Wimps catch whiff of how to get girls
BRITAIN: It is known as the Lynx effect. One spray of the eponymous deodorant and suddenly an otherwise unprepossessing man is pursued by hordes of women whose sole aim appears to be to get naked with him.
Advertising hyperbole? Well, no. Scientists have discovered that a splash of a well-chosen fragrance instantly lifts a less attractive man’s sex appeal several notches. It is great news for those men who lack a square jaw and whose muscles are on the undernourished side.
They emit far less of the sex hormones by which women subconsciously rate men’s appeal, a deficit they detect and use to relegate such men to also-rans.
Now, though, it appears fragrance can be a performanceenhancing drug for all the lesser men. ‘‘For men, fragrance use appears to be enhancing levels of body-odour masculinity,’’ said Caroline Allen, of Newcastle University’s Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, in a new research paper.
’’This appears to make it harder for females to discriminate between individual males based on this trait.’’
Unilever, which makes Lynx, is delighted the ‘‘Lynx effect’’ - the advertising slogan it used to promote the brand for two decades - has gained scientific backing, even if Allen is slightly embarrassed at the association.
Before Unilever’s marketing department gets too excited, though, it appears the research is applicable to all male fragrances and contains other messages the scent industry may not find so pleasing.
For instance, the research found there is little point in alpha males - those with muscular physiques, deep voices and larger jaws - using fragrances because their natural odours do a better job.
To conduct her research, Allen asked 20 men and 20 women to wear ‘‘odour collection pads’’ under their arms for a day. Then a panel of 239 ‘‘odour raters’’ - presumably being paid danger money - assessed their smell while a panel of 130 assessed their appearance.
The results showed that alpha males judged to look attractive by one set of ‘‘raters’’ had odours that were also considered appealing by another set who had no idea what the men looked like. Conversely, men judged unattractive were also deemed to smell bad - until they used fragrance.
Yet worryingly, at least for the fragrance industry, the Lynx effect does not work in reverse. The benefit for males is far greater than for females because women are more sensitive to smell, say the researchers. - Sunday Times
"However, individuals low in these traits [desirable levels of masculinity] can potentially improve how others perceive them through the application of a fragrance." Caroline Allen, of Newcastle University's Centre for Behaviour and Evolution