Bloggers Budget challenge 2011

Shopping in SL can get expensive. But it doesn't have to be, if you look around.
This look is gorgeous for day to day wear, yet didn't cost the earth.

Shape: My Own, created using SL sliders. FREE
Skin: Style by Kira - Lucky Chair FREE
Eyes: Poetic Colors - FREE
Hair: Exile - FREE
Top: Phoenix Rising 25L
Jeans Phoenix Rising 25L
Boots: Skifija 25L
TOTAL COST 75L

Click the links for the individual xstreet pages. Or check out our stick "where can I get" page for Slurls.

Until Next Time
Tracy xx

Free eyes at poetic colors!

"The heavens are sparkling with starlight tonight.
That's what I see through your eyes."

(Leann Rimes)

Morrocan Nights is the new freebie eyes at Poetic Colors. They come in 2 shade, light and dark, but I can only see a very slight difference in the two. 

As usual, the detail and shading is gorgeous and the quality is perfect. The eyes look realistic. 

Get your free eyes from here.

A friend in need...

A good friend is one that comes out of nowhere when you most need them.
I've met a fair few of those friends in my time in SL. When it looked like I'd lose my store because of time off SL, friends ran together and got enough sales to cover my tier until I got back.

Then today, a message rang out across Plurk.... Delora of Haven Designs is in need.
Delora's tier is due, and like the majority of us, sales are slow right now. But we DON'T wanna lose her amazing creations right?

So I'm asking you... step up, be a friend, head on down to Haven Designs and grab one item. Even if it's 100L$ worth... every L helps.

I went earlier and grabbed a whole bunch of gorgeous stuff, including the outfits below. The prices were so reasonable I just couldn't stop myself. The tops were around 125 each, bottoms not much more!

Haven Designs also does a whole bunch of clubwear and GOR RP clothing... so something for everyone.

{STYLE CARD}

Skin - AtomicBambi - Sara Sunblush
Shape - Own
Eyes - Poetic Colors - Drama Queen
Hair - Maitreya Sun - Ginger
Boots - Bax Prestige
Tattoo - Wicked Tattoos - Bad Bitch

Picture 1 - Haven Designs Isabeau Bodice - Purple

Picture 2 - Haven Designs Flourish - Gold, Haven Designs Kaimi Leather pants - Blue

Adam n Eve

Like many others, when Sachi Vixen of Adam n Eve asked who wanted her latest blog pack, I jumped at the chance.
Sachi's products are always of amazing quality. One of the first real skins I wore was Adam n Eve, and I've loved each and every purchase since.

So when the pack landed in my inventory, I knew to prepare to be wow'd before I opened any of it.
I wasn't dissapointed.

In the pack was Sachi's new skin, Sasha in pomegranite and in 4 skin tones. It didn't take me long to find one I liked because as usual all 4 tones were perfect. She also sent an amazingly textured curly hair (not shown) and some clothing which will be reviewed by Ephedra later.

Sachi also sent me a recolor of her Rosamund gown, which came with her usual ton of options including a teddy, full gown and straight gown. The texturing on this gown is impeccable, with perfect creasing and shading, and a lovely detailed lace around the bodice.

I won't say much more, the picture speaks for itself on the beauty.


Until Next Time
Tracy xxx

((Style Card))
Shape - My Own
Skin - Adam n Eve, Sasha pomegranite T3
Hair - Sirena, Andrea Red
Clothing - Adam n Eve Rosamund Scarlet
Necklace - Trubble (unreleased)
Eyes - Poetic Colors

I'll have my cake (and wear it)

Hair is a bad topic for me. I hate shopping for it, but I love owning it. The problem is, I want too much from those wigs. I want realism, I want style and most of all, I want it to fit without me having to spend hours altering it to fit.

I've heard about "Cake Hair" before in general conversation. But I've been stuck in a Magika phase, where I'd found hair I loved, that always fitted.
So when I dropped into FNKY for a browse, and saw cake was in the same build, I just had to go and have a look.

The first thing I noticed was the free demos. You can't fail to get my attention if you don't charge for demo's. I am a self confessed cheapskate, and hate to pay 1L for something I will delete within a few minutes. I let out a squeal of delight and started trying on demos. Finding a couple of styles I kinda liked, I decided to grab a LM and possibly drop back once in a while.
I'll honestly say I wasn't blown away, but at the same time Cake was a hair store I'd probably try once in a while.
Then I turned my avi around and saw......

My mind went into overdrive. Real, whispy hair? Photorealistic textures? Yummy styles?
I started grabbing randomly at the demo's, they fitted!!!! Then I tried on this style. Papercut II.

Papercut II is a gorgeously created up-do, with a perfectly placed bun and lots of whispy, flexi pieces of hair that move smoothly with the avatar. The bangs are textured to look completely real.
I can't describe my love for this hair in words, but I grabbed both the white and the currant red. I'll be going back for more too.
Cake hair only comes in single color packs or fatpacks of all colors. The only fault I can see is the lack of color packs, and the hairs are a bit pricey (around 300 a color) but for this quality it's worth every Linden.

Until Next Time
Tracy xxx

STYLE CARD - click links to tp
Hair - Cake Papercut II (white)
Skin - AtomicBambi IMANI tan Rokstarr.
Shape - My Own
Eyes - Poetic Colors Carribean Sea
Tattoo - Artilleri Maggie.
Piercing - *Dreams* Music Note lip rings set

Look of the Day #1

I got some gorgeous boots given by Pixieplum Flanagan of BabyMonkey today and just knew they'd fit with some of my current inventory favourites. So what better excuse did I have to post my first ever look of the day?

So here it is...

The boots are BabyMonkey's MukLuk boots, that come in a variety of colours. Pixie kindly sent me the fatpack and it has so many choices I couldn't decide at first. I finally settled on this dark brown to get the contrast I wanted. They're lovely for those wintery Mondays like the one I had today; and feature a nicely textured band around the middle and a pretty bow that holds the pompoms.

The turtleneck and shirt was a freebie at the Le.Look anniversary giveaway, and is from Zaara. Not only do I love the jumper because of it's amazing shading and detailing, but also because it led me to Zaara. I'd heard of the store, but never quite made it over there. Now I know what I was missing, and snapped up these pants on my first visit.
The Ishaya velour pants are the first white pants I bought in SL, and I just love them. They work with a casual or more formal top, and like everything else I've bought from Zaara, are perfectly detailed and shaded.

Ever the bargain hunter, I got the hair and hat from Magika. It's called Criminal and is in Sabina's current free hair box, along with more than 10 other amazing styles.

I'm especially proud of the nails. Purchased on a whim from Candy Nails, these prim nails seemed to magically fit themselves. They come in different sizes for any hand size, and move themselves into position with zero effort on my part. These are the #P040 Black Lock nails and feature a cute little heart and chains on 2 nails, the other 3 are silver and contrast perfectly.

I always wear my own shape, that has been tweaked and nudged over the past year or so. I'm stuck in my ways and haven't bought another since I made this. It fit's all of my lashes exactly, and looks great with this Belleza skin, Alyson Tan (VIP group gift).

Add my very favourite eyes, Caribbean Sea from Poetic Colors, and I'm looking very much like my current me hehe. This is subject to change when I whimsically fall in love with something else.

So there you have it, my first ever LOTD... ready for a misty monday school run.

Til Next Time

Tracy xx

{Style Card}

Skin - Belleza Alyson (Tan)
Shape - my own
Hair - Magika Criminal (Red A)
Nails - Candy Nail (#P040 Lock Black)
Lashes - Irresistable look eyelashes by Crissy Designs
Pants - Zaara Ishaya Slacks (White)
Jumper - Zaara la femme turtleneck - Le.Look Anniversary gift
Boots - Baby Monkey MukLuk Boots (Dark Brown) R
Eyes - Poetic Colors (Bright Carribean Sea)

R - Denotes Item given to be reviewed.

Nyte and Day (and all other occasions)

Back in the days when I was a shopping newbie, a friend dragged me kicking and screaming into a store she'd been going to regularly. She persuaded me with the promise of a shopping mecca. A place that does it all and some. I didn't believe that anywhere could be that good.
I was wrong!

Nyte and Day has been my "must go" shop ever since. It's my first stop if I want something new in my virtual closet, and the one place where I can never visit without dropping a few L's.
Fortunately, Nyte Caligari makes sure she prices everything fairly. With many items falling around the 200L mark ( and that's a full outfit! ) and very few are much more.

With valentines day sneaking up on us, I decided to drop by and see what newness Nyte had on offer in the lingerie department and as I trusted, I easily found some treats.

Personally, I can't beat a sexy corset and suspenders for that "come to bed" outfit. Arden says it with bells on. The outfit comes with all possible layer options, and will definately leave no doubt in any man's mind.
The detailing on the corset is amazing, right from the cut, to the bones and even in the hooks and eyes. The lacing down the back is perfectly placed and shaded, and the creases make it breath-takingly gorgeous. It comes in a variety of colours, so choose the one you love the most and strike a pose nobody will forget.

Of course, not everyone wants to tease their partner so obviously. So if you'd rather take a softer approach, I love the seduction sets. Each comes with the babydoll and bra options and again comes in a variety of colour sets.

Like everything at Nyte and Day, the detailing is amazing.
Seduction is a satin set, accented with lace that gives a gently, subtle quality. As usual the shading is lovely and gives that air of reality we all crave.

Whilst browsing the lingerie, I noticed a new (to me at least) section of skins!
I honestly hadn't heard that Nyte had begun to sell skins, and my excitement made my RL partner jump.
I dashed over and started trying demo's and reading the vendors like my life depended on it.
I fell in love with the "Cat Classic" skin, which is an "evolution V2" skin. Not sure what that meant, I took a look at the info card in the demo and learnt that these skins can actually be tinted! So if I want just a touch more tan, I can do that myself. That was enough for me!
I bought the makeup I wanted (at an amazingly low price, that I remember as being under 200!) and put it straight on with the biggest smile on my face. Finally Nyte really does do nearly everything.
Unfortunately the skins don't seem to come in fatpacks as yet.
Edit: Since publishing this post I have heard from Nyte that she created those skins in 2006 and will soon be removing them. I'm so glad I noticed them when I did as she is unsure whether to create more.


Honestly I could go on for hours about how much I love Nyte. The store has something for every occasion, and nothing is priced out of range of even the poorest resident. Nyte herself is a friendly, helpful business owner, and is always fast to reply to an enquiry.

Of course, this posts has gone on too long already, but I couldn't leave without some shots of some Nyte and Day Jeans. These ones are Essential Jeans in Acid.

You can Visit Nyte n Day here

Now, I issue a challenge (because I ALWAYS wanted to do this).
BLOGGERS: What store could you blog for hours about? Which is your first stop for any shopping trip? Which store do you have a fond memory of?

I want you to dig into your personal SL, forget the trends and forget the rules. My challenge to you is:

Pick one store that you have personal reasons to love, be it a memory or because you are addicted to shopping there. Write a post saying why you love that store.

Easy eh?

Til Next Time.

Tracy xx

{Style Cards}

-Picture 1-
Outfit - Nyte n Day - Arden Red
Hair - Magika Biji Black A
Skin - Nyte n Day - evolution v2 tan Cat Classic
Shape - my own
Shoes - Exclusiva Talia Sandles silver.
Eyes - Poetic Colors, Caribbean Sea

-Picture 2-
Outfit - Nyte n Day - Seduction Red.
Hair - Truth Lillian - Blood
Skin - Nyte n Day - evolution v2 tan Cat Classic
Shape - my own
Nails - Candy Nails - basic prim nails red.
Eyes - Poetic Colors Caribbean Sea

- Picture 3 -
Skin - Nyte n Day - evolution v2 tan Cat Classic
Shape - My Own
Hair - Both Magika

- Picture 4 -
Jeans - Nyte n Day Essential Jeans Acid.
Hair - Magika Biji Black A
Skin - Nyte n Day - evolution v2 tan Cat Classic
Shape - My Own
Boots - Bax Coen for Le.Look
Tank - From Nyte n Day Genuflect.

Waiting for Summer

Every morning I look out of my window and sigh. More rain and cold weather, and another day in a coat and hat, battling the icy blasts of wind as I dash around on school runs and other outdoor chores.

I'm ready for summer, so when I came across this purchase in my inventory I couldn't resist using it for my first post.

I first came across Pink Outfitters when I was on the hunt for a sheer blouse, and this was another thing that caught my eye as I cammed around the store. In fact it was just one of many things, and just that one visit made me drop the LM into my favourite stores folder.

The Socialite Romper is a must have for any summer wardrobe. It's amazingly textured and the details are very well drawn, even on the sculpted belt, cuffs and collar.
When I spotted this one in dark blue, I just had to have it. It's perfect to wear with a pair of pumps of even some comfy flats and I just know I'll be wearing it a LOT.

The romper is available in a ton of colours, just like most of London Dailey's designs at the store. Everything at Pink Outfitters is offered in different colour and texture options, and London has something for every occasion.

Check them out here.

Until Next Time
Tracy xx

{STYLE CARD}

Skin - [Rockberry] Sasha A Natural FR
Shape - My Own
Hair - Magika Bailey Red A
Eyes - Poetic Colors bright Caribbean Sea.
Lashes - **Irresistable look eyelashes** - Crissy Designs