A flirtatious smile, sometimes called a Mona Lisa smile, is characterized by eye contact, a slight smile, and a slight head tilt.
A flirty smile uses your eyes, your head, your neck and even your whole body. There are different flirty smiles, small little smirk, one side of your lip raising just a bit, the closed mouth raised eyebrow, or even biting your bottom lip gently.
A great way to do this with maximum effect is by making eye contact when you smile. Remember though, there's a fine line between staring at them with your eyes wide open and a huge toothy grin, and a flirtatious smile. Simply do a slight smile and then catch their eye for a few seconds before looking away.
Clues to spot flirting are body language, such as smiling, leaning forward, and touching, and verbal cues such as compliments or references to being available. You can also ask yourself if the person's behavior is consistent over time and whether they act differently with you than they do with others.
Broadly speaking, there are three kinds of smiles: smiles of reward, smiles of affiliation, and smiles of dominance. A smile may be among the most instinctive and simple of expressions — just the hoisting of a couple of facial muscles.
To be considered conventionally attractive, your smile should have the same midline (vertical line that splits the face perfectly in half) as your face. If your smile's midline isn't directly between your two central front teeth, it might look unattractive.
The flirty face involves a head turned to one side and tilted down slightly, a slight smile, and eyes turned toward the 'target'. ( Posed by model, Getty Images)
Sincere. This is the most common flirting style, and that's probably for the best. Sincere flirts are direct and honest in their interest, and they aim to build emotional connections from the beginning.
Ideally, your smile should reveal most of your teeth and form a gentle arc, sweeping back into the “buccal corridor,” the dark space between your teeth and the corners of your mouth. A little dark space is important to create contrast and make your teeth seem whiter.
Certain facial expressions are read as more seductive than others. When trying to attract someone, subtlety is key in your facial expression. Instead of beaming at the other person, add a small, sly smile. Holding a person's gaze while offering a close-mouthed smile will come off as highly seductive.
The Charismatic Complex Smile
A complex smile lives up to its name. It's the most complex smile style, and it's also the most rare, found in only about 2% of people naturally. A complex smile combines the movements in both the other smile styles and adds to it a simultaneous lowering of the lower lip.
Those associated with dominant smiles include elevated eyelids, raised cheeks, wrinkled nose, lifted upper lip and that signature crookedness. Your smile might not translate everywhere, though. Recent research suggests that there are more distinct, culture-based expression dialects too.
In an ideal smile, 100 percent of your central and lateral upper incisors and your canines should be visible, Hilton says. Usually your upper premolars and part of your first molar should be on display. Men tend to show less of their upper teeth (hence the expression “stiff upper lip”).
The Closed-Lip Smile
This can show someone is hiding something or apprehensive about the situation. It can be natural and uses eyes the way the Duchenne smile does, but does not always convey joy. Someone might be happy about something they don't want to talk about, or they're trying to hide being uncomfortable.
Jeffery Hall, an assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, and colleagues found five main styles of flirting: physical, traditional, polite, sincere, and playful.
Flirtatious Body Language in Women
The head is turned to the side and tilted down. There is a slight smile on the lips and eyes gazing forward to make eye contact. This sends a message of “I am vulnerable but open to you.” Head Tossing. An upward or sideways jerk of the head as if one is throwing aside long hair.
Flirty: When a person is flirting with you, they might make prolonged eye contact with you. They will look deep into your eyes and will stare at you till you become slightly self-conscious. Friendly: If they are simply being friendly, they will look at you equal amounts of time as they look at others.
They touch you while you talk. Being on the receiving end of an "accidental" arm graze or food bump might mean you're being flirted with. "Often the person will touch your arm or try to brush hands or feet if you are seated at a table or bar," dating and communication coach Sarah Curnoles told Bustle.
“We all know someone who is friendly, easily talks to anyone, and has a way of leaving an interaction with the other person feeling extra good about themselves — this is an example of innocent flirtation,” Kotlarski indicates. “It is really about the intent behind the interaction.”
A good flirt cares for others —by listening to and showing interest in them—while simultaneously not taking their partner too seriously yet always appearing confident. In other words, successful flirting requires high emotional intelligence.
Well, in a nutshell, it's when two people are communicating in a playful way with each other, creating tension, energy, and excitement—and an important note is that it should be enjoyable for BOTH people. Unfortunately, we're not all natural born flirts.