I couldn’t help doing a black white picture after I got this gorgeous set from Epoque. I thought the chrome texture in this was especially fabulous and I’m glad I got the opportunity to blog it. Epoque has a great selection in hair, mesh clothing and also gorgeous statement jewels. If you haven’t checked them out yet, take the slurl now.

I think the Ashes Roza skin from Glam Affair really pairs with it well. This skin is currently available at the Fair even from Chic.

I’m not sure if the Black and White blogger’s challenge is still going on but I think I am going to go ahead and add this image in the group. I love being able to do a black and white image inworld, without using photoshop to desaturate. In fact I didn’t really photoshop this much at all, here’s a raw shot if you’d like to see. (Also a raw shot on my sl profile feed here). A lot of people have asked me to share raw shots more often because they like to see what changes I’ve made, if any. Would you prefer if I also shared raw shots more often? If so, I’ll try and do it whenever I can remember.

Credits:
*Skin: Glam Affair – Ashes Roza – 2 B by Aida Ewing (@ Fair)
Eyes: – Glam Affair – Stella Eyes 01 by Aida Ewing
*Eyeliner: -Glam Affair- Couture Eyeliner no.03 by Aida Ewing
Hair: [elikatira] Early – Black 06 by Elikapeka Tiramisu
*Jewels: (epoque) Shard Set – Chrome by Vintage Mcmillan

I couldn’t resist using my ALT today to show the back of this hot new mesh dress. This sexy dress came out in perfect time to help me celebrate my Plurk Anniversary today. Four years ago today I found plurk.

I admit, I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with plurk at times. Since I’ve been there four years and my timeline is public (and I rarely remove people), I have accumulated quite a number of friends. At times, plurk can be very overwhelming, but it is definitely my most favorite social network of ALL of the social networks I am on. Plurk is where I go to rant, gossip or just share silly articles and my blog posts. Whenever I have a question about anything, especially if it’s SL related, I always turn to plurk because my plurk friends are just brilliant it seems! They ALWAYS have the answer to everything. I have blogged about plurk in the past, many times, and even did a “Berry’s Favorite Things Post” about it once.

Plurk has somewhat of a bad reputation for being a drama-ridden hell-hole and although at times it can be :P It’s not like that most of the time, not for me anyways. Plurk is what you make it. I like to use it to be goofy and playful but I also like to use it to stay informed.

I’m going to list some plurkers now that I think are a good follow if you’d like to stay informed about SL related things. (I made sure all of these plurkers have public timelines, are open to having people friending and following them and are relatively drama-free most of the time):

1. @Codie – If you look at Codie’s start date on plurk, she’s been a member since June 2008. To my understanding, she was one of the first SLers to discover and join plurk and is currently the one with the most friends and fans. She plurks a lot about technology and current events. Lots of intellectual discussions happening in her plurks but at the same time, she also plurks a lot of herself sharing personal things as well which is always a nice mix.
2. @anubisdarkwatch – Anubis is an SL DJ but in plurk he is the person I turn to when I just want to relax and have a good laugh. He always has a funny picture or meme up his sleeve. He’s genuinely nice and friendly with everyone, and that’s what I love about him the most! <3
3. For news and updates about mesh the following are the plurkers you want to follow: @EmmaG, @DamienFate and @maxwell_graf. Of course they do plurk about other personal things, current events and things they are creating inworld. However, whenever there is any news about mesh with jiras and linden meetings, etc… they are usually the first to know and plurk about it.
4. Informative ladies: @Vaki and @cajsalilliehook – Both of them share a lot of great information if you want to keep up with current events, especially leaning towards the political side and of course they throw in SL fashion in the mix as well. These are the ladies to have on your timeline if you want to have intellectual and informative conversations about a variety of topics.
5. SL News: @danielvoyager, @nalates, @Hamlet_Au and Inara_Pey- All of them will keep you up to date with everything going on in SL from events to technology and even other virtual worlds. Their blogs are where I get the latest SL related news from.
6. And FINALLY, don’t forget to follow @Secondlife they plurk all sorts of information on a daily basis, including the Picture of the Day! Which I was chosen for today, so thank you Second Life for that! :D A lot of people ask HOW do you get chosen to be Picture of the day, well all you have to do is submit your picture into the Second Life Official Flickr Group, but make sure to read the description of the group carefully so you know all the terms before submitting your pictures in there!

There are so many more people that I LOVE to follow and read but the majority of them have private timelines or plurk things that are very personal to them so I didn’t want to link to them out of respect. But once you join plurk, make sure to add me and join the conversations! Also, if you are already on plurk but not on my timeline, I am really shy about sending requests to people because I don’t always get a chance to read everyone. But if you ever wish to add me, please feel free to send me a request, I always accept!

Finally, a big thank you to all of my plurk friends for putting up with my goofy plurks and answering the dozens of questions I ask all of the time. You guys have been there for me a lot, especially recently when I’ve been having a lot of ups and downs. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you! It’s been a wonderful four years and I look forward to many more! <3

Credits:
On my ALT (right):
Skin: Glam Affair - Cassiopea - Jamaica - Tesea D by Aida Ewing (@ TDR this month)
Hair: [elikatira] Figure – Brown 08 by Elikapeka Tiramisu
Dress: erratic / abby – cowl neck dress / glitter aqua (S) by Erratic Rain
Earrings: [ glow ] studio – Pearls & Spikes Earring (silver) by Jocelyn Anatine (@ TDR this month)

On me (left):
*Skin: Glam Affair – Lilith – India 09 D by Aida Ewing
*Hair: >TRUTH< Siri – mocha by Truth Hawks
*Dress: erratic / abby – cowl neck dress / glitter silver (S) by Erratic Rain
Earrings: Paper Couture; Reclining Feline Earrings by Cora Lu
*Ring: -[AddiCt]-Virgo’s Ring/Pewter by Kianna Noel & Naith Smit (@ Zodiac Virgo)
Nails: Candy Nail #FP006 Clear Glitter French 3color change by Peche Bury

*Poses: Exposeur by RubyStarlight Writer

The Glam Affair team is bringing you a spectacular event which starts later today. Fairy Tales will open on Friday, June 22nd at 2pm slt and will run till July 8th. This slurl will work for you after 2pm slt.

Over 25 of the grid’s most talented content creators have created at least 1 to 5 brand new items for this fantasy-filled event. You won’t want to miss it!

Here is a list of some of the designers and what they are offering:
Glam Affair
LaGyo
Wasabi Pills
Lisp Bazaar
*Art Dummy!
So Many Styles
Baiastice
Tee*fy
Exile
Lara Hurley Skin
Del May
Aura
Boudoir
Glow Studio
Sakide
Chantkare
Belleza

And there’s lots more to see, so don’t forget to visit at 2pm slt!

Credits:
*Skin: -Glam Affair – Mia Fairy Tales 2012 03 A by Aida Ewing (Fairy Tales 2012)
*Eyes: FATEeyes by Damien Fate
Eyelashes: MG – Eyelashes – Groomed by Maxi Gossamer
Hair: [elikatira] Early – Black 06 by Elikapeka Tiramisu
*Necklace: [ glow ] studio – Key to my Heart necklace by Jocelyn Anatine (Fairy Tales 2012)
Prim Hands: SLink de Jolie Hands v1.1 Relaxed L by Siddean Munro
*Gown: [LWL] Enchanted Gown by Faint Paulse (Fairy Tales 2012)
*Cloak: [LWL] Enchanted Cloak by Faint Paulse (Fairy Tales 2012)
*Pose: Diesel Works by Rogan Diesel
Location: Shindig

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice is almost here and the first day of summer is tomorrow. Yesterday I spent most of the day outdoors soaking in the sun. Something about the hot sun on my skin relaxes me and gives me solace.

I’ve decided I want to teach myself something new in photoshop at least once or twice a week this summer. In the past whenever I wanted to make water drops on skin, I would always use a photoshop brush however this time I looked up a tutorial on youtube and kind of followed along with that. So even though the water drops do look a bit amateurish, it was great fun learning something new and trying it out. I am going to keep practicing and hopefully I’ll get better at it. I’ll try and share whatever I learn each week and link to whatever tutorial that taught me the most. I would love some guidance in this. If you feel you have a better tutorial for what I was trying to do, please do share it.

I’m gonna run out in the sun again now. Happy summer solstice! <3

EDIT: Forgot to mention that there is a 50% off sale at je suis until June 23rd because it’s their 2nd anniversary. Happy Anniversary je suis! <3

Credits:
*Skin: [:Mirror’s Enigma:] Socordia V2 Medium Skintone (Blush) by Ydreece Forster
Hair: [elikatira] Later – Brown 04 by Elikapeka Tiramisu
*Bikini: Whippet & Buck – Mind Like Water Bikini BLUE by Twiggy Whippet
Nails: Candy Nail #FP006 Clear Glitter French 3color change by Peche Bury
*Flower: je suis…hibiscus by Julia Merosi
*Necklace: je suis…nocturne necklace by Julia Merosi
Pose: Torridwear (no longer available)

Ashraya, which means shelter in sanskrit, is an organization based in India which operates with the purpose of providing aid to Indian children in need and abused women through the implementation of various projects. The Ashraya Project in SL opens tomorrow, May 5th, and the proceeds will go towards this wonderful organization.

There are many events planned for this project, including fashion shows and parties, check out the Schedule of Events page for all the details. The Ashraya Project will run from May 5th till June 4th.

I’m wearing a mesh sari from Bilo that will be available tomorrow at this event in many bright and beautiful colors. The proceeds from the purple one I’m wearing in the second picture will go towards the charity. What I love most about this sari is, it can be worn with or without the dupatta.

Bilo is a new brand to me which I noticed on plurk a few weeks ago. You’ll find lots of gorgeous mesh dresses here. Check out Bilo on Marketplace for more of their designs.

Remember, all of the festivities start May 5th at 10am slt. Check out Editorial Clarity’s blog for event details and slurls.

Credits:
Skin: League Jen Dark Feline (Cleavage C) by Nena Janus
Hair: [elikatira] Abbey – Black 04 by Elikapeka Tiramisu
*Sari: Bilo Chandramukhi Sari by Mayaa Thistle (Available on May 5th @ The Ashraya Project)
*Henna tattoos: Huz Tats and Bilo
*Jewels: Zaara Nizam colored by Zaara Kohime
*Poses: Long Awkward Pose and oOo Studio