Aphrodisiac Scents

You won't find many plugs for Prevention magazine on this blog - this may be the only one ever. But a clever and well-written article in the February '06 issue deserves mention. In an article by Denise Foley entitled "Spice Up Your Sex Life," there is a short section on what smells are exciting to the sexes. I hope this quote comes under fair use.

Alan Hirsch, MD, neurological director at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, found that many patients who had lost their sense of smell also lost interest in sex. That piqued his curiosity about the power of scents to boost desire...he asked a group of women to sit in a lab, attached to a device that measures vaginal blood flow and sniff 30 different odors, ranging from licorice (a folkloric aphrodisiac) to cheese pizza (a cheap date)...he also asked 31 men to sit in a laboratory, their penises attached to a machine that measures blood flow, and sniff the same 30 odors.

What he found: The men responded sexually (with increased penile blood flow) to all the aromas, proving the theory that it doesn't take much. But the hands-down winner for most arousing smell - it increased penile blood flow by 40% - was the mingled scents of pumpkin pie and lavender (Ed: Mmm, pumpkin pie). Runners up were doughnuts with black licorice (32%) and pumpkin pie with doughnuts (20%). Women weren't as turned on by scents, which surprised Hirsch because they tend to have keener noses. But the combined aromas of cucumbers and Good & Plenty candy (which is licorice scented) and the scent of baby powder tied for first place (a 13% increase in vaginal blood flow). Pumpkin pie with lavender followed, with an 11% increase.

...(Guys, a word to the wise: In Hirsch's study, three scents actually turned women off: cherries, barbecued meat, and men's cologne. "My advice to men would be to ditch the cologne and get some Good & Plenty," says Hirsch.)