Ever Been Disappointed in A High End Skin?

Good point. Even the new skins I purchased from Free Speerit which I adore, the lighter toned ones are a tad too light to wear with short skirts, unless I'm wearing stockings. So, I've been sticking to pants with those. They look great on my face, stunning in fact, but for the legs, make me look a bit too pale.

And BTW, I always demo anything I'm purchasing. You MUST. Nobody wants to be surprised if you're spending money.

i have one skin and one shape, that are both as best matched to RL as i could possibly make them. i'm very happy with them both (i made my own shape) and have no desire to change.

One of the first major purchases I made after being in SL was a high-end skin.... I loved it and still do and have a few skins from that same line. I admit to being an avid skin collector...I would almost be too embarrassed to mention the number of skins I have, with 90% of them being the 'high-end' ones.

Anyway, I recently returned to the store where I bought my first skin...and I was so disappointed... Their new line of skins, whilst being very pretty, are very heavily based on certain PSD files that were given out freely. Which in itself isn't a federal offence but I did feel a little 'let down'.

Original skin creators are amazing artists.... I've been working on creating one and let me tell you, it's not a pretty sight...lol

Before spending linden$ on any skin, I ALWAYS try on the demo...

By the way, if anyone has any suggestions on where to get a quality photo-realistic skin, I'd appreciate the info.. I've tried the 'Second Skin' demos, and whilst there are amazing works of art, I'm not sure if they suit me or not...though I still haven't made up my mind yet..lol

I love trying on new skins, and that's partly why I ended up starting a shape business. The irony is that very few of them suit my facial shape, so I don't often buy after playing with the demos.

I bought one skin that I wore for several months, but it had a beauty mark that I hated. When it really started irritating me, I bought the skin I referred to earlier. Wore it awhile and then found the skin I have now. So that makes three skins in one year. I love the one I have although I admit that I do look around occasionally, but haven't given into the urge just yet.

I have quite a few but don't switch out much at all. I get kinda bored after months and change again.

Mine are all from past looks that I stuck with for a long time, except when Munchflower has a big sale and I grab all I can of the outgoing line.

My most expensive skin is also the one I have grown to like least. It is likely the most realistic of the bunch, but it is just not that good.

I don't know I have looked at few skins for longest time they just looked really really strange until I figure out it was the shape I was wearing.
I think if they want me to spend a lot of lindens on skin they should include the shape with demo and other possible shapes that might work especially when considering spending 5000L$ skin.
A lot more sales might be made but who knows maybe they don't care about the sales they lose to those who don't understand shapes.
Some of those skins are absolutely beautiful with right shapes, but with the wrong shape it ruins what the effect the skin artist was trying to protray.
Just my opinion for what it is worth.

I agree with you completely FD! You go skin shopping, and buy it, thinking you'll look just like the picture, and then are completely disappointed because you don't...and lots of people don't realize it's because of their shape!

I think it's just silly not to include the shape in the package.

I will never change my shape to suit a skin...if they don't work together, I'm not buying it.

I'm not sure I would at this point either, Ann, but for newer folks, who haven't completely "found" themselves, it'd be a good, value-added option.

Even if the skin maker included the appearance shape numbers in note card as educational service as a how to wear skin properly as Artist intended for the new or in-experienced, easily confused oldbies they might make few more sales.

I can see both point, Ann's and Honey's.

But personally, I dislike pre-made shapes and tend to be on Ann's side.

I enjoyed the process of making me look exactly the way I wanted to be. I tried on many premade ones and I just looked like a cookie-cutter version of everyone else walking around. But, that is my own opinion. But I can see for some people, those not inclined with the time or the attention to detail to play around, that a ready made shape would fit the bill. And if someone is really set on the look of a particular skin which looks well on a set shape then, I can understand their thinking.

For me, I'd pass on the skin and look elsewhere for what looked good on the Av I took so much time to put together on my own

Good points there FD

Of course, if they did include the shape, it is always optional whether it could be worn or not.

True.
There are sizes in real life stores.
I never understood why there are like slider appearance shape notifications for skins for those who don't know about shapes and those who want skins for set shape.
Perhaps it is just too much work.
Whenever I get to point where my skin making skils are marketable I will include shape sizes for those who are new or want specific skin for specific shape.

I purchased my first skin about 2 weeks into SL after admiring it on another avatar. A little over a year later, I am wearing the same skin and LOVE it.

So, no, I'm not a skin changer

Is that 5000L for ONE skin or a pack of skins?

If it's ONE skin.....NO WAY would I EVER spend that kind of money on a skin when there are so many others out there (even free ones) that (imo) work just as well.

That's the one .

When I'm not in SL, I play SIMS2 , and I really, really wish the SL AV sliders had the options that character creation in SIMS2 BodyShop has.

You have a choice of base skins, then separate choices for lipstick, eyeshadow, liner, etc. each is it's own layer, so the options are pretty much endless.

I'm fairly much the same. My first skin I bought on a recommendation from a friend, and a year and a half later I still wear it, and fairly much it only. I don't even use the makeup variations that came with it. I rarely change my shape, too, come to think of it--it settled down about a month after I bought the skin.

I did buy one of Chip Midnight's skins recently, and it was wonderful and more realistic looking, but it didn't really feel like "me" for whatever reason, so I hardly ever use it. But a week later, I made an alt, and his store was a stop on my "first day" shopping spree

Disappointed in a high-end skin? Hell, yea.

In fact, I've been disappointed in high-end almost everything/anything in life. BMW? It was just a damed CAR, fer crissakes. Regretted what I spent. I still have a bicycle I paid $4K for some years ago. Is it better than my $249 Giant? Yes, but not SIXTEEN TIMES better! I ride the Giant a lot more often.

There are def times when "you get what you pay for", and a kernel of truth buried somewhere deep in that old saw, but much MUCH more often "you get what you pay for" is a tall tale told by someone touting overpriced snob-appeal stuff on which they make loads of dough. They always seem to have plenty of "fool and his money" customers.

It does however take a variety of types to make a free market work including the 'fool&money' people, and free markets always work when they're not strangled. People who are willing to spend big bucks for "exclusive" consumer goods are the reason that lower-priced products are constantly improving. How many of you remember when a pocket calculator cost $60? If nobody had bought them back then, we wouldn't be able to buy a much better model for 1.99 today.

Wow, whoppin' digression there. Sorry.

My answer: ummm ... yea.

I'd say the terms "high end" and "freebie" are mutually exclusive, due to the slight difference in price! I've never been disappointed with something I got for free.

That said, if you are using freebies to promote your work in the hope that people will come back later and buy, you'd want to make damn sure that the quality of the freebie is of the same standard as your retail items.

Until recently I had worn the same CS skin all the time. I'd have bought another in the same series if there were one with the right makeup options; basically I chose a fairly neutral, natural looking makeup and never felt the need to change--it goes with everything.

I tried demos of a wide variety of skins, and none really worked with my shape (which I made myself and am quite happy with). Recently I changed to one of the new releases by Tuli, which didn't make me look like an entirely different person. The only shape mods I had to make were to my lips.

I would call the two main skins I've worn moderately priced. I *do* wish skin makers would offer makeup options for a less; I'd like to have the option to change my lipstick without having to pay full price for an entirely new skin.

And there's no way I'd pay the kind of money they ask for those "high end" skins. I've tried on the demos of some just out of curiosity, and didn't find them any better.

Answer to the OP? Yes. And to the specific skin she mentioned? Yes, as well. Very disappointing.

HOWEVER - that same designer makes some of the most beautiful ethnic skins in SL. The translucent quality of her very dark skins is available nowhere else. Two of my alts have them (different ones). The image of the veins within the skin of the cleavage is remarkable. Why this is not carried over to the caucasian skins is a depressing mystery.

/me raises my hand

Except we weren't allowed to use them in math classes so I never bought one at that price. I was busy trying to figure out how a slide rule worked. *sighs*

Yeah, i change my skin a lot. And own many, many. I'm a skinaholic. I looove to play with my avatar and always try different looks and various skins are part of it. I made a good shape for myself so i can wear so many different skins and still not look that much different.


Back to main question. Nope, not been disappointed in high end skins. If you try the demos then should be no problems. I'm sad when a skin has a good face but body details are bad or vice-versa. But again that's why there are demos, so not to be disappointed. And yes, I don't change my shape for skins either, if they don't suit me I don't buy them.

I think the view I'm coming to slowly after having bought loads of skins is, 90% of skins in SL are overpriced!

Frankly you can get great skins for under L$1k and they're just as good as the L$3k - L$5k skins.

I know I suffer from the, 'OMG, if they can charge that much then their stuff must be better!' delusion. But after buying a L$3k skin recently and wearing it on and off, I'm loving my L$199 Sin Skin favourite much more.

Sooo yes very disappointed and if the new skin I'd bought had been the same price as my Sin Skin one I probably wouldn't feel so crappy about it