jolie-laide

Beautiful-ugly. Mainly applied to descriptions of women who are not classically beautiful, but whose features have beautify in an unconventional way. A classic reference would be Bette Davis; Charlotte Gainsbourg is a modern example.

The refined man scanned the women at the reception passing over the typical blond hair blue eyed pretty girls and affixed on the jolie-laide girl in the corner; her slightly too-large nose, diastema, and awkward gaze lent their own kind of subtle unique beauty.

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