Martinis + Manicures = Happy Lady

Thursday evening, Liz and I met up for girls’ night, with martinis and manicures at Beauty Bar in Noble Square. The Chicago location just opened up this spring, in what used to be Sonotheque. One of the women who writes for Gapersblock.com DJs at Beauty Bar, so she clued me into the venue last weekend. All she had to say was “$10 martinis and manicures” and I was rapt!

Before heading to Noble Square, Liz and I went to Mado up at Devon and Milwaukee to spend her Groupon. I’d never been, but Liz insisted that they have the best desserts in Chicago, and who am I to argue with that? Not to mention the fact that the produce is all locally grown. My most favorite dinner item was the roasted carrots with ras el hanout goat cheese, pistachios and cumin honey. Mouth-watering, even now. We ate only small plates so as to save some space for desserts, but I had no idea that we would actually wind up with a smorgasbord of desserts. When they brought our desserts they gave us an extra one, so we ended up staring this lemon chiffon mousse concoction, rich chocolate lava cake with cherries, and almond cake with jelly all square in the face. Liz was right--they do have the best desserts in Chicago. We simply couldn’t eat every bite, as the dishes were so decadent and rich, but we were feeling a happy kind of sugar-rush food coma as we headed toward Beauty Bar.
As soon as we arrived, I became all teenage-girl gushy about the place. The sparkly, geometric patterned walls, old hair dryer seats, reproduced ads for hair products from the 1950s… It was so adorable that I just wanted to wrap it all up and give it a good squeeze (I’m such a sucker for vintage anything, but particularly when it’s done well). It was so positively the place to spend an evening with your girlfriends that I couldn’t believe I’d never been there before. To top off the ambiance, of course, were the martinis (named fabulous names like “Shampoo”—which I chose—and “Redhead”) and manicures for ten bucks.

My martini was a bit lackluster (despite the cute bartender who mixed it), but my manicure was fabulous. Believe it or not, it was my first manicure ever (I’ve never been able to justify spending 20+ bucks when I can do my nails at home), and the whole experience was relaxing and enjoyable. My manicurist was a cute blonde PR girl, and we had a lovely chat about Chicago, summertime, and the PR world. All the while, she was turning my neglected fingernails into nicely-shaped, shiny purple nails. Even as she filed and painted, I was able to sip on my martini. It was a fabulous pampering!

Some of the art/vintage ads on their walls

And while these manicures were happening within glitzy retro walls, a female DJ spun glitzy retro tunes. As we waited for our nails to finish drying, Liz and I looked at trashy gossip magazines and finished our cocktails. I admit it—it was an utterly frivolous evening! But it was so incredibly inexpensive that I didn’t even have to feel the slightest bit guilty.

If you’re looking for a fun, cheap night out with the girls, go to Beauty Bar. Yes, I realize it’s a chain, and I know how so many of us Chicagoans (wait, did I just call myself a Chicagoan?) love to turn our noses down at anything that’s not uniquely ours, but it’s a seriously great way to de-stress.