Happy Holidays!

We have a winner!!

On Tuesday December 8th - I blogged about L.Fauna skins - in addition to that - for those that read, I had a contest offering one of the friend packs that I got from Launa Fauna.

I used http://www.random.org/ and got a winner!

Congratulations to EVEREST!!

Please comment on this blog post with your full SL name so I can send you your prize!

Thank you for those that commented! I do hope to do something like this again soon!

Love, Zoe

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Ice Blue

I was one of lucky ten to receive a new L.Fauna skin blogger pack. It also included two friend HUD packs that I can choose to give away to whomever I choose. So to make it a little more exciting - I want to give one to you - my readers.

How to win: Comment on this blog post before noon SLT on Friday December 11th. I will do a random selection using the same website http://www.random.org/ and will announce the winner and send the HUD along with instructions in-world.

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The Launa Fauna brand, "Chai," is now going in a new direction and with it a new name: L.Fauna. Fauna indicated that she needed a new beginning saying in a note card that the new name, "...a great way to inject new enthusiasm into my work..." She has spent three months working on these skins and plans to release more faces in the future.

Launa is also releasing a 50L skin part of "50L Friday" - be sure to swing by on Friday to get your copy. I really like the face on the skin and think you will too. And of course on top of this I had to mix the skin in my typical style mix that I'm calling, "Ice Blue."

Inspiration - Launa Fauna's newest skin line called L.Fauna

I really didn't know what I felt like blogging - was going to do a full out snow sweater thing then went in a fully different direction picking out a red blazer with this skirt both by Madsy. And ended up pulling the blazer but sticking with the skirt. I found out about Madsy due to Dango Jewel's blog and had picked up a few things from the store including the Peplum skirt in black - shown here in a simplified version by not including the system skirt portion.

I love the high waist of the skirt which encouraged me to pull out one of my favorite tops from LeLutka's summer collection - the Louise shirt in Dark Blue. There are many shades of the Louise shirt to suit anyone's style and I absolutely love all of them. It is one of my face of all time pieces that LeLutka has released. And who needs sweaters in a virtual world? Besides - if one went out clubbing in the middle of winter - I doubt they would wear a bulky sweater.

Going on a hotter than colder look meant for me to toss away the boots and pull out a new sexy heels from Kalnins. The Orchid heels are HUD scripted to allow many different straps, heel, and nail combinations. Along with skin tinting, lighting, and resize options. Probably not "the" easiest color hud option in the world but using the presets I didn't have too difficult of a time getting a decent match on the skin. I would LOVE to have more color control options with the shoes but there a decent selection that any fashionista can have fun mixing with.

I knew I had to go edgy with the hair and had to pull out one of the newest lamb creations called Ghost. Lamb always puts out new and inventive styles. If you're not one for the long pony she also has the Witch style which is the same but with a bun in back instead for more of an "up-do."

I then pulled out some pieces that Bella Bombast of Uzuri gave me recently. She had contacted me awhile ago with some jewelry saying she liked my blog. I did my investigation, so to speak, on her store and ended up buying more items. She does more ethnic styles of jewelry that I adored. I do hope to blog more of her pieces but again - I have to fit it with the style and ended up choosing both her Dalya earrings and Chifu ring. Both pieces are in Turquoise but due to wanting to match with the shoes and not able to change the color of the shoes to match the Turquoise I instead modded the jewelry with a tint of blue to match more with the shoes. And even if you don't agree with me - least I know gold and silver CAN be put together if a designer chooses to, rule or no rule.

One thing about designing in general - least with fashion and also home decor - is that it doesn't have to be exact exact - so long as it fits in the family of colors. Thus why I feel like this outfit works with the slight tonational difference between the shirt and accessories.

Last but not least - I'm always on the look out for new eyes that capture my fancy. One that caught my eye is this Baiastice creation of the 3rd series in Ice on Purple. Keeps in tone of the make-up of the skin to really make the eyes pop and still works in the hues of blue.

So there you have it!

I hope to see your comments and good luck!!

Love, Zoe

Dreams really do come true... (personal post)

In high school I never knew really what I wanted to be when I grew up. I ended up going to a college presentation on journalism and fell in love hearing about the magazine aspect of journalism - thus I majored originally in journalism but wanted to be more on the creative side rather than the business side of producing a magazine. This led me to follow my heart towards graphic design, which is what I stuck with for the remainder of my education.

Being a part of Second Life, I continue to push myself to learn my creative self through photography and product advertising. Not too long after I started shopping I found the Second Style magazine kiosk outside of ETD. I was hooked checking out every issue and personally criticizing poor ads graphic design skill. I really wanted to see better ads in magazines. Thus utilizing what I learned in school I wanted to apply into SL and thus I opened my personal photography/modeling/graphic design business called Z...complete.

A lot of opportunities came my way. Some I took and some I passed up mainly due to my time being limited. Part of me has always been interested in magazines, thus I joined the Aspire team as Art Director but found myself a bit burnt due to circumstances beyond my control. I then teamed up with ROLE magazine as fashion spread photographer. I really enjoyed working on the spreads month to month. I really put my heart into my pictures and I do hope that it showed. However, recently ROLE ended with the closing of the magazine. It is still a little bitter sweet, but like all things - when one door closes, another door opens.

Felicity whom I had been friends with after working with her in ROLE gave me an opportunity to do Second Style's December fashion spread based on New Years Eve. This is very full circle for me, as back in 2007 I actually was hired on by Second Style to be the photo editor. The only thing was it also happened to be a very critical time in my RL as well - thus the position never took off. So doing this spread really means a lot more to me than just doing pictures. And when Felicity told me that my picture was also to be on the cover - well all I can say is that it really is a dream come true for me.

Click here to check out the December Issue of Second Style

Thank you Felicity and Second Style!

Paper Couture - Coming Soon

Coming Soon, originally uploaded by Paper Couture.

I am drooling already and though you probably know I figured I'd blog it anyway :)

Zoe's Quick Pick - Artilleri

Yay for warm cozy sweaters!

I visited Winterstock today and fell in love with Artilleri's Marius knit sweaters! Thus they earn my Quick Pick!

(shown in all 6 available colors - includes Male & Female belly attachments - displayed with green color in above picture)

Winterstock is open now to January 3rd

CLICK HERE for a slurl to Winterstock

You can also pick up Artilleri's Winterstock unisex sweater for free along with other extremely cute items!

Enjoy!!

Love,

Zoe

Content Theft in Second Life

There are major pushes today to help bring awareness both to residents of Second Life and also to Linden Labs about content theft.

The two major groups asking for awareness especially today are The Artist's Voice and the Step Up campaign.

The Artist's Voice:

Beginning this Thursday, November 5th, the Artist's Voice group will be encouraging the community to STOP buying, selling, uploading, shopping, creating, and blogging in SL for 48 hours! Artist's Voice is a group dedicated to transparency and awareness of content theft.

The effect of this protest can be huge. Linden Labs indirectly receives a portion of all sales, because $L are more expensive to purchase than they are to sell back. They also make a huge amount every day on upload fees. If enough people band together for 48 hours and stopped all transactions, it would send a clear message that we will no longer tolerate content theft. We need your help, though, since this will only work if we all work together!

Please, from November 5th through the 6th:
- No buying $L
- No shopping
- No uploading
- No blogging

The Step Up campaign:

Please to remember the 5th of November - it's Step UP! Day!!!!

One of the ways we want to show our strength is by holding Step UP! Day on November 5th.

On that day, we will show our commitment to the campaign through the ribbons, through the boycott of uploads and through celebrations. So plan for your Step UP! party or other event.

Remember the boycott!

On November 5th we also demonstrate our commitment by NOT uploading anything to the grid. Let's send a message to Linden Lab that we've had ENOUGH content theft!

It is a big deal.

I encourage everyone to learn more about both of these pushes today regarding content theft in our SL community.

My two cents:

Not only does it effect the community but it also effects the livelihood of those taking the time to create, sell, and earn a living off of virtual creations for us to enjoy. Am I jealous of their earning potential? Yes, I am at times but I know that I am not putting in the hours behind the work either and that I have a choice to buy or not to buy what they make. I also have the freedom to say if I feel like their asking for too much or too little linden for their items but again - that is my choice and freedom.

Theft just to have a hairstyle or pair of shoes is not right. It isn't allowed in RL and that should be followed the same in SL. Just because it is virtual does not make it "a game" - it is still time and the prices for these items do not cost us what it would in RL because it is virtual.

Another Point of View:

Sasy's blog called SasyPants. Today she writes about her experiences dealing with content theft with the brand, Maitreya. Please read her blog post titled, "I stepped down".

Please take content theft seriously. It can ruin our virtual world.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Chill in the air, originally uploaded by Zoe Demar.

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Farm Chic

My parents were both born and raised on a farm. I always had adored my grandparents farm when my family visited when I was young. They have since passed and my family has been renting out both the farm and the farmhouse. The renters left and last year my parents decided to bury the farmhouse into the ground after no renters could be found. We were able to save items that could be sold or reused. It was a really sad day for all of us, but at least I still have my memories. This blog post is the inspiration of this outfit as well as the picture that I took while visiting the 6pi sim. (6pi sim slurl)

It all started with a visit to Aoharu after I saw this new shirt jacket released. It also gave me a good opportunity to show off the new Tres Blah skins. I'm a big fan of both designer's creations. I'm happy to see Tres Blah creating under her old brand again and trying her hand at skins.

I didn't want to keep the top to some white tank, but wanted a tank kinda feel - I went with an oldie but goodie from Canimal with the hearts tank. I really think it gives some more personality to the style.

Originally I was thinking some sort of khaki trouser but ended up going back to jeans. I've blogged quite a few different jeans so I decided to go shopping and pick up the garage jeans by League. My grandfather was quite the mechanic so having something named garage jeans seemed like a good tribute to him.

The boots I picked up recently from J's - along with his cowboy boots - I'm really impressed with the quality of the boots and range of colors. I honestly couldn't decide on a color so went with the fatpack - which is all scripted into the boot so you don't have to put on different boots in every color and it helps save on my inventory count too!

To add my touch of whimsy, which is something I try to do with every look, was with another purchase from Reek. The firefly jar comes in two versions - one for your hand and one you can put in your house as a night light.

To pair up to the skin I decided to deviate from my shape and pull out one that I worked with on the Skin/Shape Expo. It is the Paris shape by Leafy and I really liked how it looks youthful but sophisticated with the Tres Blah skin.

The Final touches I added was eyes from Exodi's Zbilja collection - definitely my current fave eyes - they have a lot of depth in them which I adore for my photography. And the hair by Miel that is an up-do but with a lot of little fly away hairs that really give it a natural breezy feel.

I hope you enjoy my Farm Chic look!

Love,

Zoe

Second Personal Tribute to Ginny Talamasca by Zoe Demar

Before the brand of Last Call came about, the creations of Ginny Talamasca was under the brand name of Dazzle.

It certainly dazzled the likes of me and my friends. The store was HUGE and full of creations. This was the time before sculpties and included a mix of both flexi and non-flexi options. Dazzle is where I first became a fan of Ginny's back in 2006. Some of these creations pictured were limited editions. Note that I decided to include some outfits in multiple layer or skirt forms.

(if this image does not animate - please click through to my flickr page to view)

With this tribute to Ginny - I really want to take a moment to thank all the designers that really strive to be themselves and make Second Life what it is today. It is a lot of work, frustration, and joy that I believe most creators go through. Keep up the good work!

Love,

Zoe

A Personal Tribute to Ginny Talamasca by Zoe Demar

Of all the designers on the grid, one stood out above the rest. As I work towards my first clothing line release this fall I decided to look for inspiration from one of my favorite SL designers of all time, Ginny Talamasca. Though it is sad that she is no longer with us - we can still look back upon her high quality and creative designs.

Tonight I took time to go through my inventory and take a picture every piece of Last Call and of Dazzle brands. I compiled them into photoshop and created the following gif to share with the world of my personal collection. Not every color was photographed - some had some SL technical difficulties. As of this post I have only completed the Last Call items.

I think viewers will find that not only was Ginny extremely talented but many of the pieces that are now years old can still hold up to designs created in-world today.

(if this image does not animate - please click through to my flickr page to view)

I hope to have my Dazzle collection to view soon so be sure to check back.

Enjoy!

Love,

Zoe

Zoe's Quick Pick Rebel Hope

Zoe's Quick Pick Rebel Hope, originally uploaded by Zoe Demar.

This gown is stunning! Nuff said!

Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar in Black Rock

I've been wanting to do something a bit more wild - which I know I could be more but I think having ripped fishnet stockings and some chunky heeled boots is about where I wanted to go with this look. I try to keep things sexy but with a more glam side to it than all out dirrrty.

The main inspiration is the black mini-skirt by Kyoot. I like fashion items that choose something classic like a mini-skirt, then twist it up a bit to make it new. The cut in the front along with the textures makes it a bit more unique and harder to style a top with.

It took me a little bit of time to find something that I really liked with it - I'm sure there are many items that can work but I really liked how the top from Celestial Studios Aphrodixia top pulled together. It isn't pictured here but I thought the back worked out nicely too.

The biker boots by Redgrave was an easy choice for me to use and paired up with the seamed fishnet stockings by Blowpop really hit the mark. I love that Blowpop includes both a torn version and normal version of the stockings to really change the style one might go for depending upon the outfit of choice.

After having the majority of the outfit pulled together, I thought it felt a bit too light on top. I knew I had been wanting to blog something from Aoharu for awhile and decided to pull out the short jean jacket that I bought a little while ago. Paired with the mini-skirt, I really like how the mini-jacket balances the overall look and adds some dimension.

To accessorize, I kept it light but adding a matching bracelet and necklace from Aluinn. I have been a fan of the Y-necklace style and consider it a classic look. I really like the medallion design that Bratty of Aluinn used in these pieces.

As far as skin, it was easy to go with the newest skin from LeLutka's Eclat line. I really wasn't too fond of the lighter skins eyebrows but had seen the darker skins in the ads that caught my eye. I didn't pick up a fatpack but rather just one in a more dramatic eye make-up.

The eyes I picked up from Tres Blah - along with one of her new skins which I hope to blog about with another look.

To top of an finish the look, I decided to go with the Single Lady hairstyle by Exile. I couldn't decide between the black or brown shades so picked up both but choose to stick with mink for the highlights. I do however wish he would change up his textures a little bit but that's just a personal opinion. I especially like this hair using a hair base which is an included option with the LeLutka skin.

Enjoy!

Love,

Zoe

--please note that all pictures are unedited other than piecing them together into my layout--

ZOMBIEFEST All To Benefit the Red Cross!

ZOMBIEFEST All To Benefit the Red Cross!, originally uploaded by Miabella Foxley.

Wanted to bring this to your attention - if you can afford it please go and help out.

Click HERE for Slurl

Zoe's Quick Pick MIX

There are just too many items to choose to feature only one!

Enjoy!

Love,

Zoe

Oh also want to point out that any images I blog - I do not edit any of the items - so what you see is what you get!

Skin/Shape Expo '09 is now open!!!

Booklet Cover, originally uploaded by Zoe Demar.

Skin/Shape Expo '09 is now open!!!

Hope to see you there - if you can't get in - take some time to check out this booklet I created for the expo:

http://issuu.com/zoedemar/docs/skin_and_shape_expo_09_booklet

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

A Little Bit of Zoe Demar

Here's a good opportunity to learn a little bit about me in Second Life. I thought I'd link to it since it isn't every day I talk about myself. So I'm sharing.

The fashionable Ana Lutetia has been conducting interviews and posting them onto her blog. She has posted quite a few so do a search for "interview" and have fun.

You can read the Zoe Demar Interview that was posted today.

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Shades of Red

Little bit of fall along with some elegance and a touch of whimsy.

Otherwise I'm going to let the pictures do the talking - I'm up waaaay too late :)

*note* AI (brooch) is by AlchemyImmortalis Cyannis (check out their profile for info)

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

Skin/Shape Expo '09

Skin/Shape Expo '09, originally uploaded by Zoe Demar.

If you are a skin or shape maker please contact Foxy Innis in-world for more information - Space is limited but still available!

Zoe's Quick Tip from Digit Darkes: Sculpt Rendor Settings

Find yourself taking a pic or generally just scoping what other people are wearing - but for some reason at a slight distance the sculpted object/item seems to look funky?? This happens a lot to shoes and sometimes hair that you or your friend might be wearing. Here is a cool tip that Digit Darkes gave out via note card with her sculpted heels. I've been using it ever since!

1. Enable the "Advanced" menu in your viewer if you haven't already done so by pressing following shortcuts on your keyboard: Ctrl-Alt-D for PCs or Opt-Ctrl-D for MACs

2. Select "Debug Settings" (near the bottom) from the "Advanced" menu.

3. Scroll down to "RenderVolumeLODFactor" (the list will show when you click the arrow next to the blank input field) - or copy and paste RenderVolumeLODFactor directly into the input field.

4. Set the value to 4.00, then simply close the window (DON'T press the "Reset to default" button because this will revert your new setting).

**** Please be aware that making changes to "Object Mesh Detail" in your Graphics Settings AFTER your changes in Debug Settings will make it necessary to repeat the above steps ****

Each time you install a new viewer you will have to change your settings again!

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

Zoe's Quick Pick: Bijou's Vixen Dress

I'm a big fan of the unique styles from Bijou and this Vixen dress (shown in Navy) is amazing! I love the retro feel with modern cut - esp in the skirt. Feel free to go check it out along with some other awesome new releases by Bijou!



Credits to Zobovic, Tuli, Zaara, Maitreya, & Curio - AND to to Torridwear for the poses!

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

Follow-up to Helping Hands

Back in May I asked for those that could to help out my friend, Voshie, who was going through a bit of a rough time in RL (see my previous blog post Helping Hands). It is now August and Voshie is in a much better situation. Here is a thank-you that Voshie shared today via plurk:

This note has been a long time coming and sorry that this is a 'mass' note....

I first want to say thank you from the very bottom of my heart to everyone who offered words of encouragement and support. It meant and does mean the world to me. It's funny that in a virtual world I found more caring individuals than I had around me during my time of stress. You all have touched my heart with your generous spirit, and kindness to the person behind the avi.

I wanted to get an update out there for you all so that you can hear from the horse's mouth so to speak what has happened in my life. It's hard to connect to everyone to shared similar experiences with me, encouraging me to stay strong and that this storm will pass, those who donated to the yard sale and those who gave freely. I NEVER expected the response I got from the community but am blown away, and quite honestly it makes me speechless.

A brief recap of what happened that caused me to feel like the floor fell out from under me: One day I arrived home with job applications in my hand, to my landlady/roommate standing at the door with an unhappy look. She started yelling at me that I had to pay $600 by the 1st(of june), or I would be kicked out. This was exactly 4 days before the first. Later that day she told me that she wanted me out by the 16th regardless if I had the money or not. Needless to say I was devastated.

A friend suggest putting together a yardsale to raise money to help with the move that I was obviously going to have to make. I was overwhelmed by the response I received with people giving items to me to help me raise money for my impending move. All in all, due to the generosity of people and everyone helping me stay strong, I was able to pay the landlady, and have money left over to help facilitate my move.

I am now in a different state, have found a job and place to live where I'm very happy and it was all because of you. I can't thank you enough for everything you all have done for me and I will be eternally grateful to each and every one of you.

Love, Voshie

It is nice to see how friends help out other friends in times of need. And I hope this encourages everyone to do the same for their friends. Thanks for reading and for helping when you can!

Love, Zoe

A Little Bit of Style by Zoe Demar - Early Fall!

With the rainstorm that I experienced on Sunday night, it certainly isn't surprising that I'm pulling out the trusted umbrella and thinking already of the upcoming Fall. On the news it was announced that my area experienced the coolest July of 15 years! So on that note, I present to you an early Fall (or autumn for those of the British tongue) style.

My first major inspiration for this look comes from Bax Coen's brand new release of the Prestige Boots. I have been luckily enough to be one of the first few to try them on and I can't tell you how spectacular they are!! I resisted using them until they were released. There are also a ton of accent color options to play with that they truly can go with any look. They also come in black as you should be able to see on my flickr page, considering I took plenty of pics of them for Bax.



The other major inspiration is the hair from Tiny Bird - which is the creation of Autumn Hykova. I adore this style called, "Into My Arms," and absolutely love all the bobby pins including one that you can wear in your mouth! One of my earliest college buds would wear her hair in similar styles that I really found remarkably creative - and Autumn did not let me down in SL either.

The jacket from Bijou was my next major piece of the ensemble. An older buy of mine that I have been wanting to do a style with for awhile now and I'm so excited to use it here for fall. Bijou has a wide assortment of creative styles that I love to mix and match into new looks and is a store that I have used previously in my blog post. I thought pulling the jacket from Metro outfit would really tie in the modern classic style that I tend to go for and hope that you think so too!

The "With You" top by Argrace has a really nice sculpted collar that I loved to piece together with the jacket. A lot of jackets have sculpted collars which are nice but sometimes limit what all can be worn underneath - thus I thought this combination worked brilliantly. The top typically comes with a lovely scarf but I decided to leave it out since we're not quite to winter wear yet! Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves!

Yes - a new store on the grid with a good assortment of basics is where I pulled the charcoal trousers from. I think I'm a sucker for gray pants over black because it shows off more of the texture than what you can get in black, at least in my opinion. As you might have guessed they are from Fri.day - already hitting the rumor mill of alt-doom I really don't mind it and won't over think it too much if I enjoy the creations. The store honestly reminds me a bit of Tres Blah mixed with Miabella mixed with Maitreya and a dash of the Armidi collaboration personnel. I'm not trying to help fuel the fire but do have a certain curiosity as I do feel I'm probably one of the few without another active alt - though I'm sure plenty will prove me wrong.

The umbrella from the creamshop was another easy choice. I have yet to take a picture there but I adore the sim build and a lot of the creations found there. I decided to go with the border brown style over the vinyl option due to the colors to bring in some more fall colors of brown and yellow to reflect the green in the jacket and brown in the hat.

And moving onto the hat, I had a few choices of hats that I have also been wanting to blog about but the Kyoot Army's Old Money hat won out due to the pattern, shape, and color. I love how it sits on my head in this shot. I was a bit concerned of overdoing with pattern but I really felt that it does work and that it isn't too overpowering against the metro jacket. But I'll let you decide.



For skin I ended up going back to Curio to check out more everyday styles of make-up options and decided to go with the beach pack. 6 skins for the price of 3 is a hard bargain for me to pass up but it isn't something I can afford to do on a daily basis. I ended up going with the Sundust in Light tone with the beach collection in Crude 2 make-up due to the eye-shadow. Matched up with the vintage feeling hair, green eyes, and tipped hat really gives me the feeling of mystery and allure. Typically I don't like blogging the same skin brand twice in a row but I couldn't help it and I doubt you can blame me.

I did however pick up the light green eyes from Curio as well. I loved the light green reflecting the color of the jacket to make the overall look pop. I probably will go back to buy another color eventually. Note - I do try to blog about something different that I haven't blogged before - but no guarantees - especially when it comes to eyes. Being a photographer I'm really picky about those I shoot having good eyes. I really think you can have the perfect skin and hair but if you don't have good eyes - it can spoil the shot. So a tid-bit - get a good assortment of eyes if you plan on modelling.

There you have it - my early fall (don't kill me I'm already talking about fall) lil bit of style.

Happy Trails!

Love, Zoe

A little bit of style by Zoe Demar in Summer Edge Style

Sometimes it is nice to go a bit outside the comfort zone to push your look to the edge. Not only can it be artsy but really enjoyable too. I picked up some skins at Curio recently because I wanted to do some more artsy kind of shots and wanted to put a look together a style with it. I decided to go for a bit of beauty edge.



The skin is gorgeous. I used to be a Gala wearer way back when but am happy to see Curio offering a great diversity of make-up options for everyone on the grid. With the skin in place I knew I wanted to really do something different. I chose the rainbow 2 make-up in dark because of the awesome creativity and color that makes the eyes pop!

The Cubic Effect mini skirt wrap dress has been a fave of mine for awhile - I have it in a few colors and though I know some have a hard time with the prims not fitting their shapes, I will say that it is doable!! And looks stunning!

I knew that I had to go and pick up Aoharu's Python Gladiator heels for this look. I debated between doing red or black but decided I'm more likely myself to wear the black again. Colorizing the feet of the shoes was easy with the easy to use color hud. I love the toe nail color options too!

*NOTE* As much as I love having prim toes over the SL squished flat feet, just because it matches on your screen does NOT mean it is going to match on others! This is very important if you ever get your picture taken by a photographer - be ready to take more time on either adjusting the color in game with the photographer or having to pay more for adjustment services by the photographer in photo editing.

I chose the black toenails so had to match it up with some PXL Manicure nails in black - mind you these are not prim nails, but just painted on nails via gloves. Hart of PXL has created a huge collection of nail colors and shades.

I knew I wanted to put on some form of necklace for impact and Zaara's Nizam short necklace in white put some elegance in the edge to bring out the beauty of the look. It even had a nice red rope back that I had really wanted in the look and gold to match the buckles on the shoes.

The eyes are a part of the Abyss' new male skin collection called Dave Gear - I choose blue to keep the skin the major highlight of the eyes and to keep it bright.

And last but not least is the Ceria hair by Mirone - yes I highlighted the hair yesterday in my first, "Quick Pick" - but I couldn't resist using another of her styles for this look. Though I'm not one to ever wear my hair this way in RL it doesn't hurt to wear it this way in SL. I love it!

There you have it - my summer edge look! Thanks for reading!

Love, Zoe

Zoe's Quick Pick - Mirone Hair by Miu Edman

"Zoe's Quick Pick" - these blogs will feature an item that I want to give a shout out to.

My first Quick Pick goes to Mirone by Miu Edman for her Faye hair. I love how natural of a shine she has in the texture. I look forward to the new styles that she creates!


Featured: Mirone's Faye in Apricot
Other Credits: Zoe Skin in Light/Matte Pink by Naughty Designs & Zbilja Eyes in Green by Exodi

Enjoy!

Love, Zoe

A little bit of style by Zoe Demar - Products Named Zoe

It isn't every day you have something named after you OR have a product that happens to have your name by chance by one of your fave stores.

Leah McCullough in Plurk had peeps sign up their name if they wanted her to use it when naming products for her Naive store and so I put my name in there and it was my turn on the list for one of her designs. It turned into being a very pretty feminine floral dress. But even cooler she did a collaborative effort with Mouse Mimistrobell of Dark Mouse to create matching jewelry. The cake topper was that Maitreya released new hair and one of them is named Zoe. This gave me the idea to blog stuff that had the name Zoe in it - or close to it.



To start - the inspiration is the very pretty Zoe floral dress by Naive shown in two colors. Blue on the left and Green top on the right.

Hair was the other inspiration with the brand new release of Zoe by Maitreya in Ash Blond.

One of my earliest skins are by Naughty Designs but I didn't own any of the Zoe skin line till yesterday. I picked out the Matte Pink lips skin in light. I still tend to go back to wearing Naughty skin as an old standard as it tends to fit my shape pretty well.

The matching Zoe jewelry by Mouse Mimistrobell of Dark Mouse. I decided to mix up the metals like she does in the bangles from the set. The pendants/gems of the earrings and necklace are color change by touch, so I mixed that up too with green and blue.

The jacket and pants (on the right) are pulled from the Zoe outfit from Icing. Miko named it after me when I won a photography contest back in 2007. That was a really cool part of the prize.


I did find some shoes named Zoe on Xstreetsl, but the Avanti Flats from Celestial Studios were too cute to pass up for the style. I picked them up awhile ago in a couple of color packs.

And last but not least, I ended up not even looking for eyes with my name but at least it has a, "Z" in the name. They are the Zbilja eyes in Green by Exodi that I also blogged with last time.




I would love to see other bloggers do this to see what they have out there in their name. Also if you are a designer with a product named, "Zoe" let me know - curious to see what all is out there!

Thanks for reading!

Love, Zoe

A little bit of style by Zoe Demar in "Not Ready for Summer, Spring"

Hello! I dunno about you but I'm not a big fan of the heat. I'm one that would like for there to be Winter, Spring, and Fall instead of any summer at all! I had fun styling again and since I couldn't sleep - I decided to put another outfit mix-up together. It all started with roaming my folder known as separates.

For awhile I have been sorting items by brands which I tend to remember more easily who created what. I used to do it more by category - IE shorts, shirts, pant outfits. But due to lack of time overall I never ended up resorting my separates' folder so I was determined to put a look together based on that. Well, maybe not the full look but at least the inspiration! The layered top is not separate layers at all, but one created layer by the extremely talented Nylon Pinkney of Nylon Outfitters. It is probably one of my MOST favorite tops of all time! I hope to bring out something similar to this when I get more time to create my own brand of clothing. Nylon is truly an inspiration of mine.



Now how to mix it up! I thought about doing some shorts, but thought nah, it can be hot in RL but doesn't have to be in SL. I brought out wool pants in gray by LeLutka to match the prim flower that comes with the top. The pants have a high enough waistline to fit nicely with the top and a wide enough pant to give the look some sophistication. I have multiple colors in this same pant to suit various needs when it comes to it. I'm sure you're all looking for the summer collection to be released and I wish I knew when but I don't - so I'm waiting with the rest of you.

Next was the gloves, which were an easy choice as I originally had started thinking about doing a mix of the Paper Couture line and kept these gloves on from the Jasmine Vest outfit. I really liked how it turned the look a bit more stylized overall due to the cut of the glove not being fully on the fingers or over the full palm.

I definitely wanted to pull out some of the newest lamb. hair that I bought at the hair fair. This one is the Unbirthday in Obsidian which donated 50% of the profits to Locks of Love! I am totally in love with lamb.! Unique styles that are truly unlike any others in SL and if there are they had to have gotten the inspiration here!

The Diamond and Rose Bouquet ring is another beauty from the Paper Couture spring 09 collection. If you look back in my blog you'll see what I big fan I am of Paper Couture jewelry. I always think you can wear it with anything and certainly make a statement! The details in this piece are astounding. The glint of the diamonds don't require any sort of glow to make it sparkle.

To bring the look together at the toe, the Paper Couture Pastel Blue Butterfly heels were a perfect fit to tie in the blue and white shades in the Nylon Outfitter's top and pull together with the overall spring feel that I wanted to achieve.

As for the skin, I've been wearing Tuli's Hope skin everywhere! But I don't like blogging the same things repeatedly. I mix it up! So I decided that I really wanted to feature the mad talent of Ryker Beck. I went to the store which btw is having a sale of 50% off where all proceeds are going to the Make A Wish Foundation. Read details HERE at the Exodi blog. I ended up picking out the Shiloh Caramel skin in Bender make-up. The pinkish color of the lips and light blue tint of eyeshadow mimics the colors that I have going on in the outfit.

Since I was at Exodi and I like donating to a cause when I can afford to, I picked up the Exodi pack of Zbilja eyes. I have hard many people talk about how great they are and will agree that I do like the glint of light in the eye, which you can see in the close-up. I choose brown for two reasons. First I don't do brown often, and second I don't see brown very often.

Last but not least, I tempted myself away from my Silhouette Au Natural lashes that I used in my previous mix blog post and selected the combed style instead. I'm not a pro at fitting lashes but felt I did a pretty good job. They're a bit more wild of lashes, but still liked them with the look to be natural but glam.



There you have it - my Not Ready for Summer, Spring style. I hope you enjoy!

Love, Zoe

Tillie's Posing Stand

Tillie's Posing Stand, originally uploaded by Zoe Demar.

I've been using Tillie's posing stand for over a year! I will tell you that I was not hired by Tillie to create this image, nor was I asked to blog about it. I'm just a big fan and do constantly use it!

It works by placing the stand upon the ground and attaching a HUD which appears on the upper left of the screen - some of the newest features found in 2.0 allows you shrink the hud until you click on it to use it again. I tend to never take it off and use it for all of my photography needs.

The other great thing is that you get updates for life and it is also copyable so I can have various poses in 1 stand or have multiple ones laying around. Seriously look into this for yourself.

You can find Tillie's pose stand on XStreetSL XStreetSL or in-world HERE

Love, Zoe

A little bit of style by Zoe Demar in Casual Layers

I keep hearing about people trying to get into the hair fair. I have been pretty lucky about my timing and did make my rounds but for those of you that might still need to wait a few more I encourage you to hit up some of your old haunts.

Instead of using one of the new hairs at the fair I decided to mix it up with another hair fave place of mine, Zero Style. When I stopped by the store I saw a couple of new hairs including the one that inspired the following casual layered look.



The inspiration - the lovely long layers of Zero Style's Camille in Dark Chocolate. I think I've been more into bangs recently, but really enjoy how Zero Style utilizes flexi which increases the amount of play you can have when wandering the grid or taking a fun snapshot.

I knew that for the next item I wanted to pull something from Leah's store, Naive. She's not new new to the fashion world. I first got to know her through her photography. Though she still is taking pics, she has turned her creativity to virtual fashion and has a good selection of a mix of styles for both the guys and the gals. I really liked the textured in the jeans along with the length of the capri, perfect for a casual summer day.

I knew I wanted to keep the overall look simple and searched a bit through my clothing collection and found this gray t-shirt from Cyanide. Another new to the scene designer known more for her poses has made a stamp by releasing quite a collection of sexy tops in numerous amounts of transparency and colors.

The Ayumi waistcoat that I'm calling a vest here for easy communication was an easy choice to add another element to jazz up the look a bit and add some unexpected color. The red pulls out a bit from the shoes, hoodie, and lunchbox ensemble. I personally don't have a lot of experience with Ayumi but the quality of the vest does make me want to go check it out for more.

With the top taken care of, I knew I wanted to throw in a new style of whimsy that has been used in Second Life with the creation of sculpties. You might see the a more well known and similar style at Coco's, but this wrap around hoodie creation has been in my inventory long before from Sey. The designer, risey Arai, is Japanese. I discovered it randomly when I was exploring. Its a scripted piece that has 9 different colored checkered textures - great for mixing up your looks. I haven't been back to the store for awhile but putting this together - be sure I will be stopping back soon. If I remember right they also do hair. And I'm also going to do something a little nontraditional of my blog posts and will link to their blog HERE because I know they might be harder to find.

At this point I felt pretty good about the look and it was an easy choice to pull these Hoorenbeek shoes called Samoa from my inventory. I'm amazed at the amount of detail one can get from sculpts AND textures - especially in the "shoe" designer department. The amount of realism fathoms me. Though I might be a little off-put about the close tie of using the "real life" logos, he is changing it up enough to avoid infringement to my knowledge. a side-note: I'm fascinated by copyrights - and am always learning.

Another old piece in my inventory - is this cute lunchbox from Miau Haus. Creative humor in creations goes a LONG way with me. I couldn't resist having a chick stuffed between slices of bread - perfect for any neko's lunch.

The eyes in Predawn were a very easy choice for me from Miriel - and I recommend you head to her store soon as she will be closing up shop any day now. I was saddened to hear the news, but it has to be expected with people or items in SL as things change and people move to different roads. I do wish her luck and hope that you do have the opportunity to pick up a few items from her jewelry, hair, shapes, and eyes.



Now I needed to choose a skin, and so I wanted to go with something very new to the grid. The designer isn't new but the skins are as they're to be released TODAY! Annyka Bekkers of Blowpop has some mad skills. What I like about her new skins is that each "line" has their own personality. I chose her Elizabeth skin due to the freckle love. And though you'll see this skin has reddish eyebrows I like mixing it up with darker hair. I probably would choose another to do a close-up with but I don't like limiting skin with my various chair colors and styles.

Last but not least is the icing on the cake. I'm not sure who brought in the idea of prim lashes first to SL. I think the first place I saw them was from Celestial Studios, but my has it evolved to be a must have for many in SL. I know for my modeling and photography it is a must have as it really helps make the eyes pop. I've picked up a good selection of lashes from here and there but when Carissa Crimson decided to put her out I was very curious to see what would come from it. I must say that I've really fallen in love with the au natural lash style that she released. She does have other styles as well that you should check out and see what your fave style fits your personality as I don't think you'll be disappointed.

PS - POSE BY TORRIDWEAR :)

That wraps up the layers of casual style. I hope you enjoy and can add some new places to your repertoire of fashion.

Love, Zoe

Are you Drooling over the Hair Fair yet??

I know that I'm not the only one gaga over hair and many are anxiously awaiting the hair fair sim to open to the public with me! It appears that the participating hair designers have also stepped up their game by offering numerous hair pieces to choose from. I received demos yesterday from Refuge (so cute!) and I know KMADD has demos out at their store. Others have been releasing teaser pictures such as the recent one today from Maitreya. I think out of everything in SL I'm the biggest nut when it comes to hair and typically buy in packs since I need different looks constantly for my photography/modeling.

One BIG thing that I do want to add in here is to not forget that asides from great hair - the great cause of Locks of Love which the creators are donating some of the proceeds towards. Maitreya quoted on their blog, "50% of the sales will go to Locks of Love for the duration of the fair." So do be generous and look for how the vendors are donating. I personally have been thinking about growing out my RL hair to donate to the cause. I know there are certain rules to the hair, so if there is anyone thinking about it like I am you can go to the Locks of Love website HERE.

In honor of the hair fair I'm going to share some of my favorites of 2009 that I also submitted into the Hair Fair Flickr Contest this year. Congrats to the winners that were posted yesterday on the official hair fair blog HERE. It was really nice to do random pictures showcasing a few of my favorite sims along with it.

Exile's Love Story


Zero Style's Dana


Maitreya's Yasmin


Aden's Autumn II & Maddesigns' Cruz


ETD's Sarah


Abyss' Opium


Truth's Thalia 2


Argrace's Hunting Natural Wavy


LeLutka's Grace


Lamb's Cherry


Last but not least in any means as it is the biggest hair I have ever seen in-world!

Curio Obscura's Rococo Fantastico Hairstyle v1.1


I hope you enjoy having a good time at the fair - and remember to reduce your Avatar Rendering Cost to have a less lag experience! see my blog post here about ARC

<3 Zoe

Helping Hands

A lot of people donate to causes, helping fund a risky surgery, and sometimes to fixing laptops.

This one is about being evicted from a place that they live because they can't currently afford to pay rent and is getting kicked out whether she can pay it or not. It happens unfortunately to people everyday especially in these economic times. Sometimes I'm not able to help but this time I can and I hope that you will to!

I've known Voshie Paine for a very long time - she is very active in the fashion community and is always trying to include those that might not always fit in the mainstream scene.

I support her and am asking for your help. There is a yard sale that friends have created in order to help Voshie out. You can check it out here!

ALSO If you would like to donate an item - (trust me she has a lot there already) - feel free to IM Voshie Paine in world.

I will post an update when there is more news!

Thanks for reading,

<3 Zoe

Zoe's Spot - the single!

With Fashion Blogger's Appreciation week I was inspired to pull out a jacket that I designed ages ago, put on the finishing touches and actually give it out. Then I was approached yesterday by one of these bloggers, Suri Alex, asking where it is for sale and how much for. She will be blogging about it on Monday here at Suri Alex Style. So I have set it up to be sold to the public via the Latexia Sim which is right next door to Alphamale's sim.

Don't expect me to put out stuff too often or to make a big store as I do what inspires me and I'm pretty anal about quality too. Thus why I hadn't put it to the public. So consider this my "single" before my debut album hits the stores.

I originally wore it in this pic that I uploaded to flickr over a year ago in this piece titled "No Place Like Home".



[Z] Leather Jacket which is inspired by one of the most fierce women in the music business, Madonna.



[Z] is the logo for my store which I am calling it Zoe's Spot. It can be found by this Slurl to Zoe's Spot for 225L

Thanks for reading!

Love, Zoe