Seshat,

What type of guys are you usually interested in?

Some people may compliment you just to be nice, and unfortunately that makes it
hard to recognize honest sincere compliments. If you haven't discussed your problems to somebody and they say you're pretty, then chances are they are being honest.
Keep in mind that your self-esteem could distort your view a little.

I've given girls I find attractive compliments. Unfortunately at times they think I'm not being sincere and they say something to contradict my compliment.

And here I go again with my issue..... I find that a lot of the self-esteem issues come from girls thinking that all guys only want "hot girls" like actresses, models, etc. I'm being completely honest when I tell you that there are guys that aren't desperate and aren't just after sex that aren't chasing "hot girls" those women just aren't "real" (airbrushing, thick layers of makeup).

I'm not saying that those women aren't attractive, it's just that any smart guy will realize that it's all eye-candy. I'm usually interested in girls that wear very little makeup if any at all, dress nice but don't have to wear the latest designer everything blah blah blah.

There's been many times where I've thought a girl wasn't jaw dropping model looking, but was cute. I don't mean that in a bad way, but I've found her to be cute, talked to her, and THEN found her even more attractive because there were certain qualities about her that I liked. I don't want to say this because I don't want to sound crazy but....... If she's mentally stimulating then I find her VERY attractive, in my mind I then see what makes her unique and not "cookie cutter". BTW, mentally stimulating doesn't necessarily mean she is a super genius, I'm creative so what I mean by that is that I find her to be creative, inventive, look at things in a unique way, etc.

Another thing, don't ever listen to people who talk about "settle for"
the grass is always greener on the other side. How many times have you bought something new only to realize that the old one was the best?
Hell, look at the Hollywood actors that people love, how many of them move on to the next hot actor who comes along, and then the next, and the next... and so on and so forth. How many times can you "upgrade"? You would never be satisfied.
Find someone you really like, if it works go with it! There's nothing wrong with not searching and dating 400 guys to fin the right one. Number 12 could have been the perfect one for you but you went to 400 and now you can't get 12 because some other girl took him!

Just my thoughts!

Take care.