Men share the 9 things that give them ‘The Ick’ & it’s not good news if you have a lash & lip filler appointment booked
WHEN he drops a coin and struggles to pick it up? Ick. Arrives to your date wearing sandals paired with white socks? An instant turn-off.
These are just some of the most popular ”icks” for women – a relatively new dating term that means you get a sudden cringe feeling when you have romantic contact with someone.
If you suddenly find yourself feeling repulsed, put off, or cringed out by the person you’re seeing, know that’s ‘‘the ick’’ talking.
For women, some of the most popular turn-offs include being called ”babe”, claiming they’re ”not like the other men” and wearing tracksuits no mater where they go, a recent study revealed.
But have you ever wondered if there’s something that you do that might make your potential Romeo never text you again?
Well, Reddit users have done all the work for you and all the fellow singletons out there – and if you have a lash appointment coming up, you may want to consider cancelling it…
Duck lips
Since the trend took off a few years ago, the lip filler industry has grown massively (pun intended) – and according to data, it’s projected to reach almost £2.4billion by 2032.
But while some beauty buffs like sporting a fake juicy pout, it seems that men prefer our lips in their natural beauty – and close to 300 men in the thread noted that ”filler lips is an instant turn-off”.
One boyfriend shared his horror after his girlfriend admitted to having filler injected into her pout and described the lips as ”comically big”.
”I am completely turned off. This girl already has nice lips and I’ve never, not once, even thought her lips were too small. In fact, they were already pretty nice!”
Baby voice
Despite many assuming that a sweet baby voice may make you seem more cute and adorable, it actually has quite the opposite effect – and will send men running away from you.
One Redditor said: ”YES! It’s so cringy whenever they say ‘sowwy’ instead of ‘sorry’.”
Another revealed: ”I had a gf that did this to me when she’d really annoyed me.
”I asked her if she had brain damage (I’m nothing if not subtle). That was the last time she tried that way to weedle out of some c**p she’d done.”
Mega ‘caterpillar’ eyelashes
If you’ve got a lash appointment booked in for this weekend and you’re off to see your man afterwards, it may be worth calling your beauty tech to cancel.
Amongst some of the biggest icks for men are ”absurd caterpillar eyelashes”, which one jokingly dubbed ”eyelid fur”.
”Hell…gives me the ick as well when they’re OTT [over the top],” one falsie critic cried.
Another wondered: ”Who told women, that this looks good or that any man likes it. Don’t they have mirror…?”
‘Ghastly long nails’
Millions of women across the world fork out a fortune for their bi-weekly manicure appointments.
But turns out, not only could you save hundreds every year by ditching them – but also make your future hubby fall head over heels in love with you, as men seem to prefer natural nails instead of mega claws.
One person wrote: ”The super long claw nails just make me think of all the gunk stuck under there. Especially in cooking/eating imagery.”
Someone else agreed, writing: ”Highly impractical, and usually signaling for self-absorption.”
Treating every occasion as a photoshoot
Most of us like to upload a cheeky snap on Instagram or Facebook whenever we’re all glammed up – but treating your man or potential love interest as a personal photographer gives the majority of blokes the dreaded ”ick”.
A Redditor shared: ”I recently visited Santorini. One evening, I had dinner at a place overlooking a very popular spot with an amazing view of the island and the water.
”I lost count of how many Insta girls dragged their dead-eyed boyfriends there and proceeded to cycle through two dozen look-at-me poses while whining photo instructions.
”Treating people in your life like props or unpaid crew just so you can appear glamorous on social media is a major ick.”
Sincere belief in Astrology
It’s the weekend and you’re probably about to check our weekly horoscopes to see what the week ahead has in store for you – or perhaps you’re big into tarot card reading.
But while you’re busy reading what the next Mercury retrograde will look like, chances are your Tinder or Hinge match will be busy packing his bags to run away as soon as possible.
One man said: Hahahaha if you’re wearing a ‘healing’ crystal or if I find Long Island Medium or John Edwards in any of your saved tv shows lists… I’m running away.”
Someone else chimed in: ”Astrology is very fun, but if you decide which PAIR OF SOCKS to buy on whether you’re a Taurus or a Gemini, then I won’t be hanging around for long.”
Top dating trends of 2025
- Swamping: When you find someone you can comfortably share your ‘swamp’ with and let go of the pressure to be anything but your true authentic self.
- No-habiting: When you choose to wait longer to move in with your partner because you value your personal space.
- Fiscal Attraction: When you won’t settle for less and you’re seeking a match who is financially secure and who you find attractive.
- Rejuve-dating: When you cast away the blues and grow from past experiences so you can fully embrace the future of your dating journey.
- Thrift-matised: When you like to go on dates but hit that sweet spot between being cheap and frugal. Hidden gems, loyalty cards – these are all your type on paper.
- Loud-dating: Cutting to the chase, being open and to the point with what you want so you don’t waste your time.
- Marmalading: When you literally put your other half ‘before anything else’, much like Britain’s most beloved bear’s love for marmalade.
- Digital Ex-pression: The stage after a break-up when you are done grieving and turn to social media to share how you are healing to confidently get back out on the dating scene.
- Fine-wining: Proactively finding people to date who are older than you and who’ve aged just like a fine wine.
‘If he’s under 6ft, I am not interested’
According to research and general trends, most women tend to prefer men who are taller than them, suggesting that women generally do like tall men.
This preference is often attributed to evolutionary factors associating height with strength and protection.
However, if you’re constantly telling everyone your ideal man needs to be 6ft+, not only will you limit yourself to a smaller portion of candidates (the average height around the world is 5’7ft) but you’ll also give Romeos ”the ick”.
As one man put it: ”When they say s**t like “if he’s under 6 foot or makes less than 100k a year I’m not interested.”
”Ironically I am 6’2 and make over that, it’s not about feeling secure it’s just about being annoyed by idiocy.”
Someone else said: ”If you are 6′ tall, in the United States, you are taller than 86.75% of the male population.
”So you have taken the 13.25% of the men you will accept into even lower percentages than that. Those women don’t know how to do math.”
Instagram influencer look
There’s no denying that thousands of Instagram influencers and models are beginning to look identical, and while many women don’t enhance their faces for the male gaze, one thing seems clear – for men, that’s a turn-off.
”Clones with long straight hair, centre-part, duck face with caterpillar eyelashes and artifical mammaries is a thing,” one Redditor wrote.
”MEN want all natural women. BOYS want whatever a Kardashian is,” a second added.
Being a devoted Swiftie
She’s one of the leading artists on Spotify, with close to 90million monthly listeners and sold-out tours.
But American popstar Taylor Swift is not a major hit for thousands of men across the world – who see being a devoted Swiftie as a major ick.
”Waiting weeks for buy a ticket in the street for Taylor swift…….(That happens in Barcelona),” wrote one person from Spain.
Someone else agreed, adding: ”I am sick and tired of hearing about Taylor Swift.
”I guess she sings, I don’t know and I don’t want to know. She’s in the news way too much. I block her off in every way possible.”