I’ve heard a few rumors, but I have always wondered exactly what it is that makes a woman attractive? Why are some women just more attractive than others? So I did my research, and here is what I came up with:

The first article I found online, being the DailyMail stated that in a study, “The exact same woman tends to be rated as more physically attractive when there is a pleasant smell present” Women know to wear a fragrance as frequently as they should wear deodorant. But this makes me wonder what came first the chicken or the egg? By that I mean; did wearing perfume cause people to seem more attractive, or did more attractive people seem to wear perfume?

This article went on to say “A pleasant scent was found to make younger faces look even more youthful – and older faces look even older” (Kirkova). This confused me, because it has never been said that very young or very old faces are attractive. However if a scent can make someone more attractive, is that to say that not looking your proper age is attractive? There could be a third variable like the way we act when we put on a perfume. It can cause us to seem older or younger. Regardless, it apparently makes a female seem as if they a better looking person when she wears a fragrance.

The next article I found was from the New York Times, stating “It increases people’s perceptions of a woman’s likability, her competence and (provided she does not overdo it) her trustworthiness, according to a new study, which also confirmed what is obvious: that cosmetics boost a woman’s attractiveness” (Louis). So look at this. It actually does make a woman seem more attractive to wear face makeup. Again what came first the chicken or the egg? Do girls wear so much makeup as to be attractive, or do attractive people wear makeup, and it just makes us think that they are more attractive than they would be without make up? As a girl, you’re told your whole life not to wear too much makeup but I guess this is why. This isn’t to say that wearing too much or too little makeup does not make you attractive at all, to each is own. But through this article we can see that the ‘natural look’ of just enough makeup to enhance your features, a woman is at her most attractive state.

This brings me to the next theory I’ve heard: If a man is unattractive to a woman, he can make up for it with a good sense of humor. If a woman is unattractive she does not have the same advantage. It is not socially acceptable for a woman to walk up to a man in a bar and start cracking jokes…this would get her nowhere. Why does it almost never matter if a girl, generally, has a good sense of humor? So the next article I found was from live science.com said, “A woman is attracted to a man who makes her laugh, Bressler found in a 2005 study. A man likes a woman who laughs at his jokes” (Carey). As if it were not obvious, women are attracted to humor more than men are. Perhaps it is the qualities we look for in a significant other that differ from the qualities a man looks for.

That article continued on with the next rumor I heard, it was that men were subconsciously more attracted to a symmetrical face. “Both men and women rated symmetrical members of the opposite sex as more attractive and in better health than their less symmetrical counterparts” (Carey). I suppose this is a very likely idea. What if every person we find more attractive just has a more symmetrical face. CNN looked at a study based on the same theory, “Putting it all together, a 2007 study in Perception & Psychophysics suggests that symmetry adds to the attractiveness of “average” faces” (Landau). It blows my mind that a face that lines up as close to perfectly as possible would apparently be a more attractive person. Perhaps this is the reason that we as a people are becoming more and more interested in plastic surgery. Plastic surgery is to make a perfect, symmetrical nose, chest ect.

I had also heard that men were more attracted to women, the higher her voice was. I thought that was crazy. My best friend has the most piercing, high-pitched voice in the world and men say it is completely irritating. But the article stated that, “Previous studies showed that men tend to prefer women with high-pitched voices, which are associated with high levels of estrogen” (Howard). I guess an irritating voice does not make her unattractive. So I guess what could be pulled from this is that the manlier the voice, the more unattractive because it shows a male quality. I suppose the higher the voice, the more feminine and attracted a guy is to that voice. But is estrogen the third variable here? A higher voice does not cause attractiveness, and attractiveness does not cause a higher voice. A higher voice would signal estrogen, causing attractiveness.

Works Cited

Carey, Bjorn. “The Rules of Attraction in the Game of Love.” LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 13 Feb. 2006. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

Howard, Jacqueline. “What Makes A Voice ‘Attractive?’ New Study Reveals Surprising Answer.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

Kirkova, Deni. “How Wearing a Nice Perfume Won’t Only Make a Woman Smell Nice – It Can Make Her Look More Beautiful.” Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 01 June 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

Landau, Elizabeth. “Beholding Beauty: How It’s Been Studied.” CNN. Cable News Network, 03 Mar. 2012. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.

Louis, Catherine Saint. “Up the Career Ladder, Lipstick In Hand.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Oct. 2011. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.