Ahh, Tia Maria.
After a conversation in the gym this week, I’m glad to say I’m not the only one who remembers it, drowned in cola, alongside that other favourite Taboo and lemonade. It was trendy, everyone was drinking it and so you doing so made you just as trendy.
Of course it did.
I was what we drank when we were trying to be adult, move away from Hooch and other alcopops. Playing at being grown ups.
In a move that let me reminisce a little and rediscover it, Tia Maria held an event, The Dark Room, on Deansgate this weekend.
Free cocktails, manicures, hairdos and music – even better it wasn’t just a blogger or press event – anyone could register, or just pop by and indulge in a little pamper. One of the reasons I took Lisa along with me for the experience and, you know, because we’re friends and I enjoy her company.
We began, of course, with the important bits, the cocktails. Heading to the bar, there were three on offer – a Tia Espresso, a Tia Ginger and a Skinny White Russian. I was immediately drawn to the espresso, Lisa to the ginger. Done and done.
The espresso was delicious – good depth to it, slightly sweet, but then I’m a fussy thing. The Ginger was really very good, I’d never automatically put this cocktail together, but the ginger added an earthiness to the drink that worked really well.
Taking the opportunity while we sipped, we booked in to have our hair done with Tony & Guy – a variety of gorgeous updos were on offer and typically we both opted for a beehive, mine channeling a little Brigitte Bardot, with a sweet 60s pony tail at the back, and lots and lots of height on top.
I loved the hair so much, I need to find a way to redo this at home, with my own poor hairdressing skills. I foresee a lot of practice, a lot of hairspray and cursing.
Next up – nails.
WAH Nails are a cult salon in London, specialising in fantastic nail art, so having them paint our nails was rather exciting (I can be such a girl sometimes). They’d created designs specifically for the event, based around the cocktails and Tia Maria brand.
Given I’ve been indulging recently and getting acrylics (they’ll be gone soon, summer and stronger natural nails beckon) I was super keen to get some of their beautiful work done. Any excuse.
With bright red on every nail but my ring finger, I had selected a gold and black motif, which is still holding fast today (not a chip in sight), while Lisa had opted for the Tia Espresso in nail form, a deep dark almost aubergine colour, matched with a hint of ‘foam’ on the nail tip.
In amongst all this pampering, there were cocktail lessons, live music and the lovely Gemma Cairney both hosted and DJ’d turning this little pop up into the perfect precursor for a Ladies’ night out.
Suitable attired, of course, Lisa and I couldn’t just head home afterwards – not with beautifully coiffured hair and stunning nails – we needed to show them off a little. And we found the perfect excuse in World Whisky Day – well it would be rude not to.
A couple of delicious drams in Whiskey Jar and we felt we’d done our glamour a little more justice than sitting on a bus.
Thanks Tia Maria and those behind the bar, for the delicious cocktails, thanks to the team Tony & Guy for the hard work in taming my mop and to WAH nails for the beautiful work.
I feel some back combing coming on…..
Initial cocktails at this event were free for anyone attending, as were the hair and nail sessions. Further cocktails cost £4 each.