What smell is the most attractive to women?
What smell is the most attractive to women?
The science of attraction is a dark and intriguing obsession. What makes us appearance-judgy, as a species? Why does one race turn us on while another innocuous species repulses us? How much of this is psychological, how much biological, and how might all of this be influenced by culture? What is lost and what is gained in the translation of courting rituals to a dating app? According to a finite smattering of research studies as well as several stats on attraction, one thing never fails: when it comes to women finding men attractive, one of humanity’s favourite odours is always on the list.
There’s plenty going on in our psychology of attraction and it’s understandably not all that conscious; for instance, women have a greater sensitivity of smell than men, and hyposensitivity of smell can contribute to mental health conditions such as depression, mania, dementia and schizophrenia. It turns out that a woman’s olfactory system is the ‘sweet aroma’ machine, and the very existence of good, pleasing odours affect her emotions, mood and social behaviour. Studies show that the human nose can detect, and the human brain can discriminate between, trillions of different scents. There’s some evidence that certain odours do activate the reward areas of the brain in special ways, and this brings us back to the concept of psycho-spice.
Research has also revealed that women find fragrances with vanilla, lavender and sandalwood notes to be the most appealing. Natural fragrances such as these have the ability to relax and calm the mind.
Vanilla has been well-documented as a mood elevator. Its sweet and comforting aroma can alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, and even reduce stress.
Sandalwood is a woody, exotic fragrance that is known for its aphrodisiac qualities as well as its ability to induce sleep.
Your scent preferences are likely to be culturally contingent too: in Western cultures, women like floral or fruity scents more than these aromas are liked by men. In Eastern cultures, the situation may be reversed, with women liking spicy or earthy smells more than men, and so on. These preferences can be traced to the norms and history of one’s culture, biological development, and even dietary habits.
From this perspective, a healthy, vigorous man will smell better than an unhealthy one, which would make the scent of fresh sweat appealing. Although less likely, certain natural oils or spices could smell good because they signal nutritional benefits. The evolutionary view of scent-preferences assumes that women are claiming mate-value on two levels of evolutionary selection — first, with their own personal likes, and second, by choosing men who will help them be as fertile as possible and successfully pass on their own genes.
Biological and cultural factors offer up only a partial explanation; subjective experience can be an important source of information as well. A woman might like a scent because she associates it, in her memory, with a positive experience – perhaps from a favourite vacation, or from a beloved person in her life. Cultural influences can also shape perceptions of attractiveness – for example, commercial messaging or media portrayals – and make it more difficult to determine whether an attribute is biologically determined or socially mandated. This complex interplay of subjective, cultural and biological factors makes the science of scent attraction an intricate business.
