Ding, ding. The bell has rung. In the red corner, we have old favourite – the Maitreya Lara mesh body. The body has kept in shape by being updated regularly and seems to have been held back only by the non-release of actual rigging stats for clothing creators.

Ding, ding. In the blue corner, we have the first huge re-release for Belleza. Now, it has come back with not only one but three different bodies for customers to choose from! How will Maitreya Lara stack up against Belleza Venus V3, Belleza Isis and, perhaps most interestingly, the new curvier body, Belleza Freya?

It’s worth noting a few things before we begin. Firstly, the skin used in the Maitreya Lara Pictures is by Lara Hurley. The skin in the Belleza pictures is provided with the body and is adaptable by the HUD and I tweaked it to make a rough match – I didn’t have the same applier for Belleza y’see!

Secondly, you can click on all the pictures to see them in a larger size.

So, on with the first round… A direct comparison of Belleza Venus, Isis, Freya and Maitreya Lara

Each of the bodies worn with a shape that originated as my usual one, but I tweaked to bring down the legs to around 50 muscle. You’ll perhaps see why I decided to make a more average shape for the lower half of the body as we progress. You’ll note that the Belleza Freya is a much curvier shape than any of the other three, which look pretty similar at this size. The boobs on Freya are also larger, even when on the same setting as the other bodies.

Second round… How do the Belleza mesh bodies compare from the rear?

The three Belleza bodies from the rear, shown with my normal shape, which is with leg muscle at 60. I always have plentiful bum and some sidesaddle. You’ll probably see again that Venus and Isis are looking similar, but that Freya is much plumper.

Third round… How does Belleza Freya compare to Maitreya Lara for a more rounded shape?

This is Maitreya Lara Mesh body vs Belleza Freya mesh body with my usual shape from the front. I like the softened contours of Freya generally, but I find the knees and lower legs a bit… water retentive? I think I said this about Belleza knees last time, but for those people wishing to have a natural looking, slightly larger silhouette, Freya is providing that in spades.

Fourth Round… this battle is raging! The boobs are out.

Both Belleza Freya and Belleza Isis mesh bodies have three options now for ‘breast placement’ for lack of any other term. I’m showing you Freya here in the three boob positions, with boobs on 65, so that you can compare it to Maitreya Lara’s single position boobs on the same setting. As with the previous Belleza Venus body, I find that the boobs on the Belleza Freya stick out too far from the body, they are not globular enough and so I think look like a boob job at larger sizes. I suspect with Belleza Freya, you could reduce the boob size to around 50 and it look more natural.

Fifth Round… How does the genitalia compare on Maitreya Lara vs Belleza Venus?

As you can see, I wanted to show you the detail of the undercarriage on the Maitreya Lara when compared to the Belleza mesh bodies. The undercarriage detail on each of the Belleza versions seems to be the same, I think the inner thigh at the very top on the Maitreya is slightly better. You can also see that the belly button has been revisited on the Belleza Venus when compared to the earlier versions, it’s a much more subtle button than the Lara, and depends on taste as to which you will prefer.

Sixth Round… What if I only want a petite shape in my mesh body?

I screwed up the comparative picture taking here, but hopefully it’s sufficient for you to see what I’m trying to show you. The Belleza Isis, which is aimed at a more petite shape marketplace vs the Maitreya Lara. When flattening out the breasts and removing body fat from the equation, Belleza Isis seems to provide a more flattering look for the smaller chested and breasted. However, it is worth nothing that on any setting of breast size, Belleza is bigger in the chest area, but that the mesh seems to adapt better. Equally worth nothing is that skin shading makes a huge difference to how big the boobs look and if they look natural.

Seventh Round… Which Alpha HUD is the best?

Here are some HUD comparisions to help you decide which is best for you. You can see Maitreya Lara’s Alpha HUD tab on the left, and Belleza body’s Alpha HUD tab on the right. Belleza have certainly made a lot of improvements to their alpha HUD, in a way that should allow the wearing of more clothes. We’ll come back to clothes later, cus we don’t all wander around naked 🙂

Eighth Round… Which layers HUD tab is simpler to use? Maitreya or Belleza?

A comparision of the layers HUD between the two. I prefer Maitreya’s WYSIWYG layout, as I think it is more intuitive than simple on/off buttons. However, I’m sure they both do the job adequately. Belleza has also added a ‘Clear All’ button, which I’m sure is useful.

Ninth Round… Which mesh body gives the most choice of nail colours or shapes?

Nail tab. You will note that Belleza give slightly more nail polish choices, and have also included a new nail shape with their bodies – pointed nails.

Tenth Round… Let’s have a look at the skin tabs on Maitreya Lara vs the Belleza bodies

The skin tab is the same for Maitreya as the nail tab, they decided to put both one one tab and have managed to pack a lot in there with some success. Of course, with Belleza you get the choice of the three cleavage options on the Isis and Freya bodies (just push up and regular on the Venus). You also get a choice of nipple colours, which you don’t with Maitreya. Unfortunately, I find most of the Belleza mesh nipple colours a bit plasticky and doll-like.

Eleventh Round… Options on the Belleza HUD that don’t exist with the Maitreya Lara

Ok these are elements for which Maitreya has no answering HUD tab or option. Belleza provide all these different hand positions, as the original Venus did and also, new this release, a Wardrobe HUD which you can use to save outfits.

Twelfth Round… Belleza have provided a wardrobe tab on their HUD?

This is the other tab of the wardrobe HUD, on the left. I’ve not yet had a chance to play with the wardrobe HUD, but I’m assuming it works well and will enable you to keep certain items you always wear (underwear? I know I don’t always bother) or certain outfits saved there.

Thirteenth Round… Which body can I wear with mesh clothes?

Clothes! I haven’t taken any clothed pictures, I figure you can see enough of those on all the fashion blogs out there. I’ve been disappointed that Maitreya have not made the clothes rigging maths (forgive me, I know nothing) available to designers yet and so they’ve all been working on guestimates – some more successfully than others. Belleza have seemed much more on the ball in that regard, meaning that certainly from one store I love (Blueberry) sizes for the new Belleza bodies were available even before the bodies were. I don’t know if she’s pre-cognisant or if Belleza really got their stuff out to designers that quickly, but yes… clothes are coming. I’d guess if you want to wear standard size mesh clothing, the Belleza Isis mesh body may be the way to go. Both bodies are applier and Omega applier ready.

So, the fight is over. Both parties fought valiantly. Belleza providing yet more choice to an already choice-ful mesh body with 3 new bodies – Belleza Venus, Belleza Freya and Belleza Isis. I guess my recommendations are as follows:

If you want a very full body which still retains it’s goddess roots, go for Belleza Freya. If you want a petite body that is still womanly, go for Isis. If you want something that looks natural and sexy, go for Maitreya Lara (but not for small boobs necessarily, unless you can find the right skin for the job), and finally, if you simply hate Maitreya Lara and wish for something in the middle ground, go for Belleza Venus.

I’m sticking with my Maitreya Lara for now, cus it makes me jump for joy!

Further resources:

Belleza Website

Maitreya Website

Mesh Body Addicts Review of the new Belleza bodies update

The Mesh Body Reviews | Maitreya Lara vs Belleza Venus (original)

The Mesh Body Reviews | Belleza vs The Mesh Project vs Wowmeh

Full list of changes for the Belleza Venus Update including Isis and Freya bodies.

– Venus (V3), Isis, and Freya Mesh Bodies

– Additional Breast Shape Options

– SlinkFit Option via HUD – Quickly adjust body to fit Slink Hands & Feet

– Wardrobe HUD System – Store, view and apply appliers

– Improved UVs for Body

– Updated Hands & Feet with SL UVS

– Full Material Support – Skin, Body Layers, Nipples and Nails

+ includes Normal Map, Specular Map, Specular Color, Environment Integer, Glossiness Integer

– Added Security for Appliers – Notecard deletes after setup

– Mask/Blend Layers Options – Debugs transparencies to fix layer glitches

– Skin Color Picker – Tint Skin

– Skin Texture Refresh

– New Belleza Skin Textures (Exclusive to Belleza – Mesh Body)

– Improved Alpha Breaks – 128 TOTAL!

– Save Slots for Alpha

– Alpha Auto Hiding Capability

– Neck Sizing Options for Improved Neck Fit

– Optional Neck Blending Sheath for Better Neck Fit

– Choose the Layer for Appliers

– Clothing Layer Includes Alpha Breaks

– New Glove Layer for Tattoo, Underwear and Clothing

– Sock Layer for Tattoo, Underwear and Clothing

– Option to Clear All Body Layers

– Texture Refresh Options for Body Layers

– Additional Stiletto Pointed Nail Shape

– Remove Fingernail Option

– Save Slots for Fingernail and Toenail Polishes

– Fingernails and Toenails Separate

– Updated -Belleza- Mesh Body Slink Appliers

(as taken from Belleza’s notecard)