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SCMP Reporter

LOVE is in the air . . . thanks to the arrival in Hong Kong of sex appeal in a bottle.

  For those on the wrong end of unrequited love, the makers of Contact 18 claim that just a squirt of their pheromone spray will secure the woman of your dreams.

  Since it came on the market, libidos have been running wild as hundreds of men try what is said to be the sweet - or sweat - smell of sexual success.

  One user claims the $160-a-bottle spray has made his bus journey into work more interesting while another, who used to be shunned by women, says his friends cannot believe his recent success with the opposite sex.

  Pheromones are widely used in cattle breeding, but this latest formula has been snapped up by nearly 1,000 men since its launch four weeks ago. The formula for men has been synthesised and tested by scientists in England.

  The University of Birmingham conducted a series of tests to investigate if smells drew humans closer together. The findings showed that the pheromone androstenol, which is excreted in urine and male sweat, had odours which attracted women.

  Dr Michael Kirk Smith of Warwick University took it a step further and sprayed pheromones on a seat in a dentist's waiting room. Women were drawn to the seat without realising why.

  ''The response has been overwhelming,'' said David Bernard, a director of Eastech Pacific Ltd, the company which brought Contact 18 to Hong Kong.

   ''In laymen's terms it works on a similar basis as an animal's scent. The male will spray an area which attracts females and fends off the advances of other males.

  ''It takes five to 10 minutes to work, but it doesn't make every woman want to roll in the hay straight away. Basically, it is an attention-grabber.

 ''We're now looking at bringing a Contact 18 condom on to the market.''   Dr David Dudgen of Hong Kong University's Zoology Department said the use of pheromones was rare here.

  ''Lower mammals are dominated by smell . . . this is why pheromones have an immediate desired effect on cattle. But I'm not surprised this works for humans as well . . . it's a basic instinct,'' he said. And what about a similar fragrance for women to attract men? The manufacturer has been investigating this for some time but the problem is that women have a better pheromone perception than men, making it difficult to concoct an effective fragrance.



Sex spray brings out the animal in women