I feel Pretty oh so Pretty

Hey everyone,

I am chilling a bit right now.  Trying to get my mind wrapped around something that is happening in RL but it's not going to ruin my life.  Just pissing me off right now.  I'm waiting for the 2nd set of photos to come back from the song styling photo sets I'm doing right now.  The first set was done by Leah McCullough who is a gorgeous redhead wunderkind that made me look smexy and got the photos back to me really quickly.  I highly recommend her if you are in need of shots.  They are already on my flickr page but I'm going to share them here too.  I took set two with Julie Hastings who was one of the nicest humans I've ever met and I must say I adore her.  Whenever I get my French back up to par I'm so gonna girl crush on her and chat her up.  I need to edit the outfit I put together for the Avant Garde master styling course for Maniera and then share that photo as well.  It was a fun challenge and  I did better than I thought I would but still needs a tiny bit of tweaking.  Have a good holiday weekend for those that are celebrating.  I'm going to relax if I can start putting stupid people out of my brain.

Falling in Love Again

Nope not in a new relationship but after feeling kinda indifferent to most things in SL besides teaching I think I'm finding my passion and fun in SL again.  Still not Ms. Social Butterfly but I finally stopped daydreaming about an idea and started working on an outfit to take new photos.  I realized as I was prepping something for Maniera that I hadn't taken ANY professional shots for me all of last year.  I took some for Miss Ebony International and I took some when I was featured in different issues of Maniera's lovely magazine but any shots I had of me from last year were by me.  I don't look hideous don't get me wrong lol but I'm not a professional and I can't give my photos the same luster they can.  I have been thinking about taking a photo inspired by several different songs for at least the last year.  I was home sick on Tuesday and finally said let me pull the outfit together and then go on the great photographer hunt.  It took most of the day but at least I wasn't laying in bed bored and I actually like the outfit for any number of other uses.  It also made me work through my inventory, try on new hair and shoes and check out the last sim on the pose fair.  That probably doesn't seem like a whole lot but for me let's just say it was huge.  And then I totally lucked out.  One of the few photographers that I think is stellar and that I hadn't worked with had time to take my photo in a few weeks so yours truly will be able to share a Julie Hastings photo with you once it's completed.  Parts of RL blew up immediately after that and I have no idea what is in store for me as a result BUT it could be that it's one of a number of changes that just has to happen so I can keep loving this thing called life, both the first and second one.

Updates and Stuff

Hey everyone,

not sure how long this will be but there are things to update.  Thankfully it feels like I'm finally come out of the I'm kinda disinterested in things funk that I had been experiencing.  I need to get some photos together of outfits I've purchased recently and/or styled for castings that have made me go I can still do this.  Asymetrique is rebooting as well as Maniera both things are making me reengage a bit as well as actually reading Fashion Feed lately cause after 50L Friday stopped I'll admit the feeds weren't as interesting to me.  Oh and for those of you that love a good sale head over to Kalnins before they permanently close their doors at the end of the month.  I hate when I forget about stores and then boom they are closing.  Run, I got a ton of cute shades and shoes.  Ok now I have to run.  Weather is finally moving into the area and it's gotten upgraded to tornado watch soooo I'm gonna go hide.  Oh yeah Maniera is hiding new instructors--click HERE if you are interested.

Love ya,
Rouge

Does my breath smell?

Before  I begin let me say that some people might see this as kinda snarky lol so I'm sorry but it's really just something that came up again this weekend as I was watching another competition.  You all know about my contest experiences and normally it's not something I invest heavily in because well much like in real life I don't like losing.  That isn't to say I MUST win but not winning isn't as much fun lol.  After MEI wrapped I was exhausted and this summer/fall was kinda dead as far as booking shows or that kind of thing for me.  Partially I was out of the loop and partially I think the show count was down for my available time zones.  No harm no foul because I was still teaching and it's still fun for me to do so.

Fast forward to Saturday when the Miss Essence of Ebony competition started.  You should remember, if you were reading then, I tried out twice didn't make it either time and after some reflection decided I needed a break from being evaluated for a while.  As a contestant you never know what the observer is looking for and that became apparent in several conversations I had offline about what is considered attractive, talent, inspirational or entertaining over the last several weeks.  From knock down drag outs about why I think Jay Z looks like Joe Camel to why Jennifer Hudson doesn't appeal to me to how someone else can sing a song I don't like by the original artist and I'm in love with it.  I was all over the place and subjectivity was all that kept running through the conversations in total.  The same kind of thing is present in the messiness of Agency Report when model A isn't selected but someone that is disliked by another group is.  Of course we want to support our friends and sometimes it does look like there is some favoritism going on from our vantage point but there's that whole subjectiveness thing again.  Their friends, and yes they have them no matter how much you don't like them, are  thrilled for them.  As I was on Saturday for my student. 

So I'm in the audience to support a student, see several models I know well that were fierce--as was my student~big congrats to Lieffie Ruby for doing a stellar job--and then the other thing that always happens when I'm at events like these happened.  Questionable styling, crazy poses, and just utter foolishness in some cases.  I'll admit that some of it could be caused by lag and it was definitely laggy--show had to be moved and started nearly 2 hours later because of the lag.  However, other stuff could not be attributed to lag and it made me wonder well dang what exactly did I do during casting that I didn't make the cut.  Don't get me wrong I'm not the styling diva extraordinaire that expects to be picked at all times but I thought I did a good job at the time.  And that reminded me about the subjective thing again as well as my dislike of losing lol.  If I enter something I'm doing it with the desire to do my best.  If you don't make it past step one then it's hard to do that.  Last year I was intent on putting myself out there more and I did but I realized why I can't just do the contest thing for the sake of doing it.  It's a lot of work and time commitment to apply, compete and really work as hard as you can to perform well.  From perpetual pose checks, prim checks, finding the just right shoes/skin/hair/nails/lashes, making a look work from disparate pieces, etc.  And even though I talk a lot with my job, I'm actually pretty shy and reserved unless we are pretty good friends.  All that to say that some of the other things that people find enjoyable about contests just tire me out for some reason lol.  It's good experience, it does test you and your adaptability, but all in all I am not sure where my curvy booty fits into the typical contest :-)

Ahh well this is not a gripe just some realizations I'm sharing.  Please go the to Essence of Ebony site and check out Ms. Ruby and the other standouts from Saturday's show.

See ya on the grid,
Rouge

Rez Day and All that Jazz

Yesterday was my fourth rez day and I seriously don't think I logged on at all lol.  I wasn't feeling great but the passion for SL has kinda been sucked right out of me as of late.  No big reason as to why because I think I'm just in a funk overall.  Short of a few interesting shopping outings with the mom type person and a renewed sense of I must take care of myself there isn't a whole lot that is sparking a long term interest in me.  I'm sure it will past, it always does, as new avenues open up and I look at new experiences for myself.  Doing more vintage shopping with my actual dollars and not just my lindens lol.  I'm still enjoying teaching a lot but I gotta get back to firing on all cylinders.  I've had a photo project in my head for months and haven't pulled the trigger on that either.  I should stopping coming up with ideas and get back to it.  Anyhoo, I'm four whole years old now lol at least in SL and I look GOOD for my age ROFLMAO.  See ya later

Rouge

2 Posts in the Same week? Madness I say

Well not really but I was flickr perving today and came across something that I apparently had managed to miss for the last three months.  EmeraldEyes Honi, who was most recently Miss UK in the previous cycle of Miss Virtual World, has left SL.  I'm not sure why I missed it, I can't say I was working or casting a lot in April, well anymore than normal, but I think I go off into my own world sometimes and just don't see things.  But as I've been saying to people a lot lately, sometimes things happen at a certain time for a reason.  Maybe I wouldn't have been as effected by it a few months ago, maybe I would have gotten angry.  I'm really not sure.  But right now it's just made me a little sad.  I can't say I knew her well because I didn't but she felt like a kindred spirit and I respected the work that she and other Black models had done on the grid.  In general, I hate to see people that I know walk away  from SL, unless of course they are a flaming psychopath, but this news--delayed though it may be--feels like even more of a letdown that someone as talented and open is gone as well.  I don't really need a back story but I did want to wish her well on the off chance someone sees her or she sees this.  Our worlds keep spinning, virtual and otherwise, I just hope to see her and those like her before the rotation stops for me.

busy bees buzz

Don't you love alliteration?  This won't be a super long post.  I got tired before I was able to set up the photos I wanted to take in some new vintage lingerie I ran across BUT I will try to get to it before the end of the week because RL explodes after that and I will be too tired to care lol.  I had a great week other than that though.  I didn't make the first finalist cut for the Miss Ebony International contest but wasn't super surprised by that.  The next opportunity is April 24th and RL still may be nuts around then so that may not work either.  We'll see, no need to over think things right now.  I taught mostly by myself for the first time at Maniera and while nerve wrecking it was fun and the girls seemed to appreciate it.  I also styled six outfits and walked in the Bella Donna show that went well and the designer was excited.  All in all, made a bit of shopping money as a result of those endeavors and it was great great great lol.  Okay I told you it wasn't gonna be long.  Back to the Simpsons.

Festivities and Controversies

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Peace on Earth and all of that jazz.  I'm not sure how long this will be because I really wanted to just touch base and say Merry Christmas.  However, I've been reading a lot over the last few weeks that has made me wonder what it is we do as models in SL and who it really matters to.  As the year drew to a close I told you all that I was stepping out of my comfort zone/shell more and was entering more contests and castings---some of which I knew that it was slim to no chance that I would win a darn thing or make the cut.  Was it frustrating to not place or make it?  Well of course and it is just natural to look for reasons as to why it is but I know pretty well that it's truly look of the draw.  Whereas one person may love the way I style and look another will, and has, said that I'm not thin enough or tall enough or whatever enough.  Now I could change all of that and try again but that's not really being true to myself so the best thing to do is just accept the judgment of those doing the judging and keep moving forward with the people who appreciate what I do.

A model I've worked with quite a few times let her frustration out for the world to see.  Part of me was saying good for her but damn she just torpedoed her career and another part was saying hmmm maybe that should have been password protected for those you trust and them alone.  She was totally entitled to voice an opinion and people are equally entitled to react to that opinion.  The problem really is that we don't really have any explanation for not being the it girl and without it---especially if something starts to look "odd"---we just can have a crap ton of resentment begin to build up.  The few times I have found myself there I took a long break from contests and only cast for shows I was dying to be in and let the chips fall where they may.  It's impossible for someone to not have a reaction to being rejected but when that feeling starts to overwhelm us we gotta find something else to do. 

This is true right now as another chapter in the Miss Virtual World saga has come to an end.  I was able to watch it on metaverse tv without the crashing in Patch which was delightful.  However, as I watched I think that my radar for what anyone may be looking for is totally off.  Granted the final show is just a part of who makes it to the finals but I'll say I was partially stunned by who did and didn't make the cut.  Not as stunned by Serene winning but still hadn't pegged her for the eventual winner.  The uproar has cropped up afterward has made me think the same things I thought last year.  Not that it's necessary because the contest is what it is and people will continue to enter as it is such a great opportunity, but if there was slightly more transparency in what was happening then people wouldn't be as able to launch totally baseless attacks against the winners or finalists.  By that I mean, for the Miss America pageant and a few others, as different things occur the scores are tabulated and announced during each round when you get to the finalists.  Would it require a lot of effort to do so in SL?  Well I can imagine that yes it would as lag and crashes can make score reporting difficult.  Would some super anal person still say that someone was judged more leniently or more harshly?  Yes of course they would as we tend to champion our friends or the underdog or whatever but it could also show that someone has just been routinely better throughout the process.  I'm not sure what the answer is to the mountain of controversy that crops up after major contests and really I'm not sure anyone wants the answer either.  Controversy keeps us talking if nothing else and it gets at least a few new people interested for everyone one it turns off. 

It would be interesting for something like MVW to have actual pageants for each country but logistically that could be problematic.  Regardless, as others have said more eloquently than me---as models we are not forced to do anything really.  I haven't really done any nude work for example.  However, as long as contests have huge prizes attached and the opportunity for tons of exposure they will always be on the checklist of those aspiring to even just work more than they do now let alone be famous.  If we can't tolerate the losing/not being selected then maybe a break is necessary unless we want to work twice as hard and recreate ourselves a few dozen times until we are "model perfect" which most of us I believe aren't.  We have RLs and we have to attend to them and in this case SHOULD if our drive to win a title no one outside our fashion pixel community will care about is driving us over the edge.

All we can ultimately do as the big contests have wound themselves down for the year is going into the new year hopeful and appreciative for what we have now.  Thanks to all the designers who have allowed me to blog their new goodies.  Thank you the agencies who think my slightly shorter curvy shape is worth working their runways.  Thank you to all the models who have been helpful and funny and a place to vent before during and after a show.  And thank you to all of those who feel a need to be creative and give me something to think, blog and talk about.  Have a great holiday all.

The Great Rouge Caper

Sorry everyone.  I really don't have a good excuse for being MIA the last month.  Work has thankfully started to slow down in RL and I get an extended vacation in about a week.  During which time I will hopefully get my butt back to work on some more posts for this blog as well.  I've been doing most of fashion styling on the Maniera blog which is fun and still in full swing.  I have two cocktail dresses that I need to feature and I may split them up so that one is here and the other gets the Maniera love lol.  Project Rouge stalled primarily because I wasn't sure who to even begin to touch base with at this point.  I should probably get one done this month since it is the month I was born in RL and right before I was born in SL lol. 

Other than that, hmmm what's been up.  I've done a few more shows for JM which have been great and honestly felt like a huge pat on the back because it's a totally different experience.  We get plenty of time to style and then quick intense rehearsal and show.  It's great actually.  Plus who can get upset about being in a Azul or Donna Flora show?  It's been lots of fun working and blogging and well shopping.  It's Advent time for a lot stores so freebies abound at two of my favorite stores, Ivalde and Dark Mouse.  This weekend Miss Virtual World wraps up as well.  I kinda want to go but the lag is a killer and crashing is standard so I may skip it and wait for the lovely pictures at the end. 

If you're still around and didn't venture a guess at the Maniera blog about my styling choice there, here's an opportunity to get a free shirt from Ingenue.  The first person to identify the photographer from the 3rd Project Rouge shoot gets their choice of what I have left lol.  I will probably just be keeping them but if you feel like trying, just leave a comment and I'll let you know if you won ASAP.

Bye for now,
Rouge

She's Got the Look

I swear I will try to find a youtube link to the Prince jam U Got the Look before I finish this all up because that song just popped into my head as I was typing the title.  I don't really watch much reality tv as I find a large portion of it kinda vapid as hell.  So it is with no small measure of surprise for me that I pay enough attention to a show on TVLand to tune in every so often to catch it.  She's Got the Look is a modeling show for women over 35.  I am so not under the delusion that my impending 35th birthday would put me in the running but they have featured some amazing women of all shapes, sizes and complexions for the last three seasons and I have been impressed.  This year the final two episodes displayed women who could appropriately be labeled as underdogs coming out on top.  Were they stunning?  Absolutely, but--and there is always a but--they were both more on the tomboy spectrum and one was more curvy than all of her competitors.  The pre-finale episode showed those two women booking all the open castings jobs they went on (2 a piece for the 4 available jobs) and thus being the only ones safe for the finale while the other more naturally thin and stunning cast mates didn't have that security.  The finale would have probably been brain frying for me but all the girls did a good job, well most of them, and then the runway show started.  I have to say the ultimate winner rocked it even though they all looked amazing and there were only slight baubles for one of them on all of her runs.  As I usually don't watch shows like this, I am normally not emotional.  But this time I was.  I was pulling for Marilin and Julie because they each deserved a chance to do something beyond the show.  Not that Rachelle didn't but she'd probably be able to get work standing on her head half asleep.  Marilin won and it was amazing.  Read her thoughts here.  And tune in next season if there is one lol.

I love a Good Sale and Roaming SL

And sometimes I just <3 anything I find amazingly cute.  The outfit I'm wearing is from L'abel and was part of Humpday Happiness this past Wednesday.  There was a white version as well but ehhh that was way girlier than I was willing to go that day.  I found the hair at the aforementioned fab-u-lous a few weeks ago and thought it would be a nice match with this outfit.  The earrings are from glow studio--soooo adore them, they make the most interesting things sometimes--and I'm wearing a bracelet I realize now that you can't see in the photo lol from Dark Mouse.  The shoes are from Kalnins and are totally customizable and do a damn good job of matching skin tone without a whole lot of effort.  Looking at the pictures these could use a tiny bit more tweaking but after very little effort that was a great match.  The skin as always is from Laqroki--well not always but usually lol.  And an unanticipated plus of reading the Fashion Critique page was that they linked to SL's destination guide.  I have been bouncing around on that page to different sites for good backdrops for the pictures I take in world and that was fun.  The backdrop I chose for these was Eostara and it's kinda gorgeous.  And just because I am trying to do better about posting this information the poses are all from LAP. 

Oh and I did the final photo shoot for the month and that will probably be up at the end of the week so yeah.  As soon as I narrow down some outfits I MIGHT have another person lined up for September or I might just push it back to October and then just leave myself with two months to finish Project 2010.  Still waiting to hear from MAD but we got an update that a decision should come to us by tomorrow evening so we'll see how that goes too.  See ya later everyone.  Enjoy the snaps.

Tiny Bit Frustrated

It's totally my fault because I waited into July to look for my July photographer for Project Rouge lol but almost all of the photographers I was looking into are all booked up for the month.  I have reached out to two of them for sometime in August and might need to go ahead and set up September while I'm at it.  Well one of the photographers I contacted MIGHT have some July openings but I hate scrambling.  I could always revisit one of the previous two photographers from Project 2010 but that defeats the purpose of me exploring the grid even though both ladies gave me absolute fantastic photos.  Ahh well, I'll beg in world and see what happens.

Speaking of photos, Miss Azul was also a no for the kid but it is what it is.  I crashed during my last walk today in the Fashion Police show which SUCKS but the show went well and I had fun with the Maniera crew as normal.  It doubly sucks cause I was LOVING that outfit.  Felt very edgy gogo dancer smexy kind of look.  It's nice to be with people who can joke and be silly and still pull off a great show.  I'm glad to be a part of Maniera and all the other agencies I call home now.  I'm only in a few but I can dedicate myself to them and work my butt off when I get an assignment.  Okay just wanted to give a brief update.


UPDATE: Woot thanks Model's Workshop photography lists.  I found someone to do photos next week so yippee.  Well I found lots of people but again some were busy others just aren't taking photos anymore for a variety of reasons and others ehh just didn't like.  We'll be adding to Project 2010 yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Project Rouge 2010

Wow, two posts this month I'm sure you're shocked ha ha.  Well this post is going to cover one thing mostly.  I have decided to do a photo project for the rest of this year.  I often end up taking photos of myself at the last minute because I'm not sure which photographers I want to use or why I might want to use them.  For the next six months of the year I'm going to set up a shoot with at least one photographer a month for either contests, castings or just cause I want to because you know I don't really do a whole lot of contests.  Of course it adds to my portfolio so it's a win for me regardless but I also like to see what other people do with my image and their creativity because I can have a billion ideas but implementing them requires much more brain matter than I have to spare some days.  For anyone that visits my flikr page they would have already seen the first two photos in Project 2010.  They were done by Shae Sixpence for the AVENUE casting.  I didn't make the shortlist but I liked the photo so much I sent it in for the Miss Virtual World July casting.  Not holding my breath on that one but heck I was beautiful damn it lol.

The next few photos that will be added come from Temperance Moonites for the Miss Azul contest and two extra for my portfolio.  I couldn't decide which dress to choose so I had two outfits and the one that pops the most is off to the contest.  The other will just be new pretty pictures of me.  And will give me the chance to see what I look like in another photographers eyes.  For any photog that might read this, sorry if I get quiet during the shoot.  I try not to do too much to disturb my eye lock and just start drifting off in my brain to think of how fantabulous you are going to make me look.  So I need to set up the next few months of photographers and would love recommendations.  There is at least one old favorite I'll be revisiting but that takes one of six months.  And December might be overload since it's my RL birth month.

I swear I was gonna mention something else in this post but now I so don't remember what it is.  So instead I'll say what just popped into my head.  Congratulations to all the lovely Black female avatars for making the short list of AVENUE models and those that have been chosen to represent the country of their choice in the Miss Virtual World 2011.  There were way more than I expected and it gives me hope that working in darker skin isn't always an impediment.  And a special congratulations to a blog friend, EmeraldEyes Honi, who is on a fantastic role with being chosen to be a Modavia Supermodel, AVENUE shortlist and Miss UK in Miss Virtual World 2011.  She's a great inspiration and fantastic model.  Good luck to all of you ladies.

Ok it's way past dinner time let me go eat---Rouge

Duh remembered what it was lol.  Wrapped the longest show I've been in for a while this weekend and it was great lag battle.  And I found out that the theme I chose won an internal Maniera contest with two other models providing the accompanying statement.  Yippee for Keira Tyles and Imani Enzo for the joint win.  Can't wait for the shoot.  Bye for real this time

Decisions, Decisions

Another wave of contests have begun again and I have to say I managed my angst about entering or not entering quite well.  I chose not to try out for the Modavia casting.  I had an outfit styled and probably could have gotten the picture done in time but I'm not sure if I'm ready for that level of exposure on one hand and critique on the other.  And not exactly sure I have the skill set to be scrutinized through the casting process.  Who knows but if I try it won't be before the fall.  I did submit to Miss Virtual World as I said I would after some encouragement.  If I make it great but I'm not sure I'll make it beyond that first screening which is okay too.  Oh and I actually pulled a cover contest together for Maniera for a change.  I can't say it was uber creative but it was a representation of the song that inspired it.  Still no word on that one so I'll be sure to update you in the future with what happens.

Also did another show with JSE, Awake to Sudan, which was a lot of fun but something else came of it.  It made me finally go update my model resume with shows I have done over the last few months and vendor ads and all that stuff.  I've seen a few model blogs that have their resumes posted there which seems like a good idea because people can access it when you're offline.  Not sure if I'm ever going to make a default page for that but at least it's updated.  Oh well back to the grid shopping I go.

See ya
Rouge

Feeding My Addiction: Skin Review

I realized that I demo a lot of skins and never really talk about them very much. I will harp on a new skin when I find it and like it on me but there are a lot of decent skin makers out there in the dark range that I don't personally choose to wear but still should be discussed.  So I'm going to share a few with you that I have either been gifted (thanks Rita) or stumbled across due to my rampant feed stalking.

First up is the Belleza skin Elle in Dark Mocha.  This, and most of the other skins I will talk about, are closer to the tone I was wearing when I first began using SL.  It's a basic dark tone that will of course look slightly different on everyone but in my usual inspection of the nooks and crannies didn't have anything that made me go oh no don't want to ever wear this again.  It didn't change my face in a significant way and was lacking shading issues for me.  What I noticed was that I was staring at was my stomach.  The Laqroki line tends to add great definition to the stomach area and that was missing for me here but the makeups were good, the face not overdone and had a variety of options in the way of hairbase and cleavage.  Well worth looking at if you haven't been inundated with skin posts already.

The next skin I want to show you is from Kira Ahn's [KA] Designs.  I have ventured in and out of her demos a lot and hadn't made a purchase until recently when I got a notice about a sale on soon to be retired skins.  I am almost positive I somehow skipped these skins because I think I would have bought them at the time but regardless it's another darker skin that I really liked when I sported it.  I grabbed the fatpack of Loona in Ebony and have to say I'm very impressed.  I am one of those lazy models that doesn't want to make a new shape for each skin I wear.  If a skin doesn't immediately strike me as looking great as is and may need minor tweaking I just won't buy it.  This is as close to my old skin tone and still the same facial features that I have been able to come in a very long time.  Great skin with good shading and makeups both with and without hairbase as well as three eyebrow shapes AND lashes.  Wooh, that was a mouthful but regardless good skin.  I'm showing you eyebrow option number one by the way in the following picture.  The only thing that would have made this better is that lovely glow I get with Laqroki.

Next up we have a skin Bare Skins from Rita Freese.  I love the dare to go bare part of the store tag by the way.  When I was in the Best of SL chat the other day we were having yet another skin discussion and I mentioned I happily blog good skins and I was quickly gifted with Naomi in Peacock, Citrus and Smoke.  Tone was a little darker than the first two but not dramatically so.  The lips are a bit fuller than the others but the makeup was done quite well.  I particularly loved the Peacock (one shown in the picture) as it successfully pulled off a very interesting palate on a darker skin that others seem to just overlook for fear of failing miserably.  It would be great for a show if for no other reason than it was good and dramatic.  The stomach was lacking a little definition but had a very adorable belly button and great shading around the body.  It's another keeper for those seeking out a dark skin.

And finally the last skin I will show you is the latest from Laqroki.  Elena was released a few weeks ago at this point and I was thrilled to have another dark option.  The tone is the same Ebony that she normally uses which is more a mid range chocolatey candy bar kind of complexion.  The makeup is more subtle to me than a few of the more recent ones but skillfully done and having another 10 makeups to play with, with and without hairbase, is always good if you are as focused on coordinating skin and clothing.  Laqroki always does a good job of trying to put out a dark tone and then experimenting with makeups.  It's one of the first places I always send friends and models but as I pointed out earlier I should pay attention to the fact that everyone doesn't want to be my shade of brown lmao.  It's another great release and my tummy looks fabulous ha!

And for those wondering what the outfit was about in the photos lol, I was in a casting for an African inspired/themed show and just hadn't changed when I decided to do this set of photos.  Full outfit details will be below the photo.  Please go check out the skin designers and have a fantastic weekend.

Outfit: Boom Rhapsody in Picnic (no sash skirt option)
Jewelry: Miel Cue Set (from 50L Friday)
Headwrap: CE Cubic Effect Bohemian Glow Red
Shoes: Maitreya Gold Shanti in Champagne
Skin: Laqroki Tasha 2 in Ebony
Poses: Reel Expression *Luth* Party Dress 4, 9
Background: Tuft Dreamy Field Photobox

Take Another Trip with me to Opa's Boutique

Okay Topaz was busy over the last few days. In addition to my lovely dress, and the Veronica which came out the same time and another fantastic dress named Keira, she released Shanghai Surprise. Now please don't let me skip over the aforementioned dresses because really they are well made and much attention was paid the the right parts of each dress. The textures fit the time period the dress was inspired by, the skirts weren't god awful too small for any normal sized avatar lol and there were no quick prim attachments that as unskilled as I am would notice and be cranky about for eternity. Opa's Boutique puts out lovely high quality dresses and you should hurry down and check out what it has to offer. Back to the purpose of this post though ha!

Shanghai Surprise actually may come as a surprise to you. The texture is very much Asian inspired but it's more of a subtle touch than you might expect on the grid. The pattern is simple and light against the black fabric which gives it a great contrast against skin tone. The top provides another set of details that have to be fully examined as well. The plunging neckline is complimented wonderfully with the bare shoulders all leading to the black band covering the midriff and joining the top to the skirt. The prim attachment gives the dress more structure and pop all without losing the texture or becoming overwhelming. Gathered at the hips but not covering the front of the dress it reminds me of the Claire Huxtable dress I lusted after as a child loving the Cosby Show as it gives definition without making a trouble spot for most women even more obvious. The other thing I love about this dress, as well as Opa's Boutique in general, is that it can be dressed up or down or made vintage or contemporary all based on what you choose to pair with it. I wanted to go more Shanghai than vintage this time and with pieces I didn't have to search farther than my inventory for I think it came together well. Let me know what you think. And big thanks to the boyfriend for helping me get that icky prim box from around the shoes I was wearing.

Items Worn:

Dress: Shanghai Surprise from Opa's Boutique
Hair: Na Young in Ebony from Tukinowaguma
Jewelry: Ahi Set from Miel
Skin: Tasha2 in Ebony from Laqroki
Shoes: Shanti in Black from Maitreya Gold
Lashes: Cake Bedroom Lashes

What's in a Name part two...

Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl....I won't kill your ears with my ummm tone transient singing.  I'll let Barry handle that himself when I'm all done showing you the original duo that had me going wooooo I wanna blog same name wardrobe.  As you all know I LOVE vintage shops and support them as much as I can.  The big ones probably don't need my gushing but some of the out of the way spots could potentially.  I was doing my normal notecard sorting when I saw a message from Vita Bella.  There is a great assortment of vintage dresses, swimsuits, lingerie and what not there but there hadn't been a new release in a while.  Until about a week ago when Lola hit the store.  Lola reminds me of a typical receptionist wardrobe in one of the higher end firms---kinda Mad Men esque.  I am showing you the Ruby Red/Sultry Black version but it's also available in Cream/Magenta which is equally lovely and the one that I didn't stop wearing for a few days originally.  The texture is wonderfully detailed, down to the crinkle that would likely form at the back of the skirt after a day of wear.  LOVE IT.  Also featured in this post is the Lola lingerie set from Seldom Blue in Sheer Nude.  I love the way the color looks on my skin and the fact that the fatpack version of Lola gives you about ninety million ways to mix and match the ensemble.  I'm wearing the bra, thong, suspenders/garters and the waist ruffle which was entirely too dainty not to wear.  There are also hip and bra frills as well as a body suit version that is tres sexy.  Check them both out here for the dress and here for the lingerie.  Featured in both posts are photo boxes from Tuft which I just stumbled upon yesterday thanks to fashion feed.  If you want a few they are all under 50L as well as having a midnight mania board with 3 up for grabs.  And I realize I haven't done a style card for either of the name posts.  If you see something you just have to have let me know and I'll gladly tell you where I got it.

Really have no good excuse

I have been busy yes but I keep saying I need to take photos of all the outfits I've been in and post them but I'm not getting around to it so I should really just post the updates. The shows went well as a I told you last time. The next big thing was another MPI Graduation show which honestly went fantastic short of missing in action models. The designer was happy at the end of the day and the models who were there ROCKED their lag plagued butts off. This was going on at the same time as my participation in the Miss Fashion 2010 contest. My designer, Ginevra Lancaster of Ginevra Lancaster Designs, was amazing and gave me a very sexy burlesque inspired outfit--named after me no less--to wear during the festivities. I will admit I was sick as a dog and was fuzzy most of the time so I'm not sure if I was doing my best but for the first time in any competition I have entered I made it to the finals. Yeah me, go Rouge lol. That meant another quick design week for Ginevra but since she was just so fierce that she got two models into the finals she did a play off of each outfit. Alii wore a moon inspired outfit and I got to represent the sun. When it was all said and done and we actually made it to the show day, I was just hoping not to crash off the runway or embarrass Ginevra. I didn't expect to win as there were stunning outfits there but wow came in third and wasn't expecting that EITHER. I was disappointed for Ginevra because I think she did a stellar job with five days to whip up two original outfits for the contest. It was fun though and let me hang out with models I knew but hadn't worked together a lot with. Might have to brush up on Italian if I plan to enter again lol. I think that's it for now. See ya everyone and eventually I will get to the photos.

And the metaverse pauses..

Well not the WHOLE metaverse. The fashion world of SL took a mostly day long pause as the festivities of the annual Miss Virtual World pageant took place. My praises to all the finalists because I'm not sure I mentally could have taken all the crashes, delays and glitches that were present today. Heck I left halfway through because I was feeling another crash almighty approaching. Whomever won the MVW placement contest rocks because I will honestly say I didn't expect the top 10 or 5 to come out the way they did let alone the eventual winner. Call me a skeptic but my brain tends to think having a well known name in the end will likely win out for you. And it might have helped but it most definitely was not the only thing that contributed to the winner taking the crown. For the parts I could see and admittedly that wasn't everything, the results were justified and great all around. Congratulations to Miss Virtual World 2010 Miaa Rebane who was representing Puerto Rico and all the other finalists.

beginning of the onslaught

Okay I have about 10 posts ready to pop out of my brain but finding time to sit down and write instead of shopping, styling an outfit, doing rehearsal or something has been fleeting in the last few weeks. And really a LOT has happened so I have got to update you on all of that of course. The last time I wrote I was getting ready for graduation and thought I was getting ready for the Halloween shows lol. That would have been silly since Halloween was so far off but hey I was tired. Graduation went mostly smoothly. I had a slight tumble off the stage after I got my shiny cap to go with my loverly diploma. The overall experience with Maniera was great and really it hadn't dawned on me that not all of us would be hired or that any of us would be hired. Most academies aren't making promises to students anymore because they would just end up with dozens of models more than they need. So let's say I was a little surprised to put it mildly when the topic of who was going to be hired came up at all and even more surprised that only a few of us would be brought into the agency. I didn't think it would be me at all so I guess that's why I was stunned literally into a giggle when Sami contacted me a short time later about joining Maniera. I would have done a dance of joy at that precise moment but I was in the middle of another project that I have to update you about. Let me just say that I am thrilled to be apart of the Maniera team and can't thank them enough for training me and seeing something in me that they wanted to work with.

The thing I was in the middle of was a runway show only for once I wasn't the one out front hoping not to crash or fall or screw anything major up. I along with slowly Bury coordinated the Maternal Instincts runway show for MPI. Thankfully I had someone who was willing to dabble in script writing because it would have been horribly dry if I had written it all alone. For my part, I mostly handled the styling of outfits and poses and the rehearsals. Right before the show started I got the energy boost that slid me through the show with a few glitches--one was totally my fault as I had a model walk last and then in a group walk a few moments later--and the normal lag fairy that descends on shows. The girls were great and I appreciate all the hard work they put into selecting poses, styling themselves, coming to rehearsals and just going with the flow. They will always be the bestest to me cause they were my first show behind the scenes so thanks Vich, PureBeauty, sereana, Jacinta, Keeley and Rachel. Thanks to Jason and genie for allowing me to try my hand at that and EXTRA big thanks to slowly for working on the script. It was truly a pleasure working on the show.

I've also taken on a few other roles and I hope to do a good job in all of them. I am one of the new instructors for Miramar and I think from our conversations we'll have a good curriculum in place that will benefit everyone. The next runway show for Praga I'm working on the walk for the models and hope it all goes well. And I am blogging for JSE now and actually ready for the Halloween shows now as they really are approaching. Found the cutest costume a few weeks ago just gotta make sure it fits well.

And in a total different kind of shock, I made the initial cut for the SuperElite Supersearch 2010. The lag at the casting threw me for a total loop but I felt the outfits were styled well. Looking pretty and not walking well don't work together though so I'm not holding my breath to make it to the top 10 for this season and I'm not sure what happens if we're eliminated this round as far as applying in the future. Ahh well. It was nice to be called to the casting. I'll keep working on everything no matter what the results are. I'll try to get pics posted to flikr soon so you can see what I was wearing.

See ya later
Rouge