One of the worst dating offenses I see when people-watching at JDate events is people who are either over or under made-up. Men and women are either over or under dressed, women either have too much or too little make-up on and hair for either sex is either dirty or overly styled.

I’ve already talked about changing your clothes after work or bringing a few accessories to work to dress up a work outfit. If the invitation says cocktail attire, try not to wear jeans. I know it’s trendy but it also sends a message that you’re not trying very hard. A woman who left work early to run home and shower, change into a dress and reapply make-up isn’t going to be turned on by a guy who also went home… but got distracted watching the game and then threw on a pair of jeans without a belt as he ran out the door.

Ladies — I am all for looking au natural but au natural is actually a make-up technique, it doesn’t mean leaving the house without make-up. It also doesn’t mean pancake-ing it on until you’re devoid of pores. It means applying a minimal to medium amount of make-up before you walk out the door so you can amplify your best features and look as though you’re not wearing any make-up. Men want to see your true face and don’t want to be surprised when the lights in the bar turn on.

When it comes to your hair: wash it, brush it and style it. It shouldn’t smell, look greasy or be too stiff with gel. Hair is an aphrodisiac and should be treated as such. Hair should smell good and make you want to reach out and run your fingers through it. Ladies – if you have long hair than wear it down so you can flip it over your shoulder and twirl it around your finger. If you have short hair, then just rock it! Men – the spiky look is not hot, handsome is in. If you use more hair product than me, we have a problem. Even bald men should make sure their noggin is smooth and not too shiny. Bald is sexy.

The bottom line is: make an effort to make an impact.