I don't know if I can agree with all of this. I do think women appreciate compliments on their looks. As a man, it's the first thing I notice - sorry but it's true. I agree that ambition, intelligence, humor, etc are all good qualities, however, these probably won't be obvious until you actually have a conversation with the person. I still don't see anything inherently wrong with saying someone is beautiful if I think they are. It's really hard to focus on someone's other qualities when you don't know them. A lot of the profiles I've seen are pretty redundant - I like movies, books, food, walks, etc. That's not going to grab my attention but a lovely smile will. Sorry if I offend but we're talking intial impressions here.