lips like sugar, sugar kisses

So, I of course remembered Mocksoup Graves' question in group chat about what kind of lips she should do next. And a lot of us tossed out suggestions, but I was thinking more, where can I find pictorial evidence?

And then I found several pictures, but didn't want to upload them all, plus, some of them I'd found months past and didn't know where I did find them...and I'm not going to be getting back in world tonight.

So this is more of a placeholder, to tell me two things: first, to remind me to toss her the link to this, and second, to track down the original sources of these images (if possible). Of course, it's not that there aren't problems with my suggestions in the first place...

(from the random album)

Like this one. Real life? That kind of shine is easy. Well. Not easy, and certainly, keeping that shine up is all that model's doing until the picture's taken; because that level of high gloss will evaporate by a single sip of fluid, bite of salad, or hells, depending on where one is, even walking around outside.

But in Second Life? Gloss like that is nigh impossible. We just don't have the resources. It's all a case of trompe l'oeil, innit? Layers of paint and subterfuge to convince us we're really seeing what we're not.

(from the random album)

But I have to admit, the high gloss makes the vibrant colors so pretty. And in SL, we don't necessarily have to worry about doing much that would destroy that gloss...technically...right?

(from the random album)

Are there ways to achieve this high a shine? Your guess is as good as mine. I sheerly do not know that much about SL makeup.

*(from the random album)

(from the random album)

From random

And then there are jeweled options. Leaving out that, again, this is just a look for photographs or runway shows, would this even be possible? Or desirable, at least in SL? Talk about your nano-prim work...

(from the random album)

And we're back to shine again. And metallics in general--while there are makers of metallic skins, they all struggle with shine and light and perspective. Even makers of latex struggle with light and reflection in the virtual world.

(from the random album)

Still, I'm tempted by it. How close to solid shine can SL designers get? How close to glitter and shimmer is possible?

(from the random album)

Failing that are the pure fantasy aspects. Lipstick doesn't have to be solely confined to the lips. Eyeshadow doesn't have to just be restricted to the eyes. This is wishful makeupping! Dream big! Dream vibrantly!

(from the random album)

After all, SL is where we go to dream, whether our dreams in RL have panned out or not. And for women, those dreams sometimes converge in painted ways--in eyes, lips and cheeks that stand out, or fade back, in looking like everyone else or no one else, in standing out or stepping forward or flying away. Whatever our dreams are, they're ours.

But we need the proper looks to make it happen.

(from the random album)

We are who we dream, right?

So this is what I'd like to see. Or, at the least, I'd offer these up as inspirations, not direct suggestions. Take from them what you will, what you can use, Mocksoup; see where the art leads you. Metals. Chrome. Glitter. Shimmer. Color. Pattern. Reflection--and everything in between. Where will it lead you?

I don't know. But I'm dying to find out.

(Just to tie things up, in from the Not Posted Here discoveries--look into the 'Animal-ipstick' line from the artist Viridis Somnio, for some really amusing lip styles, or just stroll through LipFetish of an evening. Fun stuph. And there's a whole ton of two-toned pure glitter styles I'm leaving out...but man would that be difficult in SL! And I'm leaving out the pastel variants that really require evenly pale skin and pastel hair to work, but...again, this is SL.

(And you could always throw caution to the wind and go with haunted lips! Whee!)