Gremlin,
What a great question!
At one point I spent some time researching attractiveness. I found a
site, www.beautyanalysis.com (and don’t be turned off by the
feminine-sounding name). The site explains the work of a mathematician
who created profiles, based on his knowledge of the mathematics of
human attractiveness, of the most attractive male and female faces.
These ‘masks’ apply to people of any race. You can obtain a picture of
the male mask for free on the website, and, through a little bit of
computer manipulation, overlay it onto your own photo and see how you
align. This could take a little tweaking of both images to get the fit
right. Attractive celebrities such as Pierce Brosnan and Tom Cruise
tend to have faces that fit the mask almost exactly. Unfortunately,
seeing how much your face matches the mask won’t lead you to any
direct ways to improve your appearance, but it can help you target
problem areas, and work on things such as your hairline, and emphasize
the features that work.
As for teeth, I would agree that they are extremely important.
Whitening is an excellent place to start. But don’t underestimate the
importance of good hygiene and grooming – there is no bigger turnoff
than body odor or bad breath, things that can’t always be camouflaged
by aftershave or mint gum! You might try brushing your teeth with a
whitening toothpaste, but improvement via that tends to be much
slower. In the midprice range ($19-$30) are products like Crest
Whitestrips and Colgate Simply White. However, these will take at
least 2 weeks for even barely noticeable improvement. If you want fast
results, tray bleaching is the way to go, and you can do it at home
with a Rembrandt kit or at your cosmetic dentist’s.
I don’t suggest you go the route of braces for correcting your teeth.
You have two other options: veneers and Invisalign. Veneers need to be
done by an experienced cosmetic dentist—if you only have one or two
teeth that need touchups, it shouldn’t be too costly. But make sure
you invest in a practitioner who really knows what he or she is
doing—if veneers aren’t done right, they can look awfully “eighties”
and will be counterproductive. Also, you want your veneers to be
seamless if you plan on kissing (which I assume you do!). Invisalign
is a new concept that will do minor dental corrections while looking
practically invisible. Not all orthodontists/cosmetic dentists are
certified to do Invisalign, and they may tell you that it’s not right
for your teeth just to disguise the fact that they can’t do it. Again:
scout around for a good dentist and a seamless procedure. I do,
however, suggest you “fix” your teeth if it is something noticeable. A
great smile is a *BIG* turn-on, and you don’t want anything to keep
you from smiling your best. Keep in mind, though, that often tooth
flaws add a little bit of character – see if you can find out what the
deal is with yours.
As for the body, the lithe, athletic type is not at all unattractive.
I suggest running instead of bodybuilding. Running moderately long
distances (such as 2 miles straight) every day will help you subtly
build the muscles that matter while keeping you in excellent shape. A
runner’s body is a good thing, most of us agree. Instead of lifting
weights, you could do pushups – 100 a day may sound like quite a lot,
but in the men I know who do it, it garners really nice results. I’d
say body should not be first on your list for developments, because
most people you encounter cannot immediately see how
muscular/non-muscular you are (unless you are really large or out of
shape, which you don’t seem to be).
In terms of hair: the gel/spiked look is appealing to some women, but
I don’t think it fits your overall style. If you are dressing
conservatively (we’ll address that a bit later), it’s best to keep
your hair well groomed and nice looking but not explicitly styled. I
agree with jcg: you need a great stylist to give you the perfect cut.
I would suggest investing the most money in this and clothes (a tie);
the other things can be obtained more cheaply. A barbershop (unless it
is the best in the country) will probably not give you your best look.
Don’t be shy about finding a good hairdresser, and find the best one
you possibly can. You will probably be charged quite a lot (upwards of
fifty dollars). Don’t ask for something too crazy or innovative, and
DON’T cut it too short (no crew cuts). Request something like a
“conservative, masculine, wash-and-wear style”. Before you go in to
the hairdresser, I suggest you grow your hair a bit, so that it is
very thick and full but not “long”. Thick, full hair is a plus, just
ask the stylist to ‘clean it up’ a bit for you and make it look
put-together. Pay attention to your sideburns—either grow them or do
not grow them, but don’t ignore them. Also decide whether you want to
be clean-shaven or have some facial hair (clean-shaven is a little
more versatile, because there are some women who do not like facial
hair). Then: swear off the gel. I personally do not find gel very
attractive: if your hair is out-of-control, a good cut will do it
better service than a bottle of hair gel. Also, wavy hair is
incredibly sexy. Make that work for you. Your dark color also sounds
great—I’d leave it untouched.
Now for the wardrobe. I think this is the easiest to change, but I
suggest changing it AFTER you have finished with your hair, teeth,
etc. Then you’ll know how to make your clothes “work” with the rest of
your appearance; that’s always easier than making the rest of your
appearance “work” with your clothes. A new wardrobe (if it’s a good
one) is a big investment, so think carefully.
Believe it or not, what you’re already wearing (polo shirts, etc.) is
a very good start. You can’t go wrong with clean-cut, conservative
clothing. As jcg and missy mentioned, fit is VERY important, more
important than anything else. What I suggest you do next with your
wardrobe is loosen it up ever so slightly—add some more casual and
relaxed pieces to make you look more good natured and approachable.
Don’t get sloppy about it, though: all you need are casual accessories
(and no, accessories aren’t just for girls). Anything to make you look
a little more relaxed: for button-down shirts, leave an extra button
open and loosen your cuffs. Keep pants simple for the most part. The
coat is also a very important factor (it is still winter,
unfortunately!). A long coat may be costly, but they look excellent.
Land’s End has some versatile ones www.landsend.com, and Brooks
Brothers makes their coats out of excellent materials (nothing’s
sexier than a long, black, wool coat, left open.)
www.brooksbrothers.com . The BrookStorm Car Coat in Black is my
recommendation. The price is hefty at $498 but it’ll last you forever.
Some previous researchers recommended a very tailored, business type
look. But I understand that you are only college-age, and looking
overly professional may make you look unapproachable or reserved. If
you want to lighten up but still look put-together, I suggest trying
clothing from Abercrombie and Fitch www.abercrombie.com. It’s
outdoorsy, midpriced clothing that is very versatile and perfect for
the campus. Also, you can seek style inspiration from their models (ha
ha, but true!).
Although I personally don’t notice shoes, I read that shoes are the
first thing most women notice. That said, high style isn’t necessary.
Good repair is very important though. If you feel you are shorter than
average, I very much suggest heightening shoes (you asked another
question regarding this). You were reluctant to try heightening
insoles, but you might find that a pair that fits you really well is a
good investment. If you are nervous about having these revealed, you
might get a little creative and carefully glue them inside your shoes.
If they’re expensive shoes, you could have a professional do this for
you. If the insoles are still visible, you could go as far as to glue
fabric over them. But either way, I suggest you try to make yourself
as tall as you reasonably can. The taller you are, the more easily you
can pull off the conservative, put-together look without appearing
stuffy.
Maybe you’ve considered a good aftershave or eau de toilette? These
are very important. Be sure to apply with a light hand so that they
aren’t overbearing—only noticeable up close. You will be remembered by
an appealing, but subtle, fragrance. Try to find one that is woodsy,
clean, masculine, and outdoorsy, but not very fancy. This may sound
like cheating, but you can also try pheromones, which are
scientifically proven to improve attractiveness (you will find about a
thousand eBay auctions for these, and they will also be advertised in
the back of men’s magazines – not hard to get!). A little goes a long
way.
I hope that these tips will help a bit…best of luck!
Redmango |
