How to Make Yourself Look Hot

Co-authored by Chloée Ohayon-Crosby

Last Updated: March 22, 2024 References

Looking hot is a great way to get fun attention and feel good about yourself! There are lots of types for presenting an attractive appearance to the world. Further, being hot has less to do with actual physical appearance and more with how you carry yourself and how you act! See step 1 to get started.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Looking Hot with Make-Up and Hair

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1
Take care of your skin. Your skin is the first thing people are going to notice about you, so care for it and keep it as clean as possible. Most people (celebrities included!) get zits and imperfections in their skin. Instead of stressing about that one pimple, try to work on your overall skin health.^{[1]
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- Using a simple, basic face wash each day will help to remove unwanted oils and dirt, without completely stripping away the good oils. Wash your face in the morning when you get up and again before you go to bed.
- Figure out which type of skin you have to get the right face wash and moisturizer. People whose skin is dry, tend to have flaky skin. Oily skin looks greasy or shiny only a few hours after washing. Sensitive skin often feels tight or itchy and experiences allergic reactions to various chemicals.
- Moisturize your face, hands, and body especially in the drier times of the year (like winter or summer). Keeping your skin moisturized will help you appear radiant and healthy!
- Avoid touching your face, because the oils in your fingers can irritate the skin on your face and help cause more pimples.
2
Enhance your features with make-up. Make-up isn't necessarily for everyone, but it can be a great way to make yourself feel good and attractive. You can use make-up to highlight different aspects of your face.^{[2]
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- This is where make-up can be really handy. If you're having a bad skin day, you can cover up those zits and use make-up to highlight your eyes (if that's one of your best physical attributes).
- If you have really beautiful eyes (and you do!) you could bring out the colors in them using eyeshadow. Avoid choosing an eyeshadow that exactly matches your eye color, as this looks too monochromatic. For example: if you have blue eyes, try purple eyeshadow (lavender for the day, and deep plum for the evening). If you're going out dancing, use a metallic shade like turquoise or silver.
- Lipstick can be a great way to achieve a dramatic, dynamic appearance. Red lipstick is a girl's best friend. Pair it with a smokey eye look and a classic black dress and you're good to go!
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3
Use the "natural" make-up look. This look is about preserving the natural look of your face, while sculpting it to meet your hotness needs. It enhances your looks (especially your eyes) without getting too exciting or obvious.
- Add definition to your eyes by applying eyeliner, in a subtle and natural shade (like brown). Brush on a little eyeshadow in champagne or light brown.
- A little bit of mascara opens up your lashes and makes them look longer. Make sure that you get a mascara that works for you, because some can get really clumpy and goopy, which you don't want.
- Contour your face using bronzer to bring out your cheekbones. Blush can help widen or lengthen your face depending on what you're looking for (apply in a horizontal line to widen or across temples and jaw to lengthen).
4
Try out the smokey eye look. Smokey eye is always in, and it can be dressed up or down. It draws attention to your eyes, enhancing the color in them. Prime your eyelid with an eyeshadow base so that the darker eyeshadow colors don't run.
- Sweep a nude eyeshadow over the entire eyelid. From base to brow of your eyelid, apply a shimmering eyeshadow. Line your top and bottom lash line with dark eyeliner (brown or black). With a Q-tip, smudge the liner.
- Sweep a darker eyeshadow over the entire eyelid and into the crease. Blend the color upward and outward.
- Apply a highlighting color under the brow bone and in the tear duct. Line your inner lash line with eyeliner to intensify the effect. Coat your lashes with two to three coats and curl them upward.
5
Clean your hair appropriately. No matter what style you put it in, healthy hair is always the most attractive hair. Wash your hair as often as it needs washing. For all hair types, however, you want to make sure that you're only washing your scalp. Washing the ends can dry them out!^{[3]
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- Hair that is fine needs to be washed between once a day to once every three days, depending on what you've found works best for you. Now, there's some speculation that shampooing every day can actually cause your hair to dry out more quickly and therefore to start producing more oil. You might want to experiment with washing less regularly, or maybe even changing your shampoo.
- If your hair tends to be greasy, you'll probably want to shampoo your hair every day. You may also want to look into changing your shampoo, because shampoo can be the cause of greasy hair.
- Hair that's curlier and coarser (and typically thicker!) probably needs less washing. A couple times a week, three at most, otherwise it will dry out more quickly and that will lead to frizz.^{[4]
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Get the right haircut. Hair is something that can make you stand out and enhance your face or it can do the opposite. Once you've figured out your face shape, it'll be simple to pick a haircut that works with it. There are six basic face shapes: oval, round, square, oblong, heart-shaped, and diamond-shaped.^{[5]
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- For an oval face, your face is about one and a half times bigger than the width of your face. Your forehead is typically bigger than your chin. With an oval face, you're lucky because most haircuts look good.
- A round face has prominent cheeks, and the length and width of your face is about equal. Avoid bangs and try to create volume on top (ponytails and buns are good here). This will give you the look of the oval face.
- A square face has a prominent jaw and square chin. Your jawline and forehead are about the same width. Bangs and short hair tend to make your face look more square, so it's usually best to avoid those looks. Use layers and medium to long hair length to help contour your face.
- An oblong face is slightly longer than an oval face (with which it is often confused), and isn't as wide. People with an oblong face may also have a pointy chin. Bangs and chin-length layers are good for this face shape, which will help your face look less long.
- In a heart-shaped face, both your forehead and cheekbones are wide. Heart-shaped means that you have a narrow jaw and pointy chin. Go for longer length haircuts, with more width around the chin.
- For a diamond-shaped face both your jawline and forehead are narrow. Your cheekbones are the widest part of your face. Build volume around the hairline and jaw, while keeping the volume down around your jaw. Bangs and texturizing the ends can help cover up the narrowness of your hairline and chin.
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Find the right hair style. Sometimes being hot is about finding the right hairstyle. Come up with a couple hairstyles that make you look amazing and that you love. Swap these around during the week so that your look doesn't become boring. Occasionally try out a new 'do to keep things interesting.
- For wavy hair try: a messy updo with soft face-framing tendrils; or pull up the sides of your head and secure them in the back, letting the ends curl; or try an unfussy low, side bun.
- For straight hair try: side part with the rest of your hair down; or a pony-tail with volume at the crown with a little hair spray; or french braid on either side of your head that you secure in the back, while leaving the rest down.
- For curly hair try: a short cut; or let it loose with a little product and a severe side-part to create volume on top; or gather a small section at the top of your hairline and pull back, leaving the sides and back down; or grab small sections of your hair and pin them up in the back.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Looking Hot with Clothing

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1
Wear clothes that fit you properly. Clothes that are either huge on you or way too small make you look unkempt. You will also end up feeling uncomfortable, which will in turn make you feel less confident and less attractive. Clothes that fit also flatter your body type, whatever that happens to be.
- Take your measurements. Measure your bust at the fullest part, holding the dressmaker's tape measure firmly but not too tightly. Measure a little loosely around your waist, which is where your body naturally creases. Measure your hips around the fullest part of your hips and rear. Keep these measurements in mind when looking at a size chart.
- Getting a bra fitting. Most women are wearing the wrong size bra. It's either too small or too big. The best way to make sure you're wearing the right size is to get an actual fitting from someone who knows what they're doing (typically a company that deals in undergarments, like Victoria's Secret).
2
Put together outfits that work. Part of looking hot is having an outfit that flatters you and enhances your appearance. If you're wearing clothes that don't look good on you, then it's not really going to matter what you look like. Finding clothes that work takes a little patience and a little experimentation.
- Pick your "uniform." This means a couple (around two or three) ensembles that you like to wear and that you know look good on you. Using these outfits as bases, you create a style that makes people notice. For example: if you tend to wear dresses pick a style of dress that works as your "uniform," like retro-50s look. To give yourself more range you might add different belts, and different dress colors. Depending on the weather you might wear leggings and boots, or bare legs and flats.
- Having neutral bases can help ground your outfit, so that it doesn't get too out-of-control. These means some basic shirts and trousers and skirts in neutral colors (like black, navy, white, grey). You can pair these with a more flamboyant shirt or trousers, or accessories. For example, wear a red patterned t-shirt with black skinny jeans, a grey jacket and grey boots. You could add some big, bright earrings (yellow or orange) or a scarf.
- Red has been shown to be the color that attracts the most attention. Women who wear red tend to be seen as sexier than those who don't (or who aren't wearing red at that particular moment). Wear a daring red dress, or even just a red scarf to up the hotness factor.
3
Wear fun accessories. Whether it's a fun, brightly colored purse, a big belt, or flashy earrings, accessories are the way to demonstrate your own individuality without getting overwhelming. There's a whole host of ways to flatter an outfit so that people take notice of your style!
- Handbags are great style pieces, as well as being useful. If you tend towards specific colors (like greens and browns) grab a handbag that complements those colors (like a shiny gold).
- Jewelry is definitely a way to attract attention. Figure out what you like and show it off! Long dangling earrings are good for people with short hair, or hair that is usually pulled back. Wearing pearls with jeans and a t-shirt can give that little classy kick. You can also use jewelry to pick up color accents in your clothes (for example if you're wearing a gold dress with green edging, you might go for green earrings to offset the dress).
- Scarves, belts, and hosiery (leggings, socks, tights, etc.) are all functional items that can be hot too! You can grab a brightly colored scarf and belt to go with your more subtle trouser/t-shirt combo. You could wear a dark gray dress with a pair of brightly colored, patterned leggings.
4
Get the right shoes. You want to get shoes that work well with your wardrobe, but are also comfortable. If you can't walk in high heels, for instance, it's best to skip the high heels and stick with flats. When you're uncomfortable, other people pick up on it and are less likely to think you're hot.
- Flats are a really versatile type of shoe. You can dress up a casual outfit, or you can dress down a super dressy outfit. Depending on the color of the shoe they can be an obvious highlight (like red) or subtle comfort (like gray or brown).
- Boots give a classy look to most outfits, especially if they have a little bit of a heel. Black boots are incredibly versatile, and if they're comfortable, you can wear them most anywhere. Ankle boots are great with skinny jeans, skirts, even shorts and tights!
- High heels are something you definitely need to get accustomed to before you start tossing them in with your outfits. Wearing a pair of brightly colored heels can make you feel and look hot! They can give an instant dressing-up to any outfit (even jeans and a t-shirt), but if you don't walk in them properly you look like you're uncomfortable.
5
Tease out your unique style. Only following the latest trends is a surefire way to not get noticed. It's the people who combine current trends with their own flare of style that get labeled "hot." This is because, these people stand out and they know what works best for them.
- A good way to create a unique style without barging into completely new territory is to find a few key statement pieces. These are things like jewelry, scarves, shoes, even particular colors that are unique to you. For example: you might wear basic dresses and skirts, but your leggings are funky and brightly colored (like using a Monet painting, or wearing space leggings).
- Find clothing in unusual places. Women's clothing has a tendency to look the same, but you can get cool t-shirts (with space, and dinosaurs, and comic book characters) in the boys section. Also finding one-of-a-kind items (like handmade jewelry) can help you to stand out.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Making Hot Lifestyle Choices

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1
Work towards staying healthy. Health is incredibly important to your physical and your mental health and appearance. Things like getting enough sleep, and exercise, can greatly affect your physical appearance (especially your skin).
- Exercise is an incredibly important part of looking hot! It's not necessarily about losing weight, but it is about keeping yourself healthy. Exercising releases chemicals that boost your mood and keep your body healthier. 30 minutes each day is the recommended exercise amount. So put on some music and dance, or go for a run.^{[6]
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- Get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep not only makes you look haggard, it makes you feel bad and heightens any existing problems. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep at night (if you're a teen, aim for nine hours). The more sleep your get before midnight, the happier your body will be. Turn off all electronics (phone, computer, iPod) at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
- Drink enough water. A lot of people these days walk around dehydrated, because they're not getting enough water. Being hydrated helps manage your weight, it helps make your skin better, and makes you feel less foggy. Try to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day. If you don't like plain water, get a plain or citrus seltzer, or squeeze a little lemon into a bottle of water. Avoid drinking lots of caffeine or sugary drinks, because these will dehydrate you.
2
Eat the right foods. What you put into your body makes a huge difference in the health of your skin and your hair. It also makes a big difference in your mental health, too. You want to make sure that you're eating foods that help to boost your physical and mental health, instead of foods that will make you feel worse.^{[7]
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- For a healthy diet you will want to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Go for at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. The best fruits and veggies are the dark leafy greens, the brightly colored ones (like red peppers, red onions, etc.), and blueberries, strawberries, and bananas.
- Try eating foods with essential fatty acids in them like salmon, walnuts, avocado, and flax seed. These are really good for mental health, as well as your skin.
- Low-fat dairy products, which have vitamin A and acidophilus, can help regulate your intestinal tract which helps to get the toxins out of your body. In turn, this makes your body and skin healthier.
- Definitely try to avoid junk food and highly processed foods and sugary foods, as much as possible. Not only do these have a bad effect on your skin, they will make you feel worse, and more moody. You don't have to entirely cut out these foods, but keep down your consumption of them.
- Eat three main meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and two snacks (in between breakfast and lunch, and in between lunch and dinner). This will help regulate your blood sugar and metabolism. Especially make sure that you eat breakfast, because this will help you throughout the day. A typical day might look like this: oatmeal with raisins and walnuts for breakfast, a hard-boiled egg and apple for a snack, whole wheat pasta with low-sodium tomato sauce and cheese for lunch, celery sticks and peanut butter for a snack, baked chicken and brown rice with salad for dinner.
3
Build your confidence. More than physical attractiveness, confidence is what gets you noticed and labeled "hot." You can be totally plain-looking by society's standards and still have the confidence that makes people sit up and take notice. Fortunately, confidence is something that you can practice until you get good at it.
- Avoid judging yourself too harshly. People screw up sometimes, or say something stupid, and no one looks hot 100% of the time. The more you pick on yourself when things don't work out quite the way you'd planned, the less confident you'll feel.
- Avoid judging other people. Scientists have found that people who repeatedly judge others harshly, reflect poorly on themselves and have less confidence, as a result. If you find yourself making negative judgments about other people, stop and replace the judgment with something positive or something neutral. For example: if you find yourself thinking "wow, she's got the worst voice" instead turn that around and think "no one can help the voice they're born with" or "she tells the best jokes!"^{[8]
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- Avoid comparing yourself to other people. This is an exercise is futility. There's always going to be someone who is hotter than you, gets more attention than you, has better hair than you. Comparing yourself to everyone only makes you feel worse about yourself, which in turn erodes your confidence.
- Practice confident body language. Walk with confidence; stay upright with your shoulders back and your chest out. Make eye contact when you're with people. Not only is eye contact extremely sexy, it also is a sign of confidence.^{[9]
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Get rid of negativity. To keep your positive attitude and boost your confidence, you'll need to work on getting rid of your negativity. Negative thoughts about yourself and others will make you feel worse about yourself and other people will pick up on those feelings, whether conscious or not.
- For example, if you look in the mirror every morning and say to yourself "Wow, I'm hideous," not only will you convince yourself that you're hideous, but you'll convince other people.
- Pay attention to your thought patterns and where you have the most negative thoughts about yourself. By paying attention to how you think about yourself, you'll start to notice all the horrible things you say to yourself on a daily basis. Once you identify these thoughts, you can work to change them.
- When you do have negative thoughts about yourself, replace them with positive or neutral thoughts. For example: if you think "wow, I'm hideous," every time you look in the mirror, check yourself and think instead "My teeth are looking good today," or thank your body for being healthy. You can work your way up from neutral to positive. Start telling yourself that you're beautiful and eventually you will start to believe that.
- Get rid of negative people from your life, as much as you can. People who make you feel bad about yourself, who constantly criticize you, who drain your energy, are people that you need to avoid as much as possible. If you can't cut them out of your life entirely, set time limits so you only have to be with them a short period of time.
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Show your best qualities. While "hotness" usually comes from physical looks and confidence, people tend to consider those who have good personality traits to be more attractive than those who don't.^{[10]
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- Kindness, being a good listener, being respectful to other people, are all qualities that makes people view someone as more attractive than their physical appearance might suggest. Cultivating these qualities can up your attractiveness rating in other people's minds.
- Help other people without expecting anything in return. Drive a friend to their doctor's appointment, buy the coffee drink of the person behind you in line, offer your time and money to a homeless shelter.
- This doesn't mean that you need to live your life for other people. Helping people, and listening to people, are great things as long as you're taking care of yourself at the same time.
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Educate yourself about perceptions of beauty. One of the things you need to keep in mind as you're striving for "hotness" is that what "hot" is is constantly being re-defined. This is why being yourself, and having confidence in that self is the most important thing.
- Stop comparing yourself to the women and girls in magazines and on t.v. Those "perfect" women, don't actually look anything like that. They have a team of hair stylists, wardrobe artists, make-up artists, special lighting, and Photoshop to make them look like they do.^{[11]
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Have a Transformational Glow Up with this Expert Series

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Are you ready for the biggest glow up of your life? It's time to care of yourself, build your confidence, and become the best version of yourself that you can be! Read these expert articles to supercharge your glow up.

1

Have a Glow Up

2

Make Yourself More Attractive

3

Get Glowing Skin in Just One Week

4

Do a Full Body Makeover

5

Look Naturally Beautiful

6

Be Confident in Your Looks

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Tips

Get your hair cut at least a few days before school starts, or before starting a new job. This way you'll have a chance to get accustomed to it before you go into a new situation.

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If your eyes are red and puffy, because you didn't get enough sleep, you can put cold, damp teabags over your eyes and use a cold cloth to get rid of those red, puffy eyes.

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If you like to wear perfume, put it on sparingly. The closer someone has to get to smell your perfume, the more seductive it feels for you both.

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Warnings

Keep in mind that no one is attractive 100% of the time. This is true for everyone: every celebrity, every "hot" person. Very few people spring out of bed every morning looking like they're in a movie.

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Try to avoid getting obsessed with looking "hot." It's an unattainable standard. That doesn't mean that you can't enjoy dressing in fun clothes and putting on make-up and getting attention!

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Remember you don't owe beauty to anyone. The beauty standards in this day and age, especially for women, are incredibly difficult to follow. Even if you wear make-up every day and dress only in the most attractive clothing, you aren't going to live up to everyone's standards. Don't try. Only live up to your own standards of beauty.

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