They already knew that appropriate scents can improve the mood of those who wear them. What they discovered, though, as they will describe in a forthcoming edition of the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, is that when a man changes his natural body odour it can alter his self-confidence to such an extent that it also changes how attractive women find him.
— Craig Roberts of the University of Liverpool conducted a study for Unilever, and found that it isn't the fragrance, it's how the fragrance makes you feel. Read more in The scent of a man at the Economist. Many thanks to Jess for the link!
Possibly explains all the unused bottles in my cabinet: I like to smell that stuff, but I don't want to use it.
Yep!
Interesting article. It's funny, when I was younger I wore Coco and the original Fendi. I felt you shouldn't have more than one or two signature scents, and those two seemed like 'me.' I guess they supported my MHC. But since discovering the world of perfume blogs a few years ago, I've drastically expanded my perfume horizons, and I find myself wearing and loving scent families I had never considered before. I guess it's a good thing that I already have my man or my perfume hobby could be interfering with my ability to attract the right one — not that I have any interest in future reproduction!
My perfume horizons have really expanded over the last 4 years too…but my reproduction is over & done with 😉
Funny, I was reading this on the plane yesterday (the Economist seems to be my default long-haul flight reading material of choice) and thinking of tipping you off as well. I found the latter part of the article very interesting — where it gets into the neurochemistry bit about MHC and the “correlation between the perfume a woman preferred and her own natural scent.” VERY fascinating stuff (at least to me).
However (as an ex-anthropology student), I'm always reading the bits that talk about “evolutionary biology” and “reproductive success” with one eyebrow raised because, as we know, human behavior often overrides what is genetically “best for the species.” Still, I enjoy the research on how much of this stuff may be hardwired in our prehistoric brains.
It was a very interesting article — although unlike you, I'd perhaps rather shoot myself than be stuck on a long flight w/ nothing but the Economist 😉