Cosmo Article - You Know What That Means...

Compliments She'll Love
BY JENNIFER BENJAMIN

"I like what I'm hearing. Please continue."

(PHOTO: ROBERT DELAHANTY)

Show this to your man!

You may think "You look nice" is a perfectly sweet compliment to pay your girlfriend. And it is. But it can come across as a trite line rather than something tailored to her. See, the more specific you get when you praise a woman, the more she'll eat it up. To better understand what kind of words will make her day, read on.

"You look so amazing in that dress."

You know the tortuously long hour she spent getting ready for some big event? She did it for you, dum-dum! That's why you have to acknowledge that she looks even more radiant than usual. "Reassure her that you noticed the effort and appreciate it by singling out something specific," says psychologist Sheenah Hankin, PhD, author of Complete Confidence. You can borrow this line: "Your eyes look awesome when you wear that color."

"I'm impressed with..."

Your girl wants to know she stands apart from the masses. One way to convey that is by drawing attention to her unique talents. "If she is hilarious, speaks a few languages fluently, or has a great singing voice, highlight what makes her different," suggests New York City psychotherapist JoAnn Magdoff, PhD. Not only does it make her feel special, but it also shows just how well you know her, which is flattering in and of itself.

"You always know..."

When you come home from a gnarly day of work to find the game's on and she's whipped up a pizza, tell her, "You always know how to cheer me up." A comment like that goes much further than "Hey, thanks."

"She likes to hear that she's uniquely adept at making you feel better," says Magdoff. "It reinforces what a nurturing girlfriend she is and how lucky you feel to have her."