What does love smell like?

When it comes to dating, smell is the number one element of attraction. What you smell is a powerful indicator of how compatible you are with someone. Your other senses are important in assessing attraction, but your nose is the key to love.

Some colognes and perfumes supposedly contain human pheromones, but you can’t bottle up a person’s actual scent. A 2006 movie called Perfume is about a man who tries to create the most magnificent perfume by combining the scent of great-smelling women. Unfortunately, it’s not possible. Plus, the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” applies to smells. You may think someone smells glorious, while your friend thinks that person smells awful.

If your major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are either too similar or too different, you won’t be attracted to the person’s smell. Your genetic makeup is either compatible with the person you want to date, or it’s not. You can’t change how you smell. Yes, you can mask your unique smell by spraying yourself with various fragrances, rubbing scented lotion on your body, or just wearing deodorant, but your smell will never change.

I personally don’t like it when a man tries to cover up his natural scent by wearing cologne or body spray. Then it will just take longer for me to discover if we’re genetically compatible! I have an extraordinary sense of smell, so learning a man’s scent is the fastest way for me to decide if I’m attracted to him. If we meet at a party, I’ll be unable to decipher his smell from all the other scents swirling around the room. But, after spending time alone with him, I’ll start to notice his smell more clearly.

So… what does love actually smell like?

Love smells different to everyone. When you get into a committed relationship, you’ll hopefully start to crave your partner’s smell. If, after removing all outside fragrances and distracting scents, you still don’t like how your partner smells when you sniff him, then you’re probably not genetically compatible.

Years ago, I started dating a guy and wasn’t sure how I felt about his scent. I wasn’t repulsed by it, but I wasn’t attracted to it either… at first. We continued dating, and after a few weeks, I couldn’t get enough of his smell! Just like it can take time to grow attracted to someone, it can also take time for you to be turned on by your partner’s smell.

When I’m in an exclusive relationship with a man and desire his smell, my brain ignores the pheromones of other men. Even if I’m exposed to many men that I’d normally be attracted to, I’m not turned on by their smells. However, as soon as I’m single again, my nose picks up on all the pheromones in the environment. I can sniff out all the attractive men and figure out who is most compatible with me.

What if you don’t have a good sense of smell?

Anosmia is the complete loss of smell. One of the common symptoms of COVID-19 is loss of smell. Some people complained of not being able to smell or taste anything for six months. Besides being sick, certain medications or conditions can prevent you from smelling anything or change your sense of smell. If you experience a sudden loss of smell and can’t figure out the cause, you should go to your doctor.

Love can be discovered through your nose. When in doubt, sniff it out!