One cannot deny the power of smell. People spend thousands of dollars a year on perfumes, colognes, scented oils, anything to smell good. Believe it or not, scent has a lot to do in the attraction of the opposite sex. But we’re not talking about those expensive perfumes with designed names, but about chemical signals called pheromones that have profound effects on the same species. You’ve never heard of pheromones? It’s time to find out how these human chemicals influence the process of falling in love or the mechanisms of attraction. The concept of a human pheromone, or sexual scent of attraction, has been debated and researched for years.

The first proof that humans produce and react to pheromones was published in the journal Nature, researchers saying they found that female ovulation can be regulated — made longer or shorter — through the use of pheromones. Pheromones are a real, unique scent that each of us and many other mammals gives off in order to attract suitable mates. Yes, pheromones are those mysterious, scentless chemicals that trigger sexual attraction in humans. However, humans’ evolution and the advanced development of our brain has reduced our dependence on natural biological signals that induce a sex drive.

Today, most of us produce smaller amounts of pheromones, but they can still trigger attraction and we can still respond to this signal. Pheromones are detected by a structure in the nose called the vomeronasal organ VNO. Produced by the apocrine glands in the armpit and around the genitals pheromones send signals that are picked up by this specific organ. Researchers found our perception of pheromones is present on a subconscious level.

Human pheromones are so powerful and influential that they can influence women’s menstrual cycles that live together. Most women who live with other females adjust their menstrual cycle timing to closely match each other. Some people seem to generally get more attention and be more attractive, thing attributed to a higher production of pheromones. But for the most of us, the pheromone concentrations are not sufficient for triggering the desired attraction. That is why pheromones from external sources need to be added to get the effects these chemicals are renowned for. They are chemically synthesized to mimic human emissions and are even more efficient than the real kind because most of them have been optimized.