Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

What one person finds beautiful or attractive, another may not; aesthetic preferences are subjective and personal.

The concept dates to ancient Greece, but the exact phrase emerged in the 18th century. Margaret Wolfe Hungerford popularized the modern wording in her 1878 novel "Molly Bawn." Earlier versions included "beauty lies in lover's eyes" and similar variations, all expressing the relativity of aesthetic judgment.