UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: A Selection of Valentine’s Day Gifts and Hunt Prizes for You!

Here’s a rundown of free gifts and inexpensive hunt prizes for Valentine’s Day, from a number of different locations in Second Life.

Shanti is holding a Valentine’s Day Hunt, where you are looking for the “XO” hugs and kisses symbol hidden somewhere in the store or in the grounds outside. The prizes only cost 2 Linden dollars each! Gift #10 is this lovely strappy dress, and the long-sleeved pink cardigan is gift #8. Total cost for this cute outfit is only L$4!

(The heart earrings are a free gift from Beloved Jewelry at the 2022 Valentine Shop and Hop, which ends Feb. 15th! They come with a HUD with 16 different metal textures and 56 different gemstones, to match literally any outfit! Get the SLURL and see pictures of more Valentine Shop and Hop gifts here.)

Below is the Shanti hunt legend, which unfortunately doesn’t tell you which number is which gift! However, this Low Price Fashion in Second Life blogpost does link the hunt prizes with their gift numbers, which should help you out a little bit. Happy hunting!

NILSY is a store which offers a free gift each week, and this week, the gift is this red party dress, which comes in a variety of sizes to fit most brands of mesh bodies. No group is needed, just teleport to the store and slap this sign! It’s worth popping into NILSY every week to see what their weekly free gift is.

(UPDATE Feb. 12th, 2022: Apparently Saturday is the day that NILSY switches its weekly free gift; I’ve been told that there is a different red dress you can pick up as of today! Below is a picture of the new gift, a strapless ballgown.)

Maai is another Second Life store which offers a variety of free gifts (the Maai group is free to join). The store usually has a new free group gift every month, plus a number of gifts for the various freebie groups, like Maitreya Gifts, Sales & News. Their Valentine’s Day present is this beautiful red ballgown with beaded straps, which comes in sizes to fit Maitreya Lara and Petite; Meshbody Legacy and Perky; INITHIUM Kupra; and eBody Reborn.

If you’re looking for a purse to go with this gown, Mon Cheri has among its selection of free gifts the Roxxy Clutch, a fatpack with three different Bento hand poses! You don’t need to join a group, just come to the Mon Cheri store, look for the gift wall to the right of the front counter, and buy them for L$0 each.

Here’s what the three static Bento hand poses for the Roxxy clutch look like (there’s also a version without a pose); these are high-priority poses which should work with most animation overrides. The fatpack HUD offers 20 colours for the clutch, 20 different decorative gemstones, and 12 metal textures, to match any outfit. It’s the perfect purse for any occasion! Here, my avatar is wearing it with the free gown from Maai I mentioned earlier:

Finally, Palomma Casanova’s long-running Second Life freebie store, The Free Dove, has a table groaning with Valentine’s Day gifts for you! You will have to join the Free Dove group (for free, of course!) to pick up these presents.

Time for a fashion show of five of these Valentine’s Day gifts from The Free Dove! First up we have this complete casual outfit from YDEA, which consists of the red patterned tied top, blue jeans, and high-heeled sneakers:

The present from Pandamomo is this grey knit minidress with a playful cutout!

The Alloma dress fatpack, the Free Dove Valentine’s Day gift from Le’La, comes with a HUD with 15 different textures as shown below:

From VIPs Creations comes this classy Louisa Golden Flowers outfit, consisting of a dress (which comes in two versions, with or without the gold trim), plus a pair of golden high-heeled sandals:

And NILSY has a Free Dove gift for you, too! It’s this strapless red beaded ballgown with the daring side slit (paired again with the Beloved Jewelry heart earrings and the Roxxy clutch from Mon Cheri which I mentioned above):

There are many other Valentine’s Day gifts at The Free Dove, so be sure to pay them a visit if you are looking to find some fabulous freebies!

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: My Picks for the Best Gifts from the 2022 Valentine Shop and Hop

The Valentine Shop and Hop event starts tomorrow, February 2nd, and runs until February 15th, with over 200 merchants participating over 10 shopping sims! Each store has a free gift for you, and today Vanity Fair is modeling some of those gifts. And, as you can see from these pictures, not everything is red or Valentine’s-themed! Please note that all SLURLs provided here should take you directly to the gift.

Let’s start with the underwear today! Here Vanity is wearing a layered undershirt and matching panties, the Valentine’s Day present from the Neve booth (which comes with a HUD with four colour options for each; sizes: Lara and Petite, Legacy and Perky):

From Belle Epoque comes this cheerful heart-adorned Lacey top and matching panties (sizes: Lara and Petite, Legacy and Perky)

This black-and-pink bodysuit is the gift from ViSion (sizes: Lara and Petite, Legacy and Perky, Freya, Kupra), along with L$400 in free store credit if you join the ViSion Clothing Store group for L$18 (the credit must be used before Feb. 20th, 2022):

Next up are a wide variety of dresses! The Super Star dress is from TO.KISKI (Lara, Legacy, Freya, Hourglass sizes):

The gift from Pink Cream Pie is a fatpack of the Tori Crush dress (Lara and Petite, Legacy, Freya, and eBody Reborn sizes), which comes with a HUD with 24 different textures for every single part of the dress!

Another minidress is this Zoe dress with the cheeky little cut-out, from the FlowerDreams booth, which comes with a HUD with 12 different colours and textures! It comes in a wide variety of sizes, too: Lara and Petite; Freya and Isis; Hourglass; eBody Classic and Curvy; Tonic Curvy, Fine and Minimizer; Signature Alice; and Altamura.

If you’re in the mood for something red, Baiastice has you covered with this Hatas dress! It comes in the following sizes: Lara and Petite; Legacy and Perky; Freya; Hourglass; and Kupra.

Or if you prefer something with a bit more coverage (after all, it is still February!), how about this lovely damasque Valentine dress with its tied, flared sleeves? It’s the present from Poeme (fits Maitreya Lara; Belleza Freya, Isis, and Venus; Slink Physique and Hourglass; Tonic Curvy and Fine; Meshbody Classic/TMP; eBody; and five fitmesh sizes).

From The Annex come two free gifts! The Dreams nightshirt comes in a fatpack of eight colours (black, green, grey, navy, peach, pink, purple, and teal), and if you join The Annex store group for free, you can pick up the ribboned Rhoda dress, which comes in nine colours (aqua, black, blue, green, grey, peach, pink, purple and yellow). Both gifts come in sizes to fit Maitreya Lara, Belleza Freya, and Slink Hourglass mesh bodies.

Be sure to drop by the QE Designs booth and pick up their generous gift box; it’s stuffed with many gifts of womenswear, and even a couple of home decor items! Here Vanity is wearing three gifts for QE Designs: the Everly top, Camilla denim shorts, and Gretchen tip-toe sneakers. Top sizes: Lara; Freya, Isis, and Venus; Physique and Hourglass; Tonic Curvy and Fine; eBody. Shorts sizes: Lara; Freya, Isis, and Venus; Physique and Hourglass; Tonic Curvy and Fine. Shoes fit Maitreya, Belleza, and Slink feet.

And here’s another couple of gifts from QE Designs, the Anya romper paired with the Una heels (each of which comes with a four-colour HUD). The romper sizes: Lara; Freya, Isis and Venus; Physique and Hourglass, eBody; Tonic Curvy and Fine; and classic sizing. Shoes fit Maitreya, Belleza, and Slink feet.

There are some truly lovely ballgowns for you to snap up as well! First, we have this red Bekka beaded-bodice gown by Sascha’s Designs, shown with another Shop and Hop present from ALTER, this lovely red-and-gold Vianney jewelry set (necklace, earrings, and ring). The gown can be worn with or without the flexiprim skirt attachment. Gown sizes: Lara and Petite; Legacy and Perky; Freya; Physique and Hourglass; Tonic Curvy and Fine; eBody Reborn; Kupra; fitmesh Medium; and something called Cinnamon & Chai (which is a body I have never heard of before!).

Another option is this stunning vintage ballgown from Blue Moon Enterprise, the Lady Rose Heart gown, which comes in only the Maitreya Lara size:

Here’s a close-up of the earrings, the Valentine’s Day present from Beloved Jewelry, which come in two different sizes (small and large), with a complete fatpack of metal textures and stone colours to choose from, to match any outfit!


Our last ballgown gift is a show-stopper! Behold this stylish Sol gown in soft pink from SOFIA, which comes with an optional star brooch worn at the waist (not shown here). Sizes: Lara, Legacy, Freya, Hourglass, and Kupra.

Below, Vanity models two different presents: the red latex Ryud pants are the gift from MEMOIRE (sizes: Lara, Legacy, Freya, Kupra), and from Addams comes the Betina Valentine’s top (sizes: Lara and Petite; Legacy and Perky; Freya and Isis; Hourglass; Kupra; eBody Reborn), which comes with a HUD with five different patterns as shown:

From Entice we have the gift of this wine-coloured, full skirt, imaginatively called Only Exception. And you can pick up the matching Only Exception top (which comes in two patterns, with or without the heart) for only L$50 nearby! Sizes for both skirt and top: Lara, Legacy, Freya, Hourglass.

The sneakers Vanity is wearing in this final outfit are also a Shop and Hop gift, from Lapointe & Bastchild SWEAR (they also come in a men’s black version; both men’s and women’s sneakers come in a variety of sizes to fit most popular brands of mesh feet).

Valentina E‘s Shop and Hop present is this jaunty cherry red beret (resizable via menu), which might just be the perfect finishing touch for your outfit!

And finally, there are several offers of free store credit or gift cards available for you to pick up:

  • Poison Rouge – L$500 gift card
  • Monomania – L$250 store credit (pay L$1, automatically refunded)
  • Nuve – L$350 gift card
  • ViSion – as mentioned above, L$400 free store credit if you join their store group for L$18
  • Rosary – L$500 gift card
  • Bloom Furniture & Decor – L$300 gift card
  • Little Fox – L$400 gift card
  • LaGyo – L$300 gift card
  • Salesita’s Creations – L$300 gift card if you join the ! ~ *Salesita’s Creations* ~ ! group for free (also a free dress with an 8-colour HUD, no group needed)
  • TREND – L$600 store credit if you join the ~TREND V.I.P.~ store group for free (credit expires February 10th, 2022; there’s also a free dress, no group needed)
  • Tachinni Clothing – L$150 free store credit, plus L$250 in additional free store credit if you join the ~ Tachinni Clothing ~ group for L$15 (all credit expires Feb. 19th, 2022)

Don’t forget that you only have two weeks to pick up all these gifts, plus many more fabulous freebies, so don’t delay! Happy freebie shopping!

UPDATE Feb. 2nd, 2022: Naria Panthar was once again done a YouTube video in which she unpacks and tries on all the gifts from all ten sims of the 2022 Valentine Shop and Hop! I recommend you watch the video on double-speed playback to save time, and keep a pen and paper handy to note down the stores whose gifts you like. Then, use this handy alphabetical listing of stores participating in the Shop and Hop to go directly to each store to pick up just the presents you want!

And one more ballgown gift to share with you! This is the Irina gown from 2Love:

This beautiful red ballgown comes in the following sizes: Lara, Legacy, Freya, Hourglass, and Kupra.

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Free Gifts from the Belle Epoque Sixth Anniversary Hunt!

Well-known Second Life womenswear retailer Belle Epoque (store SLURL) is celebrating its sixth anniversary with a free hunt! You are searching for birthday cakes hidden in various places around the store, containing 30 free items from Belle Epoque, as well as free items from a number of other retailers.

Here are my picks for the best of the hunt prizes! I hope that you don’t mind that I used a pose stand to show off these prizes—it’s just so much quicker to work this way, and I wanted to share my finds with you as quickly as possible! There are many lovely dresses and gowns from Belle Epoque as hunt prizes, all unique and one-of-a-kind designs, but they come in sizes to fit Maitreya Lara and Meshbody Legacy bodies only! All accessories such as headbands and hats are unrigged and resizable.

First up is a pair of hunt gifts, the oversize pink Maite rose headband (hunt prize #14) and the form-fitting Nailah ballgown (prize #9):

Candace dress (prize #2):

Circe asymmetrical tailored dress (#5):

Tyra dress (#6):

Gia dress (#7):

Christine dress (#10):

Natalia dress (#12):

Rose shirt dress (#13):

Jennifer top and skirt (one piece; #15):

Monica dress (#16):

Allegra gown (#30):

L’Amour Curtois historical straw bonnet with hair (#29):

The Free Spirit headpiece (#24):

Knit top dress (the hunt prize from c*C*c):

Tania minidress (the hunt prize from UNA):

The Belle Epoque 6th Anniversary Hunt ends November 30th, 2021, so hurry on down to the in-world store and snap up some fabulous free fashion for your avatar!

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Some Prizes from the Creepy Russian Village Hunt

You might be surprised to learn that there is a large and active Russian-language community in Second Life! Second Life – FREE is a little-known-about Russian-language group on Vkontakte, the Russian version of Facebook. It’s the largest VK community dedicated to free and inexpensive things in Second Life. (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 whenever a pop-up appears asking you to log in.)

This group is hosting the Creepy Russian Village Hunt in Second Life for Halloween, with prizes from a variety of vendors, ranging in price from free to L$25 each. The hunt object is the traditional Russian nesting doll!

I was particularly taken by the Russian/Slavic design elements of the womenswear prizes, so today Vanity Fair is modeling a few of my favourite prizes from this hunt. I won’t be telling you where to find these elusive dolls, but I will share with you my top six tips for successful hunting in Second Life.

Please note that in order to take clearer pictures of the hunt prizes, I changed the default sky settings of the sim to Nam’s Optimal Skin 1. You might want to leave the lighting at the default setting to really appreciate the atmosphere of the creepy village! (The pictures I took of the sim are stills from a promotional video for the hunt.)

This lovely Mavka peasant dress, the prize from Silk Road, costs only L$25 and comes in both white and black versions. The Mavka dress comes in sizes to fit Maitreya Lara; Meshbody Legacy and Legacy Perky; INTHIUM Kupra; eBody Reborn; and Kalhene Erika mesh bodies.

Here Vanity is showing you two different hunt prizes from ERSCH, the very Russian Laerta head ribbon (which comes in three pieces; you can detach the right and left bows), and the Alice dress, which comes in bloody and non-bloody versions (there’s also another hunt prize consisting of the same dress, but in black instead of white). The ERSCH prizes are only L$15 each. The Alice dress comes in the following sizes: Maitreya Lara and Petite; Belleza Freya; Meshbody Legacy and Perky; INTHIUM Kupra and Kups; and eBody Reborn.

This beautifully embroidered red, white, and black Adela gown is one of the hunt prizes from ANTAYA (Maitreya Lara size only; L$25):

Another prize from ANTAYA is the Hilda gown (Legacy and Maitreya sizes; L$25). I found the Maitreya Lara version of this garment includes an auto-hide which automatically alphas out your hands and feet, so you will need to reset that using your Maitreya alpha HUD (it’s a small bug, but one I’d have thought the creator would have caught while testing).

There are many other prizes in the hunt; you can see them all here. (Don’t forget to turn on the automatic translation in your Chrome web browser!)

You can teleport to the Creepy Russian Village hunt sim here. Good luck!

UPDATE Oct. 26th, 2021: A few more hunt prizes have been added to the Creepy Russian Village Hunt! This white dress with the embroidered hemline and the red bead necklace are two separate, free prizes from Dreamcatcher (sizes: Maitreya, Legacy and Kupra):

Наслаждайтесь охотой! (Enjoy the hunt!)