Scent of a Woman

29 January 2010

Smells are known to play a vital role in animal mating habits. Humans however, like to think themselves above the olfactory sniff and seek level when it comes to mate selection and sex drive. Alas, another illusion of grandeur has been dispelled. Researchers had women wear t-shirts for three nights during different phases of their menstrual cycle. T-shirts worn by no-one were also used. Men were then asked to smell the t-shirts with saliva samples being taken from the men before and after they smelled the shirts. Men who smelled t-shirts of ovulating women had higher testosterone levels and rated the t-shirts as the most pleasant smelling. This is the first study to show that testosterone levels respond directly to smells associated with ovulation. It’s great news for women who can now go the natural way to get a man’s attention; it’s terrible news for perfume companies.