Glowing from the first blush of love. Mending a broken heart. Embracing your single status. It really doesn't matter what state your love life is in, there's something about dancing your ass off that totally reinvigorates your mind, body and soul.
That's why Steph (happy in a long-term relationship) and me (back on the market) headed down to Lickerish Restaurant & Lounge (903 Davie St.) for some "Live Motown" (which, you can catch every Tuesday).
We figure it would be the best theme night for us because ... well, it's the only music we really agree on.
See, Steph's a little bit hip hop/world beat and I'm a little bit rock 'n' roll. But when it comes to Smokey, Stevie, Michael, Marvin and Diana, we're of the same mind (i.e. we can't get enough).
So in keeping with the night's theme, we headed to Lure Salon (170-840 Howe St.) for a Motown makeover. At this one-stop image-creating shop, you can get your hair, makeup and wardrobe personally stylized for just about every kind of occasion.
For our event, the motto was definitely "go big, or go home." Under Dan Nguyen's direction, Lure's expert team spun our hair like cotton candy into fabulous gravity-defying beehives.
For makeup, they played our up eyes with show-stopping shadows, lots of liner and fake lashes.
Then it was time for stylist Krista Sung to do her thang. She decked us out in some retro-inspired sequined mini dresses from True Value Vintage (710 Robson St.) and topped the look off with just the right accessories (also from True Value Vintage).
We got to Lickerish around 8:30, and it was already filling up downstairs ... with men. A lot of men. After getting a glimpse of the night's entertainment (the beautiful and talented Karen Holness), it was pretty clear what was drawing all the menfolk. (If you haven't heard of Holness, she's a local singer with exceptionally good looks and a voice to match.)
But before we hit the tiny makeshift floor, we headed upstairs for a sit-down dinner. There, we were treated to several dishes from Lickerish's new menu. Everything was insanely good, especially the white wine mussels (served with black-pepper frites), grilled lamb with mushroom risotto cakes and the pistachio-crusted cheese in a strawberry butter sauce.
This was our first time here and we were both pleasantly surprised by the food, as well as the vibe. It's an intimate space that attracts a mature crowd. And while upstairs is more conducive to intimate dinners, downstairs is perfect for casual socializing. People table-hop to chat each another up, but not in an intrusive, meat marekt-y way - it's more like you're at a close friend's house party.
And best of all, there's zero attitude and not a hipster in sight.
After our meals, we got down to the business of getting down. Along the way, we befriended a new gal pal: Holness (and by "befriended", I mean she humoured us with a photo op.)
All in all, it was a successful Girls Night Out and I'm happy to report that against all laws of physics, our levitational updos stayed perfectly in place.
Thanks Lure!
