As Skin Fair approaches (beginning today at 1:00 with a skin show), we’ve begun to see even more new skins all over the grid - both from current skinners refreshing their inventories, as well as new entrants. One of those new entrants for female avatars (male skins have been available for some time), is the Michelle skin from Damiani. The new main shop is now open.

SLMen’s Ben Vanguard introduced me to KaoZ Koba, one of the creators behind the brand. His partner is Pompeja Rossini, who is largely responsible for the make-ups on the Michelle skins. She is also a makeup artist offline.

First a reminder that I do not post process skins snapshots beyond cropping, framing and consolidating.

Tones

There are three tones: Sophisticated, Fair, and Tan. The “Fair” tone is actually quite dark when compared to fair tones of other skins, so the “Sophisticated” tone is actually the lightest. A benefit to the Michelle skins is that all are modifiable in terms of tone and lips. However, I have found that using the sliders for tone changes doesn’t always produce the desired result. Your mileage may vary, so experiment a little. For the purposes of this post, I have not altered any of the tones or lips.

Makeups

There are currently 6 main makeups and for each skin you purchase, you receive two variations in lip color. So in fact, there are 12 total variations for each tone. In general, I liked some of the makeups a lot more than the others. Some were not options I would wear often or at all - but of course, that’s subjective. Many are what I would describe as exotic - both in specifics and overall look. My favorites were the Emerald make-ups (Oasis and Ruby lips), which have subtle glitter eyeshadow, bold lined eyes, and neutral lips, and the Smokey Eyes, which are quite dramatic night time looks. All the makeups are shown here in the Sophisticated tone.

Face Detail

• There is fairly heavy highlighting around the cheekbones that will either suit your shape or not. I generally prefer a much lighter touch in this area, but obviously your shape will dictate how the detail plays out. I think it’s probably suited to avatars who are really playing up their cheekbones - while mine are much less pronounced.
• The eyebrows are somewhat heavily drawn and are perhaps the strongest feature on the face. They are currently no mod (color), but this may change in the future I am told. I did create a bald especially for this skin, which you may need to do as well.
• I really like the lips and for me, they’re one of the best features on the skin from top to bottom. Even if your avatar’s lips are on the thin side (as mine are), the lips still look great. I think most people will be really pleased with that aspect specifically.

More makeups and the body after the jump…

I typically buy skins for the makeups, not the bodies (although issues with the body can definitely be deal breakers). I don’t know if I am typical in this or not, but that’s where I always start. In this case, I want to note that the body is excellent - details, appropriate shading, and minimal seams.

In particular, I think the collar bone and tummy are excellent. In fact, I think the stomach is pretty well perfect (for me) - soft, feminine and realistically defined. The backside, shoulder blades and spine are equally as nice - if a little more heavily shaded. I didn’t actually take a close look at the feet or hands, so I can’t detail those here. I also didn’t study the bits at close range beyond a passing note. Aside from feet and hands, which are always tricky - the bits are just about the last thing I care about. I understand that many folks are very particular about those, but for me, they don’t factor in as much.

Below are the rest of the current makeups (all in the Sophisticated tone) - shown with both the lip options you receive with each purchase. Pompeja says that more variations in makeup will be available soon.

Blue Eyes: Fair Lady and Red Kiss

Cornflower: Cotton Candy and Genesis

Leila: Cotton Candy and Genesis

Smokey Eyes: Fair Lady and Red Kiss

Wild Thing: Cherry and Passion

Price

Each skin is $1500, which again, includes two lip variations (and all skins are copy/mod so you have the potential for different looks given the tone sliders and lip gloss options). However, the Michelle skins are clearly priced as premium skins, which may somewhat limit their broad appeal in terms of a “test” skin for some. Many people I know prefer to buy one to start and then acquire more as their budgets allow. Fatpacks for all makeups in any one tone are $7000L.

There are demos available at the shop, although I have noticed a new trend (presumably to curb ripping?) where “demo” is stamped literally everywhere on the face, lips, eyelids, and body - making it a lot more difficult to determine how a skin actually looks on your shape. That and adding things like mustaches or other markings make it a lot harder for customers to see what they’re buying. I’d ask creators to help customers feel more confident about their purchases by making it possible to better evaluate a skin via a demo.

Overall, I think the skins are well done, thoughtfully detailed and varied. I’m hopeful for a truly fair tone in the future and additional makeups to try very soon.

Visit Damiani

Hair: Truth Bridgette (panama)
Eyes: Glanz
Lashes: Celestial Studios (size 3, with Vogue skins)
Underwear: Nyte and Day

Tags: Beauty, Damiani, Fashion, Second Life, Skins