In the last ten years scientific experiments have revealed some startling connections between the sense of smell and human sexual behavior. This research is not really revolutionary, but for years our collective cultural bias made research on the link between sense of smell and sexual behaviors inaccessible and underfunded. Yet the use of scent in seduction has existed throughout history- Just consider Cleopatra’s covering the sails of her ship with rose oil. An event that caught everyone’s attention at the time and stopped a war…
Every individual has an odor as distinct as their fingerprint. Helen Keller’s sense of smell was so acute that she could smell the kind of work they did and identify the location they had just come from. For most of us, our sense of smell is like the fallen angel, as Keller referred to it- the sense that takes a back seat to the others and is rarely tapped when you consider the stimulus that we use to judge by and with which we make decisions.
There is little else that stirs the memory and emotion as deeply as scent. Smell is the most direct of all of our senses. The olfactory center, connected directly to the nose needs no interpreter. “The effect of scent is immediate and undiluted by language,thought or translation…. whats more, there is no short term memory with odors, its all long term.” People learn and retain better when information is coupled with scent. Giving someone perfume is like giving them liquid memory.(1)
Often as I demonstrate our love oils, people are amazed at how the same oil can smell completely distinct on everyone in a group. As I explain how the scents transform with an individual’s chemistry and they witness the entirely new scent that is made between them and their partner, the idea of pheremones and chemical attraction becomes real. Most mammals on the planet reproduce based solely on their attraction through scent.
Kissing in fact is a celebration of scent. Historically, the kiss was actually a moment of inhalation where two people smelled each other deeply. Consider the idea of kissing someone whose scent repels you. It is impossible to imagine. The reverse is also true- an attraction based in someone’s scent is irresistible.
Our language fails us terribly when it comes to scent… we can describe in intricate detail what we see and even hear, but asked to describe your lovers scent and we are reduced to words that describe the feeling invoked by the scent, rather than the scent itself. Describing scent requires storytelling and metaphor, probably another reason we so easily overlook its importance. So here is the task… start to pay attention to scent. Also pay attention to what you love and see if there is a link.
(1) Diane Ackerman – A Natural History of the Senses- great resource for more info.
