YOU SMELL NICE ARE YOU WEARING COLOGNE? NO I JUST SHOWERED TODAY

Though personality and looks definitely play a part in initial attraction, smell may play a larger role than we suspect. That inexplicable “chemistry” you feel with someone who may not fit your normal dating profile? It could be a subconscious scent drawing you to him or her.

Studies have found that how a person smells gives us clues to their genetic make-up, and thus, their potential to be a compatible mate. On a subconscious level, decoding a scent gives us a powerful tool to ensure our kids will be healthy, and our orgasms will be plentiful.

The first study to indicate that chemical signals play a role in attraction was conducted by Claud Wedekind over a decade ago. Forty-four men wore the same T-shirt for three days. They refrained from deodorants and scented soaps so they wouldn’t interfere with their natural smell. Women then sniffed the shirts and indicated which ones smelled the best to them. By comparing the DNA of the women and men, the researchers found that women didn’t just choose their favorite scent randomly. They preferred the scent of man whose major histocompatibility complex (MHC)—a series of genes involved in our immune system—was most different from their own.

divinecaroline.com | read article