Ash photo.

Just thought I'd share with my smoking friends and fans...
I captured this photo of my slave boy providing cigar service to me with my Galaxy Android device on 2012, October 31. The place we were was so dark that I wasn't sure it would show up at all, and the others I took didn't at all.

After some image editing - tweaking the contrast, light balance, colour balance, and a couple other small things - I REALLY like how it turned out. I am strongly considering using it in a major project, in fact.

Here, below, is what it looked like prior to editing. 

Member Pics file updated!

The Photos zip file on the member download page has been completely revamped, with everything moved into labelled folders, thumbnails and duplicate items deleted, and missing photos added. It took several hours to do it all, but I think the effort was worth it for my supporting fans!

Enjoy!!

Website update ~ All Members Only shoots added +Regular galleries updated

The aforementioned (last post) guest sets and my shoot with Fireseeker have been added to both the regular gallery and the members only section, as well as one more small "webshoot" in the regular gallery.

There are still four sets (2 very short ones from Paradise, one Short one from another campout, and one pretty good sized one with lots of pics from just last week) that I'll be adding in the next couple/few days.

The Member's Only photo download file has has all new photos added, though some of them may still need a bit of editing/updating to be perfect.

Speaking of the DL files, I will also be reorganising the zip files, putting all the sets into separate folders, deleting the thumbnails, and just generally making the whole thing easier for members to navigate, rather than just a huge "mixed bag".
I'll post here when that is done. Look for it within the next week or so. Maybe less, if I can get to it, but definitely soon.

Website updates, Forum, New pics, Paradise, Hookah!

Lots of new stuff to report!

Website
I'm currently in the process of doing some very overdue updating on the Smokey Kisses website...

There are LOTS of new photo sets going up, including a few guest sets. Priority goes to the Members Only area, as always.
Most of the new members only sets are up for viewing. I'm going to try to finish them this morning.
I might not get to the regular gallery updates until tonight or tomorrow. Being a member has its benefits.

Many of the new photos are already added to the member download page. It's just added to the zip file, so Members,  if you haven't updated that file lately, come on over and re-download it so you can get all the latest photos! Or, if you like, wait a few days for the update confirming ALL new photos added. Either way, don't forget to get your goodies. ;)

Pics
Technically more related to the website thing, but wanted to list some of what is in the queue.
* Paradise pics, including photos of me playing with the lovely slave boy who served me for most of the week,  and photos from the Steampunk night. I have a couple group photos from other themed  nights too, which will probably go in the sightings section of the forum once I get consent from all in the photos to do so.
* Five guest sets and one very large set with me, all featuring the extreme smoke slut, Fireseeker, who has a very hard core cigar fetish. The guest sets feature him with Mistress Tazha and Lady SnapDragon.
* A few short sets that I took of myself with my Android as I smoked.

Forum
The forum is live!! Come check it out!
There are still some little bugs to work out, and the look and feel may be changing more, but it is now fully functional and ready to go.
If you don't see the section(s) you'd like to see, post it in the suggestion box. If I like your idea, I will make it so. Members: Be sure to send me a message when you join the forum, so I can give you access to the members only section there!

Hookah
I just got myself a little starter hookah the other day, and I love it! I recorded my test run of it on my cam chat page. It is there under the "videos" tab of the chat window/applet.
I'm interested in whether that is something my fans would like to see more of, so go vote and/or post in the forum thread on that subject!

That's about it for now. Stay tuned for further updates, and keep checking the gallery, as things will be continuing to be added.

New cam-cast ~ DON LUIS Secretos del Maestro review, and other thoughts

I just enjoyed a DON LUIS Secretos del Maestro robusto on cam. The recording is in the video library on my cam page, for those who missed the real time showing.
Warning, the sound is REALLY loud for the first half or so and the vid quality could be a lot better. 
The lighting (that is the visible lighting, not the lighting of the cigar! LOL) leaves much to be desired, though it is  perfectly visible. I adjusted the sound and vid quality settings about halfway through. I forgot to check them at first cause the whole thing was kind of spur of the moment and unplanned. It was already almost full dark outside when I started. 


The Review:  
This smoke was one of a box of 5 sent to me by my dear smoke slut, Stef, and it was pretty tasty. 
the construction was solid. Nice dark and smooth wrapper with no flaws to speak of. It lit easily and evenly and required NO touch ups at all.. a rarity to be sure. The flavour was fairly straightforward, smooth and spicy, but not all that complex. This isn't a bad thing. Not my usual fare, but definitely nice for a fairly short (about an hour) smoke. The ash was firm and dark - none fell on me whilst smoking, which is also a bit of a rarity, especially for me, as I tend to try and keep a good ash going for a cooler smoke. The draw was close to perfect, and there was LOTS of luxurious, creamy smoke. All in all, I think I'll give it a 6 out of 10. It didn't hit a lot of my favourites in terms of tastes that I like, or it would be higher, so don't take my rating as a reason not to try one! They are really well made and smoke very well, and we all know flavour is such a subjective thing. 


On to some other thoughts...

As mentioned in my ramblings during the webcast, I have decided to add a forum to the Smokey Kisses Website. This will be a full featured forum, with different areas (eventually) and a member sign in. It will be viewable by all, but I will probably require creating a free account and signing in to post, and I will definitely include a members only area for my donating fans, which will feature such things as ongoing fantasy stories, to which members can contribute, members only auctions and offers for things like signed prints of my smoking photos, cigar shorts, personal garments, and other special items, and whatever else I come up with for my most devoted fans. Suggestions will be MORE than welcome, and fans who come up with great ideas that I decide to implement will be duly rewarded. 
Some of the public areas I've already thought of will be a Q&A, where you can ask me questions about whatever you like (though especially intimate Q&A will be for members only), a review section for everyone to post reviews, not just of cigars, but accessories and pairings as well, how-to (making your own humidors, calibrating hygrometers, different lighting/cutting methods, flavouring, ageing, curing, you name it), a links section, of course, and a "sightings" section, where you can post smoking photos of yourself or others (inspired by Famous Smoke's "Sightings" section in their Cigar Advisor newsletter). I'm sure I'll think of more, but first I need to get the thing created in the first place. 

I'm actually going to go and get started on the creation of the forum right now, so stay tuned for updates and a link when it's ready to go live!

I am smoking an Olar on my brand new cam chat page right now, just FYI.

http://smokeykisses.com/camchat.php

The video should be up at the link afterwards as well, for anyone who couldn't  tune in live.

Review - Perdomo Slow-Aged No. 826 Glorioso Maduro - toro (2/10)

According to the Cigars International page, 

"This complex blend results in a deliciously smooth, robust and vivacious flavor with creaminess and coffee-like notes".

They usually don't steer me wrong, but this time, unfortunately, they did in a big way.

The smoke DID light well - Nice and even, and burned and ashed nicely too, but that's about all the good stuff I can say about it.

It started out almost straight pepper! Now, I like strong and spicy cigars, but too many cigar manufacturers seem to think that "ton of pepper, all by itself" = "spicy". Not so, people!!  There are more spices on the rack; Or, at least, there ought to be.

As I had hoped, the full on pepper soon toned down several notches. Sadly, that's all that happened. It just became a decent, but pretty bland, strong cigar, and only that until a little over halfway through, when it just started to taste bad and I had to abandon it.

 No complexities, none of the promised flavours, no creaminess. I guess it was smooth, if, by "smooth", we mean blah. It wasn't harsh after the first 5 minutes or so, at least. 

All in all, rather a disappointment and I won't be buying more of these! Luckily, it was in a sampler, so there was only one of them. I really expected more from Perdomo!

2/10, I'm afraid.

Oh well. That's what samplers are for... To sample. I'll hope for better luck next time.

A finished story (Finally!) and a sneak peek at photos

Hello again my dears,

Just a quick note to let you know that I seem to have overcome my terribly extended bout of writer's block, and the first thing I did was finish Jose's Introduction. I am absolutely certain that we will be seeing more of Jose, as well as the lovely Lady M. before too long.

Also, I've been spending an inordinate amount of time editing photos and web code, and the new pics are not up yet, but I will share a few of them here for the time being.

The handsome smoke slut in the photos with me is FireSeeker... And you will see why he is called that in due time. Suffice it to say that he is ready and more than willing to go to extreme lengths to serve my smoky and sadistic whims.

News, new photos, new ideas, new cigars!

Hello to all my friends and fans from the land of the lost!

I know I haven't been around in quite some time and I apologise. Life is busy and it is more and more difficult to arrange for good photo shoots with all the anti smoking legislation here in Washington state!

That said, I DO have lots of things to report!

First off - New photo and video sets!
I have some new pictures that I am editing and preparing to upload to the Smokey Kisses Website within the next couple of days.

Eight new very extreme sets will be posted in the Members Only adult section, featuring the hard core smoke slut, FireSeeker, and two of my lovely lady friends, in addition to myself.

I'll post a few shots from those sets in the regular gallery, just to give you a little peek, but most of them are too extreme for casual viewing!

I'll also be uploading a mini set that consists of stills taken from a recent smoke on cam, for those of you who missed the live feed.

I've found a couple of old filterless cigarette  videos as well, which I had forgotten about, and those are going up too.

New Site Features and repairs!
I'm working on revamping the inner workings of the site a bit, including a new contact page , remodelled Members Only section, and fixing lots of outdated code, so if you run across broken links or other strange glitches, please be sure to let me know, and be patient while I work out the bugs. I have recovered the missing videos from the main gallery, and those are already back up and ready to view.

Ideas
I may have mentioned this sometime in the past, but I've been thinking again about auctioning off some of my personal garments. Each item would come with photos of me wearing it as well, of course, so you will know they are the real deal, and not just some random clothing items. I'm not positive exactly how I will work the auctioning, or if I will just list a flat amount for each item yet. I'm definitely open to suggestions! 

New Cigars!
I arrived at my "second home" today to find a Royal Mail package, containing, not just "a few", as he said he was sending, but ten cigars and a very nice letter from one of my favourite gentlemen, Cibarboy, showing that he is, indeed, a truly devoted fan! There will definitely be a couple of photo sets dedicated to him going up in the not too distant future, and when they do, you will have him to thank for it!

Here is what was in the box (one each): 

• Don Corazza Special Edition by Brun Del Ré
• Padron Series - either a 2000 or a Delicias - The sizes are nearly identical and I'm not positive which it is without actually measuring.
• San Lotano by AJ Fernandez - a nice looking, box pressed robusto
• Cusano 59 Rare Cameroon - also robusto
• Kristoff Kristania Toro
• Oliva Serie O - I've had the V and G, both of which are QUITE to my liking! I bet this will be too.
• Macanudo 1968 Trompeta
• Daniel Marshall Red Label - "Scarface Edition" Robusto
• Paul Stulac Phantom (torpedo) - I've never heard of these, but am definitely curious.
• Alec Bradley Black Market - which happens to be one I have been especially wanting to try for a while now!
•  

I've read the reviews and/or descriptions on all of them, and am greatly looking forward to trying them all! Several of them smell so divine that it's hard to resist lighting them up right now, but I know they will be better after a nice rest from their long journey across the pond.

That's all for now folks.. Now it's time for me to get back to my website and photo editing.
Stay tuned!

~ Khaos