Ophelia's Gaze: Three Favorites From The Vanity Universe Skin Fair -- And How To Wear Them

Exclusive to NWN, Iris Ophelia's ongoing showcase of all things stylish in SL

Vanity Universe's Skin Fair (SLURL link here), is running until Sunday November 22nd, and features a lot of new designers who weren't a part of the last fair, along with new releases from old favorites. Better yet, every designer at this Fair has an item out to benefit Care International, a poverty relief organization. If you're in the market for a fresh new face or a trendy makeup, the Skin Fair is the place to be this week. 

My favorite three fair finds are after the cut -- along with tips on wearing them well.

I'll start this article off with a disclaimer: All the skins here were provided to me by their designers free of charge, for the purpose of this article. However, I'm not reviewing skins dropped on me unsolicited. I went through the Skin Fair, picked out the skins that I was most interested, then approached their creators. Writing an article about skins can be incredibly expensive; generally a pack of all makeups in a line of skins costs approximately $20 USD -- so to review three skin lines is way more than most of us can spend. I'm mentioning this both to disclose that these skins are review copies, and to note that I generally do, believe it or not, buy the items that I write about.

The style of my pictures in this article might look a little familiar. I'm in fact borrowing the style of infamous skin blogging goddess Gogo of JuicyBomb. Gogo is very strict about keeping consistent WindLight settings, using simple clean backdrops, and not Photoshopping her snapshots to keep the representation of the skin as pure and untainted as possible. Now, with all of that out of the way...

The first set of skins I found myself ogling was the Lilith line from Bella di Notte by Jade Glazner. These skins remind me a lot of DynamiteTanaka Payne's store, D-Skin, which is one of my favourite skin lines, because they're very fresh looking, with simple, mostly nude-lipped makeup looks. Jade's slightly more recent line, Mecca, which is available at her store and show on the face on the right, has a little more variety in its makeups, though as you can see in comparing the two the other differences are fairly subtle. The body shading on Mecca seems to be a bit bolder (compare the collarbones on the left and the right for example), it comes with a light and dark brow version for each skin unlike Lilith, and there does seem to be a little more "noise" (meaning little pore-like spots), which contributes to a more realistic texture. The downside to skin texture noise is that it tends to smudge a bit around the edges, making seams a little more visible. That being said, I'm fairly sure I could give this skin to 10 people, and 9 wouldn't notice any seams at all. They are so light that if you don't know where to look, you probably won't find them.

You may also have noticed that this skin makes my lips look quite thin. Every skin designer places features like lips in slightly different boundaries on the avatar template, and if you want to get the most out of a nice skin that maybe looks a little bit "off" on your avatar's face, you should be willing to make a tweaked version of your shape for when you're wearing it. Every skin will sit on your shape a little differently, so if you really want to maintain a consistent look, these little shape tweaks are something you should try out. In this case, I woud make my lips a litte bit fuller to look more like I usually see my avatar's face.

Next is Beauty Avatar Couture, a store owned by aida Ewing. On the left and in the middle is Zeta, the line that aida has out at the fair, and on the right is Sheva. aida has also just launched a new line named Daria, which I haven't pictured because the comparison between Zeta and Sheva illustrate the need to tweak your shape based on skin even clearer than Jade's skins. Because my shape has very little lip cleft, if there is not one right on the skin texture as there is on Zeta, then as you can see on Sheva, the cleft is nearly nonexistent.

I will say that of these two skins, I like Zeta more, as it's much more detailed. Elements like the chest plate and the knees are very well done. However, I find that there's also a bit too much highlighting on the upper lip and the back. This isn't a downside for a lot of skin buyers, many people like having really hot highlighting on their skins. As always when you're shopping for skins, try on a demo before you buy-- you might love the highlights or you might not. If you're not a fan on the big bow lips on these two skins, stop by aida's store anyway and take a look at Daria, which has slightly more elongated lips with a bit less pout to them.

Last but far from least is the Casting Donnarama skin line from Baiastice, by Sissy Pessoa. This is the skin I can see myself wearing the most, I believe, since it's quite unassuming. It's not really over-the-top in any way, it's just simple, charming, and well done (and the backs of the legs are stunning). This skin also comes with black, blonde, and occasionally brown and red eyebrows, which is very useful for anyone who likes wearing lighter hair colours than I do.

Something that struck me about all of these skins is how the majority of the makeups involve nude or pale pink lips with more dynamic eyes. This is absolutely a trend at the moment and I have to say that it does appeal to me, but it also makes me wonder... Red lips are an absolute classic, and a guaranteed seller in most skin lines. 

So who do you think makes the best red lipped makeup looks in SL, and who are your favourites from the Skin Fair?

Iris Ophelia has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

Comments

[Whimsy Winx]

Smokey eyes, and pale lips have been a favorite of mine all my life. I love em, and regardless of any trends will continue to look for them, and wear them. They're classic chic.

Great Post!

[BumbleParx in SL]

Thanks sooo much for this post. Been trying to find a new skin and am also a pale lips fan plus looking to try some alternative looks. Brilliant to have so much choice to try. Visits to specific shops on search have drawn blanks.

[Archie Lukas]

So,
any freebies too?

Tell us all the News pliss

[jerryfox004]

i think she is gorgeous...she is beautiful

Get your Term papers done - FlashPapers.com

[Pappy Enoch]

"i think she is gorgeous...she is beautiful"

Me too. I dun tried n' tried to git that-there Miss Ofeelya to run off wif me, but no dice. I reckon she are just playin' coy-like.

So don't you git too pert wif her, mistophur Jerryfox004. She dun improved my fashion sense a heap, and I ain't lettin' her give me the slip for no term-paper totin' rascal.

Take them papers (whatever the Sam Hill them am) and peddle 'em somewhar else, you hear?

Otherwise, I'll have to fite you to the death, the Hillbilly way! Jugs at 2 paces...drink Shine until one o' us dies.