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. Keep reading »
