Let me preface by shouting from the rooftops about how much I love Moss&Mink. This has been a love-affair since her very first release that I saw at the Fantasy Gacha Carnival almost two years ago. It was a delicious pair of fawn legs, along with a matching gacha of cute little accessories. When I bumped into the creator I literally squealed at her, exclaiming how amazing I thought her items were, and I left having added her to my friends list, but internally facepalming because I'm often super awkward, and wasn't entirely sure if she just thought I was some crazy lady. Turns out, she DOES think I'm a crazy lady, and I'm okay with that, because technically she's not wrong. However, she's not just an awesome creator, she's a fabulous friend, too. She's constantly improving on the items she's creating, seriously, all you have to do is take a look at her items and note the effort she puts in to incorporate as many tastes as she can, while staying true to her cute little brand. It has been absolutely delightful to grow with her (maybe not to the same extent as she's growing, this woman is seriously talented, and I'm almost 100% certain she's going to virtually bitch slap me for this post, but I don't care).
The items at Moss&Mink always push me a little, in a GOOD way. Part of the reason I enjoy blogging so much is because of creators like this, who make me think a little differently and push me out of my comfort zone sometimes. The creations always have the cutest little details and I'm never certain how it's best to incorporate all of the things and showcase them. so today I'm writing an essay of epic proportions to combat that I suppose! I've included a photo of just the set-up I made without my av being a photo-whore and stealing any of the spotlight (although this Evani set IS to die for, and the jeans, which are fast becoming my favourite brand of jeans, are amazingly fitted and both the sweater and the pants are beautifully textured.) and hopefully you'll be able to see the sparkles, the bubbles, the textures involved and lovingly caressed across the low-prim (and low price) mesh, the sparkles on the trellis actually sparkle (in the right windlight) and the sparkles on the wooden floor by the hot-tub actually sparkle too. There's also some cute bubbles in the jacuzzi-hot-tub thingie, and over-all I just want to squee over the cuteness and drape my avatar across all the things in an attempt at being just as adorable as these cute THINGS!
I'm not really one to get my nipples out without due cause, but this outfit just made all kinds of sense to me. It's a little bit naughty and a lot fantastic... and I feel like maybe I'm missing some of that fantastical stuffs lately, and with the fantasy gacha carnival thingies going on, sometimes regular posts can look a little bland.
This look shows more items from the Y2K round of Rewind, and I'm absolutely loving the ErschxOppa set (There are earrings and a necklace not shown, too).
It's a gacha and it's so different that as soon as it popped up I just KNEW it was going to be fun to photograph. As usual, my anxious little brain has been whirring with ideas surrounding the items, and finally I settled upon this. Tada!
I'm always slightly wary of wearing skins that aren't my RL race. I'm almost literally the whitest white girl in the history of white people. I've been bought up in the most white-collar, English way possible for my generation, and I am mostly pretty ignorant to the struggles of many other races. The last thing on my mind is making people uncomfortable or awkward because of a way that I portray an item, and I really hope that I do justice to the skins and pretties that I find across the grid. If you choose to look at this post, or any of my posts for any reason, just know that I am attempting to make art, regardless of race, colour, gender stereotypes or roles. I want so badly to bridge ALL the gaps and have a world where nothing matters except lifting people up and making others happy, but not at the expense of ourselves... but I know realistically this is just a dream for how the world works right now.
That being said, this skin is truly beautiful, as are all the items portrayed in today's post. I am absolutely thrilled with the outcome of the photograph, and only hope you enjoy what I have bought you. xoxo
So if you're not aware there's a "Rewind" event going on at the moment, and the theme is Y2K.
Initially, I was sorta kinda wary about this for no other reason than sometimes it's really difficult to keep the theme relevant in a blog post, and I really, really like to try and make my pictures tell a story that is relevant. I'm kinda anally retentive like that. *nod nods*
This Outfit from Miss Chelsea made my heart fill with happy. As always, the quality is outstanding. I absolutely LOVE the capri-style pants, all the pockets, the wrinkly elasticated bottoms, everything screams to me as something that late-teen RL Pickle would wear. Also, the necktie, SO spot on for the Y2K theme, and as soon as I'd paired it with the Beusy hair, and Semller Socks & Shoes, I was screaming "OMG I'M A SKATER GIRL" and it all finally came together.
I was never very good at skate-boarding. My brothers had a couple of those tiny little mini-skateboard things (i'm sure they have a name, but no idea what they are), and I remember falling off it for weeks and finally giving up and watching them do some simple tricks, moping.
This definitely gave me Avril Lavigne vibes, and I know the song is a little later than Y2K, but not so much you'll hate me for it, I hope. Poor Santi has been listening to me sing "Skater Boi" for about three hours now, so I hope it gets stuck in your heads too! :P
This is a post I've had in my head for a while, and I actually tried super hard for about 6 hours one day to make this happen, but that day my face just wasn't having it. Today, I'm surprised because this came about with ease. Sometimes it's just like that and you need to pack up and try again later.
I'm showcasing a lot more items from Fantasy Gacha Carnival, and this amazeballs tattoo is from this round of Bodyfy. Both of these events have been longstanding sponsors for my blog and I'm super proud to have them on my list.
Making this about me (because this is my blog and I can), I try to apply for stores and events that I know I will have a genuine love for. I don't apply willy-nilly to every store that pops up on my feed looking for bloggers and every time I get accepted I really see it as an honor, and I strive to showcase any product I am given honestly and in their best light - that being said, if I truly disliked any product, it would not be featured on my blog. I'm aware I'm a very lucky girl to have such wonderful store owners supporting me so that I can support them with my silly little photographs. I just hope that you, dear reader, can see the quality of the products on show, too.
However, being a "blogger" regardless of your "sponsors" or the length of time you've been doing it, is definitely a labor of love. You can't jump into blogging and expect to be given things immediately. You can't start a blog and then have ALL of your clothing, skin, hair, shape, backgrounds & accessories provided for you through the kind donations of sponsors, you actually have to purchase items. Add to that when you do manage to gain a few sponsors the fact that you will need to showcase their items, it can be quite pricey - and that's sort of where i'm leaving this. I believe the expectation is that as a blogger you get a bunch of awesome stuff for free and then you're set for SL Life because yanno, you're a bigshot! But there are SO many bloggers, so much competition and such a high expectation now, it is becoming harder and harder to stay focused, relevant and on trend.
I hope you find some pleasure in my work, because I do. Rest assured if that feeling of joy ever dissipates, I will move on, but for now and for the forseeable future this blog is going to remain a big part of who Pickle is.
The poses I've used today are from Go&See, and well, they're not ACTUALLY poses. They're very slightly animated with bento, which is amazing, because how many of you guy-things are hungry for more AO stands that don't parade you around like a hungry Lion? Yes. Exactly.
I think many guys struggle to find new, quality things to wear in SL. I'm not sure it's because there's a lack of designers, because TMD alone showcases some amazing talent, but when you are willing to actually spend time on your appearance, it's really kind of easy to find different looks. The problem I have encountered with the guys I have helped make-over, is that there is often an aura of "I can't wear that, I'll look ridiculous" when actually, with the right pairing of accessories, I don't think ANYTHING looks ridiculous in SL. It's about expression!
It's always baffled me that so many people are willing to portray themselves as something different attitude-wise, but ask them to wear something different to what they would in RL and all hell breaks loose.
On that note, InstaDoms, please stick to your shiny belt buckles, long flexi hair and master tags. If you're easy to spot, you're also easy to avoid. ♥
All of the things, Pickle :
Body, Hands & Feet : [SIGNATURE] Gianni - Mesh Body
So I'm not gonna lie, I had a whole lot more planned for the above photograph. I originally green-screened the thing, but somewhere along my process I was smart enough to make the background white, despite cutting the green out, and by the time I'd figured out I'd royally effed up it was too late. I tried to do the whole "Let's cut around this picture" thing, but honestly, i'm not mad at how this came out, so you're just gonna be kinda stuck with your bog-standard blank background postie, and rest assured that I am still trying to learn allthenewthings and do sometimes make mistakes (shh! If anyone I know finds out I said that my reputation as a hard-ass, no-nonsense perfectionist will be ruined!).
There's a bunch of cool stuff shown in this pic today, and I want to start with the Saga jewelry set. I applied to blog for this brand thinking there was absolutely no way in heck that I'd be accepted, and honestly, I am stunned and overwhelmed with the fact that I was chosen to represent them. The quality is amazing, and trust me, because I'm picky af. Not only are there amazingly intricate mesh designs, but there's also some fabulous hud colours, of both the metals and the butterfly-wings on the earrings. I can't do these justice, but I can and will shout to the high heavens about the value you are getting when you purchase these items. Seriously. The heart-hands are appropriate!
I fell in love with this set of eyes from Lotus. I blogged them yesterday, and as usual, I'm left wondering if I'll ever want to take them out of my head (Things you can only say in reference to SL, huh?), this colour specifically was perfect for me, and the toning... uggghh, again, heart hands! There are plenty to chose from, and they're available in gacha form, so they're perfect for gifting or exchanging.
The cute little knotted tee is by Miss Chelsea. It's a free group gift and comes with a 4 colour hud. Did you see what I wrote? FREE. GROUP. GIFT. Run!! Grab it, pick it up! Miss Chelsea can barely do wrong in my eyes, their mesh has always been high quality & their textures are sublime, so grab the group, grab the freebies (there's more than just this shirt on the counter!!) and make sure you stay updated so that you can be as addicted as I am!
A lot of the time, dressing casually causes me great pains, but this outfit came together surprisingly easily once I'd added the Foxy hair. Part of me always wants to fatpack Foxy, because they're another brand that I absolutely adore, and are completely on my blogger bucket list. I have watched them expand from adorable little accessories which were always must have pieces, to the mega-hair-brand they now are, and it's been wonderful to watch the progress & the following the brand has garnered.
Check out the LMs of everything, along with unedited pictures below. ♥
