Happy Fourth of July

I was all prepared to log into SL today and take some lovely photos to celebrate the holiday.  Then I started cooking which of course led to eating and that led to lazy.  It's a shameful cycle I must admit but it's true lol.  And then as I was watching yet another marathon of things on tv I got a message from Julie telling me my photos were ready.  Yeah me I like new photos and I liked these a WHOLE lot.  So without further adieu cause really I got squat right now lol, here are the next series of photos in the Sing Me Pretty series.  I need to get on that next song.

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

It's all over now, whew

Okay so I've been MIA a lot between classes, RL and Miss Ebony International.  As of yesterday, two of those things have been taken care of a bit lol and this weekend will see another great crop of graduates leave MIOS before we take a break for a few weeks.  Yesterday, the Miss Ebony International finals were held and four hours or so after it all started it was over.  Congratulations are due to all the girls because it was a long grueling experience from start to finish in that the challenges were more time intensive than I could have ever thought and waiting patiently through 3 hours of questioning was slightly traumatic.  However, I made it all the way through my first contest that was at least partially based on my own skill set and appearance.  I mean I did Miss Fashion last year but that was mostly based on the ability of my designer and my styling of those designs.  I came in third then, I did not do as well with MEI.  Crashing as I'm answering a question probably didn't help and I'm not sure that I totally answered my next question from Frolic Mills but I did make the top ten and was happy and slightly stunned by that.  My designer in this contest, the always great Kimmera Madison, was happy with how I presented her work so I can't really ask for more than that.  I'll take photos and plaster the blog with them in a few days and then both dresses will be up for sale at her shop.  Thanks to all that came to support me yesterday--I seriously appreciate you all waiting it out with me.  I get the grind of what a major contest is like now and while I am SOOOO not ready for another right now I might sign up again for one in the future.  I'm glad I had this experience and will continue to try to push myself every chance I get but for now, I'm enjoying the nap I have had for the last 24 hours. 

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.

Damn it's Hot

The weather here is making me stay inside more but it's also making me sleepy.  So when I'm not busy with scheduled activities in SL I've really not been on as much as I could have been.  The Miss Ebony International pageant is winding down and I have to say that regardless of what happens it has been an interesting experience that has pushed me to develop new traits and handle lag is new and exciting ways.  Next Sunday is the final competition (which will be held at the same stage as Mister Virtual World was) and I have to say being backstage at Patch was an interesting experience.  The backstage area is gorgeous by the way but it is mildly intimidating to know the caliber of models that have competed there but at the same time it felt totally natural to be there and the girls were great as normal.  I hope that I do Senegal proud in great outfits that Kimmera Madison designed for me and let me preview a few weeks ago.  Both make me look like a regal African princess and it will be an honor to rock our final challenge in them.

Normally I'm not super tardy with pictures but my brain was having styling block with the photos for the Argentine tango challenge that is due later today.  Thankfully my partner was willing to dance with me and take my photo so as soon as he can finish editing it I'll post it to flickr.  I have a few others to add from the other runway challenges and I'll upload one of each of those to this as well.  I'm afraid my sexy edgy military costume started to look like a campy futuristic airline stewardess but ehhh I liked playing with so it wasn't so uniform like.  And I went all burlesque for the music challenge since my original thought probably wouldn't have made much sense.  But for those of that remember the early 90s and George Michael he had a video that he wasn't in at all--which at the time was groundbreaking apparently--but it was populated with runway models ( Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, Cindy Crawford, and male models John Pearson, Mario Sorrenti, and Peter Formby).  It wasn't the first time music and fashion mixed but it always stayed in my mind.  Both my partner and good friend said it would be too random especially since the video wouldn't play along with it.  Regardless, love the song and I'm gonna include the video along with the photos.  Have a great weekend and for those that I'll see next Sunday good luck, thanks for your support and woot.

Oh and there is another surprise coming but until it's set just let me leave you with man it's so amazing.

So far, So pleased

I swear life is never ever quiet around here.  The last thing I think I updated you on was Miss Ebony International and that casting.  Still moving through that process now.  The finalists have all been chosen and I'm competing with 27 other gorgeous and well spoken, funny women.  Last weekend we had a quick photo shoot so the world could see all of us in designs from Sonj!a's.  I think I channeled my inner Beyonce and pinup as best as I could lol, I liked the looks overall. 

We had to pick our country to represent both in this contest and in Miss Virtual World if we win this whole thing.  After doing my standard nerd thing, I narrowed down my choices to Senegal, Mali and Swaziland.  All of the countries that I was really interested in were in West Africa and most had some French colonial tie to them which was unexpected for me.  Maybe my ancestors originated from that region, who knows?  I need to brush back up on my French but it's just part of a mix of languages spoken in the country I was given to represent, Senegal.  Much more interesting place than I think many may know if and it will be a pleasure to do my best to honor its cultures and traditions.  Tomorrow is the first big event for us as finalists and just because the week has been uber hectic I get to go home tonight and try to pull together something FIERCE!  But with all the random shopping I've been doing I'm sure there is something in there that will work. 

I entered and made it to the casting for Miss Essence of Ebony but did not get chosen as Miss Kenya.  And honestly I've been so busy since then I missed the last casting all together.  I resubmitted and will do my best if given another chance to audition but I have to be careful about overscheduling myself.  Second Life has to be fun or gotta turn it off and go have fun. 

We just had a rocking 80s graduation for a nice chunk of the class that I helped teach.  And in a blink of an eye we have started the next term.  I'm doing more classes and had a full class last night which was both challenging and fun at the same time.  I'm glad that I decided to go for this experience and more pleased that I got it.  I'm looking forward to what the next seven weeks has in store and just hope that I don't fall totally flat on my face as an instructor this go round. 

Honestly, I think that's it.  I need to get something up on the Maniera blog this weekend, I wrapped up classes with Asymetrique, and I need to do some work that I've been neglecting but you're all caught up.  See ya soon.

I got bubkiss so no title

There's plenty to say but really got nothing in the way of smart catchy title tonight.  Sorry for the gap in posting.  I was working on some posts for the Maniera blog and got super distracted then RL work kicked my cute little butt and let's just say if the people we interviewed don't take the job I'm gonna hunt them down and kill them for disrupting my life so much and making me have to do it again in the near future.  Anyhoo, SL has been interesting to say the least. 

I've been doing classes with Sabine at Asymetrique which have been very interesting, especially since it's mostly been one on one due to the schedule.  This last week we covered a ton of information and what she mentioned during the class was true.  It helps to teach someone else because you never know what tricks you might pick up from them and it helps you focus on what you do in a different way.  It's a good learning experience all around so that is becoming a very enriching experience. 

Classes at Maniera will be on hiatus for the Easter holiday but have been intriguing for the same reasons my own classes have been.  Remembering what it's like to be at the beginning of the career, trying to sort out your style and your skills as a model, being desperate to learn but not wanting to appear overeager.  The students I've had have been a great delight to work with and it still feels a little weird that I would be a go to person for information but at the same time I enjoy the sharing of knowledge so it's great.  And joy of joys I get paid to do it too.  It's another of those good experiences I hadn't planned on having. 

In my last post I mentioned Miss Ebony International, and the fact that I hadn't made the casting cut in my love Serafina gown from Purple Moon.  I though the next round was on the 24th but it was moved to today which in the middle of styling two outfits for my class seemed like an impossibility.  Due to some unforeseen things, class styling was delayed and that let me pull together not one or two but three different potential looks for this month's theme of Pop Star.  I'll admit that seemed a little nebulous to me so it took a while to pull a solid look together that I was enjoying because skin tight and super short is not something I pull off well--mostly because even in SL I made myself thicker than most prim shorts enjoy lol.  Instead I went to all my favorite edgy stores to look for something new and came up empty.  I hit the feeds and through a random stroke of luck found about 6 things that could work for different looks which started from my Dressing Room exploration (if you don't go there often you should).  Anyway, I created a boho hippie/Erykah Badu kind of look, a club hopping diva kinda of look and a chilled out dance queen pop star look just in case someone was in any of them that I could switch to something else.  Which turned out to be a good idea because there were a few people in the same general outfit which is just awkward because you're all shaped differently with a different sense of style all of which is reflected when you do your strut.  There were a ton of strong looks throughout the assembled women so I wasn't feeling super confident that I had done something that stood out from the rest.  I had a clean walk this time and took my time to show off what I had put together.  After that, it's just a waiting game.  I will say they don't make us wait very long and much to my surprise I made the cut.  All I can say is I think I was much more relaxed today and accepted all I could control was what I did on the runway.  Oh and thanks to Sabine I was able to find a few new walks, one of which I used today because it didn't distort my outfit when I walked.  I have a questionnaire that I need to complete but we have a week to fill it out and I want to take a few days to appreciate what has happened.  But because I normally do this for big castings, here's what I was wearing without editing because I'm on call and want to try to get some sleep before the random I am just having a moment phone call happens.

Top: Baiastice One Shoulder Sweater @ LeLook
Tights: Emery Roxe Slash #2
Shoes: Slink Mia Wedges
Hair: lamb DIY cut
Skin: LAQ Claudia in Ebony
Lashes: glow studio
Gloves: Emery

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.

Spring Thaws & Out Pops Rouge

Sorry everyone.  I really have no good reason to have not blogged in nearly three months.  Especially when I was laughing at the ridiculous amounts of snow we got this winter and all the time I was getting off work as a result.  As is often the case, when one disappears for an extended period of time lol, there is lots of stuff to update on.  I've been doing my normal work in bursts thing but that again keeps me from burning out.  Thanks to JM's CEO Jewell for allowing me to to keep working in different ways.  I'm in the upcoming show with Bella Donna (and I've already started working on those six outfits I  promise) and should be in the next issue of Opulent Magazine as well so yippee.  It feels good to be thought of well and to keep working.

It wasn't a conscious New Year's resolution, but I decided again that I have to start taking more risks in all regards BUT you really only care about SL lol (not true I'm sure) so I'll tell you what pertains to that.  I have done lots of different things as a model but some only for a short term as agencies have had shift in focus or management changes or what not.  Maniera posted a notice several weeks ago that they were looking for new instructors and while I think I debated it longer than I probably should have I finally filled out the application in total and sent it in.  I didn't really think that it would go much further because there are TONS of great instructors out there and Maniera is a great agency/academy to work for.  Surprise on me because I got hired as one of the new runway instructors and it's helping me remember what it was like to be that nervous and remember how to do the basics in detail while showing them to someone else.  I'm excited about this new adventure more than you can believe.

And in a bit of a surprise for me much in the same reason that the Maniera gig was a surprise, I was invited to the first round of casting for Miss Ebony International.  We just had our walk today and lag bit me firmly in the ass but I worked my butt off in the styling and feel I couldn't have done that much better.  It was a challenge that I enjoyed in truth because I wanted something that was as close to flawless as I could get it in a glam context.  Tweaking that hair took absolutely FOREVER however when I was done I was pretty satisfied with the end result.  Gonna leave you photos of that in a second.   I shouldn't be MIA too much more this year and if so I'll at least try to pop in from time to time either in person or by proxy.  For now it's back to tennis.  Rafa vs Novak---yeah tennis and congrats Caroline and Marion you put on a stellar and slightly distracting during my walk match.

Dress: Exclusive Fashion for Life Purple Moon Serafina in Teal
Hair: La Madame from Vanity Hair (tinted)
Jewelry: Mix of sets from Dark Mouse and Phoenix Rising
Skin: Laqroki Susan in Ebony
Pose: Manifeste

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

baby it's cold outside

Really I have nothing good in the means of title so I just went with the reality of life right now.  It's been a busy month.  You know me, work in bursts girl, so I had lots of stuff going on about two weeks ago.  Thankfully I do well in most castings so I was lucky enough to do the JM Models show for Donna Flora as I got to play in my realm a bit.  Vintage is LOVELY.  Had to be a bit of body mod (mostly shrinkage of boobs) to make sure the outfits looked great but it was fun.

After that I got to walk in my very first superElite show since my graduation show.  It was part of Japan Fashion week which was a collaboration between SE and Agata.  It was fun and there were two shows a day for a week along with the opening and closing shows.  I was introduced to a lot of new designers and got to take part in a the finale show and the Honey and La Dulce Vita shows too.  That allowed me to meet a lot of new models as well and hey got paid and got presents depending on which of the four shows you ask me about.

Small shows always mean lots of outfit changes and if nothing else I get three or four new outfits styled to wear whenever I'm feeling super lazy and not wanting to piece together any of the things I grab off the feed.  I am a little behind on picture taking for Maniera which I hope to get over tonight.  Been feeling uber lazy the last few days because I'm super tired for some reason.  I have four outfits styled that I want to get up over the next few weeks and another outfit that I need to style.  Each outfit is a fun new look for me even if there are some standard vintage looks in the collective.  Still haven't gotten back on track for Project Rouge but I'm gonna get on that soon too. 

See ya soon
Rouge

Busy bee

This post probably won't be very long.  I have a few shows coming up over the next few weeks which I am kinda tickled about.  End of this week I'll be in the Donna Flora show with JM Models and the week after next I have two shows with superElite during their big fashion event.  This will be the first show I'm in for both agencies (not including the graduation shows I did with SE) so I really am overly thrilled. 

I am slacking with Project 2010.  I finally just thought of the perfect shot I want for this month but haven't even stated to find a photographer.  I know, silly me as I have been on top of these things before this month.  I just haven't had it in me the last few weeks to do much of anything that wasn't totally required of me.  Plus most of the people I'd want to use aren't taking new clients right now.  Sucks for sure but this is about expanding my photographer contacts so I gotta keep looking or shelve October and shoot for two in November.  Ehh if anyone has any suggestions let me know.  See ya soon

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.

It was an honor to just be nominated

Well it would have been if I had actually been nominated for something.  The results of the MAD Agency casting were released today and while I made it to the end of the process I was not selected to join the agency this go round.  I wasn't particularly holding my breath on that one because there were some stellar models amongst the competition and really I'm just not that well known.  It was a good experience and I appreciate the multi-tiered application process as it did give us all a chance to be ourselves and shine in whatever way we could.  The risk didn't necessarily pay off but I really did enjoy myself and it was an utmost honor to have even made the initial cut.  I'll keep plugging along, you know I always do lol.

Shame on me for not sharing Skip's amazing pic earlier but I was trying not inundate you with blog posts.  With no further delay here is the photo that he gave me in my leather cutie pie set.

Let me just say again, Skip is freaking amazing.  None of this image was present when he snapped it.  Just me as kinky as a pair of pasty and a fishnet top would allow me to be.  It's just uber sexy and I have to thank him for that yet again. 

I didn't walk in the SE show but because I was in on rehearsals I did get to cue the girls for the show.  I hope I didn't screw that up too bad, no one out front seemed to notice so that's great.  And I'm casting for their next shows since a few will be at 6PM and I'm good and free at 6PM.  Not sure if I'll get picked but again this phase of life is all about taking the chance and hoping it works out.  I'm debating entering the next Betty Boop vintage contest on Flickr.  I love Donna Flora but blonde pinup isn't exactly my forte area lol.  If I woman up I'll let you know.  The one I did for the Betty lingerie is on my flickr page and probably rotating on the side over there to the right.  Okay that's enough for now. 

Catch ya soon,
Rouge

And the beat goes on

This will probably be a two pronged post so I'll do the less introspective piece first. Project2010 had a slight delay because our intrepid photographer needed a little break.  That's perfectly fine as the picture Barney delivered was fantastic and just what I asked for.  In case you were wondering what I asked for it was something quirky but appropriate given the outfit.  The picture is adorable and regardless of how it does with the contest I'm happy that I had a chance to work with Mr. Roundel and can say he does amazing things.  Not that he needs me blowing smoke up his butt.  Those of you that know his work know how great he is.  So without further adieu here's the photo in question.

The next wave of Project Rouge (Project 2010 whatever lol) was done by someone who has taken fantastic photos of me before.  Skip Staheli was given the task of doing completely different images.  I wanted one sexy vintage kind of shot and the other just edgy and not my typical kind of shot.  While the second shot isn't quite ready I couldn't hesitate to share the ones that are.  I think I look great and especially the 1st image just conveys something stunning to me.  I love what Skip does to photos and the two shots below are just beautiful.  Some of you will recognize the outfit from the shots that Ludwig Prinz did earlier this year.  This was not because I was dissatisfied with what Ludwig did at all.  My original thought was have all the photographers snap me in the same outfit but that wouldn't really work.  This was mostly because I couldn't totally style the way I wanted to for the Phoenix Rising contest as they only wanted jewelry from the brand or associated brands used.  What was available didn't really work with what I wanted to display so I scrapped the pearls you see here and honestly didn't find this hair until Hair Fair at boon. 

Now if you are still reading and not staring or trying to find Barney and Skip in world to set up a shoot(highly recommend doing that sooner as opposed to alter if you wanted to as they are both incredibly busy men) then you can stick around for the last part of my daily blurb.  I love what I do in SL.  I have made great friends and think I do good work when I'm in a show or have to style myself for a shoot.  What continues to intrigue and periodically frustrate me is how that is perceived by others.  Sometimes the works is roundly supported and appreciated which feels great.  I don't want to let anyone down or disappoint them of course but being acknowledged rocks.  However, and this is more often the case, there is no reaction at all which I guess could be better than being slammed and saying what I do sucks.  But without feedback of any kind how do you improve what you do?  Now I doubt the random lack of information is going to make me slow down at all.  I'm enjoying it as a I mentioned before but it would be helpful I think to hear something every now and then.  Thanks to everyone that have already commented on the photo that is up on Skip's stream, it's much appreciated. 

Oh and for those of you that stuck it out to this part lol.  I did get an interview with the MAD Agency so I'm into round three of selection.  I was a bit surprised I'll admit it but I'm thrilled at the same time.  Have another practice in a few hours for SE but it should be pretty easy.  Only one change and it wasn't too bad.  Well that's it for now.  I'll be back whenever lol ohhh and go read the Maniera blog.  Some of my vintage wear posts will be there from now on.  See ya later.

It pays to pay attention

I had a horrible day.  Well semi.  I'm doing this weird diet so I can do more testing and figure out what's going on with my tummy.  That finally calmed down and then I was able to do the runway practice for the superElite show.  I'm the backup model but I still need to know what I'm doing.  It was a good practice and the walk was fun.  After that I was doing my blog trolling and saw a mini contest that *BOOM* was running to award 250 to 5000L gift cards to loyal readers but it was ending in an hour.  I had featured a *BOOM* outfit a few months ago in a skin post and figured if nothing else it was something fun to do.  I got a 250L giftcard to go find these pants I was thinking about buying before.  Yippee.  *ICING* put out another adorable dress you should go check out.  And they put one in the Red Seal Hunt that gives you a fabulous dress for free if you can find it at the Rue D'antibes location.  Happy shopping ladies.