Skip the Chanel: Men Prefer Scent of a Woman

Tuberose, sandalwood, peony and orchid are all lovely notes for a fragrance. After all perfume is a multi- billion dollar industry. But if you're hoping to entice members of the opposite sex, you may just want to skip the spritz in favor of going au naturale.

According to a new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for the Psychological Science (and of course Al Pacino), levels of testosterone in men are affected by "odor signals emitted by females, particularly when they are ovulating." Ovulation means fertility and fertility (since time immemorial) means attraction (in the animal and human kingdoms.)

The study involved women who wore T-shirts for three nights during different phases of their menstrual cycles (there were also shirts were worn by non-ovulating women, as well as control shirts that had not been worn by anyone.) The shirts worn by the ovulating women were not only rated the most pleasant smelling, but were also the shirts that stimulated higher testosterone levels in the men.

Our olfactory sense is one of our most powerful and this study reveals that even in our modern steel and concrete world, where we can often be disconnected from nature (hello, Manhattan), we are still driven by our basic biology.

Feeling unlucky in love? Why not try a little experiment of your own, and go back to basics (showers please, but leave the Chanel No. 5 on the bureau.) Who knows? It could be that your potential mate is just waiting to come to his senses.

Photo courtesy of vmiramontes@Flickr.