What makes a great kiss?
Is it Patrick Swayze sashying up to Jennifer Grey, to the dulcet tones of Love Is Strange?
Holly Golightly locking lips with her man during a New York downpour (with a rather soggy cat balanced between them)?
Or Jack and Rose embracing on the bow of an ill-fated ocean liner?
In real life, we have neither the inherent drama or the generous lighting afforded by a scintillating movie smooch.
But there are a few objective things we can do to enhance our prowess in the kissing department.
Kristin Salaky, dating and relationships reporter, lays out pointers from science in a new article for Business Insider.
One thing Salaky recommends is tilting your head to the right.
"A study found the two-thirds of people tilt their heads to the right when going in for a kiss," she writes. "So, while it's not an exact science, teaching yourself to go in for the kiss that way will help eliminate some awkward forehead bonking."
The second rather eye-opening revelation is that men apparently prefer more intense, open-mouth modes of embrace.
"There's evidence that saliva has testosterone in it, and there's also evidence that men like sloppier kisses with more open mouth," says Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist from Rutgers University. "That suggests to me that they are unconsciously trying to transfer testosterone to trigger the sex drive in women."
With women preferring a more low-key kissing style, however, Salaky suggests avoiding "jamming" or "lunging" motions.
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