understand. I will be back in January 2022!

I will *NOT* be doing a daily blogpost of that day’s best Advent Calendar/12 Days of Christmas Calendar gifts this year; instead, I will be posting a notecard with all of my picks of the best gifts for that day (with store SLURLs) to my new Second Life group called RyanSchultz.com Steals, Deals & Freebies. The group costs L$50 to join.

Photo by David-Olivier Gascon on Unsplash

December is truly the most wonderful time of the year for freebie fashionistas in Second Life! Many stores have either an Advent calendar or a 12 Days of Christmas calendar, where you can pick up a free gift each day.

This year, instead of wearing myself out trying to hit every single calendar on the grid, I will be focusing my energy on just a select few which, year after year, consistently offer the best gifts. Here are my top picks for 2021!

Please note that I will be updating this blogpost regularly between now and Christmas, so bookmark this post and check back often for any changes or updates.

Lists of Advent Calendars for 2021

TeleportHub.com’s Advent Calendar listing is already up
  • The 2021 Advent list by SL Hunts
  • The Advent Calendar Store List 2021 by TeleportHub.com
  • The December Advent Listing by Fabulously Free in SL, which is the biggest list
  • UPDATE Dec. 1st, 2021, 2:13 p.m.: The 2021 Seraphim Gift List (which includes Advent calendars, holiday sales, and stores with giftable vendors and transferable items) has just been published!
  • UPDATE Dec. 1st, 2021, 10:25 p.m.: The Second Life Syndicate is taking a different approach! Instead of a list, they are maintaining a Google spreadsheet, which you can access here. The group-edited spreadsheet already has over 180 rows!
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2021, 1:40 p.m.: The hardworking folks over at the Russian-language VKontakte group Second Life – FREE are posting a daily roundup of that day’s Advent calendar gifts, with pictures! And they are actually building a list of stores with links to pictures of each day’s Advent gift! This is probably THE easiest way to actually see each day’s calendar gifts without teleporting all over the grid, collecting and unpacking items! (Please remember to use the Russian-to-English translator in your Chrome browser to read the posts in this Russian-language community. You do not need to set up an account on VKontakte; just click on the “Not Now!” link every time a pop-up appears asking you to log in.)
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2021, 2:13 p.m.: Low Price Fashion in Second Life is a little-known Japanese blog which usually posts a daily roundup of that day’s Advent calendar gifts (again, you will need to use the automatic Japanese-to-English translator in your Chrome web browser to read the posts).
  • UPDATE Dec. 3rd, 2021, 12:29 p.m.: Advent Calendars 2021 With Previews Updated Daily is a truly heroic attempt by Snarkness of the SugarSL blog to cover as many Advent calendar gifts as possible each day. Thank you, Snarkness!
The December Advent Listing from FabFree has the biggest list of Advent and 12/15 Days of Christmas calendars on the grid!

Five Advent Calendars I Will Be Visiting Every Day

The Advent calendar at Essenz women’s footwear store
  • Firelight Hair has an Advent calendar running from December 1st to 24th (you do need to join the Firelight group for free). You have to pick up each gift on the day it is offered. The gifts are mostly women’s hairstyles, but there will also be a few male/unisex styles. All hair gifts usually come with a mini 3-colour HUD.
  • 7 Deadly s[K]ins has an advent tree in their store, with generous gifts every day from Dec. 1st through to the 31st! Please note that you do have to join the new store group, called SEVEN – [7DS], to pick up these gifts; this group is free to join until Jan. 1st, 2022! So you have no excuse this year not to pick up some new skin for your avatar.
  • Virtue offers an Advent calendar with beautiful clothing gifts for women. The emphasis here is on classic, modest fashion. You do need to join the Virtue group for L$25 to pick up these gifts; you also need to show up each day to pick up that day’s gift.
  • Entice offers Advent calendar gifts of womenswear from December 1st to 25th (you do have to join the Entice group for free). Again, you do have to show up each day to pick up that day’s gift.
  • Essenz has an Advent calendar where you can pick up a gift of high-quality women’s footwear every day (the Essenz group costs L$350 to join). If you missed a day, or are not a group member, you can pick up previous days’ gifts for only L$50 each.

Three 12 Days of Christmas Calendars I Will Be Visiting Every Day

The 12 Days of Christmas calendar at Baby Monkey starts December 14th, 2021

Most of these calendars start on Dec. 12th, 13th, or 14th, and run until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (and a few stores are having a 15 Days of Christmas calendar starting Dec. 10th, so be sure to check!).

  • The Baby Monkey 12 Days of Christmas calendar offers a free gift each day. All the gifts together form a complete, colour-coordinated capsule wardrobe. You do have to show up each day to pick up that day’s gift.
  • JUMO usually gives away lovely gifts of women’s apparel and jewelry from Dec. 12th-Dec. 24th, as well as on New Year’s Eve (the JUMO group is free to join). This is the place to pick up some beautiful ballgowns and costume jewelry!
  • UPDATE Dec. 12th, 2021: It would appear that the eBENTO Event has been cancelled for December, according to chatter in the eBento group in Second Life. So that means that there will also be no Advent calendar from them this year! 🙁
Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Free Gifts from the Halloween Shop and Hop Event!

Have you joined the RyanSchultz.com Steals, Deals & Freebies group yet? I will be posting EVEN MORE news and tips on finding fabulous freebies and bargains in Second Life than I post here on the blog! More information on this brand new SL group here.

There’s no less than 14 shopping sims at this year’s Halloween Shop and Hop event in Second Life! At every merchant booth, there is a free gift for you—many are Halloween-themed, but others are not. Below, Vanity Fair models a selection of gifts which I think you’ll enjoy.

Once I saw the generous Shop and Hop gifts from Sintiklia and AtaMe, I knew that I would be taking this picture! The Yasmine hair from Sintiklia comes in a fatpack of regular and Halloween shades, with styling options for both normal and windswept looks! And the stunning Lilly gown fatpack by AtaMe includes a HUD to change the texture of the bodice to five different metals, as well as select both the colour (6 shades) and the transparency (4 levels) of the swirling skirts. The Lilly gown comes in sizes to fit Maitreya, Legacy, and Kupra mesh bodies.

Strike a pose! The Lilly gown by AtaMe and Yasmine hair by Sintiklia

There’s several beautiful ballgowns at the Halloween Shop and Hop for you to pick up! From the SOFIA booth comes this sexy red Anne Star gown (sizes: Maitreya Lara, Belleza Freya Perky, Slink Hourglass, and Meshbody Legacy).

The Anne Star gown package includes a set of cream-coloured Eden jewelry (earrings, necklace, a ring and even a clutch purse!), which Vanity Fair is wearing below with the gift from Sascha’s Designs, a romantic cream gown with an optional flexiprim skirt attachment:

You’re all set for your next fancy event in Second Life in this ensemble! The gown comes in sizes to fit Maitreya regular and Petite; Legacy regular and Perky; Slink Physique and Hourglass; Belleza Freya; Tonic Curvy and Fine; and Kupra mesh bodies, as well as a medium-sized standard fitmesh version. (Please note that when you add the unpacker HUD, it rather disconcertingly fills your entire viewer screen, so attach it to your right hand instead, right click on the HUD and select Edit, then drag what versions you need from the Contents tab to your inventory.)

The gift from Bee Dumpling and Solas NaGealai of Silvan Moon Designs is this Anais Saturna gown, which comes with an optional coat and a chain belt in three colours: black, gold, or pewter as shown (the dress and coat comes in Maitreya Lara and Slink sizes).

The Anais Saturna gown by Silvan Moon Designs

From the TO.KISKI booth comes this complete outfit (dress, shoes, cat head band, and an animesh floating heart for your hand), plus a black voodoo rabbit doll!

This sexy red metallic dress with matching heels is sure to be a hit at the nightclub! The dress and shoes come in sizes to fit Maitreya, Belleza/Hourglass, and Legacy/Classic. Here’s s short video showing you one of the six different animesh hearts in action:

The generous gift from Essenz is a complete fatpack of these Aranea pumps, adorned with a spiderweb and dangling spider! Perfect for a dressier Hallowe’en outfit! These shoes fit Legacy, Maitreya, and Belleza mesh feet.

The gift from Caverna Obscura is this lovely autumn maple leaves head wreath, which is completely adjustable (other styling credits for this autumn maiden look can be found here):

Autumn Maiden (wreath by Caverna Obscura; other styling credits)

Among the many gifts from the Petrichor booth are a set of Azre weedcrowns, which come in no less than 36 different colours!

If you’re trying to pull together a witch look this season, here are two gifts for either end of your witch! (Do you know which end of your witch is which? 😉 ) The witch heels are from Hilly Haalan (they come in two colours, black as shown and green, sized to fit Maitreya, Belleza, and Slink mesh feet), and the wonderful witch’s hat and rigged mask are from Giulia Design. Click on each picture to see them in a larger size, and appreciate all the details…

And if you’re feeling devilish, perhaps you’ll want to snag these delightful purple horns from AERTH, which feature an animated orange swirling pattern! You’re sure to stand out in any crowd of demons! 😉

I leave you with the present from Jian, which is a keeper! It’s a cat sleeping on a pillow. If you click on it, you can change the texture of the feline’s fur, as well as the colour of the pillow! It’s adorable, and instantly earns a place in my Linden home.

The Hallowe’en Shop and Hop is on until the end of October, of course, so there’s no hurry! I’d suggest waiting until later on in the shopping event, when it’s less crowded and laggy.

UPDATE 3:30 p.m.: I forgot to mention that there are also a number of free store credit offers available at the Halloween Shop and Hop! The following list is courtesy of SL vlogger NovataSecondLife—thank you for compiling it!

♥ Addams 400L credits FREE
♥ Ghee – 150L giftcard
♥ Dust – 250L giftcard
♥ Vanity Hair – 200L
♥ TREND (250L credit Free)
♥ Bumblebee (500L Giftcard Free)
♥ Monomania – 250L Free ( pay 1l it get refund)
♥ EscalateD – 250L Giftcard FREE
NEW! Alme – 250L (expires Dec. 31st, 2021)

You can pick up one of these lovely Flora tea dresses (which come in six different floral patterns) for free using the L$150 gift card available from the Ghee booth at the Hallowe’en Shop and Hop event

UPDATE Oct. 4th, 2021: One last fabulous freebie! Check out these truly glorious red wings, part of a complete outfit from the Alter booth at the Hallowe’en Shop and Hop! The outfit comes in sizes to fit Maitreya Lara; Belleza Freya, Isis and Venus; Slink Physique and Hourglass; and Meshbody Classic/TMP mesh bodies, plus five standard sizes. (The dress in the picture below is the gift from TO.KISKI, which I discussed earlier in this blogpost.)

Happy freebie shopping!

Bronze Beauty: A Head-to-Toe Second Life Avatar Makeover for Only L$197!

I still derive a great deal of personal satisfaction from styling a Second Life avatar as inexpensively as possible, but still looking like I spent thousands of Linden dollars! Here is what I was able to create today, using as my starting point a wonderful free skin I found at the COCOAMATRIX store, called Avril:

This avatar stands out in any crowd! She is wearing:

  • Head: Genus Strong Face (a free gift head from the Genus Project; includes the mesh eyes shown)
  • Body: Atenea body by LUCYBODY (a free Midnight Mania gift, more information here; requires a L$197 Bakes on Mesh applier to wear BoM skins)
  • Skin: Avril from COCOAMATRIX (this striking bronzed skin is a free group gift; the COCOAMATRIX group is free to join)
  • Hair: Raphael hair by Sintiklia (a free gift from their gift wall)
  • Outfit: Shey by Scandalize (the top and leggings are both free group gifts from the Scandalize Outlet store; more information here)
  • Pumps: Wales pumps by Essenz (I joined the Essenz group when they had a free group join period, and a fatpack of these versatile pumps were a recent group gift)

TOTAL COST OF THIS AVATAR LOOK: Only L$197! If this isn’t proof that you can pull together a polished look in SL for next to nothing, I don’t know what is.