A woman loves spraying on perfume to uplift her senses and make her feel prettier. Well, according to report in Prevention.com, a lovely fragrance may help her turn more heads.
PLOS One published a small study conducted by researchers from the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. They gathered 18 participants to look at the photos of 55 women and rate their attractiveness while exposing them in different smells: fish oil (unpleasant), rose oil (pleasant), and a mix of the two. They discovered that the more pleasant the odor is, the higher the attractiveness rating.
Although the study (partially funded by Uniliver, makers of Dove and Axe) focused solely on rose oil as the pleasant scent, the researchers believe that it applies to any lovely fragrance. Janina Seubert, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist who was a postdoctoral fellow at Monell during the time of the research explains, “Our findings demonstrate that odor pleasantness and facial attractiveness integrate into one joint emotional evaluation.”
What's even more striking in the study is that even the manipulated images, those with added wrinkles and blemishes, received a high score when rose oil surrounded the room. Seubert further adds, "The broader emotional context plays a much bigger role for how attractive a person is perceived." So, stop worrying about your visual imperfections and start spritzing on your favorite fragrance!
(Photo courtesy of Felipe Ernesto via Flickr Creative Commons)
