Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style
Something about spring just makes me want to paint my nails. Okay, so I don't exactly stop painting them in the winter, but when you have to worry less about heavy gloves and dry cuticles and all that shovelling and scraping, it's much easier to enjoy a fresh coat or two of polish for more than a day at a time. Even with winter casting about in its death throes this week, it's hard not to get inspired by the vivid spring colors popping up in time for Easter.
Evidently quite a few Second Life designers are feeling inspired by impending May flowers too, as the latest round of Cosmetic Fair (open until April 30th [SLURL]) is packed with colorful manicures, ready to be applied. Among all the pastels and patterns available, the offerings from two brands in particular stand out from the crowd...
Action's nailpolish designs for Cosmetic Fair stand out to me for one simple reason: They aren't afraid to be imperfect. That might seem like it's more the case with their chipped and worn-looking nails, but it applies to the ones shown above too. Very few designers making nail appliers leave any gap between the paint on the nail and the cuticle -- something you are supposed to do for a clean and professional-looking manicure in reality -- and the result in my opinion is often a fingernail-equivalent of the uncanny valley. It's just too perfect, and consequently it looks... Well, it looks weird. That's why I appreciate how many styles Action offers that don't extend right up to the cuticle, no matter how subtle the results may seem from afar.
On the other hand (hah!) virtual cosmetic superstar brand MONS, who host Cosmetic Fair on their sim, have a few styles on offer as well. From candy-coated to gold-and-glam, MONS is a good brand to check out even if you're not quite in that spring state of mind yet. I'm particularly in love with their mottled, nearly holographic inspired polish, which hit the nail art sweet spot right between simple color and complicated designs.
Just one more thing: Always bear in mind what you'll need in order to wear your newly-purchased mani-pedis. As is the case with more than a few avatar enhancements, most of the polish options you'll find will be appliers for 3rd party mesh attachments. SLink's mesh hands are easily the most common and will work with all of the nail art shown above, but there are a handful (hah hah!) of other mesh nail brands holding their own in the market as well, including Action's own.
Check out the Cosmetic Fair Flickr group to see more, or drop by Cosmetic Fair [SLURL] before it closes on April 30th to browse a downright dizzying array of makeup layers and polishes for your avatar.
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