The study found that rats reacted differently to male and female pheromones. Regardless of risk, rats — particularly males — were observed to “scout out” areas with male pheromones, often later avoiding them. Areas sprayed with female pheromones, however, were visited significantly more often than male-sprayed areas.
— Can rat pheromones solve New York City's rat problem? Read more in Fordham Research Repels NYC’s Rodents at Fordham Observer.
Remember the post I did a month ago on the comic book ad for Trulove perfume? The perfumes that drive men to distraction? I just discovered its modern equivalent: the Love Potion Magickal Perfumerie.
The Love Potion Magickal Perfumerie is in downtown Vancouver, Washington, on a block that used to hum with business but is now quiet but for a bar and passersby on their way to the pawn shop on the next block. Once you’ve entered the shop, walk past the impressive collection of tarot card decks, a Star Wars teapot set, and the rack of magic wands, including reproductions of wands used in the Harry Potter movies. Tear your gaze from the glass-topped counter full of crystals and jewelry, and head to the shop’s rear.
If you’re lucky, you’ll be helped by Jennifer, a soft-voiced woman who, when I arrived, was designing perfume labels for the summer fragrance collection and who also offers psychic readings. She showed me the shelf of Love Potion fragrances created by Mara Fox, the shop’s owner (and guitarist for the 1980s rock band Precious Metal). Mara Fox’s first fragrance, created in 1986 and sold at crafts fairs, was called Love Potion. She trademarked the name…
In the hope of clearing up the confusion, a group of researchers led by Robin Hare of the University of Western Australia have performed one of the most stringent studies to date.
[...] The study thus found no evidence that either AND or EST is a pheromone. Those who buy pheromone perfumes based on them would therefore appear to be wasting their money.
— Read more at My chemical romance: Two putative human sex pheromones turn out not to be at The Economist.
Hedione activated brain areas in the limbic system significantly more strongly than phenylethyl alcohol. The limbic system is associated with emotions, memory and motivation. But more significantly, Hedione also activated a specific area of the hypothalamus in women which is known to promote sexual responsiveness by flooding the body with sex hormones.
— Scientists at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany are looking into the "pheromone effect" of hedione. Read more at Revealed: the aftershave that triggers female sex hormones at The Telegraph.
We were instructed to sniff as many T-shirts of the sex we were attracted to, and select shirts that innately smelled the sexiest. I came across bag number 166, which shockingly smelled exactly like my grandmother’s house – a delightful mix of Christmas and chicken parmesan. The point was to trust our instincts, right? I went with it.
— Julia Calderone attends a pheromone-based speed dating party. Read more at Plenty of Pheromones in the Sea at Scientific American.