Follow your nose. When it comes to sexual attraction, the power of smell is, well, powerful. Beyond how a partner looks and communicates, how they smell might also be an indicator of how compatible you are as mates, as it turns out. In other words, there’s a big connection between scent and sexual attraction.
Studies. Science supports this theory, too. As CNN points out, in two larges studies led by Brown University olfactory expert Dr. Rachel Herz, ladies ranked a guy’s scent as the most important feature for ascertaining whether or not she would be into him in that way. In other words, how a dude smelled beat out how he looked. Girls aren’t so superficial after all, eh?
Genes. As CNN notes, scent may, in fact, be the main way in which females unconsciously sniff out genetic compatibility with a potential partner — quite literally, at that. Why does the body do this? Because how we smell is an external expression of the genes that make up our immune system, letting two people know how compatible — or not — they are with one another.
Fingerprint. Think of your scent like a (smelly...or rather fragrant.) fingerprint. Everyone has their own unique “odor print,” which is a part of a region of genes known as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). And females prefer the scent of males whose MHCs are different from their own, CNN reports.
Opposites attract. This is where the saying “opposites attract” comes from. Okay, not really. Still, differences in immune systems are incredibly important when it comes to picking a mate. "This is one of Nature’s ways of ensuring that we produce the healthiest offspring,” CNN explains. "No wonder that a woman’s sense of smell is at its peak when she’s ovulating and most likely to get pregnant."
Emotions. Seemingly, your sense of smell can determine much more than you realize. Unlike the other senses, olfaction reaches the emotional region of the brain super fast. "It's also the most primitive of all the senses,” Gary Beauchamp, Ph.D., told Men’s Health. "The very early organisms used it to make approach-avoidance decisions.” In other words, smell helps with two important aspects of survival: finding mates and food. Now all you have to do is prioritize the two!
Primitive. The power of scent may very well lie in its primitiveness; it helps us survive while the higher parts of our brains take care of less tedious things. "Scent is something that is notoriously difficult to match with words, even though poets have tried,” pioneering smell researcher, Martha McClintock, Ph.D., told Men’s Health. "Pioneering smell researcher" sounds like an amazing job, right?
More research. In one study, a wide range of men were each asked to wear the same T-shirt for two days in a row, after which the shirts were placed into identical crates. A slew of women were then asked to sniff the tees and to indicate which they thought would have the hottest wearers, based on the scent. The results were interesting, to say the least.
Findings. The study’s results showed that ladies were most attached to guys with an MHC most dissimilar from their own. (Remember, opposites attract!) Shirts worn by men with similar MHC profiles tended to be rated as “fatherly” or “brotherly” — but not hot. What’s more, research produced by firm Strategy One found that 56 percent of women said they would never date someone who smells like their dad.
Geography. Meanwhile, Dr. Alan Hirsch, director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, led research on behalf of AXE body products to gauge women’s scent preferences in 10 difference cities across the United States. “In each city we tested, women reported different scent preferences,” he told CNN, “indicating that geography has a direct correlation to what scents women find attractive.” Who knew there were so many professions based around smell?
Regions. So, what scents did women find most preferable by region? In New York, it was coffee. Over in L.A., the ladies enjoyed the scent of lavender. The gals up in Chicago were super into vanilla, while the ladies down south in Houston were all about that barbeque. Chicks in Philadelphia dug the smell of clean laundry, and the babes way west in San Diego really, really loved the smell of suntan lotion/ocean.
Science. Of course, there’s a science to these preferences. As we mentioned earlier, our sense of smell can trigger powerful memories, especially from our childhoods. This is why many scents may still exert a strong hold on us years later. Just think about it: We bet you still remember the smell of the cologne your high school sweetheart wore, or the smell of Sunday morning in your childhood home.
Positive feelings. Overall, smelling something you like or are familiar with is, obviously, going to make you feel better — for the most part, at least. "“Research has shown that when women are in the presence of a preferred scent, they are more likely to project positive feelings on those around them, which can lead to increased attraction,” Hirsch told CNN.
Men. Conversely, when it comes to men, there is little evidence to suggest that smell plays as powerful a role in sexual attraction. Nonetheless, another study led by Hirsch found that the scents of lavender, pumpkin pie, donuts and black licorice (random, we know) increased blood flow to the penis by a whopping 40 percent. The research also found that the scent of feminism decreased blood flow by an unsurprising 100 percent. (Just kidding.)
Bottom line. The takeaway? Scent and scent communication play important roles in human sexuality. While his bodily odor might not whip you into a lustful frenzy, it may color your perception of him to a certain extent. As all things in life, evidence about whether or not scent 100 percent impacts partner choice is still mixed, so don’t get too wrapped up in how you or your partner smells, and whether or not it means you two are really meant to be.
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