Get the first kiss right

You just put your lips together and... but is it ever that easy? Here's how to lock lips with someone new. A great first date ends with a great first kiss - and a great first kiss means many more to follow. But how do you get there? And how can you ensure that your new squeeze comes back for more?

Get the first kiss right

Part 1: Before the kiss

DON'T have curry for lunch. Or a kebab, or enough garlic to feed Rome. If your first date involves dinner, always remember that you may get a snog later. Spicy, garlicky food with onions, anchovies or other strong flavours may mean a revolting kiss for your poor date, who's unlikely to give you a second chance. If in doubt, suck a mint (please remove before snogging commences). Note that garlic breath can often be stronger the day after you've eaten the stuff, so lay off the stuffed crust the night before a hot date.

DO practice positive thinking. Don't let nerves wreck your first kiss and ruin your chances of a new relationship. Do what sportspeople do before a race: visualise the whole thing going well. It's a neat trick for boosting your confidence.

DON'T have an audience. Your first kiss should involve the two of you alone, with no prying eyes or sniggering friends to kill the mood. If you're in a pub or restaurant and you're itching for a kiss, ask your date if they'd like to move on somewhere else. Once you're alone together, make your move.

DON'T make your first kiss an interruption. You may think it's romantic and spontaneous to plant a smacker on someone's face while they're in the middle of a sentence, but in practice it's just awkward. You don't want to be remembered for your rubbish sense of timing.

DO read their body language. If you've spent the evening together and the conversation and eye contact both hint at an exciting connection, they probably want to kiss you. If they're smiling, laughing and adopting a similar body posture as you, they almost certainly want to kiss you. If you hold their gaze for a couple of seconds and they smile silently rather than looking away, they are desperate to kiss you.

DON'T believe the "never ask for a kiss" myth. Tell them you want to kiss them. It's a very seductive thing to hear.

DON'T assume that only men should initiate the first kiss. Many men are much more shy than they'd admit, and would be delighted for a woman to break the tension with a kiss.

DON'T rush it. Lean in slowly, and allow your date a tingle of anticipation. This moment should feel like slow motion. Move too quickly, and you'll seem desperate and inexperienced. Relax, breathe and make the moment last.

DON'T miss your chance. If all the signs are there and you ignore them, more fool you.

Part 2: During the kiss

DO close your eyes. Eye contact may work wonders when you're chatting, but when you're kissing it's just plain weird. If your date catches you with your eyes open, they'll probably assume that you're not really into it. No easier way to kill the passion, my friend.

DON'T be a tongue-shover. Good kissing does not mean deep-throating your partner with that beast in your mouth. Shoving in your tongue so far that they can't move their own tongue is not kissing, it's common assault, and feels like being choked to death by a beached eel.

DO tease. Your lips should touch softly and slowly. Use your tongue, but with care - it's a richly sensitive part of your body. Tease and gently touch your partner's tongue rather than stop them breathing. It's best to err on the side of extreme caution with your tongue for your first kiss, so that your date is aching for you to kiss them again "properly". A bit of restraint will keep 'em hungry for more.

DON'T slobber. You are not painting their head with your saliva.

DON'T suck. Whoever invited the term "sucking face" meant it as a bad joke on rookie kissers.

DO lean your head slightly to avoid the nose-clash. Ideally lean your head the other way from your date's head, or you'll just clash noses at a new angle.

DO use your hands, but again be very gentle. Light physical contact is extremely arousing; heavy hands are just disturbing. And if you run your hands up and down your partner's arms and legs during your kiss, you need help. Read the signs: If you touch their neck and they pull away slightly, you're getting a little too familiar.

DON'T assume a kiss is an appetiser for sex. Enjoy the snog for what it is, and let your date look forward to some rumpy another time.