Pheromone Perfume and Sex Appeal: The Science

Last Updated by: Nikki Gaskins, on: Wednesday, 30 June 2021

What is pheromone perfume? Can it really be used to attract and intrigue? What does the science say?

Checkout our updated article on pheromones perfumes here.

Here at Feeling Sexy, we’re all about helping people find their signature scent — something undeniably them. For some, it’s an intoxicating smokey scent. For others, it’s something a little sweeter — like these delicious sweet-smelling perfumes. There is a world of fragrances out there, and what attracts some won’t appeal to others — it’s how we are wired. We can’t all love the same things. But is there an exception to this rule?

The world fragrance and perfume industry is currently valued at $31.4 billion USD. With those numbers, there’s no denying that people love to smell amazing. Not only do they help us smell great, but the right perfume can also give us a confidence boost and even lift our moods! And some believe they can even increase a person’s sex appeal through the use of pheromones.

What are Pheromone Perfumes?

Odds are, you've heard of pheromone perfumes — fragrances that promise to either make you more sexually attractive or increase libido. They do this, apparently, through the inclusion of pheromones as an ingredient. Pheromones are neurotransmitters, a signalling molecule that influences how we feel and perform. Pheromones are transmitted through our breath, sweat and saliva.

But does this idea of “seduction in a botte” hold any water? With a spritz of scent, can you really make yourself instantly hotter?

Do Pheromone Perfumes Actually Work?

According to Tristram Wyatt, a British scientist, the jury is still out on pheromone perfume. While he agrees that sexual attractiveness boils down to pheromones, he’s uncertain whether you can bottle it.

“If you put the word into the web, you’ll come up with millions of hits,” Wyatt said during one of his lectures on the topic. “Almost all of those sites are trying to sell you something to make you irresistible for $10 or more.”

A pheromone is a chemical signal transmitted between individuals of the same species. Believe it or not, it is fairly a new word. German scientists first coined the term in 1959 after spending 20 years searching for molecules in silk moths that triggered a unique response in other moths when exposed.

Yet half a century after discovering pheromones in insects and other animals, surprisingly, scientists have yet to conclusively identify a single such chemical in people.

“The problem is that although there are many good scientists working on what they think are human pheromones, and they’re publishing in respectable journals, there really is no good science behind it,” Wyatt stated.

Wyatt argues that no scientist has ever systematically gone through all of the odours that humans produce.

“There are thousands of molecules that we give off,” he says. “The reason that we think humans have pheromones is the change that occurs when we grow up. The smell of a room of teenagers is quite different from the smell of a room of small children.”

On the Other Hand, There’s Hope for Pheromone Fragrances...

While Wyatt may not entirely agree that certain molecules, when added to fragrances, can generate sex appeal, another study says otherwise.

According to scientists at San Francisco University, during their research they found that women who had pheromone added to their perfume reported a more than 50% increase in sexual attention from men.

In a report by ABC News, the pheromone used in the study is what Winnifred Cutler, PhD. from the Athena Institute for Women's Wellness Research, believes reacts when put on someone's skin, and that person's own chemistry achieves its effect.

"When it works for a woman, it doesn't seem to matter what perfume she wears,” Winnifred Cutler, institute founder and president and a reproductive biologist and co-discoverer of pheromones in humans, told the network news channel.

When it comes to whether fragrances truly attract the opposite sex, it seems the verdict is still out there. While some scientists have opposing views on the topic, we say keep spritzing away. It may or may not lead to Prince Charming — but our fragrances are sure to get you noticed and leave you feeling fresh, confident and ready to take on the world.

Looking to Try Pheromone Perfumes?

The artificial chemistry perfume collection is a line of pheromone perfumes designed to increase attraction. Perfumes are composite chemical blends designed to produce a beautiful scent. The challenge in creating new perfume recipes is finding the ingredients to make the desired scent.