Do Pheromone-Boosted Beauty Products Work?

Roadtest: Can Pheromone-Laced Beauty Products Get You Laid?

Posted by: Kate Torgovnick Filed in: style
2:00PM, Monday August 3rd 2009

Have you ever dated someone who smelled really hot? Not good, mind you—but hot, like sex in a sniffable form. There’s a scientific explanation for this phenomenon—it’s caused by pheromones, hormones we all secrete that shout to the opposite sex, “Hey you! I want to get naked now!”

Last week, the New York Times ran a story about how synthetic pheromones are making their way into beauty products. Evidently, products with pheromones have been on shelves for forevs (you’re late to the party once again, Times), but the article claims that more are coming down the pipeline containing the stuff. Paris Hilton’s perfume has ‘em, as does Urban Decay’s Pocket Rocket lip glosses. Dial is even coming out with Men Magnetic Attraction Enhancing Body Wash for dudes, though please lord, don’t let their commercials veer the way of Axe. [New York Times]

Companies want people to believe these products are akin to love potions. (“We don’t claim using our product you’re going to hit a home run,” said Ryan Gaspar, Men Magnetic Attraction’s brand manager. “We say, ‘We’ll get you to first base.’”) Meanwhile, scientists are hugely skeptical because no one’s sure how, exactly, pheromones play into this whole attraction game.

So there was only one thing left to do: try them for myself.

I decided to road test Booty Parlor‘s line of pheromone-boosted concoctions because (a) the name is punny and (b) we happened to already have a bunch of their stuff in the office. I rubbed their Sex Bomb Solid Perfume With Phermones ($45 in three-piece kit) on my wrists and neck and headed out the door. The mix of plums, jasmine, cedar, and sandalwood smelled good. Like a vaguely vanilla-y perfume I would have picked up in high school, before I became addicted to any scent containing basil.

I hopped on the subway and opened up a book. And not two minutes later, the guy next to me—cute, though slightly suit-ish—leaned over. “That’s a really good book,” he said. Now, if you watch a lot of movies that take place in New York City, you probably think this happens all the time. Don’t believe it. The train is a place where people concentrate really hard on their magazines, their iPods, their fingernails—anything that lets them willfully ignore the fact that they are in the vicinity of other human beings. I’ve lived in New York City for almost 11 years now, and can count on one hand (fine, on three fingers) the number of times anyone reasonably attractive has said a word to me on the train. Coincidence?

We both got off the train a few stops, and he asked for my number. I gave him my business card, which I realize is a little lame for a woman wearing a perfume called “Sex Bomb.” He hasn’t called. Obviously, he can’t smell me from across the city.

Later that night, I decided to up the ante by slathering on Flirty Little Secret Body Butter With Pheromones ($26) in addition to the perfume. I gotta admit—this is my new favorite lotion. It smells like ripe blackberries with honey and is the perfect consistency—ultra rich, but not in the slightest bit greasy, even in 80 degree weather. But that’s beside the point. You want to hear about the menfolk.

That night, I headed out to see one of my favorite bands play—none of my friends were interested in a loud, sweaty rock ‘n’ roll show, so I rolled solo. When I got there, the audience was approximately 70% guys, so I was happy to be on my own and maximize my pheromonal powers. Except that, two hours later, I was still standing on my own, waiting for someone to flirt with me, buy me a drink, or give me any kind of overture. Finally, a struck up a conversation with a square glasses-wearing cutie. Who turned out to be 23. Luckily, his adorable older brother showed up a few minutes later, who happened to be exactly my age and also work in publishing. We all had a fun night chatting and dancing.

The next night I tried a different lotion—Flirty Little Secret Firming Cream With Pheromones ($32). This stuff wasn’t nearly as delightful, and smelled a little too medicinal. But I proceeded full-steam ahead to one of my regular bars in Brooklyn. Close to 1am, I was sitting on a couch with one of the bartenders who’s been a friend for years. While I think he’s super good-looking and funny and all of that good stuff, I’d never really noticed any attraction between us. Until we were making out. Probably not the best decision I ever made, but hey, fun for a little while.

So in the end, did the pheromone products work? I don’t know. I think there’s a placebo effect at work here. I don’t know if how I smelled had anything to do with anything. It’s more akin to the effect of wearing a dress I know I look amazing in, or getting a haircut I really love. Basically, when you feel like you’re smokin’, others do too.

comments

Coral
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 01:34 pm: [report]

When I took an anatomy class, I studied pheromones and the effects of attraction. An interesting study has looked at pheromones and that how certain levels will attract certain people to each other, almost as if they are ‘meant to be’. And kind of surprising, more than half of divorced couples have pheromone levels that do not match the other person as well as they could. So it’s kind of interesting, that pheromones do tend to attract certain types of people, and it’s this subconscious level of attraction.

_jsw_
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 01:42 pm: [report]

@Coral: Of course, the “mismatched pheromones” issue that you pointed out is a big reason why these sorts of products are going to likely fail. People tend to think that there’s one “female” pheromone and one “male” pheromone and that, if you spray yourself with it, you’ll make yourself irresistible to the opposite sex. As far as what I’ve read seems to indicate, it’s a very personal thing, so dousing yourself with a pheromone which wasn’t manufactured to suit you is just going to (a) attract a subset of people who randomly attach to that scent, and (b) upset them when it turns out you don’t actually produce that pheromone.

Now, if they could isolate and produce quantities of your own pheromones, so you could “broadcast” them more effectively, that might have a better chance at reaching someone who’s actually compatible with you.

Coral
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 02:02 pm: [report]

@jsw: Exactly. And I think each person’s pheromones are better anyways. When people work out and sweat, the pheromones are ‘broadcasted’ more and that is also another big part to the subconscious level of attraction. And women’s menstrual cycles have a big role in it too. Women who are ovulating have ‘more attractive’ pheromones and their voices are slightly higher. It’s all subconscious of course in the game of sexual selection, but it all does have to do a lot with evolution and survival of the fittest. That’s why I think the natural way is best, but it is interesting that one can manufacture pheromones.

IrishErin
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 02:55 pm: [report]

I agree that it’s not a manufacturable thing. While my boyfriend loves the smell of my freshly showered self or my just-shampooed hair, he goes absolutely nuts when we’ve been outside hiking/beaching/biking etc. After 4 days without a shower at a music fest, he actually looked at me and said “how do you always manage to smell so amazing?”. HA.

pryce2
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 05:47 pm: [report]

@Coral: For some reason, I seem to get the most attention from guys when I’m actually on the rag. This one guy seemed to only be attracted to me then—like clockwork, he would always call me the weekend my period started.

Coral
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 05:48 pm: [report]

@pryce2: Wow, that is so weird and kinda funny. I love all the mystery to science and attraction.

Dave The Rave
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 05:56 pm: [report]

Smell is as much a product of our inbred animal instinct as it is cultural. It is funny - we seem attacted to people who let their own body scent do the talking or we buy perfumes, colognes, body washes, etc, etc. to try and smell our best.

I’ve found that most women I work with would rather be around a freshly-showered guy than someone who waits until he gets to work to spray stuff on himself. A woman smelled my “aroma” after a shower and knew it was me. She asked “What ARE you wearing?”

“Slacks, shirt…........” LOL

“Oh, you mean ‘that’ (scent).........”

Her response was that she might get that for her man, but said he wouldn’t smell as good as me!

We both laughed.

Always comical. (And, BOTH sexes are guilty of this!)

As long as you don’t smell like a garbage dump and people attracted, go for it!

Charlene86
wrote on August 3 2009 @ 07:32 pm: [report]

Ha! I had the a very similar experience on the subway. I was skeptical of a free sample of a pheromone cologne called Alphaero. I ordered it (actually my sister did, kind of as a joke for her big sister dating in the big city) and was skeptical. Well, when I first put it on, it had a very light floral scent (this is from jasmine, according to the packaging). Ok, how could anyone except a honey bee be affected by this stuff.

Anyway, I walk down to get the 6 uptown and this very goodlooking man comes up and asks me where Soho his? C’mon… Soho? So, I tell him to go downtown, get off a Prince, and he stops me and asks if I’d have lunch with him at Blue Ribbon. So, I’m ordering a year’s supply of pheromones from this company. If nothing else, they’ll pay for themselves in 3-4 lunches. And that’s “my” phero-story.

bogart4017
wrote on August 4 2009 @ 12:50 pm: [report]

I don’t believe the bottled stuff works. I like the natural smell of my woman. She has to sleep on the other end of the bed some nights to keep from getting jumped. I can’t explain it. Just being close to her after all these years sometimes i lose my concentration.

jasonn
wrote on August 7 2009 @ 10:52 am: [report]

Alphaero and pheromones definitely work. I was skeptical too until I tried it. Never again will I be a regular frustrated chump.