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.
Seen first on my Maeve shape, this is the Medium tone of the Lustre skin. It is shown with red brows, no pubic hair and the Mauve makeup that is one of the makeups included when you purchase the skin. One excellent feature of these skins is that they are modifiable and the tone shown here is the result of fairly heavy slider usage to get a darker and warmer tone. This does affect the colour of the makeup a little as well and it can also make the body appear a little flatter if you go to either extreme of the light/dark slider. Careful step-by-step experimentation is the key to a good tone and you should always keep a backup copy of the skin (or write down the original settings).
Just as in front, the shading on the back is what I would call ‘just right’. It looks real (the shoulder blades, for example, show the excellent attention to details) but it does not get at all harsh or overly photorealistic.
This close-up of the face shows how the skin handles a fairly sharp-featured and triangular face quite well.
Here we have the Dark tone of the Lustre skin on my Angharad shape. It shows the raven brows, the full pubic hair option and the natural makeup that is one of the makeups included when you purchase the skin. Once again I have modified the default tone of the skin quite heavily, for a cooler, dusky tone.
From shoulder-blades to lower legs, this skin features soft, careful detailing (and no seams) all the way. I tend to think that it makes your avatar look like they’ve spent a lot of money on scrubs and moisturisers from Lush. ;)
The face on my Angharad shape is quite different from that on my Maeve shape, but the Pixel Deep skin still works wonderfully. I really like how it allows each shape to look quite unique. I think it strikes an almost perfect balance between just enough realism and detail to look alive while still not looking the same on each and every shape.
Finally, it must be noted that this skin is definitely one of the best deals in Second Life. Currently, each range (Lustre and Fit, which features somewhat more definition to the body) contains five skintones; Very Light, Light, Medium, Dark and Very Dark. When you buy the skin, you buy a tone, and with each purchase you get a phenomenal range of options. For example, for the Lustre Medium, a single purchase gets you five makeups (one being a natural, makeup-free option), six brow colours and three pubic hair options (in addition to the bare and full options I have shown, there’s also a trimmed option). That makes for a very large folder of skins. As if that wasn’t enough, as noted the skintones are modifiable and you can buy extra makeup packages at a cost that is a fraction of the cost of a new skin.
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