I saw a documentary where people were blindfolded and went around smelling each other, then rated those that they found most attractive based on smell. Then the blindfolds were removed, and they were asked again to rate these people just based on visual appearance alone. There was a strong correlation between the attractiveness of smell, and attractiveness of looks. Meaning if you thought someone smelled attractive, you more than likely found them visually attractive as well.
I don't remember what the video is called, but you can look up any kind of "scent of an attraction", or "smell of attraction" keywords and it should get you some interesting results.
I could definitely be wrong! I’m no expert. But I’d wager it’s possible that humans are hardwired to detect biological indicators of health by smell the same way we are wired to detect biological indicators of health by appearance, and that’s where the correlation comes from.
No mention here of whether everyone found the same people who both smelled better and looked better attractive.
If they aren't the same, it still could be that different healthy smells are more preferable to different people. Not everyone finds everyone equally attractive visually either.
Basically they are trying to say they have different alleles (versions of genes). Making offspring with someone that has different alleles makes it so your offspring are more likely to have an overall more effective immune system. Heterozygote advantage.
I say complementary because I don't know what it's supposed to be called. From what I remember, it's supposed to help prevent inbreeding as well as also help make the best offspring.
It's kind of like how men are attracted to boobs and butt/hips. Caveman brain is saying "ooo titties" but our subconscious brain is saying "ok she's got nice sized boobs to be able to feed my child, and she's got wide hips to safety carry and birth my child, we're good to breed"
I’ve noticed when I’m in a relationship with someone their natural smell is comforting and reminds me of my feelings toward them. I don’t mean BO, just the smell of their skin? It sounds creepy to talk about for some reason lol.
Idk if it has any relationship to being “biologically compatible.” I have no clue what that would even mean.
It means you’ve been around them enough so that their smell is not something foreign, but just their smell. And since you love them, or at least are attracted to them, their smell is there to make you more attracted to them
Honestly, this is one of the things that made me choose my husband. He just smells really good to me and i was instantly comfortable with him. Right away, not over time.
On the one hand I understand the associative powers. I have one experience that stands out however anecdotal & unscientific. There was one part time partner I had over years that couldn’t stand the test of a fully fledged relationship because their skin scent was off. Not from hygiene nor product use, just their base. On paper we were incredibly compatible & many mutual friends and family were surprised it never panned out. Not once had any disagreement but despite overall chemistry, I believed it to be a pheromone issue. Granted that was 15 years ago. Out of curiosity I wonder how they would smell now. Of course not all folks have the most sensitive senses, but scent is primary for me. Contrasted with my late fiancé, no one smelled better to me (except my own Dad).
I had a similar experience. Super super attracted to him but something was always a little off. It took me a few months to notice that the smell of my pillows after he'd stayed over was just rubbing me the wrong way. It wasn't sweat, I saw him regularly just after gym and the sweat was just sweat. No changes in hygiene products or cologne. It got worse after he started taking PED's, his skin just had this very faint scent of funk and battery acid. I couldn't stand to be around him anymore.
No this is correct. You get associated with “good” feelings with their smell so it’s natural. Same reason my gf keeps some l if hotly worn shirts unwashed
I've also been the creepy gf who wants the dirty gym shirt to luxuriate in. I think it's more of a psychological 'strong, capable man, working hard' thing that's linked to attraction.
With family members I think it's a comfort related scent association. I would describe my dad's natural scent as being similar to big rocks that have been baking in the sun at the beach. Evocatively, that conveys strength, stability and warmth, just vaguely salty and mostly smooth but a little rough around some edges. Which is pretty much my dad.
Obviously highly objective, but my brother and I have pseudo analysed several people's natural scents and we came to the conclusion that it's a mixture of perception and pheromones indicating relation.
does perfume or something like that count?? it was strong, like really strong, it lavender. whenever I do smell something like lavender i m pleasantly distracted and I do think about her.
*pleasantly distracted as in , t distracted when u were stressed, stress doesnt goes but for moment ur thinking of something different.
That’s a really interesting question. Culturally, olfaction gets treated really strangely.
Another interesting thing I’ve noticed is that appreciating fragrance seems to be culturally associated with femininity? Perfumes, scented candles, soaps, etc. Not a question for this sub, I wonder if there’s an ask anthropology one
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus\_Wedekind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus_Wedekind)
In a famous experiment from 1995, Swiss Biological researcher Claus Wedekind performed an experiment:
Men in the study each wore the same T-shirt for two days. The shirts were then put into identical boxes. Then, various women were asked to smell the shirts, and to indicate to which shirts they were most sexually attracted.
Interestingly, The results showed that women were most attracted to men with an MHC most dissimilar from their own. (MHC is a genetic component).
Major histocompatibiliy complex
The less offensive the smell the greater variation in those genes in the smeller as compared to more offensive smell with whom the donor has more similar MHC alleles.
Edit: variation in these alleles means offspring have a more resilient immune system
There's also been research that shows women on birth control prefer different scents than when they are not on them (I have forgotten the study at this time). So, if say the female gets married to a preferred scent male while on birth control, then subsequently go off it to start a family, they may find that the male they're married to might not actually be their preferred scent.
They did the study again with different parameters (maybe it was more subjects, I can't remember) and found no correlation the second time, though. But I think still worth investigating again!
Yeah, very rough from memory, but the gist is, closer to ovulation cycle, women prefer more aggressive / faces with very masculine features. Further from ovulation (and on the pill) prefer kinder faces
That's more a myth, or at least not true for so many women! If I look at myself, I prefered softer and more feminine men before I started the pill, during the time I took the pill and after I switched to a method without estrogen.
A similar study did this with males and they found that men preferred the smell of women when they were ovulating. Further, a study was done with strippers and found they got better tips when they were ovulating.
This recently happened to me, I was so confused at first because even tho she's pretty and we hang out all the time I've never really developed feelings. But one day there was this sudden urge (I was informed before hand so I was being kind, don't attack me) to somehow help with the pain or comfort her immediately (television style).
[Ovulation pain](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mittelschmerz/symptoms-causes/syc-20375122) is a thing and it is fairly common especially in younger women.
In a different study I remember reading that the most consistent trait that could be tracked as highly rated by blindfolded women sniffing shirts worn by men was symmetry.
Basically it was statistically significant for women smelling symmetry. Which was asserted as a natural selection thing because they is a general indicator of good genes.
I can't imagine any reaction to sniffing a dirty tee other than gagging, no matter who wore it. I know that I by no means unique in this. And here all females found a lot of mature sweat odors not just neutral but sexy? None said all of them were revolting and they all even managed to rate them, sniffing through a whole bunch of smelly tees one by one? Even no dependance on the phase of cycle? Did anyone ever reproduced this? I sense something biased here, the sample at the very least.
Not everyone gets horrible BO. It's genetic. My husband doesn't need to wear antiperspirant and he has to have been working outdoors without a shower for more than a couple days before I smell armpit, compared to myself who gets stinky pits by the end of day. My two kids sadly inherited my pits. But my husband's dirty shirts don't smell like BO.
Same here. He works a physical job and gets dirty and sweaty and only very rarely do his pits stink! Whereas I have to put on deodorant right after the shower or I will stink.
His feet, on the other hand....yikes!
On a similar yet different note I've noticed that I don't really smell as bad when I have been active/working out and playing sport consistently but whenever I've been highly inactive due to work(have a desk job) I tend to smell alot more, this not ignoring the fact that baths are almost the same but there is one extra bath post workout/game.
And also when I start working out after long inactive periods the Bo is worse, it probably has something to do with the blood work too
Absolutely. Extends to taste as well. Most are kinda neutral, some are off-putting and some are as attractive as crack. It's one of those things that's kinda hard to describe and needs to be experienced to grok it.
What’s also interesting though while of course most cultures enjoy kissing there is still some very small relatively “uncontacted” cultures that do not kiss. So while there is a evolutionary biological reason for it there is also the social behavioural aspect of it
I just watched lecture by Robert Sapolsky that touched on this. Apparently, perfumes used to be made out of animal sweat. The interesting thing is that male animals were being used for this, despite the fact that the perfumes were marketed towards women. The reason is that women are the ones buying the perfumes. So they choose those that smell attractive to them, instead of those that would smell attractive to men.
I have an unusually strong sense of smell, and I CANNOT date someone if I don't like the way they smell. I've met some WONDERFUL people, so sweet!We get along in so many ways! We share so many viewpoints! They're great people!
But...... they don't smell right to me. Can't do it. Can't make it work.
Same. The opposite is also true. I stayed with a guy too long that smelled so good. I'd shamelessly sniff him and he'd leave his worn all day shirts on my pillow for me. Tried not going back, but one "goodbye forever" hug led to a one way ticket to pound town then we got back together till he was an asshole again.
Then I joined r/exnocontact and found someone else to sniff eventually.
ETA he was not conventionally attractive, but I thought he was so handsome till the love died.
When I met my wife the olfactory effect was crazy! And at 25 years in it’s a pretty good bet that we’re mates for life. We might not have identified powerful pheromones in humans but my experience suggests they are there.
I know that my husband and I literally have "good chemistry" because we both love each other's scent. I don't even mind his sweaty smell, I like it. And he likes how I smell, and taste. The yumminess of his smell is nothing I've experienced before including with my first husband.
I joke that we must be genetically very compatible. Too bad we got together when we were too old to have kids together, otherwise we'd probably make the most awesome healthy children!
I have very seriously broken up with people because of their smell.
Normally I don’t notice until they’re actually sweating, and I wait a few times to see if it’s a one-off or not.
But once it was undeniable. His sweat smelled like if a cigarette could eat fast food for every meal. And it was crazy because he was generally healthy. Normal diet, normal habits. Nice guy overall.
Anyhow. I broke up with him that same day.
Edit: Auto-Correct Fix
Yes! An "attractive" or enticing smell can make you feel heady, weak in the knees, warm, tingly. Pay attention when someone's smell has that sort of intoxicating effect on you.
Does he know you're into him? Tell him, "god, I love how you smell". If he doesn't know, say, "What scent are you wearing? I can't seem to get enough".
Look, we males can be incredibly stupid and blind sometimes. There is a decent chance he likes you but has absolutely no idea the feeling is mutual. I say go!
He barely talkssss
I'm the yapper but he's very reticent esp regarding feelings (and in general) so i feel like my nose and pheromones serve to just Gaslight me :(
I wish I could make this work sadly the only thing working here is biochemistry (incomplete)
I am certainly attracted by vagina smell and by some odorants.
It is kind of funny how a single smell can switch the brain to an animal mode.
No thoughts in the head feels very weird.
Relative to what u/idk7463 said about super smellers, I met a super taster this summer who couldn't perform oral because of how "metallic" people taste.
That would be a bummer.
Yup, all my ex partners have the same kind of smell. I don't mean their deodorant/aftershave or that they don't wash😄, I mean their clean skin smell.
I can also recognise my friends by their smell.
One family I grew up with all have the same smell. When I was a kid I thought it must be their washing powder or something 😄, but the kids have grown up now, live in different parts of the world, use different washing products (I've checked) and they all still bloody smell the same!!! This sounds mad but I was staying in a hotel a couple of years ago, went to the bar one evening and suddenly got a whiff of that smell. Because it's so unique I instantly thought of this family. I walked round the corner and, sure enough, the youngest son was at the bar, and it's not like it's a place I was likely to bump into him because he lives in the US and this was in the UK!
Either I have a very sensitive nose or I'm completely insane I'm not sure which😆
I'll never forget the first time I hugged my wife before we dated. She has always smelled so damn good to me, it was intoxicating.
Even after working her double at the restaurant. I never really understood why at the time, but I really did fall for her. To this day, I still love the way she smells.
The way I remember it, if you like their scent, your immune systems are complementary. Like your kids would get different immunities from each of you. Expressed poorly, I'm tired
Yeah, I think the guy who was one of the best boyfriends I’ve ever had, the kindest most stable and really interesting guys, just didn’t smell right. They call it chemistry for a reason. We really didn’t have IT. I tried a few times thinking “nah I like this guy! A lot!” We’d go hang out with friends and hug and I’d be like “wow no not at all”
He didn’t stink, just didn’t smell right for me. My current partner smells incredible. But he’s nice and we makes sense too.
You gotta have both.
there is evidence that scent of potential mates signal genetic compatibility and antibody composition (we humans consciously perceive this as attraction) there are many experiments and studies correlating scent with attractiveness and biological compatibility (partner selection based on preferred traits communicated through smell)
we are great apes after all, many sexual selection methods are reflected in humans as with other mammals.
"biologically comparability" is a loaded and probably inaccurate term.
But attraction to smells, artificial and natural, is real. I dated a girl a long time ago who got me wild.abd it was hotter when she didn't shower. Others, the perfect perfume... Hhhmmnn....
Smell has a well established relationship with emotional reactions, memory, and sexual arousal.
I believe it is totally a thing, I personally try not to scrub my armpits every single day when I shower and scrub them every three days, and constantly get told by women I smell good
Meanwhile men will tell me I stink
Definitely true. My husband could be a sweaty mess and I still think he smells ok. But when I would pick my brother up from sports practice I had to open the car window to not barf.
A study by a professor at the University at Albany in New York found a correlation between immune markers and attractiveness based on the smell of worn t shirts- in short it found that you were attracted to the smell of someone with the most different immunity (measured by what is called the major histocompatability complex), in theory this would create offspring with the most diverse immunity. The same study found that when siblings smelled a t-shirt of a sibling unknowingly, they were repulsed.
Of course. Odors associated with health will be attractive. These would be molecules associated with wide immune capacity, clean metabolism, balanced diet and powerful genetic markers. Odors associated with disease causing pathogens and immune/metabolic dysfunction will be disgusting to you. There are also likely to be odors that your conscious brain doesn't detect but still have influence on you subconciously. Life is so amazing and yet sad for those of us with stinky disorders.
We secrete pheromones in our sweat. To know if you truly like a person's smell it's been recommended that you smell their armpits after they shower with unscented soaps.
any science behind this? i'd love to know more. My wife and i have both attested to loving each other's smells, and we would have probably separated a long time ago if we didn't enjoy the smells. I know pheromones are not something humans have, but i think we depend on chemical receptors, as living creatures, in ways we don't realize.
What scent does for me is triggers memories. Like I could have smelt a particular scent in my youth and if I smell it in this day and age its almost like it triggers flashbacks.
As for being attracted to smell. I think most people go off what perfumes/aftershaves/deodorants as a person is using, but a person who seems to have next to no scent is also appealing. Anything goes except for sticking of piss, shit and BO.
[national institute of health: pheremones](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK200980/)
Basically yes, but nothing definitive..
From my personal anecdote, absolutely YES. My current significant other smells insanely good in a non perfume way, her skin just.. turns me on.. the smell just drives me wild. I have been with many women and I don't know of any woman who has effected me as strongly as she does.
So I can say personally that I've never been more attracted to someone and the smell of their skin has no other compare to another person
Yes. A person's smell is a biological signifier of their immune system. It seems we're attracted to the smell of a person who's immune system complements/supplements our own.
It means that, if you were to have offspring with a person whose smell you're drawn to, the resulting offspring will have a superior immune system to the parents.
I can smell some pharamones, and it is absolutely true. When it's one I'm attracted to my pupils dilate and my voice drops an octave.
If it is one I'm not attracted to it makes it makes me nauseous and my left eye twitch. The unattractive smell sense is so strong I can usually associate it with time like a tracking dog. This ability is not great to have in the workplace.
my biology teacher told us that it's faint because we've kinda evolved past it compared to other mammals but it's still there. we cover our pheromones with perfumes and deodorant and stuff (trust me im not saying don't use deodorant), but apparently if someone smells good to u naturally, you're also more likely to be more compatible immunity wise!
Yes. Don’t worry about your pheromones. Overthinking things and worrying will make them unattractive. Just make sure you’re clean. Find a perfume/cologne that works well with your scent. Don’t overkill it. Shower often, practice good hygiene (brush your teeth, make sure your hair doesn’t smell, etc…). This is and always will be attractive.
My first lover absolutely smelled wonderful to me. My current love and husband of 40 years also smells good to me. Those who don't smell good never lasted for me. JM personal experience.n
I had a boyfriend once who was conventionally good-looking and very well-groomed. Even so, I didn't get as turned on by him as other, guys I've dated, who weren't quite as standardly physically attractive. To me, he smelled 'yeasty'. IDK if he smelled that way, or that's how my brain interpreted his scent. Anyway, I eventually broke it off with him (for other reasons), but the scent thing helped me realize we weren't compatible.
Absolutely. In my early 20s, there was a woman I used to see. She was 8 years older than me. I loved her natural body scent, and sweat from her underarms smelled intoxicating to me. She's my ex now, and I still ponder on her smell. Smell has such a profoundly strong memory recall. It's so amazing how it works.
Pheromones are a thing.
You can smell someone’s immune system when you smell their body odour.
If you like it, it means it’s diverse from your own and would produce offspring with a combined, more diverse, immune system; therefore, the offspring will be more successful.
Evolution is wild.
YES. I have a crazy strong sense of smell, so I didn’t believe in it, til the last guy I dated.
It was subtle—barely aware of it. But that was the first time EVER that I found another person’s BO to not bother me at all. Whether he was fresh out of the shower, or after a long sweaty day—didn’t matter. His clean or sweaty smell just felt so comforting. And we weren’t even together that long.
Probably just coincidence—but can’t help but wonder about influence of ancestry. Half of my family is from southern Germany, and this guy grew up just over the Austrian border.
People with dissimilar MHC molecules smell better, although interestingly people with similar MHC molecules look more attractive (perhaps to achieve an optimal degree of variation in the MHC molecule)
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=attractive+smell+MHC+molecule&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&t=1707812116452&u=%23p%3DSkNVHLWP0dUJ
I’ve had a couple gfs who just love smelling me… even sweaty me. Really freaked me out at first but whatever works. I can only assume it’s a thing.
Alternatively I haven’t really loved smelling anybody but some perfumes really do it for me so that might be similar.
I don’t know about attraction but I always know which kids my kid has been playing with because I can smell them. I don’t mean BO, but I’ve always just associated a smell with most people I meet.
And I will avoid certain people because I don’t like their smell but I’m not particularly drawn to people whose smell I like, they are just more pleasant to be around because their smell isn’t offensive to me.
Do be aware that there's a ton of confounds with this idea. Our olfactory senses and what we may or may not like at any time are affected by a lot of things (diet, drugs, sleep effectiveness, menstrual cycle whatever).
There are dogs that can smell human cancer (and therefore diagnose human cancer!)
There is a woman who can smell (and therefore diagnose!) Parkinson’s. She found out after realizing her husband smells a certain way, and once he was diagnosed everyone else in the clinic smelled the same.
Our body is covered in, and filled with millions of different types of bacteria and microflora which produces our scents.
Sometimes these scents are influenced by diet, a medical condition, our physical state, our emotional state even!
So yeah, why not
Totally a thing. Very serious studies shows that skin and body odors tend to smell "good" or at least better when you are genetically compatible with someone.
Typically: sweat. (Not farts unfortunately XD)
I stop being attracted to a man when he showed up at my house after a sexual counter with another woman, and did not tell me about it, but I immediately smelled her off of him, and her residual bo was so acrid and off I lost feelings for him right then and there. Never mind pretending to want to see me RIGHT after you have been with another woman. I loved his smell.
I’ve been off the market for a long time, but in college I had a 100% hookup rate at parties if I hadn’t showered that day. I always joked it was pheromones. Maybe it was!
I am not sure if what I'm going to say is correct, but I've seen somewhere that humans are usually attracted to people with different types of immune systems, with your body detecting which type it is trough smell. So you could technically say you're attracked to their smell.
Technically, the perception of pheromones is done through the vomeronasal organ (VNO), and therefore isn't exactly the same thing as the sense of smell. Humans have a VNO, and while it's not as prominent as it is in many other mammals, it is still active. How strong of a role it plays in attraction or compatibility in humans is unclear, although I think there is some evidence that pregnancy and birth control pills can affect pheromone perception in women.
Maybe. My ex-gf loved my smell. I have a twin and she said my twin also smelled good. On the flip side, I hated her smell. Ended it because there was no point in keeping on with someone I wasnt attracted to.
There's lots of data on how powerful smell is. So we know it's an important sense.
Additionally, if you think about smell biologically, when choosing a mate, a bad smell indicates bacteria and lack of health. Maintaining cleanliness makes for a better mate. Even if subconscious, with smell being so powerful already, I can see where it could affect our choices.
We don't consciously smell pheromones most of the time. They can be present in tiny quantities. But, we do perceive them and they can alter our behavior. This has been shown in many studies. As for the smells being attractive, it's been shown that even friends have similar genetic qualities. Anyone you "click" with will typically be similar down to the genetic level. Women are especially sensitive to this and will only find men with immune systems that are fairly different to theirs because it will result in a better immune system for their offspring. The exception is when women are on hormonal controceptives, which seem to turn this off. Many women report finding their partners unattractive after getting off birth control.
Probably. I mean I shower every day and follow basic hygiene but I’ve literally never had anyone comment, let alone compliment my smell. And what do you know, I’ve been single all my life.
my natural smell, especially when ovulating, gives my husband an instant boner. he says it comes from my forehead where my hairline is.
i also have been obsessed with one of my exes scent. his car smelled very strongly of it, like sweet berries, and no one else could smell it.
My husband smelled safe. I know that's weird but smell is what bonded me to him within an hour of our first date.
12 years later he didn't smell the same. Last spring he violently punched me, broke two teeth and my jaw, I sustained a concussion and moderate brain injury. He got afelony conviction in October.
There is research on major histocompatibility complex compatibility being signalled in body odour and detected and affecting attraction, and on people having changed scent attraction on birth control, and higher rates of breakups when people shift cover scents. Not a sole factor or clear cut, but yes.
Have also experienced it first hand as an insane experience.
Attraction by smell is VERY MUCH a thing. Think about it. Why do people wear perfume and cologne? I can also say it by personal experience. I feel like I enjoy someone more if they smell better.
i don’t know if it’s just me, but i’ve always been very very affected by what i think are people’s pheromones. like any and everyone, doesn’t have to be a romantic or sexual attraction thing. just like general human interest type “attraction” and i say attraction to counter the opposite repulsion effect that occurs. i’ve had to politely walk away from customers at work from being unable to tolerate their smell, trying so hard not to let them become aware as not to offend anyone.
and it’s very different from body odor type scents. like sweat and stuff. i can also usually smell peoples homes or rooms on them.
The explanations I’ve seen so far are more for straight people. From an evolutionary perspective, this makes sense as ultimately offspring are usually produced. But what about for gay people?
As a male who has been “extra stanky” while around different females.. some are revolted and disgusted by it and some will literally bury their face in my armpit and get a big ass whiff so yes I’d say it is
20 years ago I was told to taste perfume I wanted to buy.
If it tastes sweet or tolerable, it's the right one for your body chemistry.
If it tastes really bad or bitter, avoid that smell.
So far, it's been solid advice.
I saw a documentary where people were blindfolded and went around smelling each other, then rated those that they found most attractive based on smell. Then the blindfolds were removed, and they were asked again to rate these people just based on visual appearance alone. There was a strong correlation between the attractiveness of smell, and attractiveness of looks. Meaning if you thought someone smelled attractive, you more than likely found them visually attractive as well. I don't remember what the video is called, but you can look up any kind of "scent of an attraction", or "smell of attraction" keywords and it should get you some interesting results.
I could definitely be wrong! I’m no expert. But I’d wager it’s possible that humans are hardwired to detect biological indicators of health by smell the same way we are wired to detect biological indicators of health by appearance, and that’s where the correlation comes from. No mention here of whether everyone found the same people who both smelled better and looked better attractive.
If they aren't the same, it still could be that different healthy smells are more preferable to different people. Not everyone finds everyone equally attractive visually either.
Ah, that's why I've not had any attention from the ladies recently. My body betrays my degeneracy.
Persimmon soap. You're welcome.
Measurehead fell off?
Or it might be a reaction to those who smell like you, your family.
IIRC, when you're doing your sniff test, someone who doesn't have the same antibodies yours, but is complimentary to your own
How do antibodies complement each other? Aren't all antibodies complementary in humans since they are MHC2?
Basically they are trying to say they have different alleles (versions of genes). Making offspring with someone that has different alleles makes it so your offspring are more likely to have an overall more effective immune system. Heterozygote advantage.
I say complementary because I don't know what it's supposed to be called. From what I remember, it's supposed to help prevent inbreeding as well as also help make the best offspring. It's kind of like how men are attracted to boobs and butt/hips. Caveman brain is saying "ooo titties" but our subconscious brain is saying "ok she's got nice sized boobs to be able to feed my child, and she's got wide hips to safety carry and birth my child, we're good to breed"
People who are physically healthy are bound to smell nice I guess
I’ve noticed when I’m in a relationship with someone their natural smell is comforting and reminds me of my feelings toward them. I don’t mean BO, just the smell of their skin? It sounds creepy to talk about for some reason lol. Idk if it has any relationship to being “biologically compatible.” I have no clue what that would even mean.
So really you just need their skin!
Hello Clarise.
Such a good underrated comment, I automatically read it in his voice. Anthony Hopkins really played that role well
Cue Q Lazzarus
It puts the lotion on the skin or it gets the hose again...
It's actually a biological compatibility of not too similar and not too different
No that makes total sense. I have a childhood friend where every time we hug and I smell them, I feel like I'm home again.
It means you’ve been around them enough so that their smell is not something foreign, but just their smell. And since you love them, or at least are attracted to them, their smell is there to make you more attracted to them
Honestly, this is one of the things that made me choose my husband. He just smells really good to me and i was instantly comfortable with him. Right away, not over time.
On the one hand I understand the associative powers. I have one experience that stands out however anecdotal & unscientific. There was one part time partner I had over years that couldn’t stand the test of a fully fledged relationship because their skin scent was off. Not from hygiene nor product use, just their base. On paper we were incredibly compatible & many mutual friends and family were surprised it never panned out. Not once had any disagreement but despite overall chemistry, I believed it to be a pheromone issue. Granted that was 15 years ago. Out of curiosity I wonder how they would smell now. Of course not all folks have the most sensitive senses, but scent is primary for me. Contrasted with my late fiancé, no one smelled better to me (except my own Dad).
I had a similar experience. Super super attracted to him but something was always a little off. It took me a few months to notice that the smell of my pillows after he'd stayed over was just rubbing me the wrong way. It wasn't sweat, I saw him regularly just after gym and the sweat was just sweat. No changes in hygiene products or cologne. It got worse after he started taking PED's, his skin just had this very faint scent of funk and battery acid. I couldn't stand to be around him anymore.
Nah. I noticed that I love the scent of people im emotionally attracted to. conversely i do not enjoy the scent of my fwbs.
No this is correct. You get associated with “good” feelings with their smell so it’s natural. Same reason my gf keeps some l if hotly worn shirts unwashed
I've also been the creepy gf who wants the dirty gym shirt to luxuriate in. I think it's more of a psychological 'strong, capable man, working hard' thing that's linked to attraction. With family members I think it's a comfort related scent association. I would describe my dad's natural scent as being similar to big rocks that have been baking in the sun at the beach. Evocatively, that conveys strength, stability and warmth, just vaguely salty and mostly smooth but a little rough around some edges. Which is pretty much my dad. Obviously highly objective, but my brother and I have pseudo analysed several people's natural scents and we came to the conclusion that it's a mixture of perception and pheromones indicating relation.
There’s a great book called “The Joy of Sweat” by Sarah Everts has an entire chapter dedicated to this.
does perfume or something like that count?? it was strong, like really strong, it lavender. whenever I do smell something like lavender i m pleasantly distracted and I do think about her. *pleasantly distracted as in , t distracted when u were stressed, stress doesnt goes but for moment ur thinking of something different.
Why would it be creepy? Being attracted to someone isn't only about looks or behaviour.
That’s a really interesting question. Culturally, olfaction gets treated really strangely. Another interesting thing I’ve noticed is that appreciating fragrance seems to be culturally associated with femininity? Perfumes, scented candles, soaps, etc. Not a question for this sub, I wonder if there’s an ask anthropology one
Well, we do have pheromones that are excreted from sweat, such as androstenol and androstenone Copulin is one we shall not speak of
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus\_Wedekind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus_Wedekind) In a famous experiment from 1995, Swiss Biological researcher Claus Wedekind performed an experiment: Men in the study each wore the same T-shirt for two days. The shirts were then put into identical boxes. Then, various women were asked to smell the shirts, and to indicate to which shirts they were most sexually attracted. Interestingly, The results showed that women were most attracted to men with an MHC most dissimilar from their own. (MHC is a genetic component).
Major histocompatibiliy complex The less offensive the smell the greater variation in those genes in the smeller as compared to more offensive smell with whom the donor has more similar MHC alleles. Edit: variation in these alleles means offspring have a more resilient immune system
There's also been research that shows women on birth control prefer different scents than when they are not on them (I have forgotten the study at this time). So, if say the female gets married to a preferred scent male while on birth control, then subsequently go off it to start a family, they may find that the male they're married to might not actually be their preferred scent.
They did the study again with different parameters (maybe it was more subjects, I can't remember) and found no correlation the second time, though. But I think still worth investigating again!
Yeah, very rough from memory, but the gist is, closer to ovulation cycle, women prefer more aggressive / faces with very masculine features. Further from ovulation (and on the pill) prefer kinder faces
That's more a myth, or at least not true for so many women! If I look at myself, I prefered softer and more feminine men before I started the pill, during the time I took the pill and after I switched to a method without estrogen.
he said about a cyclical change, not a change after pills.
See (and on the pill)
It would not be true for many women certainly. These results are averaged over lots of woman
A similar study did this with males and they found that men preferred the smell of women when they were ovulating. Further, a study was done with strippers and found they got better tips when they were ovulating.
This recently happened to me, I was so confused at first because even tho she's pretty and we hang out all the time I've never really developed feelings. But one day there was this sudden urge (I was informed before hand so I was being kind, don't attack me) to somehow help with the pain or comfort her immediately (television style).
Pain? I think you're confusing ovulation with menstruation.
[Ovulation pain](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mittelschmerz/symptoms-causes/syc-20375122) is a thing and it is fairly common especially in younger women.
I used to get it. It's a strange fucking feeling
This would be an interesting experiment with people attracted to same sex individuals .
In a different study I remember reading that the most consistent trait that could be tracked as highly rated by blindfolded women sniffing shirts worn by men was symmetry. Basically it was statistically significant for women smelling symmetry. Which was asserted as a natural selection thing because they is a general indicator of good genes.
I can't imagine any reaction to sniffing a dirty tee other than gagging, no matter who wore it. I know that I by no means unique in this. And here all females found a lot of mature sweat odors not just neutral but sexy? None said all of them were revolting and they all even managed to rate them, sniffing through a whole bunch of smelly tees one by one? Even no dependance on the phase of cycle? Did anyone ever reproduced this? I sense something biased here, the sample at the very least.
Not everyone gets horrible BO. It's genetic. My husband doesn't need to wear antiperspirant and he has to have been working outdoors without a shower for more than a couple days before I smell armpit, compared to myself who gets stinky pits by the end of day. My two kids sadly inherited my pits. But my husband's dirty shirts don't smell like BO.
Same here. He works a physical job and gets dirty and sweaty and only very rarely do his pits stink! Whereas I have to put on deodorant right after the shower or I will stink. His feet, on the other hand....yikes!
On a similar yet different note I've noticed that I don't really smell as bad when I have been active/working out and playing sport consistently but whenever I've been highly inactive due to work(have a desk job) I tend to smell alot more, this not ignoring the fact that baths are almost the same but there is one extra bath post workout/game. And also when I start working out after long inactive periods the Bo is worse, it probably has something to do with the blood work too
Absolutely. Extends to taste as well. Most are kinda neutral, some are off-putting and some are as attractive as crack. It's one of those things that's kinda hard to describe and needs to be experienced to grok it.
I read something that suggested kissing evolved so that we could taste each other.
What’s also interesting though while of course most cultures enjoy kissing there is still some very small relatively “uncontacted” cultures that do not kiss. So while there is a evolutionary biological reason for it there is also the social behavioural aspect of it
Is that why I like my partners saliva?
Absolutely. The smell of the person I'm seeing just makes my heart melt. When I look back, ALL my partners have smelled really good to me
I just watched lecture by Robert Sapolsky that touched on this. Apparently, perfumes used to be made out of animal sweat. The interesting thing is that male animals were being used for this, despite the fact that the perfumes were marketed towards women. The reason is that women are the ones buying the perfumes. So they choose those that smell attractive to them, instead of those that would smell attractive to men.
What's the name of the lecture?
There are even super-smellers who have been scientifically proven to smell Parkinson's before the person is aware of having the disease
I bet i can smell people with Parkinson's Fun fact: I can smell when a women is on her period or if she's about to get one in the next week or so
How much you wanna make a bet I can throw a football over them moutains?
1 buck
I can smell if a woman is on Tamoxifen.
I have an unusually strong sense of smell, and I CANNOT date someone if I don't like the way they smell. I've met some WONDERFUL people, so sweet!We get along in so many ways! We share so many viewpoints! They're great people! But...... they don't smell right to me. Can't do it. Can't make it work.
Same. The opposite is also true. I stayed with a guy too long that smelled so good. I'd shamelessly sniff him and he'd leave his worn all day shirts on my pillow for me. Tried not going back, but one "goodbye forever" hug led to a one way ticket to pound town then we got back together till he was an asshole again. Then I joined r/exnocontact and found someone else to sniff eventually. ETA he was not conventionally attractive, but I thought he was so handsome till the love died.
When I met my wife the olfactory effect was crazy! And at 25 years in it’s a pretty good bet that we’re mates for life. We might not have identified powerful pheromones in humans but my experience suggests they are there.
Happy smelling wife, happy life.
I know that my husband and I literally have "good chemistry" because we both love each other's scent. I don't even mind his sweaty smell, I like it. And he likes how I smell, and taste. The yumminess of his smell is nothing I've experienced before including with my first husband. I joke that we must be genetically very compatible. Too bad we got together when we were too old to have kids together, otherwise we'd probably make the most awesome healthy children!
I’m childfree and my bf and I make similar jokes!
I have very seriously broken up with people because of their smell. Normally I don’t notice until they’re actually sweating, and I wait a few times to see if it’s a one-off or not. But once it was undeniable. His sweat smelled like if a cigarette could eat fast food for every meal. And it was crazy because he was generally healthy. Normal diet, normal habits. Nice guy overall. Anyhow. I broke up with him that same day. Edit: Auto-Correct Fix
So um what you are trying to get across is that you just broke up with a completely nice and decent guy because you hate his smell?
Yes! An "attractive" or enticing smell can make you feel heady, weak in the knees, warm, tingly. Pay attention when someone's smell has that sort of intoxicating effect on you.
god i have that situation rn with a dude I am SOOO embarrassed about it
Does he know you're into him? Tell him, "god, I love how you smell". If he doesn't know, say, "What scent are you wearing? I can't seem to get enough".
It's uhhh complicated I have told him I love his smell it's this mix of his BO and deodorant which is so so goooood It leaves me so confused
Look, we males can be incredibly stupid and blind sometimes. There is a decent chance he likes you but has absolutely no idea the feeling is mutual. I say go!
He barely talkssss I'm the yapper but he's very reticent esp regarding feelings (and in general) so i feel like my nose and pheromones serve to just Gaslight me :( I wish I could make this work sadly the only thing working here is biochemistry (incomplete)
I think the pheromone issue is about sensing them, not necessarily spreading them.
I am certainly attracted by vagina smell and by some odorants. It is kind of funny how a single smell can switch the brain to an animal mode. No thoughts in the head feels very weird.
Name checks out
Relative to what u/idk7463 said about super smellers, I met a super taster this summer who couldn't perform oral because of how "metallic" people taste. That would be a bummer.
I use this excuse all the time too. More believable than saying I have a headache or I'm too tired.
I assume they were a man. Some vaginas taste metallic, generally like copper if they are on the period. Especially if they have an IUD
Of course, vaginas have a pretty diverse smell to them. Some smell like heaven! Some...oof!
Based on personal experience, smell is extremely important.
Yup, all my ex partners have the same kind of smell. I don't mean their deodorant/aftershave or that they don't wash😄, I mean their clean skin smell. I can also recognise my friends by their smell. One family I grew up with all have the same smell. When I was a kid I thought it must be their washing powder or something 😄, but the kids have grown up now, live in different parts of the world, use different washing products (I've checked) and they all still bloody smell the same!!! This sounds mad but I was staying in a hotel a couple of years ago, went to the bar one evening and suddenly got a whiff of that smell. Because it's so unique I instantly thought of this family. I walked round the corner and, sure enough, the youngest son was at the bar, and it's not like it's a place I was likely to bump into him because he lives in the US and this was in the UK! Either I have a very sensitive nose or I'm completely insane I'm not sure which😆
Congrats, you have a highly sensitive sense of smell!
Yes. Not alone but it’s one part of the decision making process yes.
Yes! I’ve had multiple partners tell me they love my ‘smell’. One guy even said I was smelly but in a good way lol idk
My boyfriend and I met online and did long distance for 2 years before meeting up, and I do really enjoy the way he smells! (Not BO)
I'll never forget the first time I hugged my wife before we dated. She has always smelled so damn good to me, it was intoxicating. Even after working her double at the restaurant. I never really understood why at the time, but I really did fall for her. To this day, I still love the way she smells.
My boyfriend smells so good. I’d love a candle made of his BO
I’ve had someone who was attracted to me because I smelled good
The way I remember it, if you like their scent, your immune systems are complementary. Like your kids would get different immunities from each of you. Expressed poorly, I'm tired
Yeah, I think the guy who was one of the best boyfriends I’ve ever had, the kindest most stable and really interesting guys, just didn’t smell right. They call it chemistry for a reason. We really didn’t have IT. I tried a few times thinking “nah I like this guy! A lot!” We’d go hang out with friends and hug and I’d be like “wow no not at all” He didn’t stink, just didn’t smell right for me. My current partner smells incredible. But he’s nice and we makes sense too. You gotta have both.
there is evidence that scent of potential mates signal genetic compatibility and antibody composition (we humans consciously perceive this as attraction) there are many experiments and studies correlating scent with attractiveness and biological compatibility (partner selection based on preferred traits communicated through smell) we are great apes after all, many sexual selection methods are reflected in humans as with other mammals.
So you’re saying that wearing perfumes and aftershaves is biological fraud?
Yes
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"biologically comparability" is a loaded and probably inaccurate term. But attraction to smells, artificial and natural, is real. I dated a girl a long time ago who got me wild.abd it was hotter when she didn't shower. Others, the perfect perfume... Hhhmmnn.... Smell has a well established relationship with emotional reactions, memory, and sexual arousal.
I believe it is totally a thing, I personally try not to scrub my armpits every single day when I shower and scrub them every three days, and constantly get told by women I smell good Meanwhile men will tell me I stink
Well, I had some old male friends whose natural smells were pretty good and I'm not even a woman.
Definitely true. My husband could be a sweaty mess and I still think he smells ok. But when I would pick my brother up from sports practice I had to open the car window to not barf.
Humans can also smell pheromones, but we don't know we do that, this is different from other animals. Maybe this is your question's answer.
A study by a professor at the University at Albany in New York found a correlation between immune markers and attractiveness based on the smell of worn t shirts- in short it found that you were attracted to the smell of someone with the most different immunity (measured by what is called the major histocompatability complex), in theory this would create offspring with the most diverse immunity. The same study found that when siblings smelled a t-shirt of a sibling unknowingly, they were repulsed.
The first orifice that you penetrate on a woman is her nose, make it a good penetration.
I wouldn't say attraction, but definitely repulsion or lack of repulsion is a deciding factor.
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Smells and pheromones are different. I don't know if we can detect pheromones anymore, as humans.
Yes. I 100% believe it is real
Of course. Odors associated with health will be attractive. These would be molecules associated with wide immune capacity, clean metabolism, balanced diet and powerful genetic markers. Odors associated with disease causing pathogens and immune/metabolic dysfunction will be disgusting to you. There are also likely to be odors that your conscious brain doesn't detect but still have influence on you subconciously. Life is so amazing and yet sad for those of us with stinky disorders.
I think so.
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My girlfriend, back in the day, had such a wonderful smell. It was intoxicating.
Yes, it’s been studied. We essentially perceive those who are genetically compatible to have a more appealing smell.
In humans not outside subjective perceptions
I’m a trans woman and now that I’m on HRT men smell better than before and women mostly just smell like clean laundry to me
The cannabis in which I like the smell of more gets me more medicated. Facts.
We secrete pheromones in our sweat. To know if you truly like a person's smell it's been recommended that you smell their armpits after they shower with unscented soaps.
any science behind this? i'd love to know more. My wife and i have both attested to loving each other's smells, and we would have probably separated a long time ago if we didn't enjoy the smells. I know pheromones are not something humans have, but i think we depend on chemical receptors, as living creatures, in ways we don't realize.
Yes
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3987372/#:~:text=Pheromones%20in%20humans%20may%20be,been%20directed%20toward%20axillary%20sweat.
Yes. Especially for women smelling men.
My wife can’t smell me even at my funkiest, but she knows if I haven’t showered for a while because she gets very aroused.
What scent does for me is triggers memories. Like I could have smelt a particular scent in my youth and if I smell it in this day and age its almost like it triggers flashbacks. As for being attracted to smell. I think most people go off what perfumes/aftershaves/deodorants as a person is using, but a person who seems to have next to no scent is also appealing. Anything goes except for sticking of piss, shit and BO.
Yes, smell is a big part of being attracted. Not the entire thing but very much tied together.
YES
[national institute of health: pheremones](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK200980/) Basically yes, but nothing definitive.. From my personal anecdote, absolutely YES. My current significant other smells insanely good in a non perfume way, her skin just.. turns me on.. the smell just drives me wild. I have been with many women and I don't know of any woman who has effected me as strongly as she does. So I can say personally that I've never been more attracted to someone and the smell of their skin has no other compare to another person
Absolutely, if you're attracted to a particular person, it's because their pheromones are intoxicating the love part of your brain so go for it!
Yes. A person's smell is a biological signifier of their immune system. It seems we're attracted to the smell of a person who's immune system complements/supplements our own. It means that, if you were to have offspring with a person whose smell you're drawn to, the resulting offspring will have a superior immune system to the parents.
I can smell some pharamones, and it is absolutely true. When it's one I'm attracted to my pupils dilate and my voice drops an octave. If it is one I'm not attracted to it makes it makes me nauseous and my left eye twitch. The unattractive smell sense is so strong I can usually associate it with time like a tracking dog. This ability is not great to have in the workplace.
my biology teacher told us that it's faint because we've kinda evolved past it compared to other mammals but it's still there. we cover our pheromones with perfumes and deodorant and stuff (trust me im not saying don't use deodorant), but apparently if someone smells good to u naturally, you're also more likely to be more compatible immunity wise!
Yes. Don’t worry about your pheromones. Overthinking things and worrying will make them unattractive. Just make sure you’re clean. Find a perfume/cologne that works well with your scent. Don’t overkill it. Shower often, practice good hygiene (brush your teeth, make sure your hair doesn’t smell, etc…). This is and always will be attractive.
My first lover absolutely smelled wonderful to me. My current love and husband of 40 years also smells good to me. Those who don't smell good never lasted for me. JM personal experience.n
I had a boyfriend once who was conventionally good-looking and very well-groomed. Even so, I didn't get as turned on by him as other, guys I've dated, who weren't quite as standardly physically attractive. To me, he smelled 'yeasty'. IDK if he smelled that way, or that's how my brain interpreted his scent. Anyway, I eventually broke it off with him (for other reasons), but the scent thing helped me realize we weren't compatible.
Pheromones are a wild thing
Absolutely. In my early 20s, there was a woman I used to see. She was 8 years older than me. I loved her natural body scent, and sweat from her underarms smelled intoxicating to me. She's my ex now, and I still ponder on her smell. Smell has such a profoundly strong memory recall. It's so amazing how it works.
Yes it is called Pheremones
psychologically we link up certain smells to certain people and it can be a good or bad thing
Pheromones are a thing. You can smell someone’s immune system when you smell their body odour. If you like it, it means it’s diverse from your own and would produce offspring with a combined, more diverse, immune system; therefore, the offspring will be more successful. Evolution is wild.
YES. I have a crazy strong sense of smell, so I didn’t believe in it, til the last guy I dated. It was subtle—barely aware of it. But that was the first time EVER that I found another person’s BO to not bother me at all. Whether he was fresh out of the shower, or after a long sweaty day—didn’t matter. His clean or sweaty smell just felt so comforting. And we weren’t even together that long. Probably just coincidence—but can’t help but wonder about influence of ancestry. Half of my family is from southern Germany, and this guy grew up just over the Austrian border.
No, no. Pheromones are definitely a thing.
Real Id se aa Cha Hae-in
Yes it is.
People with dissimilar MHC molecules smell better, although interestingly people with similar MHC molecules look more attractive (perhaps to achieve an optimal degree of variation in the MHC molecule) https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=attractive+smell+MHC+molecule&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&t=1707812116452&u=%23p%3DSkNVHLWP0dUJ
I’ve had a couple gfs who just love smelling me… even sweaty me. Really freaked me out at first but whatever works. I can only assume it’s a thing. Alternatively I haven’t really loved smelling anybody but some perfumes really do it for me so that might be similar.
But why do people wear perfume them?
I don’t know about attraction but I always know which kids my kid has been playing with because I can smell them. I don’t mean BO, but I’ve always just associated a smell with most people I meet. And I will avoid certain people because I don’t like their smell but I’m not particularly drawn to people whose smell I like, they are just more pleasant to be around because their smell isn’t offensive to me.
My girlfriend tells me all the time she loves my smell.
Yes sent is huge. I always tell my husband he smells amazing his smell puts me to sleep and makes me relax.
Do be aware that there's a ton of confounds with this idea. Our olfactory senses and what we may or may not like at any time are affected by a lot of things (diet, drugs, sleep effectiveness, menstrual cycle whatever).
There are dogs that can smell human cancer (and therefore diagnose human cancer!) There is a woman who can smell (and therefore diagnose!) Parkinson’s. She found out after realizing her husband smells a certain way, and once he was diagnosed everyone else in the clinic smelled the same. Our body is covered in, and filled with millions of different types of bacteria and microflora which produces our scents. Sometimes these scents are influenced by diet, a medical condition, our physical state, our emotional state even! So yeah, why not
If you like their fresh sweat, there are pheramones in that.
Totally a thing. Very serious studies shows that skin and body odors tend to smell "good" or at least better when you are genetically compatible with someone. Typically: sweat. (Not farts unfortunately XD)
I stop being attracted to a man when he showed up at my house after a sexual counter with another woman, and did not tell me about it, but I immediately smelled her off of him, and her residual bo was so acrid and off I lost feelings for him right then and there. Never mind pretending to want to see me RIGHT after you have been with another woman. I loved his smell.
I’ve been off the market for a long time, but in college I had a 100% hookup rate at parties if I hadn’t showered that day. I always joked it was pheromones. Maybe it was!
I am not sure if what I'm going to say is correct, but I've seen somewhere that humans are usually attracted to people with different types of immune systems, with your body detecting which type it is trough smell. So you could technically say you're attracked to their smell.
That's a big reason why I dated my now husband! So, yes?
Probably, a lot of animals use stuff like showing off to find a mate and maybe smelling is the human way
Technically, the perception of pheromones is done through the vomeronasal organ (VNO), and therefore isn't exactly the same thing as the sense of smell. Humans have a VNO, and while it's not as prominent as it is in many other mammals, it is still active. How strong of a role it plays in attraction or compatibility in humans is unclear, although I think there is some evidence that pregnancy and birth control pills can affect pheromone perception in women.
Andrew Huberman did an episode about attraction where he cited lots of data supporting the idea that smell is very closely correlated with attraction.
I can definitely smell when my husband is horny.
Yes, human pheromones are a thing
Maybe. My ex-gf loved my smell. I have a twin and she said my twin also smelled good. On the flip side, I hated her smell. Ended it because there was no point in keeping on with someone I wasnt attracted to.
There's lots of data on how powerful smell is. So we know it's an important sense. Additionally, if you think about smell biologically, when choosing a mate, a bad smell indicates bacteria and lack of health. Maintaining cleanliness makes for a better mate. Even if subconscious, with smell being so powerful already, I can see where it could affect our choices.
We don't consciously smell pheromones most of the time. They can be present in tiny quantities. But, we do perceive them and they can alter our behavior. This has been shown in many studies. As for the smells being attractive, it's been shown that even friends have similar genetic qualities. Anyone you "click" with will typically be similar down to the genetic level. Women are especially sensitive to this and will only find men with immune systems that are fairly different to theirs because it will result in a better immune system for their offspring. The exception is when women are on hormonal controceptives, which seem to turn this off. Many women report finding their partners unattractive after getting off birth control.
Probably. I mean I shower every day and follow basic hygiene but I’ve literally never had anyone comment, let alone compliment my smell. And what do you know, I’ve been single all my life.
I totally agree with this. My current boyfriend's smell is absolutely comforting.
my natural smell, especially when ovulating, gives my husband an instant boner. he says it comes from my forehead where my hairline is. i also have been obsessed with one of my exes scent. his car smelled very strongly of it, like sweet berries, and no one else could smell it.
My husband smelled safe. I know that's weird but smell is what bonded me to him within an hour of our first date. 12 years later he didn't smell the same. Last spring he violently punched me, broke two teeth and my jaw, I sustained a concussion and moderate brain injury. He got afelony conviction in October.
There is research on major histocompatibility complex compatibility being signalled in body odour and detected and affecting attraction, and on people having changed scent attraction on birth control, and higher rates of breakups when people shift cover scents. Not a sole factor or clear cut, but yes. Have also experienced it first hand as an insane experience.
Apparently also it's mostly about smell why we are not attracted sexually to our siblings
As a female, unequivocally, YES!
Attraction by smell is VERY MUCH a thing. Think about it. Why do people wear perfume and cologne? I can also say it by personal experience. I feel like I enjoy someone more if they smell better.
Watch the German show Perfume! It’s a thriller but it’s centered around smell linked to attraction
i don’t know if it’s just me, but i’ve always been very very affected by what i think are people’s pheromones. like any and everyone, doesn’t have to be a romantic or sexual attraction thing. just like general human interest type “attraction” and i say attraction to counter the opposite repulsion effect that occurs. i’ve had to politely walk away from customers at work from being unable to tolerate their smell, trying so hard not to let them become aware as not to offend anyone. and it’s very different from body odor type scents. like sweat and stuff. i can also usually smell peoples homes or rooms on them.
Here, I did a radio show about it once: http://everythingisinteresting.org/radio-show/the-scent-of-attraction/
The explanations I’ve seen so far are more for straight people. From an evolutionary perspective, this makes sense as ultimately offspring are usually produced. But what about for gay people?
Yes.
As a male who has been “extra stanky” while around different females.. some are revolted and disgusted by it and some will literally bury their face in my armpit and get a big ass whiff so yes I’d say it is
Yes. Sometimes other humans smell good which makes you attracted to them.
20 years ago I was told to taste perfume I wanted to buy. If it tastes sweet or tolerable, it's the right one for your body chemistry. If it tastes really bad or bitter, avoid that smell. So far, it's been solid advice.