Mallory Cowan of Laqroki sent me samples of her newest hair with the oh-so-timely name of June. Redhead that I am, I gravitated to the Hot Red. Yes, it is hot. Normally, I would tint it just a bit darker. I usually purchase her Mahogany hair and add red to it. However, for the purpose of this review, I shot it as it is. The color is rich and vibrant, a bright red, but not at all brassy or orangey. It’s a red I am comfortable wearing. The headband is black and consists of three prims with a black fabric texture. It is not color-scripted, but as you can see, it was quite simple to add a dash of green to the texture to accent my dress. Like all her hair, I didn’t have to adjust it one millimeter to fit my head, though of course that won’t be true for all avatar shapes.
What I love about Laqroki hair is clearly evident in this and the photo of the back after the cut. Ms. Cowan thinks about more than how the hair looks, she thinks about how it interacts with the avatar. I don’t know how she does it, but with Laqroki hair, you seldom see a sheaf of hair appearing mysteriously from the middle of your breast. As a photographer, I love that. I also love the luminescence of the hair. It makes it so easy to work with lighting because the light doesn’t just get sucked into the hair and disappear. 
Looking at this hair from the back, the real artistry of Laqroki hair is seen in two ways. You see an expression of fluidity and movement. For the photographer in me, you see that when the hair is backlit, it is darker and doesn’t bounce the light as it did from the front. The hair is not a lightbulb. It is so difficult to get good skin and clothing tones in photos when the client has hair that can light a room. I have had to ask clients to add grey tint to some hairs because they are so bright. I have never once made that request of someone wearing Laqroki hair. Perhaps Ms. Cowan is also a photographer, because she certainly seems to know a photographer’s needs.
As to the rest of the outfit, let me just add a huge SQUEE that Laqroki has smoky Amy skins. I bought my Amy skins my first week in Second Life®. They are me and I never feel quite myself in other skins. However, I lusted after some smoky eyes. When RaC released smoky versions of some of their skins I began haunting the place for smoky Amy’s. However, silly me, I just looked for a separate pack like she did before instead of actually looking at the skins on display. When I wrote her telling her I would be the happiest Avatar in the SLuniverse if she made smoky Amy’s she graciously sent me one and and didn’t even say I was an idiot for not noticing.
The dress is from Baiastice, a bright, happy print called Secret Garden. I lowered the prim skirt just a bit because it was bordering on a baby doll and I prefer showing off my waist. The shoes are tangerine slingbacks from the gargantuapack you can get at Juicy. The earrings and necklace are called Burst and are incredibly gorgeous, with amazing detail and are from EarthStones. How strange is it that two of my favorite jewelry stores have almost the same name?
- Shape: melli2 by hatchy mills
- Skin: Amy 07 Portrait Skin by Laqroki
- Eyes: Soulful Hazel by IC Eyes
- Hair: June, in Hot Red from Laqroki
- Dress: Secret Garden from Baiastice
- Necklace: Burst (Hot) from EarthStones
- Shoes: Slingbacks, Tangerine Juicy