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1) Women's attractiveness perceived across the menstrual cycle.

There are some subtle changes in women’s perceived attractiveness across her menstrual cycle. During their most fertile phase, we can observe some changes in women’s behaviour and physiology.

A study conducted by G. Miller (2007) examined the amount of tip earnings by lap dancers across the menstrual cycle. He found that dancers received nearly 15 USD more when they were near ovulation than during the rest of the month. This suggests that women either are more attractive during ovulation phase, or they experience a significant change in their behaviour. ^[1]. Some other studies have found that they are subtle differences in women’s faces when in their fertile phase. Bobst and Lobmaier (2012) created 20 prototyped photographs, some of a female during ovulation and some during the luteal phase. Men were asked to choose the more attractive, the more caring and the more flirtatious faces. They found a significant preference for the follicular phase (ovulation). This suggests that subtle shape differences in faces occurring during the female’s ovulation phase are sufficient to attract men more. ^[2]. This idea is supported by another study, where a similar experiment was done. Men and women had to judge photographs of women’s faces taken during their fertile phase. They were all rated more attractive than during non-fertile phase. They are some subtle visible cues to ovulation in women’s faces, and they are perceived as more attractive, leading to the idea that it could be an adaptive mechanism to raise a female’s mate value at that specific time (when probability of conception is at its highest). ^[3]

Women’s attractiveness, as perceived by men and women, slightly differs across her menstrual cycle, being at peak when she is in her ovulation phase.

2) Men's attractiveness perceived across women's menstrual cycles.

Jones et al (2008), focused on women’s preferences for masculinity, apparent health and self-resemblance and found that it varies across the cycle. They explained that the function of the effects of menstrual cycle phase on preferences for apparent health and self-resemblance in faces is to increase the likelihood of pregnancy.  ^[4]

Similarly, female prefer the scent of symmetrical men and masculine faces during fertile phases as well as stereotypical male displays such as social presence, and direct intrasexual competitiveness.^[5]

During the follicular phase (fertile), females prefer more male’s traits (testosterone dependent traits such as face shape) than when in non-fertile phase. Those findings have been found in the voice, showing that females’ preferences for more masculine voices over feminine voices increase the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle. ^[6]

But not only females’ preferences vary across cycle, their behaviours as well. Effectively, men respond differently to females when they are on ovulatory cycle^[7], but because females act differently. Women in the ovulatory phase are flirtier with males showing genetic fitness markers than in low fertile phase. ^[8]

3) Facial attractiveness: sign of a high quality partner.

It has been shown in some studies that women high in estrogen are generally perceived to be more attractive than women with low levels of estrogen, based on women not wearing make-up. High estrogen level women are also considered to have healthier and have a more feminine face. ^[9]

Similarily, a study investigated the capacity of women to select high quality males based on their facial attractiveness. They found that facial attractiveness correlated with semen quality (good, normal, or bad depending on sperm morphology and motility). The more attractive a man’s face is, linked to his sperm being of better quality. ^[10]

Physical attractiveness, and especially facial attractiveness have been related to health and high quality genetics for both men and women. It signals good genes (sperm quality for example, or fertility for women), however we can talk about fertility-driven attractiveness, as it depends a lot on hormones (the menstrual cycle for perceived women’s attractiveness, as well as their preferences).