Cinnamon Girl

I wanna live
with a cinnamon girl
I could be happy
the rest of my life
With a cinnamon girl.

~ “Cinnamon Girl” by Neil Young

I love this Neil Young song and I love my cinnamon girl. Start with this slinky sexy dress from Beanster Potato (which can be switched to a number of colors using her color change HUD, so don’t think you’re limited to this flavor). Add pumps, also from Beanster, and some gorgeous jewelry from AvaGardner Kungler, and of course a darling handbag from Miffyhoi Rosca for this round of Shiny Shabby, and you have a hot mama, nearly burning through the rugs from Kunst Himmel’s gacha for Shiny Shabby. (More rugs! Yay!)

The heat of this look comes from Shantia Soulstar’s gorgeous and soulful skin for Skin Fair. It comes with Slink and Omega appliers plus a few others. I spent a frustrating half hour trying to get it to work with the Love n Lust translators on one body (it was not coloring the neck fix.. bleah) so I switched to the Belleza mesh body and Slink hands and feet, and that worked quite well except the nipples, which don’t quite line up but who cares since I am dressed. The Omega is still hit and miss but well, still a deal at the price. I used the makeups available with the skin to create this smoking look and pretty nail appliers from Giela Delpaso.

Shylah Honey is on a roll with hair lately, and she is offering this sexy and beautiful style at the Fantasy Collective this round. With a lock of hair winding back up, it’s a different and new look in a standard silhouette.  My pretty ring is from Anthony77777 Bandit, who has captured the glistening qualities of windlight to make rings that glitter without scripts or bling.

Hair: *~*Damselfly*~*Cosette Rigged-Mesh by Shylah Honey for *~*Damselfly*~*, available at The Fantasy Collective *

Skin: ZC – Gina sk5 – Br Brows – chB with ZC – Gina Eyeshadows – Date Night 02 and ZC – Gina Lips – Burgundy 03 by Shantia Soulstar for Zoul Creations, available at Skin Fair *

Eyes: #adored – moon eyes – dk brown // b by Constance Daehlie for #adored, available at Skin Fair *

Body: -Belleza- Venus V 0.02 *SlinkFit H&F by Tricky Boucher for –Belleza– *

Dress: DN Mesh: Karin Dress by Beanster Potato for Ducknipple *

Earrings: (Kunglers Extra) Zahima earrings – Golden jade by AvaGardner Kungler for Kunglers Extra, available at the Cosmopolitan Room *

Bracelets: (Kunglers Extra) TDRF #059 – bracelets – Desert by AvaGardner Kungler for Kunglers Extra *

Ring: BANDIT – Eternity Rubys  ring female 1.0b by Anthony77777 Bandit for Bandit Jewelry Shop *

Handbag: =Zenith=Leather Circle Handbag B(Cream) R FARM by Miffyhoi Rosca for =Zenith=, available at Shiny Shabby (opening March 20)

Hands: Slink Avatar Enhancement Hands V2.1 – Casual by Siddean Munro for Slink

Nail appliers: Nailed It – MvW Autumn Set HUD by Giela Delpaso for Nailed It *

Feet: Slink Avatar Enhancement Feet High V2.1 by Siddean Munro for Slink

Shoes: DN Mesh: Munch Pumps by Beanster Potato for Ducknipple *

Poses by Olaenka Chesnokov for oOo *

Rugs: [ kunst ] – Boho carpets by Kunst Himmel for [kunst], available at Shiny Shabby (opening March 20)

Today

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary’s cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.

~ “Today” by Billy Collins

It’s still National Poetry Month in the U.S., and since I have a moment here to share another poem, I will from one of my very favorite poets, Billy Collins. I keep two of his books in my Kindle at all times and read a poem every day the way my grandmother read daily devotionals. I can’t say enough about his work. Read the poem again. Enjoy it, please.

And today is the day when I want to unlatch the door to the canary’s cage and celebrate the sunlight with flowers in my hair. CrystalDoll Lemon is offering this darling dress in several colors at the 100 Block, and I was mightily impressed. She does her own mesh—this is not a template—and her textures are light and pretty. I love the evocative drapiness, the well-fit alpha and the lovely shadowing. I am definitely going to be checking out more of her work!

I paired it with Maxi Gossamer’s newest sandals, also mesh and also made by the creator without a template. I think I take for granted that Maxi does amazing work in mesh—she puts out so many great designs. I was absolutely delighted to see she is offering sandals for Slink feet now. My pretty necklace is from Ellantha Larsson, who is offering this as part of a set that includes face and belly piercings at the 100 Block.

Truth Hawks has come out with this lovely hair that comes with several flower add-ons that he will be offering at The Seasons Story just in time for spring, but I chose to wear Jaycee Dover’s flower hair band from the 100 Block. My gorgeous skin is one of Shantia Soulstar’s lovely creations, beautiful without makeup but I felt that I needed to make it bloom with her add-on eyeshadow and lipstick. Today is a beautiful day!

“Today is just that kind of day.”

Hair: TRUTH HAIR Fleur – Browns by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH<, available at The Seasons Story *

Skin: Zoul Creations – Robyn – Tone 6 – Dk Brows with Zoul Creations – Robyn – Tone 6 – Lips 07 and Zoul Creations – Robyn – Tone 6 – Eyeshadow 06 by Shantia Soulstar for Zoul Creations *

Eyes: PC pearl – columbia – small bright by Lano Ling for Poetic Eyes *

Dress: {dollle*} 082 Long Sleeve Off Shoulder – Pink by CrystalDoll Lemon for {dollle*},

Hair flowers: luxe. – Fleur Branch (cherry blossom) by Jaycee Dover for luxe., available at the 100 Block *

Necklace: .:ellabella:. Empress Crow – Necklace by Ellantha Larsson for.:ellabella:., avaavailable at the 100 Block *

Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Casual Right and Slink Mesh Hands (av) Elegant Left by Siddean Munro for Slink

Nail appliers: [ bubble ] Fishnet Nails – Light Set by Moonbubble Gothly for [bubble], available at the 100 Block *

Feet: Slink Mesh Feet (Av) Flat by Siddean Munro for Slink

Sandals: MG – Sandals – Lotus Flower Blossom 1 by Maxi Gossamer for Maxi Gossamer, available at Collabor88 *

Poses: .[ pose+ivity ]. 100 Block Blog Pack by Meccaa for Pose+ivity, available at the 100 Block *

P.S. Come back tomorrow for hints for Miamai!!

Lula

“He knew more about the death of Lula Landry than he had ever meant or wanted to know; the same would be true of virtually any sentient being in Britain. Bombarded with the story, you grew interested against your will, and before you knew it, you were so well informed, so opinionated about the facts of the case, you would have been unfit to sit on a jury.” ~ Robert Galbraith, The Cuckoo’s Calling

I have been sitting on that quote a long time to use it for a look and it seems perfect because this look reminds me of Lula Landry, the tragically murdered model from Robert Galbraith’s/J.K. Rowling’s first book about the private investigator, Cormoran Strike. I read the book enthusiastically before I knew Harry Potter’s creator had written it—it really is well-written and incredibly enjoyable with full-fleshed characters and a great plot. Cormoran Strike is a complex and incredibly interesting man. Clearly Harry Potter isn’t the only one she has in her. Now she has a new one coming out in June and I can’t wait!

My Lula is fashionable, of course, but also gentle in the way Lula in the book was. She was not sharp, not a Naomi Campbell. She is a woman of mixed-race, adopted by a wealthy family, clearly loved by them. And loved greatly by the public as well, being beautiful and gentle as she is. So it’s a shock when she has been murdered. This gorgeous maxi-dress from Kim Lysette is a fashionista’s dream with its great silhouette and texture-change HUD (6 variations of this texture) and ridiculously inexpensive at 55L at Fi*Friday. I embellished with a gorgeous new necklace from AvaGardner Kungler, who contributes the best jewels to the grid. As always, her use of color and shape is what amazes.

My absolutely drop-dead gorgeous skin, the impetus for bringing Lula back, is from Shantia Soulstar. This was one of my favorite skins at Skin Fair this year, breathtaking in its beauty, proportions, and coloring. Her included makeups are subtle enough that the beauty of the skin and the avatar shine through. And with these gorgeous eyes from Umazuma Metaluna and this gorgeous long hair with trimmed bangs framing my face from Truth Hawks, my Lula is every bit the gorgeous, graceful model I imagined.

“He had never been able to understand the assumption of intimacy fans felt with those they had never met.” ~ Robert Galbraith, The Cuckoo’s Calling

Hair: TRUTH HAIR Maisy by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: Zoul Creations – Meili – Tone 4 – Dk Brows with Zoul Creations – Meili – Tone 4 – Eyeshadow 07 and Zoul Creations – Meili – Tone 4 – Lips 08 by Shantia Soulstar for Zoul Creations, available at Skin Fair 2014 (Sim 1) *

Eyes: [theSkinery] Maple eye – Indian Summer by Umazuma Metaluna for the Skinnery

Dress: [LG]KC Sp14 Lego House Maxi Dress by Kim Lysette for LivGlam/K Collection, available at Fi*Friday *

Jewelry: (Kunglers Extra) Arara necklace – copper by AvaGardner Kungler for Kunglers Extra *

Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Elegant Left and Slink Mesh Hands (av) Elegant1 Right by Siddean Munro for Slink

Nail appliers: Nailed It – Autumn Nights Set by Giela Delpaso for Nailed It *

Shoes: {{BSD Design studio}}Djinn Immortal copper by BabyChampagne Sass for {{BSD Design studio}} *

Poses by Dove Swanson for Long Awkward Pose (no longer available)

Elegance

Elegance isn’t solely defined by what you wear. It’s how you carry yourself, how you speak, what you read. ~ Carolina Herrera

I have always been a big proponent of elegance, which features beauty and simplicity and a certain quiet rightness to things. People can speak of elegance in code, elegance in math or philosophy, but here I hope to represent it in self-presentation. My beautifully textured dress from Ariadne Garrigus certainly conveys the idea. With a simple palette, she covers her dress in beads of varying sizes over a satiny fabric but with a casual silhouette that includes a strappy criss-cross back. It’s purely sexy in a sleek elegant way. BabyChampagne Sass’s gorgeous peep-toe slingbacks and simple jewelry from Maxi Gossamer complete the look.

The inspiration for the look was Shantia Soulstar’s exclusive new skin for Skin Fair 2014. In trying on several skins for preview, this one definitely caught my eye with its elegant beauty and rich tone. (I shot it kind of overlit, I realize, but I wanted the gorgeous features to really show.) Shantia sells this skin in seven tones with 10 eyeshadows and 10 lipsticks and includes dark, light and no brow options. It’s a really captivating skin from a creator I had not tried before.

And of course, I have been looking for the perfect chance to show these dreads from M4ri1yn Magic. He has created a very interestingly engineered hair piece—there are two pieces actually: the dreads themselves and then the wisps. This ensures the pieces will fit on your head. His HUD includes tones from white to dark with blonde, red and dark in between. It’s a fresh thought process from M4ri1yn and not like his other hair, and I love it!

“An elegant woman is a woman who despises you and has no hair under her arms.” ~ Salvador Dalí

Hair: ~Tableau Vivant~ Hill – Dreads series by M4ri1yn Magic for Tableau Vivant *

Skin: Zoul Creations – Meili – Tone 4 – Dk Brows with Zoul Creations – Meili – Tone 4 – Lips 06 and Zoul Creations – Meili – Tone 4 – Eyeshadow 01 by Shantia Soulstar for Zoul Creations, available at Skin Fair 2014 (Sim 1) (opens March 14) *

Eyes: PC pearl – bog wood – large medium by Lano Ling for Poetic Eyes

Dress: ***ArisAris AA31 boasts Dress by Ariadna Garrigus for ArisAris *

Jewelry: MG – Necklace and Earrings – DewDrop Glass Bead by Maxi Gossamer for Maxi Gossamer, available at FaMESHed *

Hands: Slink Mesh Hands (av) Elegant Left and Slink Mesh Hands (av) Elegant1 Right by Siddean Munro for Slink

Nail appliers: Flair – Nail Hud Add On – Slink Avatar Enhancement – Set 144 by Sasy Scarborough for Flair *

Shoes: {{BSD Design studio}}Dancing queen black by BabyChampagne Sass for {{BSD Design studio}} *

Poses from the Geisha set by Tutys for Tutys