Sex.co.nz

Wouldn’t it be nice to attract loads of women whenever you want, wherever you want?

That’s the promise of pheromones, chemicals that are supposed to stimulate an unconscious sexual response in members of the opposite sex.

According to marketers, all you have to do is dab on pheromone cologne and enjoy unlimited success with the ladies.

But do they really work? Are they worth the $30 or so per bottle?

Here’s what we found out.

The Role of Scent in Sexual Arousal

Scent plays an important role in sexual arousal, both at a conscious and unconscious level.

On a conscious level, men and women have used perfumes for centuries to increase their attractiveness to the opposite sex.

So powerful is the association between scent and sexual attraction that one sniff of a boyfriend’s old t-shirt or a woman’s perfume lingering on the pillow can evoke feelings of desire.

In fact, some pickup artists deliberately spray a small bit of their cologne on a woman’s pillow, so that she will smell him throughout the week and be unable to get thoughts of him out of her mind.

This works because scent has the ability to encapsulate a good memory or feeling through association.

In other words, if you have a good experience in conjunction with smelling a certain scent, you will start to associate positive feelings with that scent.

For example, a whiff of wood smoke may remind us of our childhood and evoke feelings of safety and warmth. Or the smell of peppermint may remind us of our grandmother, who always carried mints in her handbag.

The power of scent to evoke memories and positive feelings is well-known and scientifically documented.

You can harness this power for yourself by wearing a “signature scent” every time you go out on a date. Just don’t overdo it. You don’t want your date to be able to smell your scent across the table. It should only become obvious when your date leans in close to you.

Artificially Engineering Sexual Attraction

Pheromones aren’t the first scents to be anecdotally associated with increasing libido. People of the ancient world used ylang ylang, bergamot, patchouli, rose, jasmine, nutmeg, and other essential oils to stimulate the senses.

Today, you can get erotic massage oils scented with essential oils that will get the blood flowing.

But using stimulating scents is no guarantee that sexual chemistry will be sparked, as can be seen by the lawsuit brought by an Indian man against well-known men’s deodorant brand Lynx.

The deodorant’s scent is supposed to increase the wearer’s attractiveness to women, in what is called the “Lynx effect.”

However, Viabhav Bev used the deodorant for seven years and didn’t manage to score a single woman. He sued the company that makes Lynx, Unilever, for $100,000.

It’s a great story, isn’t it? Too bad it isn’t true.

Although the lawsuit was later revealed as a hoax, the fact that so many news agencies picked it up shows that it reveals an essential truth about human nature.

You can use all the sexual attraction aids in the world, but in the end it comes down to who you are. You can’t expect a scent to reel in the babes if you’re not willing to work on yourself. Sexual attraction comes down to a number of factors – confidence, physical appearance, ability to make conversation, rapport, and nonverbal signals – and scent is the least of them.

What Scientists Say about Pheromones

Now, let’s turn to pheromones.

On an unconscious level, pheromones may play a subtle role in sexual attraction, but their effect has mainly been documented in the animal world.

Very few human studies show any impact of pheromones on human behavior. In fact, the only documented effect of pheromones is on the female menstrual cycle.

So, although synthetic pheromone manufacturers would like men to believe that one spray of their product will have hot, horny women breaking down the door, the truth is that scientists have found no evidence to support their claims.

According to Wikipedia, “no pheromonal substance has ever been demonstrated to directly influence human behavior in a peer reviewed study.”

Do Pheromones Not Work, Then?

Does that mean that pheromones don’t work?

Not necessarily.

A lot of people say that pheromones work for them. Sure, some are probably making it up or relying on “wishful thinking,” but there is enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that wearing pheromones can have some benefit.

Maybe wearing pheromones simply makes the user more confident, which translates into better success with the opposite sex. Who knows?

So if you’re looking for a proven way to get better with the opposite sex, you won’t find a magic bullet in pheromones. You’d be better off buying one of the numerous “get-better-with-the-ladies” courses online.

But if you have an experimental mindset and simply want to see what the effects are, then go for it! It may be worth it just for the fun of playing with scent.