Shizuka is a Japanese word meaning quiet or calm and I tried to capture that in these photos, not sure if I succeeded. Shizuka is also the name of the hair I am wearing. It’s from Vanity Hair and they are currently having a contest where you can win L$5K and all sorts of other prizes. Check out the Vanity Hair official flickr contest group for all the details.

Speaking of contests, don’t forget that you only have a few days to enter the LE.LOOK! your style contest. Check out the LE.LOOK! blog for all the details and a chance to win L$10,000!

The Tang Empress Gown is one of the first gowns I ever bought in SL, back in 2007. Designer Nicky Ree has created some of my most favorite gowns on the grid. I’m sure I’ve blogged and photographed this one a million times already, but it’s just something I keep going back to because it has such a presence. It’s available in many colors in her mainstore and her marketplace store as well.

This Abi skin is the latest female release from Birth. Abi comes in 4 tones (Pearl, Honey, Sunkissed and Milky), two cleavage options and a wide variety of makeups. Take the slurl and try on a demo at the Birth mainstore.

Credits:
*Skin: Birth Abi Skin Pearl – Geisha by Silent Alchemi
*Hair: Vanity Hair: Shizuka-Noir by Tabata Jewell
Gown: *Nicky Ree* Tang Empress – Gold by Nicky Ree
*Jewels: Zaara Nizam by Zaara Kohime
*Promotional copies

Zaara Kohime has released two items from her new denim collection already. Last week she released the classic jeans that were clean cut and completely hand drawn with 4 different options for cuffs.

Today she released her distressed jeans, which you can see me wearing in this post. The distressed jeans also come with 4 different cuff options (straight, skinny, folded and flares) and they come in 8 colors! The whole denim collection is completely hand drawn and brilliantly crafted. I admit to being a bit biased because Zaara is my best friend (but she is totally evil too) however these jeans are my absolute favorites on the grid now.

You’ll be seeing more of her denim collection over the next few weeks.

The top I am wearing is a Zaara classic and she has recently made it available in 12 gorgeous colors. The best part about this top is that it’s only L$95!

Credits:
*Skin: PXL Gaia with buzz hairbase by Hart Larsson
*Hair: .::MADesigns HAIR::. ~ AESOP ~ Dark Brown II by Maddox DuPont
Piercings: [MANDALA]*FEMALE*TAKAYAMA FACE Piercing/Gold/ by Kikunosuke Eel
Sneakers: AKEYO sneakers AKIDAZ III by Artoo Magneto
*Tattoo: [HUZ TATS]-Por Vida-Original by Hunain Bellic
*Top: Zaara : Bandhni Hanky top *black* by Zaara Kohime (Only L$95)
*Jeans: Zaara : Distressed Jeans *black* by Zaara Kohime
*Poses: Olive Juice by Isabellagrace Baroque
*Promotional copies

Felicity and I have been trying to get together for weeks now for a combined blog post, however we’ve both been pretty preoccupied. She’s the Belleza Brand Manager and has been busy blogging up a storm, and I’ve just been a lazy ass and enjoying my summer. :P

Today I found out that there’s a blogger challenge going on so I thought this is just the perfect timing. The challenge is to blog about someone that inspires you. So here she is, my inspiration, Felicity Blumenthal.

I met her on plurk back when we all first joined in 2008. One thing I noticed about her right away was her loving nature. She’s the type of friend that I wish I could be and so thankful to have. She’s always there to lend an ear when you want someone to talk to or have your back when you need it the most!

She’s also incredibly stylish and always looks sensational. She’s been blogging for many years now and her blog has always been in my reader and on my blogroll. I also admit to stealing quite a many items from her credits for my own blog posts. She just knows what looks good!

I’ll be listing my credits below, to get her credits you must visit her blog, My Second Closet. She should be blogging her post shortly, if she doesn’t, y’all can IM her and yell at her. :P Or just leave her lots of “hi” offlines…she loves those!

What I’m wearing:
*Skin: Glam Affair Amelie Dark by Aida Ewing
*Hair: Logo Karissa Cocoa by Sakuri Myanamotu (Available at Hair Fair)
*Eyes: Exodi Soulful Eyes by Ryker Beck
*Top: AOHARU OffShoulderGauzeTunic White by Machang Pichot
*Pants: Maitreya – Acer Chino Dark-Grey by Onyx Leshelle
*Shoes: MooShooZ! Buckle Flats (Black) by Jewell Munro
*Earrings: Zaara : Ansuka pearl drop earrings *day* (silver) by Zaara Kohime (currently at MSW)
*Pose: Diesel Works by Rogan Diesel (Sale is ending in a few days)
*Promotional copies
Location: Komorebi

Belleza released this male skin, Ashton, a few weeks ago. I love the little age lines on the face, they are so well done! Belleza always manages to make some of the best male skins on the grid. If you haven’t tried out Ashton yet, swing by the store and pick up a demo.

Hair Fair started this past weekend and unfortunately I was busy eating lots of bbq so I wasn’t able to get there yet. Hopefully within the next few days I’ll stop by and check it all out. The hair I’m wearing is currently available at Hair fair in the Discord Designs booth.

Ladies who Lunch just had a big release with the funky harem pants, and gorgeous shemaghs and hijabs. The best thing is, it’s all unisex! :D As soon as I put the outfits on, one of my fav songs, Habibi ya nour el ain, popped into my head.

Also, just wanted to mention something that was added to the Firestorm Beta Viewer today. Bloggers will have a easier time crediting everything for their blog posts now thanks to Sixx Yangst who created this jira a few weeks ago and the Firestorm team has already implemented it in their latest update. I actually downloaded and logged into Firestorm for the first time today to test it out and it worked brilliantly. I was able to copy directly into this blog post the credits below from Firestorm. However, I did rearrange them and add designer’s names myself. Way to go Sixx and Firestorm team! I am hoping that my favorite viewer, Kirstens, also adopts this very soon!

Credits:
On him:
*Skin: -Belleza- Ashton Deep Tan 13 bald by Tricky Boucher
*Eyes: :: Exodi :: Soulful Eyes – Pally (Lg/NV) by Ryker Beck
*Hair: -Discord Designs- Lotta – Cool Brown by Kallisti Burns (Currently at Hair Fair)
Top: !ZooBong: Hobson Sweater (dark) Ajay Giano
Shoes: Sey Tongs-/camo by Risey Arai
*Pants: [LWL] Harem Jersey Pants (UNISEX) by Faint Paulse
*Scarf: [LWL] Shemagh (Arabian Night print) by Faint Paulse
*Poses: Diesel Works by Rogan Diesel

On her:
*Skin: [PXL] Linda G3 DA v3.8 by Hart Larsson
*Bikini Top: Zaara : 3 Esha bikini top (jacket) *black gold* by Zaara Kohime
*Pants: [LWL] Harem Jersey Pants (UNISEX) by Faint Paulse
*Headscarf: LWL_Hijab/saffron by Faint Paulse
*Shoes: [LWL] Moto Flats mulberry by Faint Paulse

*Promotional copies
Location: Cafe Adrastea

It’s very rare that someone actually wants to take a picture of me, usually I’m the one behind the lens. That’s why I was totally honored and excited when Julia Merosi of je suis asked me to pose for one of my favorite photographers, Leah McCullough. I love this picture so much, thank you Leah and thank you for the gorgeous strawberry set Julia!

Read Julia’s awesome interview in the June issue of BeStyle Magazine starting from page 30 and this picture of me on page 50.

Here’s what I’m wearing:
*Skin: Glam Affair by Aida Ewing
Eyes: Glam Affair by Aida Ewing
*Eyelashes: je suis by Julia Merosi
*Hair: Exile by Kavar Cleanslate
*Top: Zaara by Zaara Kohime
*Jewels: je suis by Julia Merosi
*Promotional copies