First up is Anika, released about a month and a half ago. Anika is supposed to have a Scandinavian look, and so sports quite pale skin, a faint dusting of freckles and red brows and red pubic hair. As with all Skin Within skin, Anika comes with a bare and a natural public hair option, though the bare isn’t quite bare and the natural (which is the one I am showing here) is pretty trimmed. Included with the purchase is also a pair of eyes and a shape made specifically for the skin, though as always I am using one of my own shapes.

I am also showing Anika with the skintone slightly modified for a somewhat darker and a little ruddier look, as the character who I am using the skin for isn’t quite as pale as the base tone for Anika. I think it works quite well, though with lighter skins you can’t go too much darker without greying then out a bit. And speaking of the colours, I love the relatively dark lips and nipples.

Like with the Saba that I reviewed earlier, which is the release prior to the Anika, this skin is still very photosourced but also much smoother than some of the earlier Skin Within skins. There’s a very real skin texture there (not the least on the breasts, and do note the cute little mole on the left shoulder), but without it becoming too strong. The body type is, as far as I can see, quite similar to the Saba’s, which means softly toned. Just the way I like it, essentially.

Isn’t that really pretty? Just look at those red brows, they’re some of the best I’ve seen. Originally, I thought the overall look was becoming a little too sweet, but I’d say there’s definitely enough strength in that face.

As always, I tend to go for the makeup-free options. Given that I setup my avatar to look like my roleplaying characters and they all belong in fantasy games, a lot of makeup isn’t my first priority. In fact, more often than not it gets in the way of me buying a skin. However, that said, Anika has some very lovely makeup options, in particular in the fantasy range. The Floret, which features a stunning floral motif over one eye is just gorgeous.

In regards to the makeup-free option shown here, I am really glad to see fairly dark lips. Too many times a makeup-free skin has lips only a touch darker or even a touch lighter than the skin. Personally, I love a lip that looks like it is naturally quite dark, so that it contrasts with the skin. And given that I tend to favour a much smaller lip than the SL standard, I find its almost necessary for me to have a darker lip to avoid the lips disappearing entirely.

Next up is the brand new Ahawi skin, meant to have a Native American look to her. Her base tone (again, this is a modified tone, as I was looking for more of an olive cast) is a reddish brown and she sports slightly tilted eyes. Her setup is the same as previous Skin Within skins; she comes with a bare and a natural pubic hair option and the purchase includes eyes and a shape made specifically for the skin.

I am showing the natural pubic hair option, and I must admit that I am not very keen on it. With the skin looking so realistic, that pubic hair looks too painted on and too oddly regular. However, that’s definitely a minor issue, since the option always exists to use the bare skin and add on hair in the panty layer if you’re feeling too naked. And since we’re on the subject of the ‘naughty’ pixels, what I do like a lot is the shading on the breasts (I love natural-looking breasts) and the nice, dark nipples.

One other thing to note about Ahawi is that though the overall texture of the skin is similar to Saba and Anika (that is, photosourced but still smooth enough) this skin features a more toned physique. In general, that’s not something I particularly like, but the face is always the primary consideration when I buy a skin.

As long as the body is well done (and it is on Ahawi, making her an excellent option for someone who is after an athletic appearance), it doesn’t have to be 100% as I wanted it (though, as noted, I am picky about the breasts). In this case, I must admit that the additional muscle tone makes for a very nicely firm and rounded behind, which is an important consideration (not the least if you ask Ran ;).

As I noted, its primarily the face of a skin that makes or breaks the deal for me, and here we have a lovely face. The tilted eyes, the cheekbone shading and the shape of the lips add together for a strong, fierce expression. Just what I needed for this character.

As before, this is the makeup-free option. This time, however, I almost went with a makeup instead, because this time the natural lips are too pale for me. So, I considered this for a long while. In the end, however, I decided to stick with it, because the lips do stand out even on my smaller mouth-shape. If you’re not like me and stuck on wanting makeup-free options, you’ll find several very gorgeous makeups. I recommend a close look at the Seduce makeup, for example, which was the one I almost went with. Gorgeous lips on that one.

There’s also one other small thing I am not in love with when it comes to the face, and that’s the brows. They are a little too sparse for my tastes, as I like my black brows quite black. But again, this is primarily my personal taste speaking. And overall my personal taste said ‘oh yes’ to this skin.