Hi again all,
and again, thanks for the feedback. I understand many people here have had bad experiences, but please don't assume all men are bad.
I'm trying to be helpful. I may be doing so rather clumsily, but my intentions are good. The OP effectively asked how to get a guy's heart to beat a little faster, and I've tried to illustrate aspects of that; and in doing so, I'm obviously speaking from personal experiences and how I know myself. We all speak from personal experiences, we can't really do anything else, and while it's easy to attack and chip away at what people say, doing so doesn't help.
Hyacinth: Plenty of studies have been made about what makes people attracted to each other, but the results have been vague. What they generally always conclude, however, is that it happens in a split second, it's virtually instant. If you were to approach a couple of guys because you'd like to strike up a conversation (and maybe more), who do you talk to first? You don't think long and hard, you talk to the one that catches your eye. This isn't a man thing, we all do it; the difference between the two may be tiny, but it's there, and your attention goes to the one who has the edge. Exactly what it is that catches your eye, exactly what that edge is, will vary considerably, but the OP didn't describe encounters at a church fayre.
The OP described a situation where she was out and about with friends in a busy pub with a band on, and felt overlooked: "[my friends] seemed to be fighting the men off while not a single person even spoke to me". Everything I've said revolves around that. Yes, I started blethering away, and it got very lengthy, but this is what it's all about.
Sword, the essence of what I'm saying is that you need to take control, and not think your friends have all that much more than you. In fact, "blonde bimbo syndrome" is a result of getting everything a little too easily, and no good man would want to spend his life with a blonde bimbo. If the only thing somebody (irrespective of gender) has to offer in a relationship is good looks, the relationship will probably go south very quickly.
That doesn't mean anybody can get away with ignoring the attraction aspect. We are physical beings, and what we see influences how we feel. Thinking it can be some other way will only lead to disappointment and resentment, and it's important for both parties to light that initial fire, and to keep it burning if a strong, romantic relationship is the objective. Looking after ourselves and presenting ourselves well is another way of saying "I care about how you feel. I want to make you feel good." and that's a very positive sentiment. This is also where natural good looks can be a curse in disguise; the signal being sent isn't real, it hasn't arisen because the person wanted it to, and the outcome is unwanted attention and misunderstood intentions. Models and celebrities have always found it hard to get good partners, and being able to control the signals you send is to your advantage. And you probably only have to crank it up a little bit to get the edge.
@goldshade many thanks for your post. I think you said a lot of what I've been trying to say, but more succinctly. It isn't an age thing at all.
This got very long again. 
Take care.