How about a pheromone party

If you’re single, would you rely solely on pheromones to help you find your ideal mate?

Anyone who’s ever been single (by chance or by choice) has probably tried every traditional method of meeting someone – as well as some non-traditional approaches – at least once. So when a new dating craze pops up, a weary sigh seems to be the best response. And pheromone parties, the latest trend, might elicit a side-eye, too. But not so fast: Maybe you can smell your way to love?

According to the Wall Street Journal, the way a pheromone party works is this: wear a T-shirt to bed to capture your unique aroma, put it in a Ziploc, and bring it to the party. There, hopeful romantics smell the shirt and seek out the owner of the one whose scent they find most alluring. And boom! Love connection, right?

Well, possibly: A 1995 study from the University of Bern showed that women were more attracted to men whose natural odours were different from their own – meaning we use smell to weed out partners who, genetically speaking, may not be good reproductive counterparts. In simpler terms: although your favorite perfume may be eau de rose and orange blossom, your ideal mate might smell more like sweat and pomade. And who knows? Maybe sniffing someone’s shirt will become the new handshake.

Originally written by Anne-Marie Guarnier, this article appeared in Allure.

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