kouse’s cyrenia

Kouse’s Sanctum has a gown out named Cyrenia, and when I saw the gowns I was particularly drawn to the jewel-toned ones. Kouse has actually made the Cyrenia in fifteen colors (amethyst, blush, champagne, dawn, forest, ice, lilac, magenta, midnight, midnight gold, mint, ruby, ocean, sapphire, snow) but I’m just going to feature three colors in this post: amethyst, magenta, and ruby.

Here’s the amethyst version:

This is the magenta version. I wanted to show the movement of the gown, too:

My favorite color is a deep, rich red, or an almost blood-red, and Kouse captured that with her ruby version of the Cyrenia gown:

Included with every gown is a jeweled veil. The gems are actually scripted so that you can change the gem texture; in the image below I’ve showcased the amethyst, citrine, sapphire, zoicite (you can click on the images to view larger versions on my flickrstream):

Here’s the entire list of gem textures that the veils come with: amethyst, ametrine, aquamarine, canary, citrine, diamond, emerald, ruby, sapphire, zoicite, and onyx.  Please note, the veils are no modify but you can reposition them.  I chose to wear my September hair from Laqroki to go with the veils, since the long parted bangs show off the forehead area nicely, and the long, flowing length of the style goes nicely with the romantic feel of the gowns.

I wanted to take my pics in a location appropriate for this kind of dress, so I’d headed to the Taure Ru sim.  Ends up you can’t really see Taure Ru in my pics, lol, because of the way I ended up cropping them.  Oh, well!  If you haven’t been there, though, you should pay a visit!  It’s pretty 🙂  Just be sure to read their rules for visiting and dress appropriately; the rules are not a long read nor are they difficult to adhere to.

Other credits…
Skin – Laqroki Kira
Hair – Laqroki September
Eyes – Exodi Twilight

bare rose’s silent heart

I haven’t been to Bare Rose in a long time because, frankly, my old laptop did NOT like that sim.  I’m happy to report that’s changed 😀

I went there to go pick up some cargo pants I saw on a friend, by my attention was quickly diverted by all the playful cyberpunk, goth, and fantasy outfits.  You know, as much as I love the great textures on mainstream clothes that we can find in SL, sometimes it gets boring and I want to play with looks I’d not wear in RL.  I forgot just how MUCH Bare Rose offers, and in so many colors, for so little L$!  I’m not sure that there’s any outfits there that costs more than L$200, so it’s easy to get carried away in there if you’re not careful.

I picked up an outfit called Silent Heart and I looooooove it, I don’t want to take it off:

There are a lot of prims and it’s all No Copy, so be sure to hop on a posestand and take your time with editing them to fit. Here’s what’s under the flowing prim skirt:

The outfit actually does not come with the fishnet parts and nipple tape.  The nipple tape is from some old store that has been closed for a long time, now, but I believe that Dark Eden has some, as well as Juicy.  The fishnet comes from an outfit called Belted that I got from Winter Moon quite a while back, too, so I’m not sure if that’s still available.  I wore the outfit without those items in the last pic; be prepared to have at least some of your nipples bared if you choose to wear the outfit without anything underneath.

I think the mouth covering mask is one of my favorite parts, hehe.  The sculpted part around the collar also emphasizes your avi’s neck; it looked great paired up with my new Grazia hair in the night color from Truth.

Silent Heart was less than L$200, and for your money you get the outfit in black, red, and pink.  ^_^

Credits:
Hair – Stringer Mausoleum
Skin & Boots – Laqroki
Eyes – The Body Politik
Piercings – Mela’s (my store :p )

willow gowns from kouse’s sanctum

Kouse’s Sanctum should be a familiar name to most who like to keep up with the latest in SL fashion, especially to those who frequently dress their avis in gowns befitting fantasy RP. If you aren’t, then you really ought to acquaint yourself with Kouse Singh’s work and consider joining the Kouse’s Sanctum update group for several reasons: she is a prolific designer with a quickly growing collection of beautifully textured gowns, and she showers her group members with all sorts of love in the form of frequent group gifts, exclusive group member discounts, and secret sales at “hidden” locations.

One of Kouse’s recent releases was her Willow gown, which comes in numerous color choices. Red being my favorite color, I had to get a shot of the Willow in Blood.

It is standard for Kouse to include attachment options. In the image above, I used the regular flexi-prim sleeves and the regular skirt, which is nice and full. The Willow gown also comes with the tiara pictured. ^_^

The other sleeve option, as shown in the Sapphire image, is called “delicate” for obvious reasons. The prims are smaller and sheer, giving it a lighter look. Also shown on the Sapphire gown is the “slim” skirt option.

As I mentioned earlier, the Willow gown is available in numerous colors — ten colors, to be exact! There’s something for everyone. 🙂 I do love the color red, but the Ice version is so pretty, I’d be hard pressed to say which of the two are my favorite. Here is a close-up of the Ice gown, to give a better view of the lovely texturing on the bodice and the delicate sleeves:

Visit Kouse’s Sanctum in the SeaBreeze Oasis sim (SeaBreeze Oasis 60, 59, 23).

Other credits: All skins by Laqroki, hair by Laqroki and ETD, eyes by Simtropia and Nomine, all poses by Mela’s.

Kouse’s Sanctum

I’m naughty — I had these in my inventory for a bit and only got to blogging them today! It’s just that I’ve been busy/consumed/obsessed with different projects. This post will be picture-intense, so to balance things out I will attempt to refrain from indulging in my usual verbosity. Emphasis on the word “attempt”. :p

Okay… today’s post is all about a lovely shop named Kouse’s Sanctum. I first learned about the white-haired Kouse Singh on flickr, where she posts beautiful images from the fantasy side of SL. Think Avilion, elves, and dragons. ^_^ Well, I guess I’ve been residing under a sculpted rock or something because it was quite a pleasant squee-worthy surprise to discover that Kouse has been crafting beautiful gowns.

First gown up: the magnificent Celestial Empress gown in Azure. You know, my favorite color is actually red, but show me a dress like this and I could easily forget that fact, hehe. An Evanescence song came on the radio just as I put this on, so I might’ve channeled a very slight bit of Amy Lee when accessorizing. ^^

Here is the Emerald version:

You know what’s great about gowns like Kouse’s? Pair them up with a romantic hairstyle like this one and you get a perfect showcase for your lovely shoulders, and imho there’s blessed little out there that can capture that right balance of fantasy, romance and sexiness without venturing into tramp territory. Gratuitous shoulder shot next :p

Kouse is generous. This next version of the Celestial Empress is called the Midnight Kiss, and it’s a group freebie and even comes with a tiara and necklace.

The corset lacing along the back is positively delicious. I’m a big fan of stuff that shows off the curvature of the spine; the more, the better, I say! 😀

Another series of gowns to take a look at is the Lady Serenity. This next photo shows the Cirrus version of Lady Serenity (worn with white hair in honor of Kouse ^^):

There is a subtle difference between the two dresses in that shot above — the skirt on the right is actually somewhat transparent. All of Kouse’s gowns come with different flexi-skirt options. Some are slightly transparent, others are built larger so that you can use the outfit as a ballgown.

Lady Serenity comes in other colors, too. Here it is in Red Rose:

Again, the two skirt options:

Last but not least, the Lady LeShelle dress in Forest:

Lady LeShelle comes with two prim belts in silver and gold. I meant to show the Lady LeShelle gown in black, too, but I couldn’t find some of the prim pieces in that great ever-expanding maw that I call my inventory. 😡

Pay a visit to Kouse’s Sanctum to pick these goodies up and to see even more of her selection: Garindan 10, 146, 263

Other credits and SLURLs after the cut. Missing SLURLs will be provided later when I log back in and can grab them; until then, the Search tool is your friend. 🙂

“I solemnly swear I am up to no good”

I’ve been reading the Harry Potter series at the urging of a friend who is a fan; I’m currently on Book Five (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix).

I never would’ve guessed I’d enjoy them as much as I have been! They are not terribly difficult reads since J. K. Rowling had a young audience in mind, and one could easily finish a book in a day or two. The world found within these stories, however, is one that’s wonderfully fleshed out and full of dynamic characters and relationships.

Small wonder, then, that there is a fairly large role-playing community within Second Life that is centered around Hogwarts, the legendary School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in which most of the Harry Potter books are set. The Hogwarts sim has the Leaky Cauldron, Hogsmeade, Wizard Alley, the school castle (of course), and even an amazing quidditch pitch on which actual games are held.

As is the case with any visually-oriented role-playing game, dressing your character is important in maintaining the authenticity of the experience. My friend Vivienne told me about Winter Moon’s Hogwarts uniforms, and they look great. Uniforms for all four Houses are included in the one pack, and includes slacks, flexi skirt w/ glitch pants, sweater, and robe w/ skirt.

To complete my avi’s Hogwarts look, I also put on a pair of grey socks and my ETD color-scripted ballet flats, and altered my shape to one more appropriate for a 4th year student. The glasses are from NeaBan and the hair is also from ETD.

I took various online quizzes to figure out which House I belong to   Want to know which House you would get sorted into? Take this quiz to find out, it’s the best one out there that I know of.  I got sorted into Ravenclaw!  😀  What’s particularly interesting about this quiz is that it not only tells you which House you should be in, it also tells you how compatible you are, in terms of percentages, with the other Houses.  I was told my next most compatible House is Hufflepuff, and after that I am equal parts Slytherin and Gryffindor.  😮

The Sorting Hat says Ravenclaw :D

The sorting hat says that I belong in Ravenclaw!

Said Ravenclaw, “We’ll teach those whose intelligence is surest.”

Ravenclaw students tend to be clever, witty, intelligent, and knowledgeable.
Notable residents include Cho Chang and Padma Patil (objects of Harry and Ron’s affections), and Luna Lovegood (daughter of The Quibbler magazine’s editor).

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created. Get Sorted Now!