MakeOver Monday part 3

Hey Guys and Gals, it’s Monday so that means our next installment of “MakeOver Monday” is on the air. Or on the web… or whatever.  First I want to say a big THANKS to Karl Jacob who gave me the tip that Altamura had a new free avatar gift at the  eBento Event! I popped over and grabbed the male gift “TakeMYWay”. And I may have done a little happy dance when I saw it was BoM ready! Then I got it set up and I was SO much happier with this avatar. Right out of the box he is miles ahead of poor “Robert”. The shape is nicer and the face is so much less “I’m gonna cut you” angry. He also comes with his own skin and since he’s BoM ready I won’t have any trouble finding more skins and tattoos, etc. for him.  

But for every step forward…  Unfortunately, “TakeMYWay” does not come with a body HUD of any sort. So we are stuck using alpha layers for clothes. Which (in my opinion) is extremely inconvenient. So many mesh clothes don’t even come with alpha layers anymore. So there is that. It’s almost a deal breaker for me. Your mileage may vary. 

 

So, moving on. As you recall we were going to talk about hair today. Again, this was soooo much easier for Kerydwyn. But I found three styles for each of them but there are more out there.  Let’s look at the Ladies first. I also changed, Kerydwyn’s skin to show some of the basic BoM skins you already have in your inventory. Just look under the ‘Clothing’ folder. You’ll also find some hair there too. Some of it, is rather nice, especially the newer mesh avatar’s hair. 

Fist is Firelight. The group is free to join and they offer many gifts and several lucky chairs. The best thing is they offer a gift card for 250L to new avatars ( 30 days old or less ) and unlike some gift cards this one is enough to buy a regular hair completely. This is the “Monica” one of the past group gifts available. I’m showing the “Anna” skin from the Inventory too.

Next is “Leela” Hair from Analog Dog. When you hit the landing point, just walk to your left all the way to the ‘coast’ where you’ll see a big glowing ball. Click it and get a selection of free hair. I’m showing the “Kimberly” skin here once again, in your inventory.

Last we have “Tsarina” from A&A. This is the free group gift for the Fabulously Free Group. Of course, FabFree is free to join.

For Alistar, the selection was a bit more challenging. Free hair for the guys is few and far between but it is out there. Having said this, I think this is where I would get off the free ride and lay out some Lindens. The group for N0_Match is 50L and with that you get monthly gifts for BOTH men and women ( Usually a Unisex style) and you get access to literally dozens of past gifts with many many male styles. 50L is literally 0.21 cents USD… I can find that in the couch cushions… ( A note here… yes, it’s 21cents but the minimum amount you can buy is $2.50… so I’d have to check under my car seats too.)   If you’re set on free, do check out the mesh hair in your inventory. The ‘Brandon’, ‘Johnny’ and ‘Wyatt’ hairs aren’t bad.

So first here is “Mike” from Sintiklia. The Group is free to join and there are loads of Group Gifts to pick up. And don’t forget to check the ladies hair as well. Lots of styles are aimed at women but are more unisex.

Modulus’s “Cole”. You can get it on the MarketPlace or in-store and you get the entire Fatpack of colors. This is an extremely well made hair. And the fact that’s free is just icing on the cake.

Lastly is one of those hairs sold as a ladies style but I think it works as unisex. I found “yume” from ASO on the MarketPlace and there doesn’t appear to be an in-world store.  Again, this was the result of a “Free Hair” search on the MarketPlace.

 

Okay, that’s going to do it for today. I thought I’d get to Inventory control today but I’m thinking that actually needs it’s own post. SO until next week, my dears!

And remember, comments, ideas, opinions etc. are ALWAYS welcome! So let me know what you’re thinking!

Links ->

eBento Event – Altumura “TakeMYWay Full Avatar ( Open until the 25th )

Fire Light – 250L Gift Card for Avatars under 30 days + Free group with past gifts + Lucky chairs

Analog Dog – Free Gift Ball with several Hair styles

A&A – FabFree Designer with free gifts for our group 

Sintiklia – Free Group join and huge wall of past gifts

Modulus – Single free men’s hair

ASO – Free hair style “Yume” on the Marketplace

 

Asher

Hello and Happy Friday, FabFree. As I am sure you are aware, the weekend is upon us and I for one am quite glad to see it’s arrival. Not only does the weekend bring some well deserved rest and relaxation, it brings a slew of sales and events with it. And the men haven’t been excluded today.

For example, Finer Threads is participating in the Happy Weekend Sale and are offering this refreshing change from the morass of sweats and snapbacks. This is the “Asher” suit in black and it was a mere 60L as part of the sale. The set is all one piece however you as receive a HUD to change the color of the suit jacket and inner shirt.  I found a bit of mixing and matching fit me well today with shades of black and blue. The Asher comes in several other colors all for the same 60L price if the black doesn’t suit your taste. And since the sale is a “Weekend” offering, I imagine that Asher will go back to the rack for it’s regular price on Sunday evening. So make some haste if you want to pick it up for this special sale.

Sizes Included

• Belleza Jake
• Legacy
• Signature Gianni

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gabriel is wearing

• • Mesh Head – LeLutka – Andrea
  • Mesh Body & Hands – Belleza – Jake
  • Skin –StrayDog – Breno for LeLutka Andrea, Tone 6
  • Eyes –Avi Glam – Lucent Eyes in Pine
  • Exile – Knox
  • Glasses – Since 1975 – Slimglass GlassesSuit jacket, shirt, and pants – Finer Threads– 60L as part of the Happy Weekend Sale

    Photo Location – Backdrop City

    

Short and Sweet

Hey Fab Fam! I have a short and sweet post today. But that’s okay cause the cute dress I’m showing off is short and sweet too!

This is the ‘Nova Serene’ dress from Telsiope’s Couture and I was lucky enough to get it for free! I just popped over to the store and spotted the mix and match game board. It took about three or four tries and bam! I got it! There’s no group to join or anything. But you’ll want to join Telsiope’s Couture’s free Subscribe group because there’s always something pretty as the Subscriber’s Gift. So head over and try your luck too!

Sizes Inlcuded

• Belleza Freya, Isis, Venus
• Maitreya
• SLink – Hourglass, Physique

~~ ♥ ~~

Juli’s Stylin’

• • Mesh Head – LeLutka (Spencer- w/ my own edited shape)
  • Mesh Body – Maitreya – Lara
  • Ears – Swallow – Crossover
  • Eyes – IKON – Hope Eyes in Field and Passion
  • Freckles Applier – [pout!] – Freckles and Beauty Marks Set
  • Skin + Body Freckles – The Skinnery – Aimee + Peach Maitreya Applier
  • Makeup – AlaskaMetro – Fierce 
  • Hair – Doux – Dana
  • Bag – Past Tres Chic Group Gift – SoHo Leather Bag

  Dress – Telsiope’s Couture – Nova Serene – FREE/0L – Free from the Mix and Match Game Board – No group needed.

  Photo Location – Backdrop City

  

In the houses of the old gods

Hilsener, FabFree!  Modern Norwegian may not be Old Norse but it sure sounds cool. And it fits right in with my Norse inspired mood today. Of course it’s 25L Tuesday too and there just happens to be two perfect additions to my Viking attire.

First, my dress. This is “Skadi” from Mansken. You get the bodice with the beautiful runic designs on it and the attached skirt which can be one of  six colors. This is going to be perfect for one of my RPs and I can’t wait to show it off!

Sizes Included

• Belleza – Freya, Isis, Venus
• Legacy
• Maitreya
• SLink – Hourglass, Physique

Next is my new necklace. The “Protection” necklace is from Angelicus. It comes sized for men but it’s easily resized to fit just about anyone. Angelicus has two other women specific necklaces for the sale as well.

As with all 25L Tuesday goodies, some designers leave them up for a bit and some disappear the second the clock strikes midnight tonight. So if you need to ‘go aviking’  hurry over!

~~ ♥ ~~

Juli’s Stylin’

• • Mesh Head – LeLutka (Spencer- w/ my own edited shape)
  • Mesh Body – Maitreya – Lara
  • Ears – Swallow – Crossover
  • Eyes – IKON – Hope Eyes in Field and Passion
  • Freckles Applier – [pout!] – Freckles and Beauty Marks Set
  • Skin + Body Freckles – The Skinnery – Aimee + Peach Maitreya Applier
  • Makeup – AlaskaMetro – Fierce 
  • Hair – No_Match – No_Rust

  Dress – Mansken – Skadi Dress – 25L as part of 25L Tuesday

  Necklace – Angelicus – Protection Necklace – 25L as part of 25L Tuesday

• Photo Location – Varsangen
•  

MakeOver Monday part 2

HeyHey Fab Free! It’s Monday so that means it’s more of “The Big Make Over”. Today I’m focusing on Alistar and our Fabulous Guys. I do want to note that all of these pictures are totally untouched and unedited.  This is goning to be a looong post so let’s not dither about and jump right in.

So, I I first said I was going to do a male make over avatar I had NO idea how much different it would be from doing the female. But dang, it’s so much more difficult and frustrating. With the girls, I had loads of choices of heads and bodies but the guys really don’t have that much in free choices. I almost threw in the towel and said I’d have to do a limited Lindens make over for the guys. And granted…. using Lindens would be much easier. But I wanted to do free. 

So, let’s remember where we started. This is the Second Life starter, “Greg” in his birthday suit. Not all together awful but certainly more ‘human-like’ than human. Why the designers for LL didn’t spend more time and care and artistry for the male population is beyond me.

And Greg close up.

 

I added this next pic because I wanted to show that the Greg skin is not horrible. In fact it’s not bad at all. It’s just the clunky shape that makes it bad.

 

The first and only free body I could find was the “Robert” body from Altamura located at the London City Freebie Center. The good and frankly, bad thing about Altamura is that the head comes attached to the body. While this means you don’t have to track down a mesh head. It also means you can’t use a different head if you already have one or find one you like better. Altamura does offer headless bodies and bodiless heads but only as paid items. The other quirk for the free Altamura bodies is they are not Omega or BoM friendly. With the return of BoM I find this rather frustrating. I can only assume that this is because these are all older versions.

This is the Robert right out of the box. Not my favorite look. He looks angry… like axe murderer angry.

“But me back in the box”

So knowing I couldn’t change the head I focused on the shape. A note here, I did change the shape of the body and head using the System sliders to suit my own taste, your mileage may vary.  However, I couldn’t get it just right. So I took to the MarketPlace for shapes. Where I found Sweet’s.  Several free shapes for Robert and others. Loads of 1Ls skins, some free hair, and even their own Bento Bom mesh body for just one Linden. I would have likely picked this based on the quality of their other products but I was set on absolutely free. There are several other Mesh Bento and BoM ready bodies on the Marketplace and the Grid that are under 10L each. And the minimum amount of Lindens you can buy is 2.50$ USD which will net you about 600L. So it’s not like you’d break the bank.

At any rate, I picked “Sweet’s Free! Shape for ROBERT by Altamura” and ran with it. I was able to adjust with the System sliders and got it pretty close to exactly what I wanted. The Sweet’s shape even came with mesh eyes. Alistar is getting closer!

Look’it them cheek bones!

One note, none of the free or 1L male bodies I found came with genitalia. Another drawback for the guys. You can find free male genitals on the Marketplace. However I can’t review them here as we are ‘family friendly’.

So, let’s talk briefly about AOs (Animation Overrides) for both the new kids. There are some basic AOs on the Marketplace for free and one, Bright’s Spunky Girl was the one I used for Julianna for a loong time. It’s basic but really all you need starting out. The female walk cycle is a bit exaggerated in the hip sway but not horrible. And at least the idle poses aren’t like a cat in heat.  It’s not on their MarketPlace, you can only grab it in world -> Here.

There are also two basic AOs (Among others) at Free Dove Listed as “AX oo2 Basically a Boy and Basically a Girl” that I tried. I found them… ok. I liked a lot of the stand animations and they worked well. I found the idles to be too restless and hyper. In fact, that was my issue with a ton of AOs free and paid. You can find all types for free and just need to try them to find one you like. Just pay attention… lots of free AOs are NOT bento rigged. Which means they work… but your hands are going to stick out stiffly and not move well.

Ultimately, I chose the AOs “Daily sLife Free Male Bento” and “Lucky Girl” from Tuty’s for both of our new kids. It’s got Bento right there in the name, the hands move well, the walks are not overly ‘cartoony’ and best the idles are smoothly animated and move from one stand to the next very realistically. This choice didn’t surprise me as I use Tuty AOs for both Juli and Gabe. 

SO there we have it for the new kids. We have Mesh Bento rigged bodies and Mesh heads, good skins and they walk less like ducks and more like Egyptians.  (2 internet point for you if you get the reference )

Next week… HAIR! Maybe some clothes and we’ll talk about how to set up your Inventory so it doesn’t catch fire.  

Also… if you have questions or comments, please let me hear ’em! There was a great question last week about making Lindens in world and I am still checking out my research on that and hope to have something to say about it next week.

 

Links for products

Altamura @ London City Freebie Center – Robert Mesh head and body 

Sweet’s – MarketPlace Shop for loads of freebies and dollarbies. Shapes, Hairs etc.

Free Dove – Charity shop with tons of free gifts for Male and Female Avatars. Some AOs, Hair, Clothes, Shoes, Skins, etc

Tuty’s – AOs, poses, etc. Two free AOs one for men and one for women.

 

 

Day Dream Colors

Maybe it’s because there is nearly a foot of snow covering the ground outside my real life window, but I’ve been all about the soft pastel colors here of late. Spring is usually more pastel for me but snow must bring on a softness, I guess. Anyway when I saw this lovely sea foam green sweater from Milky Way I had to have it and I’ve been wearing it all over the Grid today.

This is the Kiyomizu Winter Hunt Sweater from Milky Way for the … you guessed it.. Kiyomizu Winter 2021-2022 Hunt. I adore Milky Way’s designs. They all have a soft sweetness to them. While you’re at the shop, check out the huge wall of Group Gift Lucky Boards. The Group is free to join and there are some really nice prizes there. The Kiyomizu Winter 2021-2022 Hunt ends soon on January 10th. But the prize objects ( An adorable Ninja Cat) are very easy to find. In fact some of them aren’t hidden at all so you won’t have any trouble collecting as many as you might want.

Sizes Included

• One size ( It fits my Maitreya perfectly)

~~ ♥ ~~

Juli’s Stylin’

• • Mesh Head – LeLutka (Spencer- w/ my own edited shape)
  • Mesh Body – Maitreya – Lara
  • Ears – Swallow – Crossover
  • Eyes – IKON – Hope Eyes in Field and Passion
  • Freckles Applier – [pout!] – Freckles and Beauty Marks Set
  • Skin + Body Freckles – The Skinnery – Aimee + Peach Maitreya Applier
  • Makeup – AlaskaMetro – Fierce 
  • Hair – Truth – Lullaby -> Shown here first by Ms Aline
  • Tights – Sweet Tea Couture – Dreary Day Tights
  • Boots – MN – Kathy

  Sweater – Milky Way – Kiyomizu Winter Hunt Sweater – FREE/0L – Free prize for the Kiyomizu Winter 2021-2022 Hunt

  Photo Location – Backdrop City

  

The PINK Season is coming

Hey there, Fab Free! Can you believe the week is nearly over??? Another day and it’s the weekend already! I guess it’s a good thing but dang! Anyway, time and January is apparently going to speed by and before we know it it’ll be hearts and kisses and PINK everywhere. 

I guess I have some pink on the brain cause when I tried on this latest Fabulously Free Group Gift from MOoh I had to have the pink shirt instead of any of the other colors. So, this is the “Mariah” outfit and it’s the gift I’m talking about. You can pick it up for free when you wear your free FabFree Group tag and slap that board. Mariah comes with the jacket/shirt combo and the skirt as separates which is always nice. The denim part has a HUD for two colors: blue and black while the HUD has seven solid colors and five stripy colors for the shirt. I still am enjoying my Winter but this might have me thinking about Spring.

Sizes Included

• Belleza – Freya, Isis, Venus
• Classic Mesh – XXS – L
• Legacy
• Legacy Perky
• Maitreya
• SLink – Hourglass, Physique

~~ ♥ ~~

Juli’s Stylin’

• • Mesh Head – LeLutka (Spencer- w/ my own edited shape)
  • Mesh Body – Maitreya – Lara
  • Ears – Swallow – Crossover
  • Eyes – IKON – Hope Eyes in Field and Passion
  • Freckles Applier – [pout!] – Freckles and Beauty Marks Set
  • Skin + Body Freckles – The Skinnery – Aimee + Peach Maitreya Applier
  • Makeup – AlaskaMetro – Fierce 
  • Hair  – Fabia – Siera
  • Sneakers – Encore – Heatwave Sneakers
  • Balloon Pose – Construct – Balloon Cluster

  Jacket + Top & Skirt – MOoh – Mariah Outfit – FREE/0L – Free gift for the FabFree group – Group is free to join

  Photo Location – Backdrop City

   

Sci Fi

Hey Hey Fab Fam! I getting into my RP gear here today. I know I usually do Fantasy RP but I found this sweet Sci-Fi/Post Apocalypse get up so I’m mixing it up!

This the “Jada” outfit from Brii Underground and you can get it for free when you wear your Second Life Frees and Offers tag. I’m sure y’all know about SLF&O but for our Newbees, Second Life Frees and Offers is a free to join group that has gifts and goodies all over the Grid with tons of designers. Just slap the pic above the outfit and join up.  It can be a noisy group with all the alerts to deals and gifts but it’s worth it. It’s a great tool for finding all kinds of gifts.

Back to “Jada”. You will get the entire outfit (Minus the eye patch and floaty orb) in the box all for free. Boots, pants, cloves, earrings and collar, and the main corset. Plus a BoM makeup as well. (not shown) The pants and gloves have both BoM and an Omega and a SLink applier. Brii has got us covered!

Sizes Included

• Belleza
• Classic sizes – XS – XL
• Fitmesh – XS – XL
• Maitreya
• SLink

~~ ♥ ~~

Juli’s Stylin’

• • Mesh Head – LeLutka (Spencer- w/ my own edited shape)
  • Mesh Body – Maitreya – Lara
  • Ears – Swallow – Crossover
  • Eyes – IKON – Hope Eyes in Field and Passion
  • Freckles Applier – [pout!] – Freckles and Beauty Marks Set
  • Skin + Body Freckles – The Skinnery – Aimee + Peach Maitreya Applier
  • Makeup – AlaskaMetro – Fierce 
  • Hair  – Mina – Jett
  • Eye Patch – Zion Creations – Meta Eye
  • Orb – Petrichor – Andromyda Simple Galaxy Orb

  Complete Outfit – Brii Underground – Jada – FREE/0L – Free gift for the SLF&O – Group is free to join

  Photo Location – Backdrop City

  

Happy New Year

Good evening FabFree! I hope the first day of 2022 has come and gone by with nothing but good stuff for you. Gabe and I started our 2022 much like we started 2021: with coffee first and nonsense after. ( Or during thanks to Dixie) So much happened in 2021… and 2020 , I know it’s left us with some hard feelings. But I made a promise to myself and my little family here. I will not lose hope for better things and try to be one of those better things for the people n my life.

So HAPPY NEW YEAR my FabFree Family! Gabe and I wish you all every blessing and every happiness in this year stretching out before us.

~~ ♥ ~~

Juli’s Stylin’

• • Mesh Head – LeLutka (Spencer- w/ my own edited shape)
  • Mesh Body – Maitreya – Lara
  • Ears – Swallow – Crossover
  • Eyes – IKON – Hope Eyes in Field and Passion
  • Freckles Applier – [pout!] – Freckles and Beauty Marks Set
  • Skin + Body Freckles – The Skinnery – Aimee + Peach Maitreya Applier
  • Makeup – AlaskaMetro – Fierce 
  • Hair – Doux – Lucy

  Sweater and Top – BumbleBee – Rome Loose Sweater – FREE/0L – Bought w/ 250 Gift Card – Gift Card is the free gift @ 2021 Holiday Shop & Hop  

  Sizes Included

  • Belleza – Freya, Isis
  • Legacy
  • Maitreya
  • SLink – Hourglass, Physique

  Boots – BumbleBee – Rome Boots – FREE/0L – Bought w/ 250 Gift Card – Gift Card is the free gift @ 2021 Holiday Shop & Hop

  Sizes Included

  • Belleza
  • Legacy
  • Maitreya
  • SLink

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Gabriel is wearing

  • • Mesh Head – LeLutka – Andrea
    • Mesh Body & Hands – Belleza – Jake
    • Skin –StrayDog – Breno for LeLutka Andrea, Tone 6
    • Eyes –Avi Glam – Lucent Eyes in Pine
    • Exile – Knox
    • Glasses – Since 1975 – Slimglass Glasses 
    • Jeans – Butterscotch – Liam Jeans

    Sweater – Totally Wicked – Richard Sweater – FREE/0L – Free gift @ The 2021 Holiday Shop & Hop 

    Sizes Included

    • Belleza Jake
    • Legacy
    • Signature Gianni

Photo Location – In our kitchen

Shine Bight

Hello hello, FabFree Fam! I guess I have gowns on the brain this week. Cause I keep finding such lovelies I just have to show them off. Maybe it’s the New Year’s Eve that is looming on the horizon. But who doesn’t love a stunning evening gown no matter the dat or night? And besides, I have a three in one free gift for us tonight!

This is the wonderful Free Gift Gown from GGVG, a new-to-me- designer. I was really taken with this lovely gown and then happy surprise… it’s free AND there are three versions of the gown in the box. One in the soft baby blue I’m wearing, one pink and one white. Wouldn’t this make a perfect wedding gown or bridesmaid gown? I can totally see walking down the aisle in this!

At this time, the gift is out and free to everyone, no group needed. But you may want to join the free GGVG group because the group gifts are awesome too. In fact, I grabbed one I was really in love with and I’ll be showing it off latter this week.

As with many specials and gifts, I have no idea how long it will be available. So if you want it.. go get it!

Juli is Wearing…

Clothes

Gown – GGVG – Gift Gown-Baby Blue – (Free Gift/No Group Join Required)

Body 

Mesh Head – LeLutka (Spencer- w/ my own edited shape)
Mesh Body – Maitreya – Lara
Ears – Swallow – Crossover
Eyes – IKON – Hope Eyes in Field and Passion
Freckles Applier – [pout!] – Freckles and Beauty Marks Set
Skin + Body Freckles – The Skinnery – Aimee + Peach Maitreya Applier
Makeup – AlaskaMetro – Fierce 

Photo Location – Black Arts