Jennifer Blackwood puts Cosmo dating tips to the test
Jennifer Blackwood, author of Foolproof (out today!), shares the results of a superscientific (wink) test she and her sister-in-law conducted based on tips from a Cosmo article entitled How to Get a Guy to Like You.
Jennifer: I have a confession to make: I am a magazine junkie. Ever since I snuck my first Cosmo into the shopping cart at the ripe age of 14, I have been addicted to silly quizzes and tips to make my love life more — ahem — interesting. When I was plotting my second book, Foolproof, I decided what better way to pay tribute to my life-long love of these magazines than by putting it into a book! It may have worked a little too well for my characters and gotten them into heaps of trouble, but I often wondered, Do dating tips from magazines really work in real life? In order to find out, I enlisted the help of my adorable 22-year-old sister-in-law, SJ.
In preparation for this experiment, I printed off tips on how to get a guy to like you from a trusted relationship magazine's website. I cherry-picked a few of my favorites and my sister-in-law had to follow the advice to a T. Now, I'm a romance novelist, but even I had my doubts about how well these tips actually work.
We picked a country-western bar, the only bar with good music in our small town, and chose a spot right in front of the dance floor — perfect vantage point for picking up cuties (or so the magazine article says). I was a bit skeptical as I went to get a drink from the bar with my husband, but by the time we sat back down at the table, a guy in a button-down plaid flannel and a heavy five-o-clock shadow was sitting next to her. We introduced ourselves, and I pretended to be in deep conversation with my hubby while spying on their conversation — in retrospect it was obvious I was listening in like a creeper, but at least we had our target, and were ready to implement the tips.
Tip No. 1: Get a guy to talk about something he's really into
9:15 p.m.: Turned out the guy sitting next to SJ was in college and majoring in forestry, and between his major and the flannel, I officially deemed him Mr. Lumberjack (his name was Derrick, but I liked my nickname better). SJ dutifully followed along with his ramblings about turf thatch and tree root zones and the glow in his eyes showed that he was excited to share this about himself. The glow could also be due to the half-downed beer in his hand, but either way, I called this tip a winner.
Tip No. 2: Spritz perfume into your mane before going out, then lightly flip your hair when you're around your intended target.
9:30 p.m.: We made sure to add a dash of Chanel No 5 to her hair before we left. It might have been a bit overkill, because I could smell it from across the table. Note: easy on the perfume, less is better. Just as Mr. Lumberjack gave a little smile, she flipped her hair. Apparently, we should have practiced the hair flipping before we got to the bar, because a few strands stuck to her lip gloss. Mr. Lumberjack didn't look fazed, though. Bonus: The guy smoothed back her hair and removed the strands from her lip balm. I might have sighed, which in turn caused my hubby to glare at me. This guy was good. I called this tip a winner, even though it was a little awkward.
By this point, Mr. Lumberjack looked like he was hook-line-and-sinkered by my darling sister-in-law.
Tip No. 3: Tell him one of your passions. When you're talking about something you love, you'll light up and appear even more attractive to everyone around you.
9:33 p.m.: Mr. Lumberjack must've been privy to this experiment … or at least had a good sense of social cues because he asks SJ what she was going to school for. As a future pastry chef, she loved talking about all the concoctions she whipped up for class (my waistline has a love-hate relationship with her baking skills). I swear there was a puddle of drool forming at the corner of Mr. Lumberjack's lips and an audible stomach growl even over the heavy bass of a Luke Bryan song. This guy was ready to eat a cream puff out of her hands.
Tip No. 4: Graze his arm as you're talking. Skin-to-skin contact makes people instantly more focused on you.
9:45 p.m.: This was the last little maneuver she tried, and by golly, Mr. Lumberjack leaned in closer and whispered something into her ear. I don't know exactly what was said (and she wouldn't tell me later when I hounded her!), but from the blush on her face, I can imagine. In a matter of 30 minutes, these two went from complete strangers to arm-stroking whisperers. Be still my romance-writing heart. SJ ended up giving her digits to Mr. Lumberjack, so we'll see where it goes from here.
By now it was clear that these magazines know what they're talking about — at least a little. In the end, these tips might work, but take it from my characters in Foolproof and be careful what you wish for — it just might turn into something completely unexpected.
Here's the blurb about Foolproof:
A summer of seduction...
Jules Carmichael needs to get her life together. Pronto. School's been hell, there was that tiny stint in rehab, and worst of all, she's lost her cushy summer job. The only available work is at Office Jax, home of horrid 90s music and the biggest jerk on this side of the galaxy...
Recovering from a brutal break-up and taking a hiatus from college, Ryan DeShane has just discovered the "6 Ultimate Steps to the Perfect Summer Fling." It's a brilliant distraction, and Jules is a tantalizing target. But the "steps" work a little too well, because he and Jules are definitely, uh, flinging. And it's only a matter of time before Ryan's foolproof plan starts to seriously unravel...
Find out more about Jennifer and her books at www.jenniferblackwood.com.