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Scent of attraction

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Why you can trust SCMP

Vanilla, musk and apple pie ... the right fragrance will wrap you in an aura of sensuality

Ah, summer, the season of smelly feet and pungent body odours. In this heat you'll be hard-pressed to find a woman who gets off on the au naturel man. Trust me, you are far better off with a dash of Calvin.

According to the Social Issues Research Centre (SIRC) in Oxford, Britain, the scent of attraction consists of biological, psychological and social phenomena. And before the rumblings and murmurs of 'pheromones in a bottle' begin - yes, it's true. The initial scent of fresh male sweat does produce arousal in the fairer sex. But in a few minutes the seductive scent mixes with oxygen and goes pungently stale.

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So unless you are planning your day around a three-shower, three-shirt routine, you are going to need a little help to stay sweet-smelling.

Mixing the right fragrance with your natural scent scores high with women. But since every man's scent is unique, it's important to figure out which fragrances work with you.

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Certain scents have been proven to trigger positive emotions in the brain which, in turn, increase the scent's appeal. Vanilla, for example, has therapeutic effects. Its naturally warm, smooth aroma has been medically linked to lower stress and anxiety levels. It is commonly used in male fragrances to add softness and just the right amount of sweetness to the mixture.

Musk, on the other hand, has long been associated with sexual arousal. A woman's sensitivity to this particular scent is around a thousand times stronger than a man's. Musk is often used as a base note to assert a masculine presence in fresh, daytime scents.

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