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| Happy Holidays! Luxebox Style |
December is coming to a close, the new year is upon us, and we are FINALLY getting to a review of one of the more contentious purchases made this past month. Actually, let me address the term purchase for clarity because I actually didn't purchase anything. I took a picture for my last Luxebox review and posted it to the Flickr Luxebox group. I was shocked to later learn that my photo was chosen and I was awarded the Luxebox Lady of the Month award. I was quite honored, and shocked like I mentioned to be chosen. One of the benefits of being selected as lady of the month is a free Luxebox in the next month. I did not technically purchase any of these items I am reviewing today.
Like last month, Sami and I are dividing this months Luxebox between us (Sami Post #1, Sami's Post #2). I will be covering the items from Poppy, Paper Arrow, Moon, Jian, Empire and Decoy. Like always I want to give a very honest assessment of what I think of the items in this months Luxebox. I took a series of pictures, each edited in Photoshop to showcase this months items. In cases where I have done edits or the fit for normal day to day wearing isn't as perfect as the photos I will provide an unedited picture. Let's get started...
Moon Hair - Abstract Hair Fatpack
Lets cover the basics. The Abstract Hair pack from Moon is a long pigtail style with blunt bangs and comes with the standard 10 color HUDS. Moon always includes a sparkle texture option with the HUDs in addition to the color/roots options which is nice. The hair itself is fitted, rigged mesh and has no options for resizing it built in. The hair I think is better for photo purposes than day to day wearing. There are a couple of fit issues that make me say this. First, the left side of the hair doesn't sit nicely behind the ear like it does on the right. There is a noticeable gap between the ear and where the hair starts. Its not super noticeable, but doesn't seem to fix without some pretty extreme changes to head shape. Those with a smaller head may notice this as much. Also the way the hair sits on the shoulders means it breaks easily with the body even during normal AO movement. The hair works well posed for pictures but really less so when worn in the normal course of the day.
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| A few minor issues with the Abstract Hair |
Paper Arrow - Cozy Turtleneck
Paper Arrow does a very consistent job of delivering nicely fitted, simple clothing for our wardrobes. This month is a Maitreya fitted, turtleneck sweater with 12 color options on the HUD and a version with and without a small heart on the collar. The sweater would benefit from an auto-alpha for the arms as it does break at the elbows when bending without. There is no auto-alpha included so it's easy enough to create your own. Like most things from Paper Arrow the textures are quite simple as are the designs. Certainly not a bad thing, great for providing those wardrobe staples you can turn to anytime. This sweater is no exception.
Decoy - Kristen Halter
Decoy's item this month is a simple halter top. It is fitted for Maitreya and Hourglass and comes in both a glitter (with materials) option and a normal fabric option. Both have 12 color options on the HUD and two options, gold and silver for the neck chain. The top fits perfectly and pairs well with jeans from Addams and Blueberry.
Jian - Bunny Present
Jian is one of those creators that you come to count on to deliver a certain type of thing. A certain set of features, a certain quality. This month Jian brings us a gift box that can either be worn (held) or rezzed (6 LI). The box can be clicked to bring up a menu to turn the animation on or off, resize the box, or change the color. You can change the bunny to one of 9 different colors and the box to one of 7 colors. The box and bunny are cute, but sadly the gimmick of the bunny popping out grows old quickly. Compared to the normal pets we see from Jian which follow and wander and become our friend, this little bunny in a box is a bit lacking.
The Catmint heels from Empire are a belted stiletto shoe available for Maitreya, Slink and Belleza sized high feet. Sporting a modest platform and peep toe design these are a nice addition to anyone's wardrobe. The HUD changes the metal, belt and base color of the shoe. As always the empire HUD has lots of colors that you really cant see because the HUD is just way, way to small. I really wish empire would allow the HUD to be modified or include a resize script. The original release of the shoe for Maitreya did have a small glitch on the left shoe which has since been corrected. If you still see this be sure to grab a re-delivery.
Poppy - Gidge Dress
Cute and girly, this simple dress from Poppy was featured in my primary picture for this post. The dress has a simple style and the HUD allows you to change between 8 colors for the dress and 8 colors for the bow in the front. There is plenty of space under the dress for tights if you want to pair them up. My only nitpick with this item is that the shape of the breasts. I tried to capture this as best I could in the photo below. There is a bit of ribbing in the design of the dress which provides some realism, but the side effect is that the overall shape of the breast in the dress is quite square. Certainly not a deal breaker wearing the dress but it is noticeable even in casual observation.
Summary
Overall, this review doesn't read as too harsh. I think Sami got the hard one to review. The item this month from Cosmic Dust was bad. Really bad. Sami doesn't pull any punches in her review and I totally agree with what she wrote. I often find things in Luxebox that are not my style, I rarely like the Moon hair for example, but there is still a certain quality to those items. The Cosmic Dust shorts this round are simply very poor quality. They are not "Luxe".
That brings me to the root of the problem. All of the items I reviewed above...they are not Luxe either. They are certainly not bad, and usable for the intended purpose, but they are not the high quality one of a kind Luxe items that Luxebox should be including. I was not intending to purchase this months box, and am only writing the review because I received it for free. I honestly don't see a bright future for Luxebox. I won't be buying it again, and I know more than a few others that have decided not to as well. I have a rule when I am shopping that if things don't fit, I don't buy them. There are simply too many good things out there to buy that do fit to accept a lower quality.
Fit, quality, a unique style and design are things I should not have to worry about with Luxebox, but sadly I cannot count on any of the three.
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