Black Label Skin

Immediately upon logging in, you're whisked away to your very own personal profile. Here you can upload your pictures, add friends, receive comments, access your favorite videos and pictures, organize playlists, and even manage your own blog. Many sites have some of the above features, but it's rare to see the whole package put together like this. I'm impressed.

I'm digging the sleek, minimalistic design of the members area. The regal logo and unobtrusive collage, black & white color-scheme, and user-friendly navigational tools make for a site that's easy both on the eyes and mind alike. They've also thrown in a lot of minor extras — everything from wallpaper to interviews. There are even bizarre categories like "automobiles." And, in keeping with their refined image, they've also included sections dedicated to modern art and fine wines. This probably sounds overwhelming but the way the main menu is setup, it's really isn't.

As dubious as some of these features might sound, I quite enjoyed them in spite of their absurdity — perhaps even because of it. The Modern Art section, for instance, contained some insightful and well written articles. At first I was skeptical about such an off-topic addition to a porn site, but I found the reading material to be pretty damn convenient way to kill time after shooting a load. This is a standard move in magazines, and I'm frankly surprised more adult sites haven't implemented it.

Black Label Skin currently has a stable of 52 models. Each girl has her own profile and can, theoretically, be contacted through private messages. Knowing the nature of man, they're bombarded daily. And why not? A lot of these gals could have probably had careers as models.

I only wish they had more ethnic variety, you know, to spice things up. Either way, these babes are a great blend of unknowns and big names. My personal favorite is Raven Riley. That girl just radiates sexuality. I've always been a sucker for brunettes, and her leonine beauty sealed the deal; she's long and slender, but not at all gawky. And there's something strangely erotic about that smug look that's always on her face.

My first major stop was the video section. Each of the 246 scenes currently available can be downloaded — at speeds exceeding 800 kilobytes per second — in the Quicktime, WMV, MPG, and iPod formats. With the exception of the iPod, for obvious reasons, each format had spectacular playback quality. The Quicktime and Windows Media files, in particular. Each displayed that stunning, high-def clarity that really lets you get a great view of every nook and cranny.

For those of you who are in a hurry or just desperately low on harddrive space, there's the always convenient option of streaming video. This embedded flash player is awesome. I loved being able to speed halfway through a newly-loaded movie without experiencing any buffering hiccups.

If hardore is your thing, this definitely is not the site for you. The only penetration I've to be seen is done by vibrators. Content here is uniformly softcore and formulaic. Scenes consist, for the most part, of the model slowly and seductively removing items after item of clothing. Taunting and teasing you, all the while striking poses and mugging it up for the camera. Yet they somehow manage to make it work. Don't ask me how.

Indeed, these scenes are very well shot and edited. I just wish they'd ditch that god-awful porn music. Or at least turn it down in the mix. Not only is it obnoxious, it serves to distract from the otherwise excellent work. I can't really be too hard on them about it, though, because it seems most sites these days suffer from the same ailment.

No, if this site truly has an achilles’ heel, it's without a doubt the picture section. First off, the images are just too small. The largest ones I've seen had a paltry resolution of 680x490 pixels. Worse yet, they're watermarked! I wouldn't care if these pictures didn't look so killer. Whoever shot these is a good photographer and has a real eye for composition, and was done a real disservice by having their art manifested in such puny incarnations.