The Tinder opener is a minefield. You can spend hours constructing the perfect line that balances wit, flirtiness and an astute observation based on their pictures only to be met with a big fat ghost. Other times you can slide right into their messages with a half-arsed greeting and end up swapping life stories.
Then there's the humble emoji. Seeing as emoji has been coined as the first truly global language, it's surely the best way to cut the BS and score a worldie... right? And with the recently launched Tinder Reactions helping singletons everywhere express themselves with a single hand clap/drink in the face, now seemed the perfect time to get involved and ditch my witty words for pictures instead. I consulted the emojipedia to make sure I covered a broad spectrum of the emoji universe and started swiping.
Using a mix of my favourites from the emoji universe combined with Tinder Reactions, I wanted to know exactly which openers were guaranteed to score me a date and which would just see me getting mugged off.
Here’s what happened when I messaged 9 guys using only emojis.
1. 'Smiling face with heart eyes'
Also known as: heart eyes, heart face
I wanted to start simple. This guy was hot and you can't get more to the point than a straight up heart-eyed emoij as an opener. My brashness paid off and while my match may have glazed over my cocktail emoji (clearly that was a drink proposition, come on), it resulted in a bit of a love-in. Not complaining.
Rating: The Siri line was a cute touch and my love heart reaction went down a storm. We'll see where this one goes... 8/10
2. 'Face blowing a kiss'
Also known as: blow a kiss, blowing a kiss, kissing
The winking face blowing a kiss is a time old classic. It's also one of those rare emojis that can work in a variety of different contexts. Friend finally transfers you that tenner she owed you from dinner? Kiss emoji. Getting your flirt on on Tinder? Kiss emoji.
Not gonna lie, the emoji went down a storm, and was encouraging enough to prompt my match to get his own emoji on in return. Things moved quickly, and before I knew it my emoji-fluent match was requesting a time and a location for our date. Flattered but flustered, I reacted by busting out not one but two Love Hearts Reactions in reply. Smooth. Clearly I needed more practice.
Rating: Quite pleased that I (nearly) managed to hold an entire conversation using only emoji and I even got two drinks offers out of it. I'll take the beer. 9/10
3. 'Love hearts'
Now to throw Tinder's new Reactions into the mix in all their glory. Maybe starting with a high impact opener will grab my match's attention in the best way? I start off with a shower of hearts because that's the kind of low-key person I am. After a positive response (this guy clearly loves to be adored), I worry I might have come on a bit too strong. I make a rash decision to switch to the drink throwing reaction to really keep him on his toes. Surprisingly, I seem to land myself a date as my match thanks me for the love and suggests a cocktail, even after a martini-in-the-face. Maybe he likes a challenge? Either way, win.
Rating: Showering someone in love before a 'hello' may seem a bit keen, but follow it up with a bit of curveball sass and it works a treat. 8/10
4. '1st place medal'
Also known as: Gold medal
The medal emoji is pretty self explanatory, and this guy seemed happy to accept first prize. I guess flattery is key, or maybe this guy was just a particularly Chatty Cathy. Anyway, at least I can say that I served some educational purpose and taught my match that yes, the paperclip emoji is a thing.
Rating: A solid opener - after all, everyone loves being a winner. However, it didn't prompt the emoji-to-emoji flirtation I was looking for, so I docked a point. 7/10
5. 'Clinking glasses'
Also known as: celebration, champagne glass, cheers
It was time to mix up my approach. Now that I'd got the hang of the single emoji, I wanted to challenge myself. I went for a string of emojis that summed up "Wanna go for a drink?" and waited. Success! My match wasn't just up for a drink but also entered into the spirit of emoji... even if there was a cheeky allusion to more than a couple of glasses of prosecco. Eye roll. Far too early for breakfast chat.
I wanted to make sure that the clinking glasses emoji wasn't just a fluke so fired off my emoji proposition to another guy. Sure enough, it was another success and now I've got bros in different area codes.
Rating: Getting straight to the point and telling your match exactly what you're looking for (via emojis) is not only empowering, but it also gets results. It's a yes from me. 10/10
6. 'Weary face'
Also known as: distraught face, wailing
Seeing as most of the time I'm either sleeping or thinking about when I can next sleep, I decided to try out the weary face and some ZZZs to see if I could stir up some sympathy from my match. Despite the sweat/sweet confusion he got the gist and flirtatiously suggested he could help bring me out of my afternoon slump. I laughed it off but he persisted and went straight in for the drinks invitation. Still trying to work out those whales though.
Rating: Maybe it's not all about hearts and kissing emojis - even the humble weary face managed to hook a total stranger into wanting to have an afternoon drink with me. 8/10
7. Emoji art
Soz Banksy, but the real talent is in the emoji art game. I decided to try and impress my next match by getting creative. Starting with a dramatic interpretation of the house from Up, I swiftly moved on to a large-scale heart. After some initial confusion, my match seemed to be impressed, but I suspect he was secretly a little intimidated by my emoji skills.
Rating: Ultimately, the flames of romance just weren't there for us, but I wouldn't rule out emoji art completely - next time, I'll save it for a Disney fan. 7/10
8. 'Hugging face'
Also known as: hug, hugging, hugs
So apparently what I always thought was a sassy jazz hands emoji is actually a hug. Who knew? Either way, it's always been one of my favourites so I end my experiment by rolling with this guy as an opener to see where it gets me. Those bashful blushing cheeks clearly give my match a smile and it gets us off to a good start. Feeling confident, I go in for the kill and try to score myself an Estonian husband via the medium of emoji. Sadly my match thinks I'm merely asking if he's married (he isn't though, so I guess that's still a win).
Rating: I'm positioning the hugging face as the underdog of the emojis. Seldom used but plenty of potential. 7/10
Conclusion
Emojis definitely cut out the eternal question of how the hell to strike up conversation on Tinder. They're also a great way of paying a guy a compliment without feeling like a creep. I'll be using my trusty emoji maths technique to score myself some more dates and definitely won't be afraid of chucking another drink or two, but I'm also looking forward to not spending ten minutes scrolling through my phone's entire emojipedia just to find the paperclip.
If you're stuck for the perfect opener try out Tinder's new reactions
