Cause I’m a blond, B-L-Y-N-D!
So, I went away for a while. When I left, Mr. Oh had just started his reviews, and Catero had gone on hiatus. Now that I’m back, I see all these new guys. And they all look mighty familiar.
I became skinny goth emo boi because it seemed like every other guy in SL was big buff tan guy. But now that all I see on the blog are skinny dark-haired guys, I can’t keep it up. I gotta stand out! And if that means going for the big B, so be it.
Yeah. I’m a blond.
Once I made the choice, I had to go all the way. First came buffing up, cause without the dark hair to balance it, my weedy little body just disappeared. Next, I put on a skin, but– well, hell. All my skins go with dark hair. Black eyebrows may look good on some blonds, but I can’t hack it.
As I scanned through all my favorite skin stores, I came to realize that very few skins are made for non-brunets. Maybe it’s hard enough making the skin as it is, without adjusting for hair color too? Whatever the reason, there’s not much out there. Finding blond skins became an obsession, until I had a selection that allowed me at least as much variety as my old set.
Naughty Designs
The first skin is actually one I had lying around from my long-ago blond experiment. For Gabriel, by Lost Thereian of Naughty Designs, the overall effect is natural. The shading gives me a stronger jaw, and the minor imperfections in the skin will appeal to those who aren’t into the airbrushed-glass-doll look. Also, I really appreciate the lips. For once, I’m not wearing lipstick– and I like it!
Nothing is perfect though, not even the angel Gabriel. One real-life problem that carries over into SL is that blond eyebrows tend to blend into pale skin. This definitely decreases the dramatic effect, and makes me miss my old tradgoth skins. It’s a tradeoff, I suppose. You get an actual blond skin, you give up the benefits of the brunet.
Continuing with the natural theme, the skin highlights are subdued. I’m not a fan of the body oil look, so this makes me happy. As for the ubiquitous six-pack, I wasn’t happy about it back before I toned up my shape, but now it works just perfectly. It’s not drawn-looking, not over-the-top buff, but toned and (again) NATURAL. I very much appreciate not having every muscle fiber delineated. I’m not a bodybuilder, and Gabriel doesn’t make me look like one.
There will never be a situation where this skin looks out of place. Its versatility makes the price tag of L$1500 worth it. Along with that comes a bonus of unscripted Naughty (ahem) bits. Naughty is one of the more famous design houses out there, and I think these pictures show why.
On Aidan: Nina hair by Cay Trudeau of Skyshop HOC. Starlite Adonis Thong by Marscha Lowey of Je T’Aime (freebie!). Gabriel skin can be found at Naughty Island.
SIGNATURE
In slightly more dramatic mode comes the SIGNATURE Daniel skin by Simple Spad. The shadows are deeper with this one, the highlights brighter, and the flaws invisible. Check the thighs and knees on this one. They’re perfect. No clumsy shading, no weird smudging, just– thigh. And knee. The highlights hit perfectly, and I’m very happy to see that I don’t shave my legs. The light dusting of hair is perfect for a blond who wants to be a man without being a bear. (Back hair? That’s where I draw the line.)
And speaking of hair– OH yes. No androgyne me! Not to say that androgyny doesn’t have its place in my wardrobe, but this kind of detail is often overlooked or overdone. Not here.
All the details– belly button, nipples– are photosourced and look good. The six-pack is a little more dramatic, but again, not ripped to the point of absurdity. I’m very pleased with the collarbone as well. This skin was put together with a knowledge of anatomy, and it shows.
And the face? Well, it looks good. The eyebrow problem is solved here, though they’re a little more plucked and painted than the last skin. Again, no lipstick, which makes me happy, but nice lip shading, so I don’t turn into Kenneth Branagh.
The SIG skins run L$1500 each.
On Aidan: Serafin hair by Din Raymaker of Uncleweb Studios. Daniel skin can be found at Skutter.
Dragonfly Designs
And now, from natural to full-on ready-for-my-closeup, it’s Ridge by TOmmy Fairplay of Dragonfly Designs! The shadows here are even darker, the highlights even brighter. This is the skin they make thousand-watt facelights for. Though it looks its best in high-contrast lighting, don’t count it out.
Why’s that?
Hair.
This is the Ridge skin in Siberia with the Highwayman Soul option and guyliner. (Come on, leave me a little of my goth emo heritage.) Each skin has about thirty facial hair options, from a tiny soul patch to a stubbly full beard. You can choose whether you want your skin with or without chest hair, but whichever you choose, you’re also given the option within the box of going with or without body hair. And TOmmy didn’t take the easy way out by making it all black, or (if we’re lucky) brown, he made each skin’s hair color distinct. There’s even red! (Ryan, take note.) I agonized over which kind to get, because there were so many, and they all looked amazing. Even the soul patch, which I normally hate. I’m too shy to go begging for review copies, so this one was all I could afford, but if I had the money? Yeah, I’d get ‘em all.
The lips are a little frosty pink for my taste, but in a skin that’s this striking, the lips have got to keep up too. Besides, it’s a shade I can live with. And really, does a guy wearing eyeliner have any right to complain?
While I generally go for something a little less electrifying, there are times when I want to make an impression. Stripping down to this skin would certainly do that. It also comes with a body shape and an eyebrow cap. There’s even a matching scripted personal piece (sold separately). All in all, a handsome haul in a handsome package.
On Aidan: Double-clutch hair by Nex Brannan of Brutal Gear. Ridge skin can be found at Dragonfly Oasis.
Watch for part 2 of this review, where I go through even more skins, and show off my favorite.
A suggestion:
http://secondsoigne.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/optimising-windlight-for-avatars-20/
Hey, sweet! Thanks a lot, Ann!
Nice selection! I have the “Daniel” skin by Simple Spad, and I think the lighter tones work very well for redheads, too.
Great review, can’t wait for the 2nd part.
As a blonde since day 1, I’ve also noticed this ‘relatively’ recent trend towards skinny dark-haired emo-guys (that Abyss skin really catapaulted the dark haired look). I like the look (though it’s not ‘me’) but I totally agree that there are too many and not enough blondes (or redheads Ryan
). There are a lot of blonde girls but the same cannot be said for the blond guy.
Actually, since this has happened, I get compliments on my avatar since I now look ‘unusual’ against the background of emo-looking guys. It is definitely better if you can match the skin with the blonde hair; I’m personally not a fan of deep tans with light hair although I don’t like anaemic skin tones either with blonde (although it works for dark haired guys). So I tend to go with light tan options which work on my toned but not over-muscled slender frame (think Ryan but slightly taller and slightly more defined).
I personally like Dante from Naughty Designs (although that’s not specifically blonde in the same way that Gabriel is for instance) as the eyebrows are just a shade or two darker than my hair which often is the case with blond guys and avoids the ‘no eyebrows’ look of very light eyebrows. The other one which I liked for blonde hair is a skin from The Good Life (which I forget the name of, but it’s obvious which one when you go to their store).
Anyway, excellent work promoting us as a minority group (although I note Ryan is also a sometimes blonde).
I like your site. It seems nice.
continue ! ^^
Erwan
I shall!
Leo, thanks for the thoughtful comment. I must have missed that TGL skin, so as soon as I can, I’m going to run check it out. My review may have to stretch to 3 parts.
I originally figured I couldn’t be dark and mysterious with blond hair, but it turns out that a lot of my gothwear still looks good. And I have the option of wearing entirely white hair, which goes really well with sp00ky.
Oh, and forgot to say– if anyone has any other recs for blond skins, I’m always looking.
If I didn’t aim for the racially-ambiguous, caramel mocha latte skins, I’d be all over the blondness.
You’re welcome Aidan.
The Good Life’s skin I mentioned above is called “Aaron” and has a very nice face and a nice treasure trail, although he’s a bit more defined than I personally would have liked, although he might be just up the street of others.
I am another blond since Day One in Second Life. Initially I lucked out with the Gabriel skin and wore that for some time. I recently switched to Scorpio Revelation by The Abyss, and while the brows are not blond, do not seem overly out of place.
My requirements for skin has always been: blond, smooth chest, no oil, either no pubic hair or something that didn’t look like birds would nest there, and smooth shaved. Now THAT was impossible to find after I was hell bent on finding a new skin (I settled on Scorpio Revelation as a compromise).
I am hopeful with your thoughtful article here that you will draw attention to us blonds and perhaps persuade some skin creators that we’d like a little love too
Cheers,
Elric
Elric, shouldn’t you be an albino rather than a blonde?
j/k
I’ve been blonde to the roots (as it were) since birth, and I have grown so sewn into a now-discontinued skin from Nomine (Male Blonde 15.1 with the beard/stubble …erm…trim package) that I wear it exclusively. I prefer realistic body hair so I settle for a little too-dark layer-based upper torso and leg hair – but the blonde nomine facial hair on my skin was/is choice. Blond hair generally – head or otherwise – is hard to find in quality, too. I wear, maybe, 3 or so. Blonde hair always needs some additional transparency tweaking to look like anything but sculpted sticks of butter, to me. I hope somebody does a better blonde skin someday (with hair apparent). It might even be worth scooting my ink to fit the new nipple breadth.
One of the other advantages of having blond hair is that you can tint very light blond hair to almost any other shade you want. So if you’re on a very tight budget, you can get reds, browns, even very dark hair quite easily. It may not be as perfect as the pre-set hairs in those colours (since you’re tinting, not changing the actual textures and may lose shine to some extent) but if you’re strapped for cash, it can help expand your range of looks. Even if you don’t change the colours dramatically, you can also tint individual strands to achieve dyed effects or slight highlighting/lowlighting etc.
A skin which is designed for slightly darker hair can work with blond hair and can give that added flexibility also, so that if you choose well, you may only ever need one skin.
Get the demos, always the best way.
Leo,
Hmmn, now you have me wondering if there are some decent albino skins in SL that don’t look like death warmed over. /me chuckles.
Cheers.
What a crap looking. The actual default avatars look better. Over the ugly skin and hair, that shape look deformed.
@Deihihiho – Avatar design is a very subjective thing, and what seems extreme or unattractive to some can be beautiful to others. You are certainly welcome to your own opinion, but it is, of course, just your own opinion.
OMG are you serious? Reviewed in 2009, but that skin looks like made in Paleozoic, that level of detail (where are details?) could be achieved with a texture of 256 px of resolution. 1500L$? Rofl