August has been a very good month for skin releases, at least when it comes to the creators that I am a big fan of. I have already shown a sneak peek of sachi Vixen’s Persephone (for which the first 12 makeups—out of a total of 28—were finally released this weekend), and I hope to be showing more of her soon, but today’s entry is dedicated to the latest skin from Skin Within, Anaise.

Ayesha Bisiani calls Anaise a creole skin, and has given her features and a skintone that suggests a mixed heritage. When I first tried her on, she fit one of my current shapes quite well. However, since that shape is firmly married to Blowpop’s Mellie3 skin, I felt I needed a new shape for Anaise. This actually marks the first time that I have created a shape to fit a skin, though I don’t doubt that Anaise will work well on many existing shapes too. This time around, I am also using the skin with the skintone unmodified, but as all Skin Within skins Anaise can be modified.

Since the opening of the remodelled Adam n Eve store some time ago, sachi Vixen has been a very busy bee when it comes to making skins. She has released two male and three female skins. Ran has already covered the rather edible male skins, David and Nicholas, but I have been a lazy girl who has not gotten around to showing off the gorgeous female skins. So, I am about to remedy that, though in a slightly abbreviated form compared to my usual skin reviews. Partly, I wanted a shot at showing off the three skins next to each other.

A couple of notes before the closer oogling of my naked pixels commences. Ran and I still work for Adam n Eve, so we cannot claim to be unbiased in regards to the skins. However, we wear these skins with regularity, and we’re picky about how our avatars look (he’s especially picky about my avatar’s bottom ;P). Also, I made a little mistake in shooting the picture of Lily (furthest to the right in the pictures). She has mod eyebrows and mod pubic hair, and I modded the eyebrows via the bald cap but forgot to mod the pubic hair via the sliders. So, it is rather too pale in the picture.

In recent months, Dernier Cri has been getting some attention. Asuka Martin, the proprietor, had the reputation of being one of the top Teen Grid designers and her entry into the Main Grid received significant attention when she opened her store. I can’t speak to the hair and clothing she offers, other than to say that it looks good, but I can comment on her first male skin after having purchased it.

The second of two new male skins released by Adam n Eve, the Nicholas skin is a handsome, somewhat exotic-toned skin. A bit of realism goes a long way in establishing the looks of this skin, as it’s not really a typical “male model” sort of look.

Before I get on with the gushing over pretty things, allow me to squeal. I won a contest! Specifically, SL Posers inaugural Flickr contest. My entries can be seen here and here. Now I will have even more fabulous LAP poses to play with. Poor Ran (he’s the photographer) will not get a moment free. ;) So, what’s on the menu today, other than showing off sexy poses? Well, a new fabulous dress from Adam n Eve (the colour is absolutely sinful), some more Tekeli-li jewellery and a skin reminder.

When it rains, and pours. sachi Vixen of Adam n Eve has released not one but two new male skin lines in the space of two days, and there was much rejoicing since it’s been a good while since she’s done a new male skin for sale. This review is of the first one, the David, which is available in four tones along with four facial hair options; each purchased skin comes with the option of head hair and bald. The tones run from relatively pale to quite dark, and the face (when compared to the second skin, Nicholas) seems a bit younger. 

Yesterday, Ayesha Bisiani of Skin Within launched yet another addition to her line of gorgeous and highly distinctive female skins. The new addition is called Zarya, and it is intended as a Greek skin. Certainly, Zarya’s olive complexion, slightly toned body and wide variety of stunning makeups are definitely worthy of a classical goddess.

What do you get if you mix a limited edition fantasy makeup from Skin Within with a fae costume from Adam n Eve and some gorgeous accessories from Tekeli-li? A pretty striking result, if I may say so myself, but do read on and see if you agree with me.

I really should be in bed by now, but something came up that has kept me awake a little longer than intended. More specifically, what came up was a sale on selected silks at Solange (how’s that for alliteration at 2 am?) and new absolutely gorgeous make-up for one of my favourite skins, Pixel Deep. That was more than I could resist, and the results of my late-night shopping expedition have now been documented.

Something new from me—a makeup review. After chasing great makeup-free skins for several months, I have succumbed to the lure of the pretty makeups available for some of my favourite skins such as sachi Vixen’s Pandora, Ayesha Bisiani’s Saba, Anika and Ahawi and now also Annyka Bekkers Mellie3. Now, that doesn’t mean I am not still in the market for great makeup-free skins, because I most definitely am (especially if they have lips that look naturally quite dark), but it can’t hurt to branch out, right? Other than my Linden balance, of course, and my inventory size.

So, what is today’s makeup temptation? The newest set of four makeups for Mellie3, that’s what it is. And they’re smoking, or at the very least smokey. 

Skin fans out there can hardly have failed to hear about the Skin Fair hosted by Vanity Universe that is opening tomorrow. Over 65 designers will be participating, and some of them have revealed that they will be bringing along some brand new skinlines. How’s that for exciting?. Among these are Blowpop, who will be launching the Mellie3 line, and Adam n Eve, who will be launching not just one but two new skinlines (as well as providing some fine freebies—including a skin—in an apple in their booth, so don’t miss that). As a member of the Blowpop update group, I received a sneak preview of the Mellie3 today, and as a member of staff at Adam n Eve, I also have a preview of one of the new skins from them. And yes, I am officially turning into a total skin ... addict. I was going to use another word, but not this early in the evening. ;) But even at this hour, there are most definitely naked pixels behind the cut.

Its time to show some skin again. Today, you get a charming redhead and a fierce raven-haired beauty, all courtesy of Skin Within. I have previously reviewed her gorgeous Saba skin and now it is time for Anika and Ahawi. If you are in the market for a pale skin with beautiful red brows or a red-brown skin suited to a scantily clad warrior-woman, do read on. Oh, and there are naked pixels behind the cut.

While the options for female skins are far better than those for male skins, it is still fairly difficult to get a female skin that stands out from the crowd in terms of the apparent ethnicity that it conveys. There is, however, one place that caters specifically to a wide variety of ethnicities with their skins: Skin Within. Each line of skins produced by Ayesha Bisiani features a distinctive face and distinctive skintone intended to convey a particular ethnicity. This gives each skin its own unique character, though it does of course have the drawback that you may fall in love with a certain face but wish that it existed in a different skintone. Still, I am very glad that some skin creators take this approach, as it would be boring if everyone approached skinmaking the same way and went for one face in multiple skintones. You do also have the option of altering the skintone of each skin somewhat, as the skins are modifiable via the sliders.

The Saba skin is one of the most recent skins from Skin Within and it is intended to be a Turkish skin. I had originally almost settled on the Arya skin (which is the Indian skin) for this particular shape, but as soon as I saw the previews of Saba I knew this was the skin for me. It has just the right exotic look, the skintone is gorgeous and the body is toned but still soft. As all Skin Within skins, it is quite obviously a photosourced skin, though I find that the skin texture on the Saba (and the skin released after it, the Anika) is a little smoother and the highlights are more subtle than on some of the previous skins.

I remember checking Minnu Model Skins out before the move to the last, new shop before starting up Glam World along with Maitreya. At the time, I admit I was not very impressed with what I believe was the first generation of male skins. There was promise there (more clearly evident in the female skin line at the time), but it was not at all what I was looking for. How times have changed.

This is (again, I believe) her second generation skin, and my foggy memory suggests it’s leaps and bounds over her first generation skin. The texturing, especially on the torso, is mouth-watering. The “grain”, one of the underappreciated but absolutely necessary features in most male skins, makes it pop out. It’s probably as photosourced a hybrid as anything else out there, but the Minnu male skin wouldn’t be very much out of place in a Boris Vallejo painting. 

One of the best female skins in Second Life is also one of the least talked about: the Pixel Deep range of skins. Out of the skins that I own, it is easily the skin that flatters the most of my shapes, and it does this without being at all flat or featureless. While it is certainly not the most realistic skin out there (it does not look hand-drawn, but the photosourcing is soft rather than very detailed), the definition that is on it is excellently shaded and the soft, glowing quality of the skin makes most everyone look good.

The style of the shading, for example on the breasts, does mean that it is a skin that is excellent for a natural look; you will never look like you have had a hefty set of implants while wearing this skin, and that suits me just fine. In keeping with the natural theme, it is not a skin for those who like heavy makeups, as the makeups available are all quite soft and subtle. For myself, who isn’t too keen on a lot of makeup, they’re perfect. My only small quibble with the skin is that the lips are a little larger than I prefer them and their softness makes it a little tricky to get them to work just right on a narrow-lipped shape.