Aside from my usual forays to the Simone! Designs Sim, (Simmy's Sim! hehehe I love it!) I have been slacking down on my shopping. Mostly because I don't log in much etc. But I had also stopped browsing the New Products Forum too.

So when I checked back on a whim the other day I noticed that the Stars rating system had been ixnayed. I'm guessing LL tossed em out on that last forum update whenever that was. No fanfare, no announcement, (that I saw) and no "gosh guys you were right we were wrong that stars thing was estoopid".



But I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. Will they appear again? Is this just a temporary thing? Did they get tossed out along with the ability to upload photos? Will they come back when that feature gets "refixed?" I hope not.
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In the meantime, I'm scouting out more very very VERY New Designers to review/interview for my next SL Boutique article. That's another reason why I was cruising the New Products forum. So if any of yall BBRC know of anyone who fits the bill toss me an IM in game or reply here with a name or three ;)
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The Skin Game
I mentioned at the end of my last post that OMG I have found at least TWO skins to wear. Starley Therian has come a long way baby! I rember trying on some of her first makeups way back when. She has indeed become a Triple Threat to the old guard IMHO.
Hair
Skin/Makeup
Clothes
And has been on the Dwellopers List too - which if yall been tracking that, has seen a total turn around on the usual names we used to see.
Well bye bye list whatever. But we all know what time it is.

I've been struggling since 2004 to find an African-American skin that looks good. I've seen some photoreal ones that look ok - but as you know I already have a real skin I'm sitting at my computer right now wearing it - and I be damned if I'm gonna run around SL looking spooky real. *shudders*.

That's just my preference. In general, and I'm not naming names, because I KNOW how difficult it is to get the darker skin tones to look right. If major RL makeup companies can't do it, I'm not expecting folk up in here to be able to manage.

The problems? Its just a lighting thing. Oprah Winfrey has her show set lit up specially to show Black folks properly on TV. Darker colors absorb more light thats all that is. As for creating tones, The ones I've seen are just plain matte with no highlights, really gray (ashy) looking or that (ugh) orangy undertone.

The decision I'm guessing aside from the photoreal stuff - is to decide what colors to use to create the highlights and undertones in chocolate brown. Umm more browns mebbe? I don't know, I aint a whiz kid in Photoshop nor have I even TRIED to make a skin.

So I been running around in the makeup/skin that MM gave me at the WA when I was a noob, and going on the occasional hunting foray when I spy something on the forums that has potential. Well after my last foray, I just pretty much gave up. GM & Oneling have been with me looking, and they know how hard its been.

So when I saw Melly Mel wearing a lovely chocolate brown skin at Sat Nite Salsa - I had to go check it out.
Starley Therian has worked her BUNS off to create these really nice looking dark skin tones - and I don't mean dark tan - chocolate!

I love the names she chose for her lines: Jamaica, Nairobi etc. Cool eh?



The other thing I had been hearing around about the way, is that its just not cost effective to spend all that time working out the tones, shadings and highlights, when there isnt a very big market for Black skins. Ok I can understand that, but again: times is a changing up in SL.

So those of you making good skins for Black folks - Check out South I sim and Ice Dragon sim and well, I'll let you do the rest of the homework. The owners of those two sims btw are also members of the soon to be chopped out Dwellopers List.
Not to mention when you post on the forums you are reaching a mere FRACTION of your buying public...

So.

"If you build it, they will come."

Perhaps.

"If you create it, do research, network, make contacts and up your marketing arenas - you'll be engaging a whole new audience for your excellent products."

Try out THEM apples!