Shapes, photography and fashion reviews by Ran Garrigus and Freyja Nemeth. This blog has been replaced by the Otherworldly blog.
Livejournal
This is part two of three in my series of skin overviews (here’s part one, showcasing Adam n Eve skins), and this post is fully dedicated to Skin Within, Ayesha Bisiani’s amazing skin store. Skin Within is, without question, the best place in SL for ethnic skins. I wear four of her lines regularly, two a little less often, and there’s always a risk of that number increasing whenever she releases something new. The six skins I am featuring here are, btw, only a sampling. There are twice as many in the store, including a couple of striking dark skins.
Each of Ayesha’s lines features a unique face and a body that is tailored to the specific line, with variations in stomach shading, breast shading, etc. A selection of 24 makeups (plus a no makeup look for the newer skins) is offered for each skin. The makeups are divided into four sets, where one set tends to be made up of fantasy makeups. These feature more or less lavish decorations on the face are part of the design, and some of my favourites can be found in these sets, as they are fabulous for dressing up in something less mundane and for photos. Unlike most SL skins, each line is offered only in one skin tone, as it is tailored specifically to the ethnicity of the skin. However, the skins are mod, so you can adjust the tone somewhat.
First we have Saba (makeup Auric), Anika (makeup Floret) and Ahawi (makeup Seduce). Their intended ethnicities are Turkish, Nordic and Native American. Saba looks like she belongs in a harem, with a soft body and very nice breasts (I really like Ayesha’s breast shading overall, and she does great nipples too), as well as a nose shading that works great with a stronger nose. Anika is very pretty and makes a great fantasy skin, especially with the stunning floral makeups in the fantasy set, and Ahawi is a strong, confident warrior woman, with a slightly more defined body than the other two skins.
The skins are, btw, shown in the order they were released, with Saba being the oldest of these three and Ahawi the newest.
The hairs shown here are from Jolie Femme, Calico Creations and Truth.
Here we have Zarya (makeup Bia), Anaise (makeup Kahlua) and Alaysia (makeup Mai). These girls are supposed to be Greek, Creole and Asian. Zarya is one of the most dramatic skins I own, and while the cheek shading and the makeups available will not suit every shape, it can be used to create some stunning looks. Anaise is lovely on a rounder shape, there’s something slightly decadent about the slight sheen on that rich skintone. That sheen is also found on Alaysia, who has one of the most eye-catching pale skin tones that I have seen. She also has a very strongly ethnic face, and some fabulous makeups that really complement her looks.
These three skins are newer than the previous three, and they are again shown ordered from oldest to newest. In comparing these three against each other (as well as against the first three) one can see how Ayesha continuously improves her body shading (Alaysia, the latest skin, looks particularly stunning).
The hairs are from ETD, Calico Creations and ETD.
Now, you may think that the fact that each skin has an intended ethnicity is something of a limitation. However, for the most part I don’t think this should be seen as too limiting. Like all photoreal skins, they will not work with just any shape and they do influence the final look more heavily than a hybrid or hand-drawn skin, but there’s still plenty of room to create ones own, unique look with them. And unique is definitely what you will look in Skin Within, not the least because of the
Comments
Nice review overall, but a couple of your comments are straying into dubious territory. I’m pretty sure that no woman belongs in a harem, for a start.
Dubious territory? We are talking about skins for a game here, a game which for example includes a lot of BDSM roleplay with female avatars playing slaves. If that’s what someone likes to do (which I personally do like, just not on SL), then that’s what they like to do.
If I were to roleplay a character in a harem, I would use the Saba skin because it has the look I would feel is right for those circumstances. Hence my comment.
I appreciate all that, but the wording is still questionable. “Belongs in” goes rather further than “would be suitable for”, I think. I don’t actually suspect you of believing that all middle eastern women with nice breasts should by their very nature be part of some man’s collection, but unfortunately that’s what comes across from what you’ve actually written.
I was not trying to say “would be suitable for” in my review. If I had wanted to suggest what kind of avatars one might create with that skin, I would have done so. I used “looks like she belongs in a harem”, because my mental idea of what I might find in a harem if I walked into one includes women looking like that. That is to say, she “looks like she belongs in a harem” because she would not look out of place in one, at least not as I imagine them.
The phrase “belongs in” could mean either “should be in” or “would not look out of place in”. One could perhaps argue that “could belong in” would be clearer, but personally I think it is clear enough. Yes, someone could possibly misunderstand it (though I see that as quite a stretch), but that goes for just about anything, and in this case I hardly think it is of any particular importance.
