If you’ve followed my posts at all, you’ve probably noticed a marked lack of mermaid posts, and there’s a reason for that: For several months all terrain underwater looked black, which made for really ugly pictures.

But, I figured it (enable moon and sun.. as if that even makes sense), and now I can see lovely underwater textures again, yay!

The first thing I did was go to Aenigma to see if there was anymore cool stauff there, and yes! Score! There are a couple more freebies for us merfolk!

Stop by and pick up a little tail at aeNigma today.

• aeNigma:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vernian%20Deep/23/172/7

Although her given name was really Timorra, everyone called her “Tim” for short.

On Tim:

• Wild Thing jacket from MiaMai (subscribe gift):  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Amat/41/227/24
• Scarf from Clematis (in-shop gift):  http://slurl.com/secondlife/StormWind/90/51/548
• Hat Hair from Iren (past hunt gift): http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hi5/164/207/29
• Skin from House of Ruin:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aurora%20Vale/17/87/454
• Pants from Nomine:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Nomine/203/50/49
• Eyes from Exodi:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Exodi/130/146/1002

Looking for a little holiday glam?

A simple white gown can be a knockout with the right accessories. Pair the Understatement Gown from Wishbox with the Noel set from PERTURB/ation, and people will notice the quiet statement that demands attention.

If you’re looking for a.. well.. a darker look, you can’t go wrong with Periapsis, a PERTURB/ation group gift from a while back.

Periapsis, against a wild backdrop of a hairstyle from Helena Stringer and wow! You’ll make a statement they’ll never forget.

Christmas Beute Gown is beautiful, and it’s from My Precious, a generous gift (only 1L$!) from designer Agnes Finney.

• PERTURB/ation:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/StormWind/81/60/25
• My Precious:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Agnes%20Finney/226/129/490

Are you looking for a little holiday colour as we wind down 2009?

Crystal Queen has this very festive paints suit for you for the unbelievable low price of only 15L$. Touch the subscribo while you’re there to hear of other great deals ahead of the rest of the crowd to avoid the inevitable lag.

Whether delivering or receiving Christmas gifts, you’ll look adorable sitting beside the tree in this cute elven set from Nushru. This was delivered to subscribo members a few days ago, so I’m not sure if it’s still available. Don’t miss out on future deals though, go to Nushru and join the subscribe or in world group today!

I’ve been a fan of JetDoll clothing since my first stop there. The clothes to be found here are truly representative of another, more innocent, era.

This wonderful flounced mermaid gown was a recent MM board prize.. and it’s a gown that makes you feel like a girl with it’s curves-hugging sheath-style dress and spill of ruffles down the front.

The MM board changes frequently, so don’t be shy: Stop by JetDoll today and see what’s on the board.

If you’re looking for a fantasy gown, Kouse’s Sanctum has just what you’re looking for. The Advent Calendar in the shop is filled with beautiful gowns in the colours associated with the holidays. All of the gowns already revealed on the calendar are still available, so stop by and stock up.. you won’t get another opportunity like this!

• Crystal Queendom:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/River%20Island/129/174/734
• Nushru:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cherry%20Park/234/219/803
• JetDoll:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bangu/100/65/1005
• Kouse’s Sanctum:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Avilion%20Vale/74/76/41

Hawk got lucky with the lucky chair at Black Atellier today and got a sort of goth-gone-hooker outfit, and doesn’t Hawkreloo (on the left) look hawt in it?

The dress is called Alice, and your significant other will love how this dress makes you look like you’ll do anything for the right price.

Shangreloo is wearing the Crazy Jane dress, which is so cute with the red Buckled Up Ankle Boots from Jazmyn D. The Crazy Jane dress can be found in Black Atellier, just look for a star (you might try looking near the lucky chairs), click it, and the dress is yours.

The boots were free to the first 10 people who got there to purchase them, gotta watch those notecards and act fast when you get them!

Happy Hunting!

• Black Atellier:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Kitaro/216/236/51
• Jazmyn D:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Travelers%20Island/51/220/24

Although it’s cold here in northwest Florida, we can choose the climate we want in Second Life. Coming from the northeastern US (nope, I’m not a native florida girl), it just doesn’t seem like Christmas to me if there isn’t snow on the ground.

But that doesn’t mean I need to freeze (even in the northeast), and the fashions I’m showing in this post are definitely hot.

Above is one of the gifts from Blacklace. There are two gift boxes in the shop, and one is filled with several gifts, including loungerie and those famously infamous Blacklace pants.

The fresh, “just in from playing in the snow” skin is from the GeEs Scandinavian line that I’m wearing almost exclusively lately. I love this line of skins! Hairstyle is from Calico Ingman Creations, and comes with the lights which are so much fun, and colour change. You can wear this style after the holidays too, because the lights can be taken off with a simple click of your mouse.

Still in the pink, the pretty ensemble shown above is one of the many, many wonderful gifts being showered upon visitors to Ho Wear. Stop by and pick them up while you still can.

The backdrop is an absolutely perfect waterfall setting from Pocket Gardens. The Castalia waterfall is so versatile. It comes in three sizes with a varying number of prims, and the flowers are colour change via menu. Also included are a hedge prim and alpha ground cover so that everything blends smoothly and seamlessly into your land (or skybox).

Above is one of the other gifts from Blacklace, while Hawk is showing us the December gift from Vitamen.

The green chaise is from Diesel Works, and it’s so versatile. This chaise is loaded with a ton of great poses. Hawk took a turn in the photographers chair (included) and played with it a while, and his comments were, in order, “Wow!” followed immediately by “Lot’s of poses!” (with an accompanying smile).

SD Wears has this sexy number as its prize in the Urban Shopper Candy Cane Hunt which runs through 31 December. It’s not a difficult hunt, and there are some really nice prizes.. so don’t miss it!

• Blacklace:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Alphamale/130/124/41
• Calico Ingman Creations:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Calico%20Kitty/56/54/21
• GeEs:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Four%20Our%20Hope/95/116/1001
• Pocket Gardens:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Milyang/28/14/701
• Ho Wear:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/GoldenBusinessArea5/159/205/22
• Diesel Works (new location):  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Brooklyn/125/182/503
• Vitamen:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Japarid/112/111/25
• SD Wears:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dubya%20City/31/127/25

If you haven’t heard the big news already, Ho Wear is giving a us a ton of fabulous clothes for Christmas.

Stop by and pick up your gifts today; you’ll find them in the same area that the freebie of the day is normally found. Be prepared for some pretty impressive lag, and please be patient while your gifts are delivered to you.

• Ho Wear:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/GoldenBusinessArea5/159/205/22

Also shown above is skin from ti’ko, hair from Calico Ingman Creations, and eyes from Vanilla C Designs.

Why do real life artists have such a hard time making a living in Second Life?

Well, a big part of the problem is theft of copyrighted images.

Recently I entered a contest run by a well-known sculpty maker. The deal was that you had to use one of the sculpted trees made by the person and decorate it. Creativity was (supposed to be) a big determining factor in the decision as to who won the prize money.

The third  place winner:

The third place winner, Imagean Mubble, won 500L$ for the clever use of Disney images on her tree.

First place winner, Coach Landar, used images from Touchstones “Nightmare Before Christmas” to win a whopping 2500L$.

Congratulations to both of you for using another artist’s hard work to line your second life products! You should be proud of yourselves!

• You can see the winning trees here:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cheshire/127/99/506

In the picture above, I’ve gone totally vintage with Christmas gifts from Ingenue, hair from Vignette, and the wonderful Bergen skin from GeEs.

The Sabrina dress in an icy hue was a Midnight Mania gift. The MM board in Ingenue has been changing featuring a variety of winter and holiday colour prizes; check in regularly so that you don’t miss a thing!

The Hounds-tooth Capelet and Cap are under the Christmas tree right inside the door.. you can’t miss it. Just mouse over the presents until you find the ones with gifts.

I love the Midnight Mania prizes at Grim Bros, I love Grim Bros. The clothes there are well made, unique, and very reasonably priced. If you run a little toward the Goth or Steampunk in your clothing tastes, the styles at Grim Bros are for you!

Above are the amazing Rock It Rudy antlers from the Grim Bros MM Gorilla. But that’s not all you can get, because after all, Grim Bros doesn’t have just any old MM board.. they have a Midnight Mania Gorilla. Be advised that the MM prizes change on a whim.. so the Gorilla might be holding some other special gift when you visit.

The hairstyle I’m wearing is called X-mas Anarchy, and it’s from Hairy Situations. I love the way this mohawk curls around to one side.. very pretty.

Skin is from Coquette in the pictures above and below. The Aurora II line comes with tintable brows, and an “enhanced” option that gives  cleavage like you won’t believe — perfect for those strapless evening gowns we’ll all be wearing to the parties this holiday season.

Next up is this festive ensemble from TeaLane, one of the vanguard shops in Second Life. TeaLane has been setting the standard for affordable fashions for longer than I have been in SL and is often one of the first stops for people new to the grid.

Shown above are two extremely reasonably priced items from TeaLane: the Elsa Sweater (there’s an Erik Sweater for guys too!), and the Recycle Dress (which comes with several stocking colour options). If you can’t afford the 2L$ a pop, not to worry, TeaLane has a lucky chair with the sweaters in a second holiday colour.

Hair shown above is from W&Y, but is available at Savoir Hair. Visit Savoir Hair for top quality dollarbie and freebie hairstyles.

• Ingenue:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lo%20Lo/200/100/22
• Vignette:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vignette/74/48/2
• GeEs:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Four%20Our%20Hope/95/116/1001
• Grim Bros:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Clematis%20Island/121/53/22
• TeaLane:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Granymyr/246/190/42
• Savoir Hair:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hairspray%202/232/100/52

I wrote about the wonderful new Scandinavian line of skins from GeEs in a post here, but wanted to give you a little closer look at a few of the make-ups available in this skin line.

Like other skin lines offered by GeEs, these are named for major cities, in this case, major cities in Scandinavia.

Pricing (special price for the release) is:
Single skin: 499L$
Bundle: 1599L$
(Regular price will be later: 800L$/skin and 2499L$/Bundle)

Shown above are (left to right) Bergen, Oslo, Rekjavik, and Stockholm. There are several other make-up styles, I’ve shown only a few of them in this post.

• GeEs:  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Four%20Our%20Hope/95/121/1001