Tag: Rowne

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Pale Beauty

I am in a resolutely foul and cranky mood this evening, for two reasons.

First, I realize that I have spent EIGHTY CANADIAN DOLLARS to change the name of one of my Second Life avatars, which, even for someone who loves SL as much as I do, is an filthy, obscene amount of money; and…

Second, I am still struggling with bouts of anxiety, depression and anger at having to self-isolate in my apartment because of the coronavirus pandemic. I started working from home March 16th, 2020, and I feel as if I am slowly starting to fall apart at the seams, and it hasn’t even been ONE FULL MONTH YET. And today Helen Branswell reports for STAT:

A modeling study on the new coronavirus  warns that intermittent periods of social distancing may need to persist into 2022 in the United States to keep the surge of people severely sickened by Covid-19 from overwhelming the health care system.

The research, published Tuesday in the journal Science, looked at a range of scenarios for how the SARS-CoV-2 virus will spread over the next five years. Those scenarios included variables like whether people who are infected develop short-term immunity — less than a year — or longer-term protection. But, overall, the research concludes it is unlikely that life will return any time soon to the way it was before the virus’ emergence.

2022? 2022?!??

And, just to add insult to injury, I have developed an ugly, painful reddish-brown rash on the backs of my thighs from spending 16-to-18 hour days perched in front of my personal computer, sitting on one of my wooden kitchen chairs, and it has has just made me even more cranky, upset and ill-tempered. (I plan to drive out to my office in the science library tomorrow, to pick up my lushly upholstered and much-missed executive office chair, praying to God that I can fit it into the back of my subcompact car, so I can bring it home.)

As a virtual hermit who largely lives his life on the internet, all of a sudden I can no longer sit for long periods in front of my computer! (So much for my admittedly unhealthy coping mechanism.) In between sessions on my PC, I lie on the sofa, with my legs propped up, rubbing a corticosteroid cream originally prescribed for my eczema on my thighs, seething.

So, no, I am NOT a happy camper today. I am not a happy camper at all.

However, I still take some small amount of pleasure from my weird little hobby of designing a complete Second Life avatar look from head to toe. So tonight, I have plunked down an avatar at the side of the (New) Frank’s Jazz Club, listening to the music stream as I lie on the sofa:

Here’s a few more shots of my avatar from the front:

This avatar is wearing:

Mesh Head: The Limited Edition Bento head from Akeruka (L$1 group gift; the Akeruka group costs L$150 to join, and I would strongly urge you to pick up this Bakes on Mesh head before it’s gone, which comes in eight different skin tones and with matching skin appliers for Maitreya, Belleza, Slink, and Omega-compatible mesh bodies included). The beautiful mesh eyes are also included in the package.

Mesh Body: Juliet by Altamura (a limited-time group gift from Valentine’s Day 2019, which I turn to again and again on this blog; at the time I joined the Altamura group it was only L$50, but it now costs L$100 to join their group; this Juliet body is now for sale at the full price). In order to use the Serenity II skin below, I needed to buy and install the Omega system kit for Altamura (available for L$99 at this exact SLURL), as well as use the free Bakes on Mesh relay available at the Altamura store.

Skin: This beautiful pale Serenity II skin with blonde eyebrows is a Bakes on Mesh skin by Alaskametro (available for free from The Free Dove freebie store). This was my inspiration to get creative tonight!

Hair: This elegant updo is called NO.KEY and is by NO.MATCH (it was a freebie during a short period of time last year when the store was giving away a free gift each day).

Dress: This truly lovely retro Celebrate Spring! dress in opal is by steampunk/historical roleplay outfitter Cog & Fleur, and it was a free hunt prize in their recently-concluded Good Eggs hunt.

Shoes: Jai pumps by Rowne (free group gift; unfortunately, the Rowne store seems to have disappeared from the grid).

Necklace: This is an oldie but a goodie: the Glazed Heart necklace from Eolande’s (remember them? they have long since closed up shop).

TOTAL COST FOR THIS AVATAR: L$300 (L$151 total for the Akeruka head, L$50 to join the Altamura group to get the Juliet body, and L$99 for the Altamura Omega system kit)

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: monaLISA (Part 2)

Today I bring you yet another store that gives you a massive bang for your buck. I have covered this before, back in May 2018, but it’s such a good deal that it bears repeating!

Teleport to monaLISA, join the TeleportHub.com group for L$10 if you haven’t already done so, and touch the black sign to get this lovely Seda outfit, with a feminine white tie blouse and a black vest and matching skirt (please note that all three items are in one piece; they are not separate pieces). Looking good!

But there’s more—much more! Join the monaLISA group for only L$50, and you can then pick up no less than 97 free gifts of clothing and footwear for your female avatar from their Group Gift wall (at this exact SLURL). That works out to about L$0.5 per item, a really great deal!

Here are just four examples of outfits you can pick up. This is the Luz sweater and skirt set, which comes with a colour HUD with ten different colours for the sweater body itself and the sleeves separately, plus three patterns for the skirt (plain black and two wild animal prints):

The shoes in the first three pictures above are the versatile Jai pumps from Rowne, a free group gift. You can join the Rowne group for free. Here’s the exact SLURL to the Group Gift wall in the Rowne store.

And this is the Rose dress in light blue, paired with the wonderful multicolour Dawn heels:

Next we have this sexy, smart black double-breasted-jacket style minidress (model C04/12/17) along with matching black Merisa heels:

Finally, we have the following outfit (model C03/12/17) with black heels (model C09/12/17):

So head on down to monaLISA and pick up some fabulous deals for your wardrobe! Better yet, stay subscribed to the monaLISA group and you can pick up a new group gift every month! (It is usually on a large poster located immediately to the right of the large Group Gifts sign on the wall.)

Happy shopping!

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Free and Inexpensive Shoes for Female Avatars

It can be tricky to find free or inexpensive footwear for female avatars, so in this blogpost I will be pulling together all the information I have about finding free or cheap shoes and boots for women.

One wardrobe staple I turn to time and again is this free set of women’s classic pumps by Marquesse, available from the excellent freebie store at Ajuda SL Brasil on the third floor (here’s the SLURL):

They come in white, black, red, and nude, and fit Slink mesh feet:

Wander around the women’s section of the freebie store at Ajuda SL Brasil (on both the first and third floors) and you will find many other pairs of free footwear for female avatars, everything from sneakers to thigh-high boots! Here’s just a sample of shoes from Nala Design:

If you join the Rowne group for free, you can pick up this lovely pair of Jai women’s pumps at the Gift Wall in their store (here’s the SLURL), which comes with a 15-colour HUD:

The Jai pumps come in sizes to fit Maitreya, Belleza and Slink mesh feet.

Another wardrobe staple I use quite often are a free sample pack of Slink-compatible shoes from Garbaggio, available on the SL Marketplace:

The set consists of flats, mid-height heels, and high heels in four colours: white, red, black, and nude. Here’s a close-up look at the mid heel along with the colour HUD:

Baby Monkey has some nice freebies at a couple of locations. At the Free*Style store you can pick three different sets of footwear—pumps, hiking shoes, and boots—in grey, green, and blue (here’s the SLURL):

Here’s what the Leana pumps look like, along with the colour HUD:

If you go to the Free Dove freebie store, there’s an updated “basics” set of Baby Monkey Leana pumps available in sizes for Maitreya, Belleza, and Slink mesh feet as well as classic avatar feet, along with a 10-colour HUD (here’s the SLURL):

There are many other high-quality freebies in the shoe section at the Free Dove, so be sure to pay them a visit and check out what’s available:

And finally, there are dozens and dozens of pairs of stylish footwear available for only L$10 each in the Baby Monkey sale section, located in a skybox high above the main store on the Keraxic sim (please note: this is an adult-rated Second Life sim, so you need to set your viewer settings to include Adult content if you want to be able to visit the Baby Monkey store). Here’s the SLURL to take you directly there.

Each set comes with a 32-to-35 colour HUD, which should allow you to match just about any outfit you are wearing! This is an incredible deal, so you should visit and flip through the vendors just to see what’s for sale. Depending on the style, there are sizes for Maitreya, Belleza, and Slink mesh feet, as well as classic avatar feet.

Another place to pick up many pairs of free shoes for female avatars is Hilly Haalan. Simply join their group for free and click the panels at the landing point, or the nearby freebie store! Here are just a few examples:

The suede Sonnet pumps (upper right in the bottom picture) come with a 20-colour HUD, and are available in versions for Maitreya, Belleza, and Slink mesh feet. I find myself using them quite a bit.

If you join the Legendaire V.I.P. group for only L$49, you can pick up quite a few pairs of trendy shoes and boots from their group gift wall:

If you join the S@bbia group for free, you can pick up a nice pair of brown penny loafers for free at their store (here’s the SLURL):

If you join the Versov group for free, you can pick up a pair of Jumpov sneakers as a free group gift from their store (here’s the SLURL):

The Jumpov sneakers come in sizes to fit Maitreya, Belleza, and Slink mesh feet, as well as an unrigged pair which you can adjust to fit just about any foot (it also comes in men’s sizes). The included HUD allows you to customize every aspect of these sneakers as you wish!

If you join the Petite Mort & Oubliette VIP group for free, you can pick a couple of neat pairs of sneakers as free group gifts. Oubliette has a pair of floral skull chucks at this SLURL:

And Petite Mort has a nice pair of black floral chucks at this SLURL:

And, if you like flowers on your sneakers, there’s another free pair available at the entrance of the Baby Monkey store at this SLURL:

So, as you can see, it’s not hard to find some fabulous footwear for nothing, or next to nothing, in Second Life! Happy shopping!

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: A Night Out at Frank’s

I still get an incredible amount of personal satisfaction from styling a really good-looking Second Life avatar for as few Linden dollars a possible. (Hey, don’t judge! We all have our little hobbies!)

My litmus test for how successfully I can pull together a female avatar look in Second Life is to take her to Frank’s Place Jazz Club and plunk her down at the bar next to the dancefloor. If I get random male avatars hitting on me within minutes, I know I have succeeded! 😉

So, today I present to you a look that, from the top of her head to the tips of her feet, is all freebies or cheapies, including the mesh body and the Omega skin applier! I was able to do all this for only L$150.

This avatar is wearing:

  • Mesh Head and Body: Juliet by Altamura (Valentine’s Day group gift; Omega compatible with the L$99 Omega System Kit; the Altamura group is L$50 to join)
  • Skin Applier: Mitsu by !OS! (L$1 gift from their Easter Egg hunt)
  • Hair: Amy in mink by Firelight Hair (from The Free Dove freebies store; the Free Dove group is free to join)
  • Mesh Eyes: Realistic eyes by Dossier (from the men’s section of the excellent freebie store at Ajuda SL Brasil; no group required)
  • Dress: Stretch Tube Dress in berry red (free group gift from COCO Designs; group is free to join)
  • Jewelry: Valentina Special Edition necklace, earrings and bracelet by Lazuri (from The Free Dove freebies store; the Free Dove group is free to join)
  • Shoes: Jai classic pumps by Rowne (comes with a HUD with 15 colour choices; free group gift; group is free to join)
  • Animation Override: Chubby Girl AO by [ImpEle] (free from the SL Marketplace)

TOTAL COST OF THIS AVATAR: Only L$150!