Xen's Pen
Fashionable ramblings from Xenobia Foxclaw's virtual pen.

I’m sure the phrase “back to black” gets many responses from people. For me it certainly symbolizes chronic depression and long stretches where everything seems black broken by much longer stretches of gray, something with which I am very familiar.

Should you go to the Back to Black Venue, be sure to read the displays, it will educate you about suicide, one of the results that can come from depression. It’s such an important topic if you or someone you care about suffers from depression.

What Xenobia Is Wearing and Other Credits

Dress: Peqe—Back to Noir (Back to Black)

Brooch: FineSmith—Heartbeat Brooch (Black)

Shoes: G Field—Gina [Mesh] Lace-up Boots (Black)

Skin: Belleza—Erika (Fair 0)

Hair: Dura—Boys & Girls 30 (Black)

Lip Gloss: blackLiquid Makeup—Black Cherry Loveheart (Back to Black)

Eyes: My Precious—Agnes Beaute Eyes (Soft Lips)

Eyelashes: Miamai—No Alpha Lashes No. 6

Fingernails: FineSmith—Solid (Black)

Poses: Manifeste Poses

Model & Photographer: Xenobia Foxclaw

When I want a bit of whimsy in my life, I put on a pair of glasses and/or a collar from the February group gift from Yula Finesmith. They just bring a smile to my face.  Here is your limo to FineSmith.

I’m also wearing two colors from the one of the newest hairs from Dura, Boys & Girls 30. Chiaki Xue has a way with hair that I love. Here is your limo to Dura Hair.

Last, but certainly not least, I am delighted to show two of the new lip glosses from blackLiquid Makeup. I’ve made several posts over the last months where I had to say “available soon” since blackLiquid Tokyoska had not yet opened her makeup store. The store is now open and blackLiquid is busy filling it with lots of great makeups. I have the whole fatpack of 30 different colors, so now I’m ready for almost anything. Here is your limo to blackLiquid Makeup.

The minute I saw this red dress called Trani with its white-patterned midriff from Deesse’s Skins, I knew I had to have it. The Xen’s Hats Danni hat would be perfect with it. It was great fun to style and came together quickly with the heart collar, a new group gift from Yula Finesmith, and a pair of her newest ankle boots. I added one of the heart lip glosses from blackLiquid that she has at the Back to Black event and some cute heart pantyhose that I got at another event. There is so much going on in SL lately that I can’t keep all of the events straight. The good thing is that there is never a reason to be bored.

What Xenobia Is Wearing and Other Credits

Hat: Xen’s Hats—Danni (Color-change)

Dress: Deesse’s Skins—Terani  Mesh (Bloody )

Necklace: FineSmith—Flames Collar 1 (Part of Group Gift)

Pantyhose: Cracked Mirror—Pantyhose, Hearts (red) (Purchased at the Just a Crush Event)

Shoes: FineSmith—Valentine Wedge Boots (Red)

Skin: Belleza—Erika (Sk 0)

Hair: Dura—Girl 33 (Butter Rum)

Lip Gloss: blackLiquid Makeup—Blood Loveheart Gloss 1 (Available at Back to Black)

Eyes: My Precious—Agnes Beaute Eyes (Silky Soft)

Eyelashes: Miamai—No Alpha Lashes No. 6

Fingernails: FineSmith—Metallic Nails (Color-changeable)

Poses: Manifeste Poses

Model & Photographer: Xenobia Foxclaw

…ON TREES at least. These pieces from Yula Finesmith’s latest release are enchanting. I just want to spend time styling looks to go with them, but if I did that, I would get nothing else done and there is so much to do. So here is my styling for the Love Doesn’t Grown On Trees pieces. I’m wearing one of the newest gowns from House of Rage and a lipgloss that blackLiquid Makeup has done for the Back to Black Venue.

What Xenobia Is Wearing and Other Credits

Jewelry: FineSmith—Love Doesn’t Grow on Trees (Necklace Big, Earrings, Face Ornaments, Ring, Bracelet) and Beautiful Sadness Necklace Love Doesn’t Grow on Trees (Smaller version)

Gown: House of Rage—Inception

Shoes: G Field—Ribbon Slingback Shoes (Black)

Skin: Belleza—Erika (Fair 0)

Lipgloss: blackLiquid Makeup—Black Cherry Loveheart gloss 1 (Back to Black Venue)

Hair: Amacci—Melody & Hairbase Tattoo (Black Coal)

Fingernails: FineSmith—Solid (Black)

Eyes: My Precious—Agnes Beaute Eyes (Smooth Coffee/M)

Eyelashes: Miamai—No Alpha Lashes No. 6

Poses: Manifeste Poses

Model & Photographer: Xenobia Foxclaw

When I logged into SL yesterday morning I was delighted to find waiting for me some new jewelry from Yula Finesmith and a new outfit from Agnes Finney. I’m only showing you one of the colors from Yula, although the new Scatterheart set comes in several different colors. I am also just showing part of the outfit from Agnes; the complete set comes with a short version of the dress to wear with the jeans that are included. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to show you everything.

Yula crafted the Scatterheart pieces with surprisingly realistic hearts in the necklace and bracelet. At first I kept moving the necklace because I thought it was buried in my throat. Then I looked closely and realized that realistic design of the heart gave me the feeling that it was fitted incorrectly, but that it was not going into my body, but it was meant to look of that way. I love the design and I love the gentle Smokey color.

The Scatterheart necklace fits the neckline of the Kanas dress almost as though they were meant to go together. I love the layers of this dress and the way it moves. I really like the lacy texture that Agnes uses so beautifully. The photographs do not do the dress justice. The dress is a lovely cream color. The sky setting I used made it appear gray, and I did not notice it until I began writing. (I’m still learning to take photos that flatter clothing. I hope one day I master it. However, if I kept going back to retake photos when I noticed a problem, I would never get any blogging done. Been there, done that.)

What Xenobia Is Wearing and Other Credits

Jewelry: FineSmith—Scatterheart Set (Smokey)

Dress: My Precious—Agnes Kanas (Cream)

Tights: B!ASTA—Dotty Sheer Tights (White)

Shoes: G Field—Ribbon Slingback Shoes (Salmon)

Skin: Belleza—Erika (Sk 0)

Hair: CaTwA—Eva (Roots/Silver)

Hairbase: Amacci—Hairbase Tattoo (Grey)

Fingernails: FineSmith—Nails (Salmon)

Eyes: Amacci—Gaze Eyes (Deep Blue)

Eyelashes: Miamai—No Alpha Lashes No. 6

Poses: Manifeste Poses

Background: PNP—The Hot Box (I blogged The Hot Box earlier)

Model & Photographer: Xenobia Foxclaw

PNP has a new photo box that is the best I’ve tried. It has 19 poses that you can adjust  in all three dimensions. Of the ones I have tried, every one of them worked for my body and the outfit. That was a pleasant surprise. (In one of the poses I did find it necessary to use my Boot Fixer because my foot was at an unnatural angle, but the Boot Fixer worked beautifully to reposition my foot.)

The walls can be recolored in lots of different colors with a click, and the box is modifiable. The only thing you can’t modify is the script. That works for me, especially since I really don’t get scripting. (Ok, I understand the very, very basics, but I call on my partner when I need more than the very, very basics.)

I’m showing off an outfit from Graffitwear I’ve been trying to blog for a week now and just haven’t gotten photos I liked until now. Here you can see it at different angles and with different colors of background. There were lots more options.

What I didn’t do was get a closeup so you could clearly see the latest group gift from Yula Finesmith, the mesh boots from G Field, and the leopard hat from Xen’s Hats. What was I thinking? (Sigh)

I went back in and took some more photos so you could see the hat, necklace, and shoes a bit closer. The hat is one of six that that was on special this week. The great necklace was a group gift from Yula Finesmith and you get several colors. The boots are mesh and are color-change. For me everything was color-change because I bought the fatpack. You can change the color of the boot, the color of the trim, the color of the laces, and the color of the grommets. I had a lot of fun with these boots.

What Xenobia Is Wearing and Other Credits

Hat: Xen’s Hats—Leopard (also available in Cheetah, Jaguar, Tiger, White Leopard, & White Tiger)

Necklace: FineSmith—Heartless (Group Gift; you get several colors)

Outfit: Graffitiwear—Cheetah Chimera

Boots: G Field— Gina Lace-up Boots (Mesh) (Color-change Fatpack)

Tights: Sheer—Tights 02 Nylon (Black)

Skin: Belleza—Eriak (Sk 3)

Lip Gloss: blackLiquid Makeup—Blood Gloss (available soon)

Hair: Dura—Boys & Girls 24 (Black) (Edited a bit to fit)

Fingernails: FineSmith—Nails Solid (Black)

Eyes: Amacci—Emerald Eyes 3

Eyelashes: Miamai—No Alpha Lashes No. 6

Pose Prop: PNP—The Hot Box (Texture-change)

Ankle Straightner: Tatiana Niven—Boot Fixer (Available on SL Marketplace)

Model & Photographer: Xenobia Foxclaw

I chose this title for the post because it was the answer to a crossword puzzle clue in the newspaper this morning and it stuck with me. It seemed like a good reason to me. Although, here I go again showing you a great outfit by some of my favorite designers as well as a designer that is new to me.

I really wanted to show you this new scarf from My Precious’ designer Agnes Finney. You can get it in several different designs, but as I was opening items I had gotten recently to consider blogging, I found this dress from  Sweeter Than Candy that looked as if it had been made to go with the pattern of the scarf.

While Yula Finesmith’s new boots don’t come in the color “ocean,” they do come in  a green that has a blue undertone. I love the hearts on the heel of the boots; while they are appropriate for February, they don’t scream “Valentine’s Day,” so I can wear them year round.The gradient tights from Izzie’s, that I seem to be wearing a lot lately, also come in—you guessed it—ocean. I was on a roll that continued with the FineSmith’s bracelets and her nails.

The hat does not come in this color, but what’s better is that it comes with a hud that makes it easy to coordinate it with whatever you are wearing. So I recolored the hat in ocean and for the band I picked up a tan color that is also in the scarf. The Dura hair needed a bit of editing, but I love it with this hat.

What Xenobia Is Wearing and Other Credits

Hat: Xen’s Hats—Andre (Color-change)

Scarf: My Precious—Agnes With You Scarf (4)

Dress: Sweeter Than Candy—Chloe Dress (Ocean)

Bracelets: FineSmith—Dawn Bracelets (Ocean)

Tights: Izzie’s—Gradient Tights (Ocean)

Shoes: FineSmith—Candybird Boot (Green)

Skin: Belleza—Erika (Sk 7)

Hair: Dura—Boy 20 (Ash Brown)

Fingernails: FineSmith—Nails (Ocean)

Eyes: Amacci—Emerald Eyes  4

Eyelashes: Miamai—No Alpha Lashes No. 13

Poses: Manifeste Poses

Model & Photographer: Xenobia Foxclaw

Mankind has dreamed of flying since the sighting of the first flying animal. In real the dream has come true in ways too numerous to mention. But in SL, we merely need to select the option to fly. I have flown much less in SL than in real because, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I had to learn to walk and the only way to do it was to walk.

Now I’m pretty darn good at walking, so it’s time to fly and to fly in style. To do that, I donned one of Yula Finesmith’s latest designs—Heartology Wings from a set designed specifically for me. Even though the wings and jewelry were designed for men, they fit me just fine and I like them a lot. I’m also wearing her newest boots in Mustard that she calls Candybird because they are so sweet.

I wanted something a bit more daring than I usually wear, so I put on the new Baroque Corset and Funked Up Leggings in gold from Graffitiwear. I also topped the whole outfit with a hat I don’t often wear, but one I really like, the Mr. B bowler that I recolored using the handy hud.

What Xenobia Is Wearing and Other Credits

Hat: Xen’s Hats—Mr. B (Color-change)

Wings: FineSmith— Heartology Wings

Necklace: FineSmith—Heartology Male Necklace

Outfit: Graffitiwear—Baroque Corset Top & Funked Up Leggings (Gold)

Shoes: FineSmith—Candybird Boot (Mustard)

Skin: Belleza—Erika (Sk 2)

Lip Gloss: blackLiquid Makeup—Blood Gloss (Available Soon)

Hair: Exile—Rochelle (Coffee)

Fingernails: FineSmith—Nails (Golden)

Eyes: Amacci—Gaze Eyes (Gold Brown)

Eyelashes: Miamai—No Alpha Lashes N0. 6

Poses: PNP

Flying Poses: BehaviorBody Animations

Model & Photographer: Xenobia Foxclaw

Let’s face it, I am a “crazy cat lady.” In real I have ten cats—yes, that’s right ten, t-e-n, 10 cats. Yes, they are indoor cats. Yes, they have been spayed or neutered. No, they are not any special breed. One is an American Long Hair and nine are American Short Hairs—that’s a nice way of saying they are of indeterminate heritage. The oldest came from the local humane society, all of the others were strays. Yes, they are spoiled rotten. Yes, I can name them all—Topaz, Lori, Angel, Freddie, Alexander, Isabel, Rhubarb, Ishmael, Pip, and Bev.

They take a lot of my time, attention, and money. However, I wouldn’t get rid of any of them. On the one hand, I don’t want any critter in SL that requires any attention (e.g., needs to be petted, fed, exercised). I’ve done my part. On the other hand, there is a little bit of me that enjoys dressing as a feline on occasion. Such an occasion occurred recently when I received a neko outfit. I had fun completing the look.

Here are three of the photos I took while wandering around. I found a very high spot on the France 3D Courchevel sim that looked exactly like a place at least one of my cats, Lori, would climb and wait for me to walk by before leaping, claws extended, to land on my unprotected shoulders. Or where Ish would climb to chase his tail going around and around in circles until he fell off only to sit and bathe himself as though he meant to do that.

What Xenobia Is Wearing and Other Credits

Hat: Wait, what, I don’t have a hat on?! What’s that all about?

Outfit (including ears and tail): Beautiful Dirty Rich—Sweetie (Magenta)

Skin: Belleza—Erika (Fair 7)

Tattoo: Catseye—Tattoo Tiger(Colour-change)

Whiskers: Ephemeral Creations—Dora (brow, 22 whiskers) & Dora (nose, 36 whiskers)

Claws: FineSmith—DRAAKJE Spike Nails

Hair: Little Heaven—Hair 13 Rabi (White)

Eyes: Aimesi—CatEyes (Gold)

Eyelashes: Miamai—No Alpha Lashes N0. 6

Poses: Di’s Opera

Model & Photographer: Xenobia Foxclaw

Location: France 3D Courchevel

You may have guessed from the title that I watch Project Runway on TV. I do indeed, and I like Tim Gunn’s favorite line, “Make it work.” I was casting for a fashion show with a designer with whom I was unfamiliar—Faster PussyCat. I like to look at the work of any designer whose clothing I might be selected to show. I was impressed with this designer’s work. Many of her gowns come with gorgeous hats, and you know I am a bit partial to my own hats. I wanted one of her designs, so I bought a dress that didn’t have a hat and put one of my favorites with it, changing the color to coordinate with the dress.

I think Tim might like this outfit; I took a bit of a risk with it, but I think it works. I styled it with shoes, necklace and bracelet from FineSmith. The jewelry is part of one of the two sets Yula has at the Fan Limited store. She has similar sets at the store that are in different textures.

What Xenobia Is Wearing and Other Credits

Hat: Xen’s Hats—Andre (Color-change)

Jewelry: FineSmith—Chamonix Set (Wood/Onyx)

Dress: Faster PussyCat—Queen of Hearts Dress (Pale Turquoise)

Shoes: FineSmith—Kick! Spikes (Black)

Tights: B!ASTA—Dotty Sheer Tights (Black)

Skin: Belleza—Erika (Sk 7)

Hair: Vanity Hair—Mimmi HP & Base (Teen Blonde)

Fingernails: FineSmith—Metallic Nails (Texture-change)

Eyes: Amacci—Gaze Eyes (Blue Green)

Eye Shadow: blackLiquid MAKEUP—Glitter Shadow (Gunmetal) (Available soon)

Eyelashes: Miamai—No Alpha Lashes N0. 6

Poses: Morphine Poses

Model & Photographer: Xenobia Foxclaw