Kissing is one of our most powerful seduction tools, but we don’t always give it the attention it deserves. Of course, at the most basic level, a kiss is how we express our attraction to someone. But it can be so much more – especially when it’s a first kiss. Men and women depend on kissing to measure chemistry, to guess at how good the other person might be in bed – or to see if he or she is more than “just a friend.”

Sure “kissing compatibility” comes into play, but some kissers that are just plain bad. Girls’ biggest kissing complaint: guys trying to eat their face – digging in there like they’re performing a strep test with their tongue. Ironically, men’s biggest complaint: “Women don’t open their mouths wide enough.”

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Whether you’re puckering up with someone for the first, or the hundredth, time, it’s important to remember that a kiss isn’t always “just a kiss.” Here, six pointers to take your kissing from so-so to sensational – and to help ensure there will be plenty more to follow:

1. Prepare yourself. Andrea Demirjian, kissing expert and author of Kissing, cannot stress enough the importance of good oral hygiene. “Floss and gloss,” she says. “Part of kissing is smell and taste. There is nothing worse than kissing someone with bad breath.” We shave our legs, wax our bikini lines, use expensive perfume, and go to all sorts of lengths to keep our bodies soft and smelling nice. Regular flossing and moisturizing chapped lips should be right up there as part of the routine.

2. Keep your tongue soft and adventurous. Use your tongue in a gentle way to explore his mouth, instead of just poking your tongue in and out. “Guys love being French-kissed, but they want girls to be more exploratory with their tongues,” says William Cane, the author of The Art of Kissing. And he should know: he’s interviewed thousands of people about being kissed.

3. Kiss other parts too. Guys like being kissed on places other than their mouths. (And no, I don’t necessarily mean down there…) If you’re in the middle of a make out sesh, switch things up by kissing his neck, face, and ears – then see where things go from there.