A lot of people have talked already about the latest addition to the Fleur skin family, but I still feel I can add to it. Fleur skins belong to my favourites in SL, I joined when they had their second skin in the Tête à Pied shop, and managed to get a hold of their very first ones when they were still available at gNubie. I followed the development of Vivant, and have pretty much all of them, as well as Boutique and Shouju. The idea that Roslin and CJ had, to add a 4th, more photorealistic, skin to their collection made me bounce. I love the smooth perfection of their mainly handdrawn bodies, and I was so anxious to see how a more photorealistic Fleur skin would work out. And I have not been disappointed.
Allure comes in 6 new skintones (from left to right: ivory, alabaster, truffle, cinnamon, caramel and sable) and like we may expect from Fleur, a vast range of make ups, varying from barely there, to in-your-face gorgeous. What I really like with Fleur, as opposed to some other popular brands, is that they offfer every make up on every skintone. It has happened so often that I see a make up that I love… but then it’s not available in my preferred skin tone. Fleur‘s creators adjust the make up to every skintone, so slightly more saturated for the darker skins, and less intense for the lighter skin tones. So far so good for the versatility of Allure, on to the details.
And there are plenty of details in this skin. As usual there are the mod eyebrows, and the pubic hair in different colours on the panty layers. And then, on many a make up Roslin has drawn eyelashes, that are so sweet that you don’t really need your system lashes (well, who needs them anyway, since they usually dont look good) but you can do without prim lashes as well… or opt for the very subtle ones that Miriel has in her shop. The mouth on Allure is quite different from the previous Fleur skin, so you might need a little tweaking of your shape, but once you get it right, you’ll notice the lovely plump lips and the pixelfree medusa ( sorry, I just hate visible pores err, pixels on my upper lip).
The body has great and subtle detailing. The clavicle stands out, as do the nipples. The breast shading as a whole deserves an A+ as far as i’m concerned, and looks good on both small breasted shapes and the more curvaceous frames. The abdomen on Allure is more defined too.. the upper ribs show vaguely, and there is a definition of muscularity on the tummy, still without the 6 days a week crunches look, which only makes RL me feel guilty for not having the same look. The whole body has subtle highlights that give her a more 3d look than the previous skins. On the back you’ll find about the most perfect shoulderblades made in sl so far, as well as the dimples on the lower back that I simply adore. The knees and elbows look good on this skin too, and when you look at the skin for a while, really focus, it sometimes has a slightly blue shimmer on the places where a human skin would be thinner, showing the veins under the skin, without becoming an anatomical lesson.
Incredible attention has been given to our so often neglected pixel subjects. The feet. In this world where female avatars run to get shoes with prim toes because their pixel feet just look hideous, CJ has worked endlessly to make the feet and toes look as good as they possibly can in SL. And for those of you who like to emote… Fleur’s teeth got a make over with the introduction of Vivant… and they still are the brightest pearly whites in SL.
Whereas Vivant fitted practically every avatar like a glove, Allure has more of a character of her own. I guess that just is the consequence of photorealism, it’s a little less forgiving than a mainly drawn skin. So what I would really recommend you to do is to get the demos first and play with your shape sliders to obtain the best look for your avatar. Often there is no need for drastic changes, just a but of tweaking will do. Besides, Fleur offers the demos for free, and they are transferable as well.
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