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Cupid, take heed! You might want to revamp your image and replace the big red heart with another body part - the nose. There's evidence to suggest the schnoz might have more to do with initial physical attraction than does the scarlet pumper. Apparently, body fragrance is a major contributor to that heady, euphoric feeling we get when we fall in love.

Why such strong emotional reactions to a smell? The answer might surprise you. We tend to think of fragrance as a personal preference, but before we can even develop a preference, that decision has already been influenced by physiology. Olfactory, or smell-cells, are located high up in the nose and are stimulated by odor. When aroused, they transmit messages to the part of the brain that is connected to our emotions. Nature intended it this way as a sort of innate detective; An odor can certainly warn you when it's time to make a hasty exit or know when a stranger has entered your space.

Conversely, we can use odor to create action in others. Take, for instance, the skunk; When his personal space has been invaded, he arms his defensive aroma trigger and instantly, all living, breathing, rational species will quickly get the heck out of his way. Thankfully, humans are a tad more discretionary about their spatial considerations. Most women wouldn't even consider dating a man who let off a round of fragrance from his posterior every time he thought they got a little too close.

Aside from personality preference, there is another motivator at work influencing our behaviors. This covert little cupid is a complex chemical substance known as Pheromones and it's coded within our own personal DNA. Nature apparently thought we might need a little help getting past some of the body's not-so-pleasant-aromas in order to procreate and populate the earth.

Pheromones, a chemical excreted by humans and animals and undetectable by the naked nose, appears to be linked to coupling, that is to say, certain pheromones are highly attracted to each other. They are excreted in sweat and depending upon the chemical reaction in the body to the sweat, the skin can produce its own aromatic fragrance. Humans, blessed or cursed with many bodily aromas, have sought for centuries to cover their individual fragrance with artificial fragrance. Thus, the perfume industry was born.

In recent years, the industry has taken significant steps in identifying the male and female pheromones, by reproducing them in laboratories, and including them in their fragrances. They've tapped into the human's need to connect and therefore, they've managed, to some extent, to motivate our sexual behavior.

It's a fact: The sense of smell does affect mood and behavior. The next time you find yourself undeniably attracted to someone, tip your nose and notice the aroma. Is there one? If there is, their natural attraction is probably being enhanced by a trigger ingredient in a perfumed product. If you can find no aroma, well, then Cupid Pheromone is doing his work incognito.

Learn more about this author, Meggie Hardy.
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