Back in the day, I had a friend (let’s call her Laura) who to my relief, knew that she was no Beyonce or Angelina Jolie. However, she made it her sworn duty to traumatise any other girl who thought they were. She wrote malicious lists of girls in every dormitory, starting with the prettiest to the – well – not so pretty ones.

And it was funny - till you found yourself after her on the list! One day, she placed herself ahead of a girl everyone knew was prettier than her. The girl had never been so offended.  "I may not be beautiful,” Laura said when confronted, ‘but at least boys like me!” And it was true. She strangely seemed to be a favourite with the boys.

It was these constant fights in school about who is prettier that left us desperate to have at least one boy (and not just any) come up and ask us to ‘hang out’. However, we were kids. I’d like to think that growing up makes us look passed these shallow ‘assets’ and go for something real.

Ask yourself, why are some women a man magnet and others a disaster that sends them scattering in the opposite direction like they have the plague? Do ‘looks’ have something to do with it? Well, for my shallow brothers who still believe in superficial factors, maybe. But I have met women who claim they can’t score a man even when they are really not that bad to look at.

How do we make ourselves more attractive without feeling too ugly to pull it off? According to selfgrowth.com, attracting the opposite sex is a skill that every woman can learn. There are certain qualities that men adore and the good news is that we don’t have to look like Alicia Keys to have them.

Men may not be fashion gurus but I’m sure most of them love women who take pride in their appearance. Now, before you go all Hollywood, bear in mind that men also love women who understand ‘what to wear when’. For the love of God, do not go to Nakumatt dressed like you are going with Cinderella to the Ball. You can throw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and still look fabulous in them.

One thing I know for sure is men love women who smell good. Now by smelling good, I don’t mean buying every perfume and using them all. Buy one scent, try it on (in a civilized manner) and see how men respond to it. If no one, not even a friend, says anything about it then throw it away and don’t look back

Take responsibility for your own happiness. It takes the burden off a man to know that you are a woman who takes responsibility for your own happiness and that you will not depend solely on him for all the happiness you want in life. That said, try to look like a woman who is well on her way to accomplishing her dreams. Don’t post fake smiles and laughs were unnecessary – we don’t want him to think you are retarded, now do we? 

A soft and nice woman makes men adore her more. No one likes a b@*#%. Act like one and even the nicest and most patient of men will make like a banana and split!

Have some self esteem and know your worth without actually being arrogant. Insecurity is a huge turn off, even if you look like Shrek’s direct descendant. If being smart is the best thing about you then that’s a good place to start, because men love a woman who can hold her place in any conversation.

Every woman wants to be adored and attract the man of their dreams and we all have the potential to be adorable women.