Remaking My Avatar - Looking for recommendations

Ennai Lane · December 8, 2023

How do you do, fellow SL residents!

Ok, this is gonna be a long detailed post asking for recommendations so, sorry about that in advance.

I have been in second life since practically the beginning but I'm mostly a lurker who takes long hiatus and then comes back to explore the new worlds people might have created. This means I don't really have a source for the latest SL news.

I found out about mesh bodies about 2 years (I think) after they were a thing and ended up deciding on the Slink Hourglass and kept that one ever since with ocasional visits to the redelivery terminal for updates. Now I have recently found out that the creator of Slink bodies has left SL and I thought that maybe this would be a good time to remake my avatar so I decided to make my very first post here to ask for recommendations for more updated parts.

Head: I'm looking for something extremely customizable shape wise when it comes to the head. I don't really like the whole baby face with puffy lips that most creators seem to favour so I would like to be able to morph enough to change that. Also vampire fangs, definitely something that allows for fangs. What I've used before: CATWA Kathy (up to V3.2).

Body: I like wearing a lot of fantasy historical outfits which means I need a mesh body with a lot of hide-able parts. I like curvy hourglass and pear shape but I don’t really like exaggerated proportions. Also, being able to customize the shape as much as possible. What I've used before: Slink Hourglass with enhanced feet and dynamic hands.

Skin: I like mid brown tones but I have yet to find a really good skin that looks realistic (as much as possible ) with no weird pixelation on the mid tones. What I've used before: DeeTaleZ *Appliers* A.T.W. SKINS Mediterranean / DeeTaleZ "Face Tulip" Mediterranean , LURE: Rebecca Skin (Latte).

Hair: Loose curls or waves, preferably with a lot of shades of brown and pastels/multicolored/ombre options too. Preference for waist length or mid-back length and something that doesn't look super stiff. I would also love to find creators that makes different hairstyles (braids, buns, etc) that look like they go together with their loose styles. What I've used before (hair is what I changed the most so I'll give quite a few examples): EMO-tions. ALYSSA, EMO-tions ARIADNE, EMO-tions ELLENDIR, EMO-tions: MARIA, A&A Serene Hair, A&A Yahira Hair, AD - epsilon, AD - zoe, TRUTH Taja, TRUTH Sorcha, TRUTH Margarita, TRUTH Lisette, TRUTH Bloom.

Current Budget: L$15,000.00 (can be increased as I don't mind completing over time)

Hopefully there's still people in the community that frequent the forums and this post was not for nothing. Thanks in advance for the suggestions I'm hoping I get.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Ennai Lane
typo

Stephanie Misfit · December 8, 2023

For the head - Lelutka should be giving something away free for the holidays, so hold on a couple of days and you should be able to get an awesome head for nothing. Hopefully skin makers will be sharing free skins again this year too.

For the body - Reborn

For the hair - Magika, Truth and Doux

Dorientje Woller · December 8, 2023

2 hours ago, Mistress Morbid said:

For the head - Lelutka should be giving something away free for the holidays, so hold on a couple of days and you should be able to get an awesome head for nothing. Hopefully skin makers will be sharing free skins again this year too.

For the body - Reborn

For the hair - Magika, Truth and Doux

Head: Lelukta, Akeruka, Catwa Reema head, LOGO, LAQ (when the EVOX head are launched, last I have heard is early 2024) or Genus Project (although 4K skin offerings are sparse)

Body: Reborn, Legacy, Maitreya (even with the launch of the LaraX body, the previous body where there is a vast amount of gear for it is delivered with the package). All depends on the look the TP wants.

Hair: Magika, Truth, Doux, Stealthic (recently updated their packages into an new hud).

Marianne Little · December 8, 2023

6 hours ago, Ennai Lane said:

Body: I like wearing a lot of fantasy historical outfits which means I need a mesh body with a lot of hide-able parts. I like curvy hourglass and pear shape but I'm not really exaggerated proportions. Also, being able to customize the shape as much as possible. What I've used before: Slink Hourglass with enhanced feet and dynamic hands.

It is a lot of fantasy historical outfits, Victorian, princess gowns, elf clothing, tavern wench, warrior princess style etc etc clothing made only for Maitreya Lara Classic version up to 5.3.

Reborn is a good replacement for Slink Hourglass.

Reborn is rising fast in popularity and has a lot of fantasy clothes in newer releases from creators. Reborn has plenty clothes in fantasy anime, goth, Lolita etc etc style. Some of the styles can work as historical looks too, like long sleeved frilly bouses. Some of these creators is only making for Reborn and maybe Reborn+Legacy. Reborn has addons like Waifu, Juicy rolls and more for push-up and squeezy garters. I do not use Reborn and I do not want to be so curvy. I can not say anything more about those add-ons.

A week before Black Friday, Maitreya made a remake of Lara that is more smooth and has better shoulders, slimmer waist etc. This body is LaraX and clothing made for Lara Classic does not fit without using alpha cuts and alpha layers. You are used to alpha cuts, and the new LaraX has more alpha cuts than Lara Classic, so that should be okay.

LaraX has very different shoulders and upper back, down to the shoulderblades. This makes straps over the shoulders, lace over the shoulders, around the neck and upper back hard to use. Solid fabric on the back is usually not a problem. Very little is made for LaraX so far, and we are not sure if it will take over for Lara Classic. People who prefer to be slim use Lara.

But LaraX can give you a curvy look. Here is an example from another thread:

Maitreya will sell only the new LaraX from now, but Lara Classic is included, you have to wear a HUD in the folder and click to get the old classic delivery.

Then there is Legacy, that body is number 3 in popularity. Many who want curves use this.

Pick up demos for these three bodies; Maitreya, Reborn and Legacy, see how you can shape them. And then look in events like We Love Roleplay: https://weloveroleplay.weebly.com/december-2023.html

and also The Warehouse. It is not historical outfits, but you see some darker fantasy and also some Reborn/Legacy only: https://www.seraphimsl.com/2023/11/23/get-your-fill-at-the-warehouse/

You can find all events like Fameshed, in https://www.seraphimsl.com/

Edited December 8, 2023 by Marianne Little
typo

Ennai Lane · December 8, 2023

All right! Thank you @Mistress Morbid, @Dorientje Woller and @Marianne Little for the detailed suggestions so far! Will definitely be checking it all out this weekend!

Thank you specially @Marianne Little for the suggestion on where to find some fantasy clothes! 🥰

Persephone Emerald · December 8, 2023

Akeruka is free join right now, so join their group as well as Lelutka's to see when the group gift and free EvoX heads come out. Akeruka's group gift heads are usually $L 1, in June and December. Lelutka's are free, but only available for a couple of weeks.

I'm not a fan of Legacy, but I agree with Demoing Maitreya, Reborn, and Legacy. These are the 3 most popular bodies, so there will be plenty of skins and clothes for them. The Erika body looks good too, but it's harder to find clothes for it.

There are so many gifts out now, so it's a great time to check your favorite stores and the Fabulously Free and Seraphim websites for freebies. When the 12 Days of Christmas event starts, there will be free skins as well as the gift heads from Lelutka.

Most skins now need a matching body (skin layer) and head skin (tattoo layer). Ear skin tones for EvoX skins come on a Universal Tattoo layer included with the head skin or in free packs at some skin stores.

Marianne Little · December 8, 2023

1 hour ago, Ennai Lane said:

All right! Thank you @Mistress Morbid, @Dorientje Woller and @Marianne Little for the detailed suggestions so far! Will definitely be checking it all out this weekend!

Thank you specially @Marianne Little for the suggestion on where to find some fantasy clothes! 🥰

Take a look at Toksik:

I adore that store. It wasn't a Black Friday sale, so I hope for a Christmas sale, then I can go crazy and buy the whole store. It has Reborn sizes in their newer items, but make sure you demo before you buy. This store also credit other things like hair in their images. You get hair inspiration there as well.

Other stores: Random Matter, Aisling + Voluptas Virtualis, Just Because (Gowns!!! Often in a Weekend sale) Raven Bell, Lux Aeterna, Contraption (Steampunk!!!)

@Scylla Rhiadra and @Ayashe Ninetailscan suggest more vintage and fantasy clothes?

Edited December 8, 2023 by Marianne Little
added a sentence

Maitimo · December 8, 2023

8 hours ago, Ennai Lane said:

How do you do, fellow SL residents!

Ok, this is gonna be a long detailed post asking for recommendations so, sorry about that in advance.

I have been in second life since practically the beginning but I'm mostly a lurker who takes long hiatus and then comes back to explore the new worlds people might have created. This means I don't really have a source for the latest SL news.

I found out about mesh bodies about 2 years (I think) after they were a thing and ended up deciding on the Slink Hourglass and kept that one ever since with ocasional visits to the redelivery terminal for updates. Now I have recently found out that the creator of Slink bodies has left SL and I thought that maybe this would be a good time to remake my avatar so I decided to make my very first post here to ask for recommendations for more updated parts.

Head: I'm looking for something extremely customizable shape wise when it comes to the head. I don't really like the whole baby face with puffy lips that most creators seem to favour so I would like to be able to morph enough to change that. Also vampire fangs, definitely something that allows for fangs. What I've used before: CATWA Kathy (up to V3.2).

Body: I like wearing a lot of fantasy historical outfits which means I need a mesh body with a lot of hide-able parts. I like curvy hourglass and pear shape but I don’t really like exaggerated proportions. Also, being able to customize the shape as much as possible. What I've used before: Slink Hourglass with enhanced feet and dynamic hands.

Skin: I like mid brown tones but I have yet to find a really good skin that looks realistic (as much as possible ) with no weird pixelation on the mid tones. What I've used before: DeeTaleZ *Appliers* A.T.W. SKINS Mediterranean / DeeTaleZ "Face Tulip" Mediterranean , LURE: Rebecca Skin (Latte).

Hair: Loose curls or waves, preferably with a lot of shades of brown and pastels/multicolored/ombre options too. Preference for waist length or mid-back length and something that doesn't look super stiff. I would also love to find creators that makes different hairstyles (braids, buns, etc) that look like they go together with their loose styles. What I've used before (hair is what I changed the most so I'll give quite a few examples): EMO-tions. ALYSSA, EMO-tions ARIADNE, EMO-tions ELLENDIR, EMO-tions: MARIA, A&A Serene Hair, A&A Yahira Hair, AD - epsilon, AD - zoe, TRUTH Taja, TRUTH Sorcha, TRUTH Margarita, TRUTH Lisette, TRUTH Bloom.

Current Budget: L$15,000.00 (can be increased as I don't mind completing over time)

Hopefully there's still people in the community that frequent the forums and this post was not for nothing. Thanks in advance for the suggestions I'm hoping I get.

Body - Because you want fantasy/historical costume options, your current best body is Maitreya Lara 5.3. There aren't a lot of fantasy/historical options for any other body yet. With the recent launch of LaraX, this is likely to change over the next year or two but it remains to be seen whether the main body picked up by these costume creators will be Reborn, Legacy or LaraX. It'll almost certainly be one of those three. So for now, you want Maitreya 5.3 but you'll almost certaily wanting to change this in a year or two. If you dislike Maitreya and want something a little curvier, Belleza Freya is your second-best bet for now (plus its cheap), and again, upgrade to something new in a year or two. Most if not all of your Slink Hourglass outfits will likely include a fit for Freya as well. My money for the next body to get into the fantasy scene is on Reborn.

Heads - There isn't really one single head that's super versatile in terms of shape. You'll need to try every demo you can find to see what you like, and if you want lots and lots of very different head shapes, you'll be looking at purchasing more than one head to meet your differing needs. Lelutka is the leading brand, also check out AK, LAQ, Catwa and Genus (there's still a free head at Genus).

Skins - sorry I can't help with this, I haven't been skin shopping since 2018. My only advice is to shop for your skin before shopping for your head. The chosen skin will tell you what brand head you need to be looking for. Make sure it has BOM capability. Appliers are obsolete now.

Hair - MAGIKA!!! Seriously, the textures on Magika hair are amazing, theres a wide rainge of colurs including ombres and highlights. They're not cheap, but IMO worth every L$. They have a handful of braids/buns/updos but the long-and-loose styles are just gorgeous, I rarely wear anything else. Doux is worth checking out especially for the ombres/browns, but they don't have as many multi-colour choices. Exile is another one with great colour choices but wait on this brand until you decide what head you're getting. Most of them are too big to fit Lelutka heads.

Marianne Little · December 8, 2023

Wings, pick up their 2 free hair group gifts for women. One of them is a messy updo. Lovely long hairs. Can be in the weekend sales

Stealthic hair can be in weekend sales.

Truth has been in the weekend sales often. Lots of different styles.

No Match too. No match has a room full of group gifts, but some of them is old. The group is only 50L to join, so it is worth it if you see a hairstyle you like.

It is always some face skins in the weekend sales. You have to buy the body skin, but that is cheap, a few hundred L. Maitreya Lara comes with many Velour skins. Most creators who make face skins is matching them to the body skins from Velour or Not Found.

The EVO X template for face skins is what sells now. It is very different from the old face template you are used to. You have to buy skin, makeup and hairbases again. It is better quality, so I don't mind. And with your big budget, you will collect makeup fast. Especially since makeup is in the weekend sales too.

Weekend sales has made my inventory explode. I have bought much more than I need "because it is cheap". Now I try to look at it twice and think: "Do I not have lots of just that makeup style alredy".

Look for 50L Friday, Wanderlust weekend, The Saturday sale and Happy Weekend. Wanderlust weekend has much more fantasy items than the other sales. It is so many weekend sales, I concentrate on these four.

https://www.seraphimsl.com/

Ayashe Ninetails · December 8, 2023

3 hours ago, Marianne Little said:

@Scylla Rhiadra and @Ayashe Ninetailscan suggest more vintage and fantasy clothes?

Maybe. Fantasy historical is a bit vague, though combined with the request for vampire fangs, I'd assume that meant Victorian goth? Need more info. For bodies, though, she'll have far more options with Maitreya and Legacy. Reborn is a good third choice (it's gaining support in fantasy shops, but not all), but if having a wide array of elaborate costumes at her disposal is her jam, I'd choose one of the others.

10 hours ago, Ennai Lane said:

Skin: I like mid brown tones but I have yet to find a really good skin that looks realistic (as much as possible ) with no weird pixelation on the mid tones. What I've used before: DeeTaleZ *Appliers* A.T.W. SKINS Mediterranean / DeeTaleZ "Face Tulip" Mediterranean , LURE: Rebecca Skin (Latte).

A note about skins - Try Amara Beauty. I wear mid-darker brown skins (Tone 65 in Amara which I suppose is comparable to Brownie in Velour) and honestly gave up looking, as there's not much for EvoX in my preferred shade that doesn't look terrible. Amara Beauty makes pretty skins, though, and the matching body skins are free in-store, though these days I mostly opt to stay in fantasy tones from other stores. Prior to EvoX, I wore old Velour, but I wouldn't recommend that now as the entire line and tone offerings have changed. The shades are entirely different and have way too much shine.

10 hours ago, Ennai Lane said:

Head: I'm looking for something extremely customizable shape wise when it comes to the head. I don't really like the whole baby face with puffy lips that most creators seem to favour so I would like to be able to morph enough to change that. Also vampire fangs, definitely something that allows for fangs. What I've used before: CATWA Kathy (up to V3.2).

If "extremely customizable" is the requirement for the head, I'd steer clear of Lelutka and Akeruka, but that's just me. I do some very weird crap with my faces (creating odd shapes and fitting tusks and replacement tongues and changing eyes and adding lights and animated overlays to them and whatnot) and have had the best luck messing around like that with Catwa (so give their new EvoX head Reema a demo) and my favorite brand for creating unusual looks is BeSpoke. Their newer heads are EvoX and SLUV, they're all unisex so they fit on male and female bodies, and they've got plenty of options in the HUD for teeth styles and features. If you're aiming to be human or human-passing, they have a few options, but if you're looking for something more straight up fantasy vampire, they've got some fun options, there, too. They've got a new collab with Unholy for their new Murda head, which is quite creepy.

AmeliaJ08 · December 8, 2023

10 hours ago, Mistress Morbid said:

For the body - Reborn

For fantasy outfits?

I admit I'm out of the loop but I've always thought Maitreya was the safest option for a wide variety of styles, I guess Reborn growing in popularity might have changed that though.

Persephone Emerald · December 8, 2023

For fanasty-historical styles:

No.Match has some nice hairstyles, including a gift Rococo white updo at Shop & Hop. Junbug has nice gowns, mostly in classic Maitreya Lara & probably Legacy sizes.

I'm not sure if you want fantasy skin tones, but I like the ones at Nuve and Moth and Moon. Fallen Gods doesn't do EvoX from what I've seen, but if you can switch between the SLUV and the EvoX map, they have tons of fantasy skins and tattoo layers. Valour has fantasy tones too, and others are making matching head skins for theirs, but personally I'm not fond of their fantasy tones. They seem a little flat to me.

If you like crazy hairstyles and colors, Escalated has fun ones, but they are only on Marketplace now and the texture on their hair is not fine or realistic. What's fun with their hair is that the color HUDs can be used interchangeably on all their hair styles and for either streaks or different colors on each side of the head.

Akeruka, Lelutka and Genus all have at least one fantasy head with horns or other non-human appearance, but BeSpoke specializes in non-human heads.

Ayashe Ninetails · December 8, 2023

1 minute ago, AmeliaJ08 said:

For fantasy outfits?

I admit I'm out of the loop but I've always thought Maitreya was the safest option for a wide variety of styles, I guess Reborn growing in popularity might have changed that though.

A lot of fantasy designers now include Reborn in newer releases, but if you really want the entire massive collection of fantasy fashion available to you (which I definitely do - age of items doesn't matter to me as long as they're mesh and textured well and I frequently hunt down older pieces to work into my avatar designs), you'd ideally want to be in Maitreya 5.3 or Legacy.

Ayashe Ninetails · December 8, 2023

Oh, also something potentially worth mentioning on the customization front - BeSpoke heads are Modify/Copy. Whether or not that matters to you comes down to what you intend to do with it and how far you like to take your customization, of course, but it's definitely been a nice feature to mess around with.

As far as I know, Catwa, Lel, and AK heads are No Mod (someone please correct me if I'm wrong).

Marianne Little · December 8, 2023

Reborn is 2 years old. All fantasy outfits from before that time include Maitreya Lara (At least 99%). I can not remember that Hourglass was still popular. I think it was a size creators dropped, one by one. Freya sizes was still included for many creators. A few was Legacy only, but it was more who had Lara only.

I like to buy old Gacha second hand for a more special look. I have to use Lara for it.

Reborn clothes has the benefit that they are newly made. That does not necessary mean quality. Some use template mesh and retexture them sloppily.

But if one will start over and buy everything new, Reborn can be the right one for them. If they love their shape with Reborn, it is enough clothes, nails, rings, body jewelry and shoes to select from.

I think Reborn is going to stay popular. It is always going to be people who want curves.

It is not my kind of style, LaraX is more than enough curves for me. I hope it will pick up speed. It is room for it as an in-between body for those who want a bit more than thin, but not the Reborn curves.

Sparkle Bunny · December 8, 2023

My vamp girl wears Lucybody because a) she isn't inworld enough to get her money's worth out of a Reborn or Legacy and b) even if she was, there's no point spending out on a body if all you ever wear is floor-length, long-sleeved gowns and 80% of everything is getting alpha-ed out.

But if your version of 'fantasy historical' incorporates skimpier stuff than mine, go for Reborn.

Ennai Lane · December 8, 2023

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! Gonna have a full weekend trying on demos.

6 hours ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

Maybe. Fantasy historical is a bit vague, though combined with the request for vampire fangs, I'd assume that meant Victorian goth? Need more info. For bodies, though, she'll have far more options with Maitreya and Legacy. Reborn is a good third choice (it's gaining support in fantasy shops, but not all), but if having a wide array of elaborate costumes at her disposal is her jam, I'd choose one of the others.

I guess I could have been a bit more specific but the post was already really long. Yes, victorian goth but also medieval fantasy, regency, roaring 20s, I made a really cool deep sea mermaid, etc. I also did not mean to imply that I only wear fantasy outfits. I had a lot of modern outfits too but, since most were fitted for the slink body, I pretty much figured I'd have to start that side from scratch. It was the historical/fantasy ones I was hoping to keep as much as possible because I've always had a hard time finding the kind of outfits I like but it seems I'm gonna have to give up quite a few since I just learned creators are moving away from appliers. I am hopeful however because there are a lot of suggestions for fantasy outfits that I had never heard of before so maybe it won't be as hard as I thought .

So again, thank you everyone! I'm excited to start!

Edited December 8, 2023 by Ennai Lane

Ayashe Ninetails · December 8, 2023

2 minutes ago, Ennai Lane said:

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! Gonna have a full weekend trying on demos.

I guess I could have been a bit more specific but the post was already really long. Yes, victorian goth but also medieval fantasy, regency, I made a really cool deep sea mermaid, etc. I also did not mean to imply that I only wear fantasy outfits. I had a lot of modern outfits too but, since most were fitted for the slink body, I pretty much figured I'd have to start that side from scratch. It was the historical/fantasy ones I was hoping to keep as much as possible because I've always had a hard time finding the kind of outfits I like but it seems I'm gonna have to give up quite a few since I just learned creators are moving away from appliers. I am hopeful however because there are a lot of suggestions for fantasy outfits that I had never heard of before so maybe it won't be as hard as I thought .

So again, thank you everyone! I'm excited to start!

Okay, that helps a bit! Give these stores a try (I'll include links to their Flickr accounts if they have them so you can see what they offer):

A mix of fantasy/medieval/Victorian/Steam/goth clothing, costumes, & accessories:

Belle Epoque