Best female skins

I think (WARNING: HUGE GENERALIZATION!) that this is actually how most women choose skins, shapes, hair, and clothes.

I wear a skin I got discounted from Pixel Dolls. It's not photorealistic, and it's not very, um, "sexually detailed," but I just really like it. And I don't (very much, anyway) care about how others feel about it.

I can't say that I've bought skin in SL to attract men? I think I care more about what other women think about me, and my goal is to make them look twice and think: "Hey that looks good".

I also like to get compliments from male avatars about my look, but I am very careful to think they are totally honest. When I was spending more time in popular danceplaces, I often overheard compliments given to other female avatars that looked like shit (In my eyes). I dare say that it was more than female jealousy. Some of them could have orange ripped skin with overglossy bodies and hair that wasn't properly fitted. Then those men moved on to me, giving me the same compliments. I tell you, that is really a turn-off.

So if I want to go skinshopping, I TP my friends over to see the demo, male and female friends. I ask for advice from my best friends, because they will be honest. And the best looking persons on my friends list, because I like their style. Male and females.

If I had a boyfriend in SL, I would ask him too, but I hope that I would not base my decision only on him.

I actually heard from somewhere (forget the source now) that most women tend to get glammed up to impress other women. Maybe like how guys act macho around other guys to show them up.

Over at Drowsy I found some really pretty pale skins, among others.

Description: BP*summer skin/tomboy/gloss/may2009
Region: Drowsy
By: BettiePage Voyager

Yes, that would be about right, that *I* only care what it looks like *to me* as I'm not seeking a paramour or trying to impress anyone except myself. If I like it, it's good to go!

my friend Jezebel Yaffle has a few really sweet lines of very pale skins... (lol 'genuine vamps-of-london' style! in fact one grade of skin so light that i cannot apply my bodyoils to them at all; there's no contrast at all for them to show up. ;0) she has a remarkable range of tones available too, from lightest to darkest...






if interested in checking 'em out, visit Jezebel's in Baker. i've got a set of seven vends too of our collaboratively-oiled skins available there too (from lightly to superslick, plus options for full-skin suntans!! ;0). just click the option buttons along the left-side of my vends to check 'em out!)

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Baker/135/154/55/

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I'm afraid to try DNS, though -- my budget might like it, but my inventory won't.

:0 there are so many subjective factors to just finding and choosing the right skins... personal tastes, artistic (personaly again)/creative tastes in the designs, even how one leaves their screen brightness commonly set to! ;0 (sorry to interject this long explanation, but just to say and i think it's important to consider...)

a few years ago i realized i was leaving my screen brightness usually only set to nearly the very lowest level (just to save on eyestrain) but it was affecting my designwork. most of my previous dayjobs in prepress and such designy things were always in near-windowless, controlled-lighting environs...

while most of those kinds of design projects, i frequently either only saw them in one controlled environ (for print, usually), or (for web design) frequently saw them upon other screens for preview's sake. unfortunately, since i have virtually only ever experienced sl (and my own designs for sl) from one computer, one screen the whole time, it skewed my own perceptions of how certain designs looked acrost different setups and monitors... now i use a set of custom applescripts to adjust my brightness during the day to compensate for the more variable lighting i get from home. something important to remember when looking around for for new skins or clothing!)

;0 would be interesting if there was a place or even a toy for residents to make 'thx-style' adjustments to their screen (and even sound?? i've gotten some q's/probs over my audio AO freebies for that matter). to sort of knowingly 'evenly set' their particular screens to a semi-calibrated standard upon which to view and experince the world.

lol then we just need one for people's brains ;0 lol! just kidding... i think

p.s. and yes, shapes are very important in combination too, especially for faces... so many variables!!

I am surprised nobody has mentioned lighting as it affects how a skin looks. Both the time of day in game, and any portable lights you may be carrying.

To paraphrase Shakespeare: "All of SL is a stage, and we are merely players in it", and stage lighting matters

What this means for skin shopping, is try the demo skin under various lighting as you are likely to wear it under, to make sure it looks OK under that lighting.

;0 oh absolutely absolutely; yah it is very good to make sure you turn the daylight to at least 'noon' to better try out your demo skins... i'm not much for face/bodylights myself, to just wear about casually, but they can help better judge a skin.

:0 but because it kinda supercedes inworld lighting, do remember to adjust your screen brightness up a bit too. the brightest inworld lighting won't help ya judge accurately if your screen brightness/contrast are cranked all the way down.

One designer i just found recently that is really good is Ruby Quan [rQ]

Her stuff is amazing..

*whimper* You guys (well, you and Pixel Dolls) made me forget how much I hate in-world shopping. I've now been reminded.

Tuli's skin tones looked pretty on the wall, but none of them had makeup I'd wear. Laq's downstairs skins looked wonderfully real but seemed to all be shiny, and the upstairs skins were pretty but there wasn't enough information to judge what came in each package -- which wouldn't be a problem if the demos were free, but can add up when they're dollarbies. Not to mention that half the store never rezzed. Still, that's an improvement on Chai -- the Chai store that shows up in Search, the one at Pixel Dolls, is still listed as an outlet store but appears to be empty. And the new location advertised in her picks wouldn't let me teleport in at all. So no shopping there.

Also, skins would be a lot cheaper (and probably inventories a lot more manageable *g*) if they let you buy the skin you want instead of requiring you to buy the skin you want in a set with 9 others that you'll never wear.

*whimper sigh grumble*

Just decline anything that does not sound interesting to you - also only sign up for the categories you are interested in to begin with.

Decline, then empty trash. Done.

==

PS (After reading the post just above this one.) I don't see Redgrave in there. Try theirs. And I agree, demos should be free. They make a lot of money on the sales themselves.

Lag is a problem at all the major skins stores. Even with this new comp I take ages to rez the products posters at Redgrave. What I did in each case when I was skin shopping, was to take all the demos, and then try them on elsewhere. I renamed each demo folder with my thoughts/rating. Because by the time I rezzed the lagalicious shop and tried on all the skins, I recall, I was exhausted. And shopped-out.

What type of look do you want? People might remember seeing such a skin if you can describe it.

PPS If you hate in-world shopping, perhaps try to get demos via XStreet??

(Oh, and try the freebie blogs I posted; maybe you can find Chai that way? They were featured on page one, of a blog.)

It's more like this. (Based upon my own life/feelings and those of every woman I've known and talked to on the topic. It does seem to come up at least once in every friendship/familyship.)

We dress to please ourselves.

After that, we wonder if it will be 'acceptable' to our peers, i.e. other women. Whether what we hope not to hear is "that looks cheap" or "that looks too slutty" or "omg where did she dig up THAT fug" we wonder about it, if it's something that seems outside the norm for our circle.

When going on a date, or trying to impress a man we might wonder if we "look nice" or "look good" to catch his eye. But we rarely shop for clothes or dress specifically to try to please a male.

If we care about a man, we might say "do you like this honey?" Or if we are undecided and he's the only sentient being around that can speak, we might say "the red dress or the blue dress?"

I don't know of many if any women who try to dress to please ALL men, or primarily to please men. I think that goes for RL, maybe less so for SL, I haven't really asked around.

Launa Fauna was having a clearance sale on her Chai Double Shot skins; I believe the sale ended at midnight last night, if I remember right, and the skins have been retired. The new location probably wouldn't let you teleport because she's setting up a brand new line of skins. I think she had an older line that was still on sale really cheap, but I don't recall where it was; it might be noted in her picks. (I'm not in world at the moment to check.)

Nomine is currently having a sale on an older line of skins; there should be a sign on the wall indicating which they are. You might want to check out the demos for them, too.

It was listed as a pack of 15 skins that came out as a group gift.

Sometimes the freebie blogs do list things from the past though. I wish they wouldn't.

(Some of them do that in order to round out an av, so it wears all freebie things for the photo. But, if the things are not currently available, it can confuse the reader.)

I haven't been in Curio's mainstore for months. But I was visiting Luck Inc last night, and saw "Curio" on their sim. Probably a satelite shop. If you TP to Luck Inc and walk to the left of the landing point, you should find Curio easy enough. A small shop that rez quicker than their mainstore ever did.

It was packs (yes, packs!) of 4 skins that I think is older skins that's refreshed. 2000L for the pack, but, but you can buy a single skin for 700. One of the 4 skins was very fresh and almost no makeup. Nude lips, brown brows, not very thick but well made.

Curio, sure. The best skins that i ever seen. (PS: Looks nice with [LIG] (old DUCKY!) shapes.)
Pay 1000L$ for skin and get pack of 8 perfect detailed skins. (Not sure here, but my :Curio: Bean-June 2-Zenia folder contains 8 skins with 2 dark, 2 light, 2 dark w/ frackles and 2 light w/ freckles skins)
Meet me inworld and look at quality of this skins.

But that would require willpower and the ability to restrain my curiosity -- also, designers to do a good job of giving things names that accurately reflect the product inside the box.

Redgrave, Curio, and a few others are on the list for later this weekend, and I'll try Chai again too. Usually I do most of my shopping on XStreet, but I tend to get a better feel for the designer by visiting the store. Figured at Xstreet I'd just end up getting too many demos at once to keep track of, but I suspect I'm going to end up back there anyway. I _do_ hate in-world shopping most of the time, but you know, the few designers I feel some loyalty to, who I visit the rare times I'm not shopping for something particular but just want to see what's out there? They're all places with pleasant, well-designed in-world stores where I don't mind waiting for things to rez.

I try all demos and other freebies back at home, but I should try that with renaming the demo folder. I've been putting the tried demos in category folders, but I'm discovering now that the categories I used last year aren't particularly helpful.

Now a pack of four would be great, if they were a compatible four. But I don't understand mixing styles in the same pack. I know some people like to completely change their look from time to time, but I think most of us try to keep some basic traits the same? For instance, I'm never going to wear freckles. So one pack that has freckled versions of several different skins and another pack that has non-freckled versions of several different skins makes a lot more sense to me than mixing freckled and nonfreckled versions in the same pack. Same with mixing ingenue and sultry makeup styles in the same pack.

Mixing them all together is great for the demo packs, but for the actual product, please don't make me buy things I don't want just to get the one I do. Tuli seemed to get that right last night -- I didn't buy anything since I didn't see my makeup color, but it looked like you could buy only the makeup you wanted. The pack-of-all was available but not forced on you. I'm happy to spend lots of money on things that are worth it to me, but those "buy a pack, delete most of the contents" sets drive me bonkers.

I was trying to avoid completely hijacking the thread, but it might be too late for that. *wry smile*

What I'm looking for:
-I don't have a preference between painted or photorealistic.
-Fair skin, not too white, that's still human and healthy looking, not goth or doll-like. My current skin tone that I like has a sort of peach undercast to it, not too different from the old Crayola "flesh" color. The skin tone in Clarissa's icon doesn't look too far off, though it's hard to tell since her total look is so different than mine.
-Eyebrows that I can tint to match my hair, nicely arched, but not too high or too thin. The look should be naturally arched, not plucked.
-Makeup: I don't care about having a lot of options, since I'll probably only wear the one most of the time. And "the one" should have dark lips, burgundy or wine-colored. Minimal or no blush. Dark eyeliner, lots of it. Maybe a bit of eyeshadow but not too much, and no colors, not for everyday, just black/grey and maybe a bit of burgundy.
-Breasts: Mine are naturally big, but I'm not particularly interested in showing them off. But since so many gowns and tops are low-cut, I do want the breastbone and cleavage that they display to look nice. Elegant and womanly, but not "Here, have some boobs."
-Below: Dark and natural or Barbie-doll. Barbie doll's probably best, since I can change clothes without worrying who's wandering past in RL. I won't reject a skin just because it has a shaved patch, but it will contribute to an overall negative impression.
-No tan lines, baby oil, tattoos, or freckles. Moles are fine, as long as they're not on the face and there aren't too many of them.
-No shiny patch under the nose.
-Nothing designed to make me look twenty. If I'm roleplaying, I'm a few centuries old, and if I'm not, I'm in my late thirties. The look should be ladylike with just a touch of goth, reasonable for both fantasy/sci-fi sims and OOC professional forums. Couldn't care less if it meets beach or club standards, 'cause I won't be visiting those places anyway.

Basically, I don't want to change my look, just improve it beyond the limits of the sliders. I still want to look like myself, just less like a badly drawn version of myself. (Badly drawn version of myself over here: http://www.sapphirekeep.net/gallery/skinportrait.jpg) I know I'm probably too picky, but if I'm paying real-money prices for a skin, then yeah, I'm gonna be picky.

Ok as far as eyebrow shape, you can mod that a lot depending on which bald cap you are wearing. Those also influence eyebrow shape and arch.

As far as tinting - some skins offer different eyebrow colors in the pack, but many are no mod, so you might be a bit out of luck on eyebrow tinting.

Redgrave skins are a bit 'shiny' but it's partly why I like them. I don't like to look 'flat.' But you may not like them, however you might since they really are good ones. Their skin packs include every type of makeup from 'natural' to 'smoky' which include darker lipstick.

Bebae has some beautiful makeup with a lot of dark lipsticks.

Brazen Woman has 'mature' looking skins, if you don't want to look like someone in their twenties. Their skins are aimed at about 40 and up, although, it still seems as if most in SL either are under 40 or over 80. So, theirs might suit you, for trying to look in your thirties.

If you want to look over 80, Baiastice has a little house upstairs with freebies in it, including a full 'grandma avatar' with its own wardrobe for $1 Linden. Not sure if you meant "centuries old but looks 30" or not.

Kleineschwein - you might like their look, and they have a dollarbie or freebie skin, *I think* - with a 'natural look' below. And Victorian-ish makeup since she makes historical clothing.

Alady Island is lageriffic but there are a lot of good skins makers there.

I'm also going to send you some freebie skin packs I have boxed, although the quality in them varies wildly. Simply delete any you dislike. Also don't forget about X Street if you hate shopping and/or lag.

That was some list. Rihanna.

Asking for a costum makeup when you find a skin with the tan and body you like, might be the right way to go? It could pay off since you don't change skins so often. Eyebrows that you can change color on is offered in 42 skins and Free Sperit .

Finding your exact makeup can be hard, since it's not so common with dark burgundy lips now. Many offer cat eyes, but then with glossy nude lips or red lips. I remembered Chai skins, with could meet your criteria, but then I read that they had a closing sale. No idea if they are open or if sale is on. Help me guys?

EDITED to add: Hit "home" on Willis blog. I was googling for images of 42 skins, she blogs a lot more. You might find inspiration. If you don't have time to TP around in SL and wait for shops to rez, google around for SL fashion blogs. That can narrow down your search a lot.

Found a bunch of freebie skins that really were not bad (I'd wear them if I didn't have the pack I wear now) and some had dark lipstick, etc. Sent those.

Also Lemania has a skin called Blue Velvet that may be very close to what the OP wants. So I mentioned that too...just so we're all up on what's been done/sent, I guess. Lemania often has some decent dollarbie skins.

best female brain ?