It’s Hair Fair time again! Hair Fair 2013 runs from July 13th – July 28th. Want to demo hair without fighting the lag and the crowds? Check out the in-world Hair Fair Demo Group. You can browse through past notices to pick up demos, and try them on in the comfort of your own home.
This year I had to be strict with my spending. I decided my limit would be four or five hairstyles, and to ensure that I end up with a nice variety I also decided I’d buy no more than one style at each store I shopped at. It was incredibly difficult limiting myself like this! There were so many other shops I wanted to buy stuff from, but these are the stores I ultimately ended up purchasing from:
- Exile
- Lamb
- ploom
- Faenzo
Before I cover those, though? This super cute dollarbie called Fuga HF2013 from Rosy Mood. All three of these sweet cotton candy colors were included. As I’ve gotten older in SL, I’ve found myself ignoring dollarbies and freebies because they just end up cluttering an inventory that seems to magically and exponentially increase everytime I merely look at it. This is one giveaway item that I’m glad I didn’t pass up!
And now, on to the hairstyles that I bought and the reasons why I chose them:
First up: this hair from ploom is called Raichu. I love how cute and girly this style is! All of the hair at ploom was really very nicely done, but the playfulness of this style was the deciding factor for me. I had to have it!
I’ve also got to say that this is one of the most perfect black hair textures I’ve come across. When I’m not indulging in some pink or blue hair, black is my preferred color of hair texture. There have been many times at lots of stores, however, when I’ve simply passed over the black texture pack and picked up dark brown because the black isn’t… well, it isn’t right. Call me nit-picky, but I don’t like it when a black hair texture has too much white-ish highlights because then it just looks plastic. There are also places that make ‘black’ textures that have either a blue, red, or purple tinge to it. Actually I think that’s pretty cool, but then it’s just sad when a true black isn’t offered alongside those.
I will definitely be paying more attention to ploom releases in the future!!! As you can tell from my little spiel above, a good black hair texture is important to me, and the texture in the Indecisive color pack nails it.
And since we’re on the subject of perfect hair textures, let’s move on to my next purchase: the Counting Stars hair from Exile, which I picked up in the Wild Fusion 2 color pack.
Seriously, folks. Let’s just be honest with ourselves: a shopping trip to Hair Fair is an unfulfilled, incomplete shopping trip if you haven’t picked up something from Exile. Exile just keeps getting better and better. I struggled with my self-imposed shopping limits because all of the offerings were so sumptuous.
The textures are exquisite; sometimes I almost have this cannibalistic urge to eat my Exile hair because it looks so damn good. In the collage above, I decided to include two shots with the same pose but in different lighting. The left image features in-world lighting only (the sun) and the middle image features an additional lighting source (a prim emitting light nearby). While going over the pics I’d taken, I noticed how the hair texture took on an even more lustrous appearance with the prim lighting? Lol, I dunno… I thought that was cool and loved how that looked, so I wanted to share.
Another store that made me want to forgo my budget was lamb.
I ultimately decided on the Thieves Like Us style, because it featured braids that fall in front. How cute is this hairstyle?! I’m so glad we have rigged mesh hair. Back when we had regular prims and sculpts only, I don’t think I would’ve bought something like this because in my head it would only be good for photos. Lol I hate seeing avs wearing pigtails that stiffly swivel with their entire head as they look around.
These braids are really nicely done, and I think they’ll go with all sorts of outfits. I see myself getting a lot of mileage out of this particular hairstyle, and I opted to pick it up in the chocolate bars color pack.
Last but certainly not least is this oh-so-sleek, oh-so-silky-looking offering from Faenzo.
All of the styles at Faenzo’s Hair Fair shop feature long, pin-straight tresses. As soon as I’d walked in, I absolutely knew I was going to be coming back to make a purchase. I ended up choosing the Oblivion style, which drapes some hair over your left shoulder. This has got to be hands-down the best straight style I have ever seen in SL, thanks largely in part to the great texturing. It features what I feel is a perfect amount of sheen (straight hair in real life has a bit of a gloss to it because flat surfaces will reflect light).
I also noticed they used a very simple but clever method for adding some dimension and richness to the hair color. They added a very slight tint to one of the prims (or pieces? dunno what to call them). It’s subtle but I think it makes a difference. Gorgeous work, Faenzo people!
So there you have it, my review of the hairstyles I spent my precious Linden dollars on, and the reasons why I chose those particular styles. I’m very happy with my selections, and I wish I could have bought even more!

The layout of the sims makes it easy to shop. Just follow the road and you won’t miss a single shop.