This is something completely different from both my usual taste in skins and my usual shapes. The explanation is, once again, those character portraits that Ran and I are doing. This time I needed a skin that would suit a slim, athletic young woman, nothing like the curvy, sensual shapes I normally tend to use. And there really wasn’t anything in my inventory that quite fit the bill.
However, since I had chased off Ran to Ugly Duck to try out the new male skins, I decided to have a look at the female too.
Skin: Plain Jane Bare by Ugly Duck
Hair: D.A.N.C.E. Spun Sugar by Tiny Bird
Poses: Reel Expression
What drew me in first wasn’t actually the skin I ended up buying. I noticed that one of the makeup packs was called “Henna” and featured some swirly designs around the eyes which gave the skins a really interesting look, especially the darker ones like Jasmine and Chani. So, I picked up a few demos, and as it turns out it fit the shape I had started on quite well. It definitely looks younger than most skins, and the shading can give the face a bit of an impish, cheeky look.
Since I needed pale and fairly plain in terms of makeup for my portrait, I selected the Plain Jane pack. From what I could tell, each tone gets its own name, but its the same face and body otherwise. And Jane, then, is the palest tone. Each tone is then offered in three different makeup packs; plain, painted and henna. The packs are priced at L$ 1000 and include 10 variations, making it quite a steal even though they’re variations rather than 10 completely different looks.
Now, what about my impressions of the skin? Well, its very different from what I usually wear, but I think its a lovely example of handpainting. The body looks quite natural, and the breasts are excellent for someone who wants to have fairly small breasts on their avatar. The shading of the collarbones and chest does suggest a fairly lean figure, so I don’t think it would work so well for a fuller figure. There are some smaller seams to be found, but only the ankle seam (one of the worst) is of any particular note.
Overall, I am finding this skin quite pretty and it definitely has a distinctive face. Its cute, yes, but its not the same flavour of cute that so many skins in SL are delivering right now. This has its own character, and I will definitely be keeping an eye on what else Fade Lei puts out (not to mentioning pondering going back for some more). And so will Ran, who will be reviewing his purchase at Ugly Duck pretty soon too.
