It’s Christmas time, and many of the vendors participating in the December round of the monthly FaMESHed shopping event have Christmas gifts for you! You do need to join the FaMESHed Update Group for free to pick up all these gifts.
Here’s a look at some of the fabulous fashion freebies for female avatars. This avatar is wearing three gifts together as one outfit:
the sweater is the gift from COCO Designs;
the skirt is the gift from Safira; and
the boots are by L&B SWEAR.
The detail on the boots are a little hard to see in the first picture, so here’s a closeup! These winter boots are by Lapointe & Bastchild SWEAR, and they come in Frost blue, Pine green, and Merry red, in sizes to fit most brands of female mesh feet. Truly beautiful craftsmanship by Lapointe & Bastchild!
The skirt from Safira comes in two versions, either with or without a large bow at the rear, along with a HUD to change the colour of the stripe on the red skirt and the included panties to one of 23 different colours (or, if you wish, to remove the panties entirely, but Auntie Ryan is not going to show you that! 😉 …it would shock the children!).
Here my avatar is wearing the SWEAR boots in Frost blue, with the same Safira skirt as above, plus the Christmas hoodie from Giz Seorn. She’s all set for a romp in the snow (well, okay, maybe if she swaps out that miniskirt for some snowpants!):
Next up we have this Unicorn pink bodysuit by Tori Toricelli:
The gif from Scandalize is the Lizzi dress with a separate belt, which comes in a fatpack of colours!
You can also pick up some nice shoes. The Mozambique heels from Essenz come in a three-colour HUD, plus the ability to change both the colour of the sole and the metal on the cheeky little safety pin!
From Gos Shoes, there are these lovely red sandals:
And there is a metric TON of jewelry at the December round of the FaMESHed event! Here are just a few examples. First up is the lovely ornate, antique Princess necklace from Junbug, with a delicate golden chain and a light blue gemstone. Isn’t it gorgeous? I will definitely be wearing this with a light blue ballgown at my next swanky soirée!
Kunglers offers the following Doriana necklace in two versions: gold pearl (as shown below), and silver teal:
The FaMESHed gift from Glitzz is the elegant gold Amira necklace, which comes with a HUD to change the colours of the gemstones:
Next up we have the Tressa necklace and earrings from Cae, which come with a HUD to allow you to select one of six different metals, and fifteen different gemstones!
The gift from EarthStones is the lovely Devorah necklace and earrings in bloodstone:
Finally, from Supernatural we have this chic, versatile choker, which comes in either white or black, in gold or silver, and with two HUDs to change the two sets of gemstones to 35 different colours, to match any outfit!
You can also find a few menswear and home decor gifts. This charming milk can, decorated with Christmas holly and branches with red berries, is the gift from Trompe L’Oeil, and the sweater this male avatar is wearing is the gift from ELEMEN’S (it comes in blue as shown or in red, in sizes to fit the Belleza Jake and Signature Gianni male mesh bodies).
Happy freebie shopping! This round of the FaMESHed shopping event runs from December 1st to December 27th , 2020, so you’ve got plenty of time to swoop down and vacuum up all the fabulous Christmas freebies! Here’s your taxi!
I have been following the progress of the Kalhene Bento, Bakes on Mesh bodies (the Anya female body and the Alexa transgender body) for some time now, and I am mightily impressed with how often the creator issues updates. We are now at version 4.0 of the Anya body, which I have found to be nearly 100% compatible with apparel and footwear designed for Maitreya Lara mesh bodies!
Pay a visit to the Kalhene store (located opposite the N-Core shoe store), and for only L$1,795, you get not only a Maitreya-Lara-compatible Bento mesh body, with a top-notch HUD, but you also get a Bento mesh head, plus pretty much everything else you need to get started—skins, eyes, hair, a starter wardrobe, even an AO to control the eyes, head, and hands! All you need to add is a body AO and you’re all set!
Let’s draw up a side-by-side comparison chart, showing you what you get for your money: column A is the Kalhene Anya version 4.0 head and body, and Column B is the Maitreya Lara version 5.3 mesh body with a Catwa brand of Bento mesh head (the most popular combination):
Kalhene Anya 4.0
Maitreya Lara 5.3
Base Cost of Mesh Body
L$1,795
L$2,750
Petite Breast Option
Included (all clothing in the package works with it)
L$599 extra
Flat Chest Option
Included (all clothing in the package works with it)
L$499 extra
Implant (Large) Breast Option
Included (all clothing in the package works with it)
Not included (not sure what the extra cost would be!)
Bento Handsand Nails
Included; Fingernails come in 36 colours and patterns, and 5 styles
Included; Fingernails come in 19 colours and 5 styles
Mesh Feet
3 feet heights controlled by HUD (flat, medium, and high)
5 feet heights controlled by HUD (flat, kitten, medium, high, and point)
Bento Mesh Head
Included
Not Included (Catwa heads cost L$5,000)
Starter Skin
Included (5 skin tones in regular and flat-chested versions)
Included (22 skin tones)
Starter Wardrobe
Bikini (12 colours), dress (8 colours), shirt (4 colours), leggings (4 colours), flat shoes (5 colours, 2 styles), high-heeled shoes (5 colours, 3 styles), plus black and white pantyhose/stockings and finger rings. All apparel fits flat. petite, regular, and implant breast versions of the Anya body.
Bra and Panties by Erratic (9 colours) and Zaara (black)
TOTAL COST
L$1,795
L$8,848 (not including the cost of a starter wardrobe)
Comparison Chart: Kalhene Anya versus Maitreya Lara with a Catwa head
Also, because the included skin tones that come the Maitreya Lara body and your choice of Catwa head will not match, you will also have to shell out for skin appliers from your favourite skin store (or a Bakes on Mesh skin, since both Maitreya and Catwa now support BoM). You could easily spend well over L$10,000 before you’re done with the Maitreya/Catwa combination, whereas you could take that extra money and put it towards apparel, footwear, hairstyles, and Bakes on Mesh skins, cosmetics and tattoos if you opt for the Kalhene Anya mesh body.
Here’s a look at the HUD that comes with version 3.0 of the Anya body. Note that unlike earlier versions, there are now three feet heights, controllable by the HUD (instead of separate mesh bodies): flat feet, mid-height feet, and high heel feet.
There’s a pretty complete set of alpha selections on the HUD, which compares quite favourably with those of the major mesh body brands, and of course you can also use the alphas that come with the clothing you buy. If you do need a set of alphas to use with clothing that does not come with them, you can pick up a free set from Little Black Dress at this SLURL (just click on the bag on the floor).
The separate clothing HUD allows you to change the colour and style of the included hairstyle (bangs/no bangs), as well as all of the included starter wardrobe items, including the metals and gemstones on the included set of rings, the ability to show or hide the rings on each finger, and the colour and style of two kinds of shoes, flat and high (including the flats shown here; other options include sandals and pumps). Black and white pantyhose and tights (in all three feet heights and four different transparency levels) are included in the package, too.
Here’s a look at a completely styled version of the Anya mesh avatar, showing you where on the body and clothing HUDs I made selections:
As you can see, you can create and style a complete avatar look using only the elements in the Anya package! However, I also wanted to show you how this body would look with a different head and skin (the Anya head and body are separate attachments, and of course you can mix and match them with other BoM-compatible heads and bodies as you wish).
This avatar is wearing:
Mesh Head: Strong Face gift Bento mesh head from The Genus Project (free group gift)
Mesh Body: Anya version 3.0 from Kalhene (L$1,695; Kalhene has a a small store located opposite the N-Core Design footwear store (here’s the SLURL)
Skin: Brielle by Amara Beauty (a former free group gift; group is free to join)
Hair: Beyoncé hair by enVOGUE (a L$1 gift from a previous year’s Hair Fair)
Gown: Azahara ballgown in red by Scandalize (which I picked up using the recent group gift of L$400 store credit; the Scandalize group costs L$100 to join, but if you hurry, you can join for free and pick up a second L$400 store credit offer! I believe today is the final day you can join the Scandalize group for free.)
Jewelry: I pulled this old set from my inventory; they came from a store that has long since left the grid!
TOTAL COST OF THIS AVATAR LOOK: L$1,696 (L$1,695 for the Kalhene Anya mesh body when I purchased it, and L$1 for the hair; the rest was free!)
UPDATE March 31st, 2021: I wanted to report that Kalhene has now released version 4.0 of the Anya mesh body! If you bought an earlier version of the Anya body, you can get a redelivery at their in-world store here; just click the large REDELIVERY sign on the wall as shown here:
Among the new features in this latest release are:
a new mesh head (version 2), with a stronger jawline, more arched eyebrows and some soft changes on the nose and lips;
three new different breast positions via deformer animations in the HUD (which works for all breast sizes: petite, regular, and implants), to give a more natural look to the breasts;
a neck fix for LeLutka mesh heads; and
new body oil materials (for the mesh body Bakes on Mesh only).
I have now been using the Anya mesh body with dozens and dozens of outfits that were designed for the Maitreya Lara body, without any issues, except for two minor ones:
sometimes, on only a few very long-sleeved shirts, there is a problem with the wrist and hand area, where the hand pokes through the sleeve; and
with a few pairs of jeans or pants, the waist of the pants is a bit wider than the waist of the body (see image, right), a problem which does not occur on the Maitrey Lara mesh body.
However, these problems are so uncommon (I have encountered them only 4 or 5 times in well over a year of testing!), that I can recommend the Anya 3.0 mesh body without hesitation if you want a Maitreya Lara-compatible mesh body at a bargain price!
A look at the version 4.0 Anya body HUD (the alpha HUD is separate)
Note that the alpha sections HUD seen in the version 3.0 pictures earlier in this blogpost is still available; it’s in the box marked “BOXED -Kalhene- ANYA Mesh Body V4.0 (BoM + Alpha HUD)” in the version 4.0 package, which must be unpacked separately (the alpha sections HUD looks identical to the one pictured above). Please also note that you must use the bodies in that particular unpacked folder with the alpha sections HUD! For some strange reason, the alpha HUD didn’t work with the bodies from the main folder.
The Seniha and Scandalize stores in Second Life are each offering free store credits to their group members. The Seniha group is free to join, and the Scandalize group is also currently free to join, but only until October 4th!
Scandalize
I would encourage you to join the Scandalize group and remain in the group, because normally it costs L$100 to join the group. And (as I have often said before), Scandalize offers, without a doubt, the most generous selection of free group gifts of any store on the grid, dozens and dozens and dozens of women’s apparel and shoes to satisfy any freebie fashionista!
The bountiful group gifts wall at Scandalize
At the entrance to the store are three panels. Wear your Scandalize group tag and click on one of them:
Please be patient; the store is crowded and there is usually a significant delay (a minute or two) between when you click on the sign and when a blue window pops up in the upper right-hand corner of your screen, Click on “Select reward” and you will be awarded L$400 is store credit, which you can then apply towards anything in the Scandalize store.
The free group join period for Scandalize ends October 4th, but it’s not clear whether the free store credit will still be available after that date (the last time Scandalize did this, which I reported on here, not too long ago), the store credit was still available for a limited time, even after they had raised the Scandalize group join fee back up to L$100.
(By the way, if you haven’t done so yet, be sure to visit the Scandalize Outlet store located south of the main Scandalize store, on the same sim, where you can join the Scandals SL Frees & News group for free and pick up scores of free Scandalize outfit fatpacks! (I reported back in July that you could pick up 72 fatpacks, but they have now added an additional nine fatpacks to the outlet, for a grand total of 81 free fatpacks of Scandalize clothing! This is one of the biggest and best free giveaways on the grid, and I urge you to take advantage of it. Details here.)
Seniha
At the Seniha store is a huge sign which, when you join the Seniha Originals group and click on it, awards you L$350 in free store credit, to be used on anything in the store:
Seniha also has a free group gift wall, smaller than Scandalize’s, but still packed full of wonderful womenswear items to add to your inventory. Many of these outfits are fatpacks which include HUDs to change the colour and texture of the clothing.
Now, I would caution you that, obviously, both stores are packed at the moment, and the sims they sit on are struggling under the onslaught. You might want to time your attempts to teleport in early in the morning or very late in the evening, when the stores will presumably be less crowded.
Please be patient. Lag will be a problem, which affects everything from getting your free store credits from the panels, to purchasing and receiving items. (In once case, my avatar crashed before the transaction could complete, and I did not receive the item in my inventory when I was able to log back in! In that case, I simply used the redelivery terminal in the store to request a second copy sent to me.)
My recommendation is that you might want to pop into both stores just to pick up your free store credit, and then schedule a time after this promotion has ended, and the store is less busy. to do your browsing and shopping in peace (as far as I am aware, the store credits offered by both Scandalize and Seniha do not expire, unlike those from Blueberry, which usually expire in 2 or 3 weeks).
Hello, all you freebie fashionistas of Second Life!
I have news of not one, but two different free store credit offers at two of the most popular womenswear stores on the grid: Scandalize and Blueberry.
Scandalize
The Scandalize group is once again free to join for a limited period of time (only four days!), so I would definitely urge you to take advantage of it! The regular group join fee is L$100, and Scandalize offers, without a doubt, the most generous group gift wall of any store on the grid.
Once you arrive at the Scandalize store, there will be a panel you have to click on to obtain L$300 in free store credit, which you can spend on anything in the store! Here’s what the sign looks like (don’t forget to activate your Scandalize group before clicking!):
Here are the locations of the two panels in the Scandalize store:
Just click on one, and you will get a blue pop-up window to accept your reward. That’s it! Then you can go shop (but it be more polite for you to leave the sim in order to give other people a chance to get in and obtain their reward, too).
I regret that I do not know how long this offer lasts, or if the free store credits expire or not.
Blueberry
The owner of Blueberry is once again celebrating her birthday in a blow-out fashion with a 48-hour 50% Off Sale!
She writes in the Blueberry group notices (I believe the Blueberry group costs L$20 to join):
There is nothing I would rather do than celebrate it with my Second family – all of you. I am giving away L$100,000 — we will pick 20 berries to give L$5,000 gift cards to! 20 chances to win! Simply love & share on Facebook: https://bit.ly/3mPjJBY
Even if you don’t win, EVERYBODY in Blueberry groups are getting L$500 credit!
To get your credit, look for a notice in the Blueberry group called Blueberry Birthday Event!!! and click on the attachment to get a HUD:
Look for the HUD in your inventory and wear/attach it. It will appear on screen. Just click it, and the L$500 credit will automatically be added to your account! (This credit will expire after two weeks.)
Well, as you can probably imagine, the sims where the Blueberry and Scandalize stores are located are absolutely jam-packed with avatars. Even the adjacent sims (from which you could cam shop) are heaving with camshoppers, too! (If you are not familiar with cam shopping, here is an introduction I wrote, with step-by-step instructions on how to do it.) So please, do everybody a favour: once you get in, pick up what you want, and then GET OUT so that others can get a chance to get into the stores. Thank you!
UPDATE Sept. 25th, 2020: Blueberry has posted an update to her group. The 50% Off Sale has been extended for another 48 hours!
If you haven’t been able to get in the sims, don’t worry! We are extending the sale by 48 hours!
