When it comes to finding your ideal significant other, what do people actually look for? A new global study breaks down the physical and character attributes... With a little help from AI.
ADVERTISEMENT“The most exciting attractions are between two opposites that never meet.”
Andy Warhol may be proven right, as the people you’ll see in this article don’t actually exist, hence removing the possibility of meeting them. However, their faces reveal the most common physical traits that people apparently look for in a romantic partner.
Sexy lingerie retailer Pour Moi has conducted a global survey of more than 3,000 participants to ascertain the distinguishing features that people gravitate towards, and used this information to visualise what these people would look like – with traits varying from nation to nation.
You’ve probably guessed by now that they asked AI – specifically Midjourney – to help visualise the most appealing romantic partners across eight countries.
We’re focusing on the European ones – you can check out the full study here should you be curious what the most sexually attractive partners look like in Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and the US.
France
The Pour Moi study found that the ideal French man needs facial hair, wrinkles (crow’s feet are in), “gentle brown eyes” and dark hair. (And according to the picture, having a stare that sits somewhere between ‘smouldering’ and ‘serial killer intensity’. For French women, some of the top features that make them more attractive include light blonde hair with bangs, soft facial features, big lips, and big blue eyes that look a little bit too vacant for comfort.
Italy
For Italian men, light brown messy hair is a must, while “kind green eyes” and tattoos came out on top as the most attractive features. And facial hair comes back too. Fair enough, as the gentleman above has a lovely big smile and a few freckles, so hard to not to swoon. (Not sure about that neck tattoo though, which seems to be very angry at the copious amounts of grinning its owner indulges in.) As for women, brown bobs, hazel eyes, ear piercings, and striking red lipstick are the most common traits for the ideal partner. So, look like Gal Gadot, and all is well.
UK
Short curly hair and a square jaw are must-haves for British men, as well as facial hair and being tall. Again, freckles seem to also be a common trait – as the Richard Madden lookalike above can testify. The most sexually attractive features that British women can have are “honey-sun kissed long hair, kind brown eyes and light brown skin”, according to those in the UK who are attracted to women.
What about personality in all of this?
After all, we were led to believe that it’s what on the inside that counts. Or has Sesame Street been lying to us too?
Thankfully, the study doesn’t stop at physical attributes when it comes to global turn-ons.
The survey revealed that having a good sense of humour was the hottest personality trait in any partner across the world, as almost two-thirds (60%) of respondents placed this as their top trait.
Almost half (49%) of the global respondents said that ‘thoughtfulness’ is a sexy trait in a partner, while ‘intelligence’ ranked third in the qualities that are the most desirable, with 28% of those looking for a romantic partner wanting someone they can have stimulating conversations with.
Rounding off the top five are ‘looks’, with one in four (25%) saying it’s something that plays a part in them falling for a partner, followed by ‘scent/smell’ (17%).
Here’s the Top 10 according to the study:
ADVERTISEMENT- Sense of humour (60%)
- Thoughtfulness (49%)
- Intelligence (28%)
- Looks (25%)
- Scent/ smell (17%)
- Actions (16%)
- Mannerisms (15%)
- Dress sense or style (11%)
- Voice/ Accent (10%)
- Height (10%)
Other characteristics that narrowly missed out on the Top 10 include proactiveness (7%); taking control (6%); having money or their financial situation (5%); job/ career (4%).
The study added that when it comes to those aged between 25-34 years old, some qualities stand out more than for older generations. These include more focus on having a good dress sense, wearing a good scent, and proactivity, with more than one in five (21%) placing actions-speaking-louder-than-words as a quality they find sexy.
Older generations reportedly prefer traits such as ‘thoughtfulness’, with over half of those aged 55+ placing this as one of the main traits they find attractive in a partner, as well as having a partner who thinks about the little things.
“They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it looks like that may be true as the results show such a lovely variety of traits people find to be sexually attractive,” stated Marina Nicoli, Marketing Manager for Pour Moi. “This is what we hoped to achieve when conducting this research; we wanted to shine a light on how attraction goes beyond the stereotypical looks that many believe to be the ‘perfect’ body.”
ADVERTISEMENTShe added: “It’s promising to see several natural features being among the top features; crow's feet are featured highly in France, which can make a man look distinguished, and freckles and natural makeup also proved popular.”
“Whilst looks might be the thing people are initially attracted to, it’s great to see that having a good sense of humour and being thoughtful are top personality factors that people find appealing, as your personality can keep that spark alive,” Nicoli concluded.
So, what do you think - and is Midjourney setting the bar a bit too high with these visuals? Or is that just the sound of us cursing our genetic makeup (but secretly applauding the fact that crow’s feet are apparently swoontastic)?
