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January 13th, 2011
08:50 AM ET
The power of smell in picking sex partnersLadies, be honest: When it comes sexual attraction, how important is a guy’s smell? Not just his cologne or deodorant, but his natural scent? At Good in Bed, we believe that a woman should “follow her nose—it always knows.” Research supports this idea: In two large studies led by Brown University olfactory expert Dr. Rachel Herz, women ranked a man’s scent as the most important feature for determining whether she would be sexually interested in him. As it turns out, scent may be the main way in which women literally sniff out genetic compatibility with a potential mate. How we smell is an external expression of the genes that make up our immune system. Like fingerprints, each of us has our own unique “odor print,” which is part of a region of genes known as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Women prefer the scent of men whose MHCs are different from their own. So when we say that opposites attract, we may not be talking about differences in personality, but rather differences in immune systems. This is one of Nature’s ways of ensuring that we produce the healthiest offspring. No wonder that a woman’s sense of smell is at its peak when she’s ovulating and most likely to get pregnant. In one study, a wide variety of men were each asked to wear the same T-shirt for two days in a row, after which the shirts were put into identical boxes. Various women were then asked to smell the shirts and to indicate which they thought would have the most sexually attractive wearers, based on the smell. The results showed that women were most attracted to men with an MHC most dissimilar from their own, while T-shirts worn by guys with similar MHC profiles tended to be rated as “fatherly” or “brotherly” but not sexually attractive. And in a survey conducted by the research firm Strategy One, 56 percent of women said they wouldn’t date a guy who smells like their dad. So what about that cup of joe? Dr. Alan Hirsch, director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, conducted research on behalf of AXE body products to determine women’s scent preferences in 10 different cities. “In each city we tested, women reported different scent preferences,” he says, “indicating that geography has a direct correlation to what scents women find attractive.” Here are the scents that women found most preferable by region: 1. New York – coffee 2. Los Angeles – lavender 3. Chicago – vanilla 4. Houston – barbeque 5. Atlanta – cherry 6. Phoenix – eucalyptus 7. Philadelphia – clean laundry 8. Dallas – smoke/fireplace 9. San Diego – suntan lotion/ocean 10. Minneapolis-St. Paul – cut grass I know what you’re thinking: Cut grass? Clean laundry? What the…?! But there’s a science to these preferences. Scent can trigger powerful memories, especially from our childhoods, which is why these scents may still exert a hold on us years later. And according to Hirsch, “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.” While there is little to evidence to suggest that scent plays as powerful a role for men in sexual attraction, another study by Hirsch found that the scents of lavender, pumpkin pie, donuts, and black licorice increased blood flow to the penis by nearly 40 Percent. And as I discuss in my book 52 Weeks of Amazing Sex, “Certain scents increase oxygen in the brain, which in turn affects emotion, attitude, hormone levels, and energy. Both men and women respond positively to scents such as vanilla, black pepper and cinnamon. Other scents that are supposed to have libido-boosting qualities include frankincense, ginger, lavender, lime, orange, patchouli, and rose.” So, enjoy that cup of coffee, mow the lawn, or fire up the grill—you never know what will happen! Ian Kerner is a sexuality counselor and New York Times best-selling author, blogs on Thursdays on The Chart. Read more from him at his website, GoodInBed. |
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
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I was born and raised in Chicago. Strong vanilla scent makes my stomach turn....but give me a man with a hint of Lavendar....I'm all over that! LOL! ; )
I knew i was doing something wrong whe i lived in Chi-town...lol
I prefer the scent of money. I just knew Chicago's was going to be pizza or Jameson!! !
The smell of cocounut oil in tanning lotion drives me crazy. At the beach when I smell that I have to sit down and cross my legs. As it causes a sure erection.
It's all about PHEROMONES anyway. Check out WINGMAN PHEROMONES. It works!!!
Stupid. Just stupid.Whofunded this research!?
I bought some licorice last week that's sitting in the kitchen, and I swear I have been walking around with a ridiculous woody every morning and every evening after I get home from work. Had no idea it could've been that. Too bad I'm single right now, grrr.
Next time i go to the US I will have to try rubbing McDonalds cheeseburgers all over myself and hit up the clubs.
I am looking for BBQ scented shampoo, does anyone know where I might find that?
I am attracted to the natural scent of a man when he holds me and when he kisses me. It is either there or it is not there. The closest I can come to describe this is a combination of cotton candy and manly body smell. It is a turn on and it is the ingredient that makes me want that man. If a man doesn't have that smell, no matter how attractive, I am not capable of feeling the needed attraction to him. It's hard to explain and a lot of people laugh when I talk about this. But I'm glad scientists are on my side too and understand the power of smell.
very interresting report! More interresting is the response we are getting from men.
Licorice, whoe would of thought?
Personally, I think you can really "sniff" out the perfect "match"...this is true!
i personally enjoy the smell of another canines crack. woof woof
I'm going to urine on my self, before i go on a date. I'm sure ill turn my date on.
i wanna know what wisconsin smell is?
o.0 lmao
Some Mondays, I feel like a Wet Dog Smells, thats all ladies, Monday is my day off. AB
Ok, I am going to rub dryer sheets all over me before going to work now.
That is so HOT! LOL!!!!
what would be hotter is if you DID laundry.... and put pictures up of you folding clothes.... the ladies would come running!
If I know when my wife is coming home I'll be running the vacuum. She is all over me
Purdum, that was a good one!!
More nonsense. Look, we are not bees or dogs sniffing each other's butts. No wonder 50% of marriages fail in this country because idiots listen to this bullcrap!
Its about honesty, open communication , and putting the other person's needs ahead of your own. Both my husband and I do that for each other whether we smell like bacon or pits. Pure idiocy.
I love the axe fresh fragance and citrus scents, as for the other scents mentioned above, I would probably add, firewood scent, which goes along with the fireplace, but more the wood, you know just when its been freshly sawed, before putting it in the fireplace..I love that smell....The only thing that throws me off is this, a man can smell great overall, body wise...but his breath, stinks like either onion, garlic, or worse...I know sometimes its due to sickness..and yes my breath has gotten that way after oral surgery but most of the time.,.I make sure my breath does not stink and if it does I do something about it, like brush and rinse my mouth as much as I can, whenever I can...
Houston – barbeque??
Nice
Yeah, I live in Houston and I understand the B-BQ comment, there's a B-BQ stand on every corner - but ewww I don't want my man smelling like a sandwich!
I laughed out loud, given its reputation after leading the country in the "Least Fit" (aka fattest) category several times.
Best one of the list imo. I'm already getting me some brisket as we speak. Let's see how many honeys I can pull.
BBQ?! Personally i can't see it, but I think my man would go for that. I guess I'll down the Jean Nate, and start dabbing a little hickory 'cue sauce behind my ears.
I know! Why is Houston always the poor fat kid that gets picked last in kickball? At least they didn't say Houston women prefer the scent of livestock or crude oil....
why does everyone use the term "partner"? i have a WIFE and my wife has a HUSBAND
not a partner.........get it right
Because I'm not married, never would be, and never will be. "Partners" are all there are.
It's not all about you! Not everyone is married, and partner is what your significant other actually IS – whether he or she be a wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend. Get over it!
Because I'm a guy and I like other guy's. Therefore he is my partner.
notapartner: you may be a husband or she may be a wife, but if you are not partners, your relationship is inferior.
what do you care what people lovingly call one another?
notapartner: Is your wife aware that she is only a wife, and not your partner? If so, and she sticks around, she must be a blow up doll...
I'm with you on the "partner" thing. I'm not gay, so why would I use gay terminology? But, back to the subject... a woman wearing green apple scent, especially shampoo? I'm toast. I cannot resist it.
@notapartner – The fact that you find it appalling to consider your wife as an equal partner says all I need to know about your views.
If you don't say "your partner" you have to say one of the following: your wife/husband, your man/woman, your boyfriend/girlfriend, your significant other. Those are too much trouble and they just don't sound aesthetic. It's just plain easier to say "your partner". It doesn't have anything to do with a gay agenda or whatever some psychos imagine.
I think Tonto was the Lone Ranger's partner.
I agree. This story was talking about picking a MATE, not picking up someone at the bar. It was talking initially about how natural scent indicates the possibility of having healthy offspring. I am married. I am proud to call my husband my husband. I would never call him my partner, my man, my boo, or anything else. Marriage is a serious commitment, and not one that everyone can make. I am proud of that, and I am proud to be his WIFE, and not his "partner". We are partners in everything. the terms husband and wife mean far more than the term partner does.
And on a side note, of course everyone is going to have different preferences when it comes to perfume/cologne/body spray.
A guy with a name like Bryce who spells it with three R's and likes green apple scent...claims he's not gay?
Dude...come out already...it's OK to admit who you really are. It's the 21st century, man...mommy will understand.
So NOTAPARTNER??
Whos the other guy??
I do too notapartner, but not all of us are straight and married
This opens up a whole new industry for laundry additives. Forget fabric softener. Throw in some thyme, basil, sage, parsley, or my favorite bay leaf.
so love it when a man smells good.
I bet you smell good too hottie!
nothing like trying to pick up anonymous faceless commenters on a news article, boy howdy
LMAO! Thanks for the laugh this morning since it seems to be dragging.
Hopefully the folks over at FDS caught the part about donuts....
Right! The Starkist fragrance is getting too cliche.
mmmm stinky humans
If they smell don't pick them...:)
Hmmm....donuts...is there anything they can't do?
Excellent!
As a man, smell played a huge part of me choosing my girlfriends, and ultimatelymy wife. Obviously pheromones are the key factor, but there is a definite smell mixed in with those pheremones that is either a turn on or a turn off. It is also true that certain colognes or purfumes work along with a person's smell. The same cologne/purfume will smell slightly different on different person.
Your wife did not so smell so hot to me, not one time you were at work, golfing, bowling...
I am with DanIAm. Smell is huge. I know when a girl just smells 'off' to me and it is a total turn off. I am not talking about perfumes of any sort, I am just talking the smell of their body and skin. I am acutely aware of it when intimately close.
Nothing like MANSCENT.....gotta have the right one though....HOT!
Personally, I wash myself with bacon soap to attract my man.
Beer also works well.
What about the guys from India or Pakistan (not all of them!!) that smell like onions?
curry.
I was wondering about the pakis/indian sent myself....
personally, i think the smell is similar to that of a sulfuric-stinging sensation..,.
scent*
That's hariy armpit smell. Ewww!!
And in Cleveland, women prefer men that smell like a burning jersey of Lebron James.
In South Beach, where he took his "talents", they like the smell of arrogance.
I can see how this has an effect on picking your SO (significant other). When I was a young girl and missing my dad (deployed), I'd sleep on his side of the bed. But I would never be attracted to a man who smelled like my dad! I guess that makes sense b/c your olfactory senses are super close to your memory cortex of your brain. My husband smells totally different and MUCH BETTER! RAWR! This is pretty cool article.
Being from Portland where our motto is "Showers optional" I am curious as to what scent drives the glasses wearing ladies craaaaazy. Because I refuse to believe that the dudes who don't bother brushing their hair and will have an obscure beer brand shirt that haven't been taken off for three indie shows is what they want. But I do have to say this, my GF's (Partner)natural scent is AMAZING. She is always baffled as to why I like to just smell her.
Well now I know why I get so much male attention when I stroll down the street after liberally applying pumpkin pie scented perfume while gnawing a donut....
throw in a tool belt & I'm all yours...
What this article didn't mention is that, after a certain age whatever you smell doesn't matter no more... That's sad.
this article delivers...
What if i smell like insecurity, failure and desperation mixed with stale gin? Ladies? Any takers?
I like the stale gin part...
That explains how I was able to effortlessly bed well over a hundred women with very little effort on my part. I never wore cologne, never spewed cheesy lines. I just showed up well dressed, smiled, and apparently smelled great.
How are those STD's workin out for ya? ; )
AXE body spray and AXE brand "Messy 'i don't care look' " hair gel are guaranteed to get 100% of the chicks 100% of the time
Oh, so that's what I've been doing wrong. I was rubbing myself with a dead cat and a republican. (which, coincidentally smells like the dead cat) Who'd have though women would be turned off by that.
HAAAAA!
Meanwhile, it is men who are called shallow, or downright creepy if they tell women they smell good.
Not if they are in a relationship with the woman. Sensual compliments too soon are NOT a good idea.
Only if you act creepy.
What a horrible choice of photo illustration.
No, that's just what I want next to smelly naked parts! A near boiling cup of hot java! LOL
Women's #1 Preferred Smell: The Smell of Money
You are sooo right!
if he is cute that helps too =)
"...Hirsch found that the scents of lavender, pumpkin pie, donuts, and black licorice increased blood flow to the penis by nearly 40 Percent." – The secret ingredients to viagra revealed!
I bury my face in my boyfriends neck all the time and steal his watches and scarfs whatever he smelled like it was intoxicating and I wanted to sniff it all the time weather or not he was there but he prefers the "necking" haha
How much longer on the restraining order?
Really...do I STILL need to keep renewing it?
don't listen to them baby...you keep wearing my flannels around, I got plenty.
People spend so much time wearing fake scents you'd never be able to smell anyone's natural smell in this day and age. And this article pointing out the preference for nonhuman scents in these 10 cities isn't helping matters.
Sorry, but the only things women are attracted to in Los Angeles are money, muscles, men who are taller than 6/2 and guys who look like Eric Bana.
LOL @ your response. You have a point though. There are a lot of superficial women in Los Angeles. Didn't realize lavender was such a big hit out here.
Cherry in Atlanta? I don't think so.
In Atlanta, it's more like the smell of pretentiousness, vanity, and ego.
BBQ? That's just wrong.
Oh no HCC! It's so right!!!!!!!!!
slick you're my kind of fella...we need to get together and build something, I have a DeWALT drill that will tear into a screw.
I resist showering until I naturally smell like crotch. Girls totally dig it.
It's too inconvenient to wait, though. That's why I just have my dog butt-drag across my chest before I go out on a date.
omg f'n hillarious! thank you thank you thank you for the laugh.
I like my women to smell clean, not thick with lotions, vanilla, mango, perfume or any of that. Just like she showered and takes care of herself.
R.O.time limit thank you LOL
I've always been interested in this. I notice that I can try and find a good match on paper all I want but then I cross paths with some woman I have nothing in common with and the first thing I want to do Is get busy right there. If you aren't aching for some personal time with your new partner right off the bat then you might want to move on and save some heart break later. I live in Minneapolis but I don't ever recall getting any after mowing the lawn even when I mowed a cute friends lawn. Oh well, I be on the look out next time the grass needs cutting I guess.
The trick is while mowing the lawn not to wear the black socks with your sort-of-white tennis shoes and once-white wife-better tank top. Sure your wife wasn't just trying snif yesterday's lunch out of that shirt?
My wife tells me I smell good all the time. She inhales deep and then smiles...I simply thought it was a weird way to say I love you. But who would've guested she really saying I want your body lol!
well she's certainly not attracted to your grammar skills! AAAOOOOOO!!!!!
I love the smell of Clean Laundry on a man, or something "fresh' like that =) It drives me crazy.
so do you love your man or clean laundry?
No, she loves him in the piles of clean laudry, thus she gets to enjoy the scent again;when she re-washes it!
So that's supposed to expain your fling with diaper service guy!!!!
Justine,
You've inspired me to start wearing dryer sheets underneath my flannel shirts...
Do men not bathe where you live?
These articles are a bit of foolishness, fun to read though.
When I met my husband, he was wearing Dolce & Gabbana. That cologne totally turned me on and sealed the deal LOL. To this day, everytime I smell it it reminds me of meeting him and our courtship. I remember a lot of my ex boyfriends by the fragrance they wore. Scent is an extremely powerful thing – thus the multi-billion $ parfume industry.
So any man in Dolce calonge eh....? Wonder if SAMs Club sell it by the 5 gal bucket...?
So if hormones play an important part in what scents we are attracted to, what does taking the pill for birth control do to our choice of mates?
You're smart! Studies have shown that women chose "better" life partners when OFF b/c pills. The synthetic hormones delivered to the pitutary glad daily, when taking birth control, will alter your choice in a mate... and not for better but for worse. -Again, that is according to recent studies, it was news to me too!
I've read that women on birth control will be more likely to prefer a mate that smells more like their father. I don't remember the study but it was last year, I think. I thought it was interesting that the smells women preferred would change while on birth control.
Beware the mate you choose while taking BC pills, ladies. The minute you stop, your guy will smell like dirt and you'll run screaming for the divorce attorney. Just ask my first husband.
My second husband thinks I'm nuts whenever I mention this, but his scent gives me a euphoric feeling. I can't stand for him to wear any kind of cologne. Even scented shower gels and shampoos can put a damper on my attraction to him. After a dozen years together, he still smells like nirvana.
That might also depend entirely on the pill you're taking. If what you're saying is true, then what happens when a woman becomes pregnant? Does she find herself repudiated by her hubby's stink postpartum? Is her husband suddenly more attractive to her during the pregnancy?
The reason I ask those questions is because many pills mimic the increased surges of estrogen and/or progesterone that occur within the pregnancy state. It seems odd that so many women would have this side effect. I am 100% sure I haven't yet.
I'm not exactly disagreeing, just saying that this might be a very select number of women who experience this reaction of 'smell reversal' due to the pill. I'd like to read these articles however, and see where they're coming from, or whether or not they're valid. Wish me luck as I weed through the research databases!
As long as a man's nose doesn't run and his feet don't smell that's good enough for me.
Looks like I'm batting .500
I never made the connection until now. My brother had a way with the ladies. He was not “tall dark and handsome” But from time to time he would say “I take a bath once a year, whether I need it or not”.Now I know his secret.
sounds like an arrest waiting to happen.
So, this is why women stick their nose up into the air when I am around.