September, 1999

Hello Again Readers,

Welcome back. I have been getting some very good feedback and astute questions lately, which have inspired a new regular feature here (pheromone Q & A) and this month’s research review on exclusively female pheromones. Hope you enjoy them.

FREE pheromones!
For those of you just joining us, welcome and yes, I REALLY give away free pheromones every issue. Until this month, I have been giving away one bottle, but due to the dramatic increase in entries, I am giving two this month, and from now on I will give one prize for every 50 entries, so your chances of winning are always at least that good. Another change is that from now on, I will pick the product myself for the most part, though I might give some people a choice of a couple of items. I want to send out as many different products as possible and hopefully get some feedback about them.

Don’t forget to smile at someone today,
Bruce Boyd
editor
Sendai, Japan
news@love-scent.com
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Sources:
I am signed up with two services that notify me of any new appearance of pheromone research or other news anywhere on either the web. I also periodically run searches on the medical research web-sites to see if any new material pops up, and of course I get occasional hot tips from you, my “alert readers”. I have also been known to just make stuff up, as you will see, so beware.

Sometimes the “news” will be not so new. If it doesn’t appear on the PRI site (http://love-scent.com/research) or the pheromone E-zine archives (http://love-scent.com/zine), and I find it interesting, than it’s news to me and I’ll review it, so don’t be afraid to send in an old article you come across. If it hasn’t found it’s way into the internet or a research journal, I probably haven’t read it and would be very happy for a copy, which I would then of course highlight in the “News” (with your name if you like).

I’m also interested in printing personal experiences with pheromones, so if you have something to enter in that area please send it in. I can leave your name off or print it as you like.

Pheromone News may be distributed freely, if the sign-up information is included. Original material is copyright protected.

Send articles and personal stories to:
news@love-scent.com
Back issues and sign up located at:
http://www.love-scent.com/zine
You can also sign up by sending a blank e-mail to:
pheromone-subscribe@listbot.com
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This Issue’s pheromone “News”:

*August’s Survey/Contest Results
*pheromone Q and A
*Research Review: Estrogen levels and pheromone production
-Bruce Boyd
*This month’s “Free pheromones” Survey/Contest
*New Products on the Market
*pheromones in the Cinema
-weekly feature
*User Corner; Alert Reader pheromone Story
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The August Issue’s Survey Results

I was floored by the response this time. I got a *lot* of surveys, and it took me a long time to read them all. If I had known I would get so many I would have put a little more thought into the questions so I could come up with some percentage figures on certain points. As it is, I just picked out some of the most interesting responses and quoted them below. The only general figures I can give you are that virtually everyone regardless of sex or age appreciates a physically fit body on members of the opposite sex. Also, interestingly enough, it seems that women have a much clearer idea of what they like in a man than vice versa! Here are a few points that came up frequently:

Like:
Nice butt, long hair or very short hair (on men), nice smile, nice tan, strong, healthy

Don’t like:
Hair “swooshed” over a bald spot (men,of course), too muscular (men or women), too much makeup (women)

Congratulations! This month’s winners are Sunfall and Ben. They will get a bottle of Beaches pheromone cologne and Hi-Octane pheromone additive respectively. Both products are made by MC Marble and available from Love Scent pheromone Store pheromone products. (love-scent.com)

Here are the highlights:
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F: “I am attracted to a man who has a sparkle within that is radiated outward by his smile, his eyes, and his manner. I find one who takes care of himself physically, i.e. cleanliness, takes care of his hair and facial hair so that it is neat but doesn’t have to be short just taken care of attractive. I am attracted to a man who does NOT smoke, who doesn’t drink alcohol to excess. Men who take care of their bodies, working out and consider what they eat and drink. Men who treat others with dignity and respect are attractive as well.”

F: “men –hair that is not long; broad shoulders (ie athletic); tight butt; but at the same time an attitude that he looks like this because he is healthy, not because he wants people to notice — a man who looks like he is also intelligent, not one who lives at the gym.
women — good grooming, but not too much makeup; fit, though not necessarily muscular body; hair that looks like it doesn’t take a lot of work but is stylish; good posture; good smile”

F: “I think healthy people are attractive. In shape, but not necessarily built-up. Weight lifters/body builders bodies turn me off…too much muscle that distorts their body. I think women body builders are less attractive because the curves are in the wrong places. I prefer shorter hair on men, long hair on men seems too feminine. Tan firm bodies are a turn on.”

F: “I find a man who is sensitive and romantic very attractive. A man with an athletic build is nice also but it is what is inside that counts more.”

F: I am a female bodybuilder and I find men most attractive when they are tall with lots of lean muscle mass, but not massive or too buff. Dark skin, big smile and a strong jaw are good too.

F: “I really don’t have a ‘type’. A great smile will get me every time, as will piercing eyes. The eyes don’t have to be spectacular in color, but in expression. A great (and preferably somewhat twisted) sense of humor is a must above ALL.”

M: “On a women: Long hair, not too much makeup, energetic, athletic build is nice but not necessary. I’ve seen women who are “plump” and beautiful.”

F: “I find the eyes to be the most attractive attribute, although personality definitely is a plus! I go for men that are clean cut, a built chest and muscular legs.”

F: “In men i like someone with wavy hair, a bit longer than ‘clean cut’. someone who appears quiet, still and thoughtful. one who moves gracefully and stands very straight.”

M: “Depends on the person. I like healthy, well-toned bodies, and even those not so well-toned but with soft, nice curves. Overly musclebound girls turn me off, but athletic is always a plus.”

M: “A woman who is fit physically is quite energetic. This energy tends to transfer to the person they are spending time with. This is attractive and usually moves from daily activities in and out of the bedroom.”

M: “I find an energetic woman that is not bulging with muscles but that is very well toned attractive and the most important is that she must be friendly and down to earth. Nothing worse then a woman that is stuck on herself.”

M: “Well, athletic build for one, but not extremely muscular. Long dark hair, slightly tanned, and of course, smells nice.”

F: “I find bodies very attractive that are like dancers’ bodies – taut, tight, nicely rounded muscles, but not huge, over-developed parts of the anatomy (like weight-lifters, etc.) Dancers have the most incredible bodies, and they seem to be so in control of what they do with them that it’s very erotic. You can just imagine being the recipient of all that smooth flow.”
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pheromone Q and A:

Bruce,
I read every msg. on the discussion board and noticed that you often mention that pheromones have a musky smell. Well pheromones are colorless, ODORLESS chemicals. It says so on the love-scent website too.
Thanks,
RJ

Hello RJ,
Thanks for your question. It is rather challenging. In fact, I have been wondering about that myself for a while, so I wrote to James Kohl (pheromones.com) the author of what is in my opinion the most authoritative and readable book on pheromones available (Scent of Eros).

His response was this:
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“It’s a function of concentration. Some chemicals can be perceived at concentrations of one part per trillion. With musk, it’s more like one part per billion. In any case, the more molecules of musk per molecules of air, the more musky the “smell” becomes–finally to the point of going from pleasant to aversive. So, you can run the gamut from odorless to aversive depending on the concentration, and other factors-like the number of receptors a person has for the particular chemical. With androstenone, receptors appear to be genetically programmed. With repeated exposure to androstenone, it appears that receptors develop and people can go from being anosmic to the odor, to being very able to detect it is small quantities.”
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RJ, Apparently, the andro pheromones (the ones contained in most popular pheromone products) are undetectable by the nose at normal effective levels, which leads marketeers of popular pheromone products to declare them to be “odorless”, but I can tell you from experience that if you get your nose up close to them after the solvent (alcohol or witch hazel) has evaporated completely, they have a characteristic “musky” aroma. James has also mentioned to me on a couple of occasions that people have widely ranging abilities to detect androstenone. Newborn male babies have very high testosterone levels at birth, and when my second son was born a few months ago his hair reeked of androstenone smell for several days, but my wife was completely unable to smell it.

Thanks again for your question,
Bruce
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Female Sex Hormones and Related pheromones
Bruce Boyd

In last month’s Pheromone News I wrote about some interesting research done by Astrid Jutte on the effects of sexual stimuli in the form of porn movies on the testosterone levels of both male and female subjects. Although testosterone is known primarily as a male sex hormone it is, in fact, the controlling factor of the sex drive of both men and women. When we are exposed to sexual stimuli of any kind, our testosterone level increases and with it we experience the feeling of sexual desire. Conversely, as we get older and produce smaller amounts of testosterone we experience the well-known general diminishment of the sex drive. There are a number of things we can do to prevent that from happening, but that is a story for another day, because one alert reader who is also a nurse would like to know what is up with the female sex hormones and their corresponding pheromones.

While the testosterone-linked “andro” pheromones are produced by both sexes and effectively give others olfactory (smell) information about our testosterone level and therefore our probable interest in sex, the primarily female sex hormones (estrogen and progesterone) are producing pheromone-like substances that give information to others not about the owners interest in sex, but in the likelihood of producing offspring, which biologically is the “reason” we have sex (by the way). As everyone knows, when female animals are at the optimal point in their menstrual cycle for producing offspring (point of ovulation), there occur changes in their vaginal secretions that have a dramatic effect on the sex drive of males of their species that are in the immediate area. These changes are controlled by the normal cyclic changes in female sex hormones (estrogen and progesterone) within the body and work their romantic magic on nearby males, at least in part, by increasing male testosterone levels dramatically, merely by giving them a whiff of the pheromones contained in their vaginal secretions! This phenomenon has obviously been of very big interest to scientists in the fragrance industry and has resulted in the discovery and isolation of the exclusively female human sex pheromone known as “copulins”, which occurs naturally in the vaginal secretions of women. It has been shown in scientific studies (Jutte) to drive male testosterone levels through the roof (150% of baseline), and almost undoubtably has major potential as a part of the romantic arsenal of any woman interested in getting a rise out of her romantic partner. I have also heard from reliable sources that copulins is being evaluated for its potential use by body builders, who are always interested in the anabolic (muscle increasing) effects of high testosterone levels.

Other research (Michael et al, 1975) has demonstrated that the composition of the female human pheromone, copulins, varies in close coordination with the varying levels of estrogen and progesterone in the female body, which in animals produce such an obvious behavioral effect in dogs and cats. (ie: the female goes into heat and every male in the neighbor is willing to dodge rush-hour traffic to get near her)

CONCLUSION:
The Jutte study shows us two things about humans:

#1 When males sniff the female pheromone copulins their testosterone level jumps to a towering 150%, which scientists agree increases the sex drive.
#2 Males will rate photos of females higher if they are secretly given a whiff of copulins.

THEREFORE, all other things being equal, we can guess that men will like women who emit the scent of copulins better than they will like women who don’t *and* they will be rendered “horny” by that whiff of copulins.

ALSO, the Michael study tells us that the composition of a woman’s copulins changes according to the phase of her monthly cycle, and this we know is part of the biology that is driving male dogs and cats completely insane to get at ovulating females.

UNFORTUNATELY though, the Jutte study was unable to show any relation between the type of copulins (ie, which phase of menstruation it came from) and the amount of attraction it stimulated in male subjects. In other words, males find women wearing all types of copulins equally attractive. What researchers are looking for, of course, is human males being more attracted to ovulating females than to non-ovulating females as is the case with our pets, but were unable to find it. That doesn’t mean that the effect doesn’t exist, but they were unable to detect it with this type of test. There is some evidence from another study (name escapes me at the moment) that pheromones produced by females with high progesterone levels (commonly found during menstruation and pregnancy) have the effect of *reducing* testosterone levels in nearby males, which would of course reduce their sex drive.

So, we’re getting thumbs up on copulins as a sex pheromone, but the jury is still out on the effects of ovulation on its attractive powers. (see survey below)

But just in case, don’t forget to smile!
Bruce Boyd

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Survey/Contest time!

In line with the above research, I would like to survey our readers for any relationship you may or may not have noticed between monthly female cycles and attractiveness to males. To my knowledge there have been no scientific studies that show that human females “go into heat” (ie, send out pheromone signals that attract males) in coordination with the optimal baby-making point in their menstrual cycle (ovulation). This “study” is of course completely unscientific, but let’s just see what we can come up with. As usual, I will pick surveys (that are filled out properly) at random for monthly prizes.

I don’t want to shut anyone out of the contest, so this survey can be used by males or females of any age. If you are female, fill out the survey on the basis of your experience with your own monthly cycles (in the past is ok too). If you are male, as best you can, report on the basis of feedback that you have gotten from your spouse/partner and your own feelings of attraction during pregnancy and/or different “times of the month”

Answer these questions on the basis of your own experience with a number from 1-10
(“1″ being “strongly disagree” , “5” being “no opinion”, and “10” being “strongly agree!”)

1. Women appear more attractive to men when they are ovulating.
2. Women appear less attractive to men when they are ovulating.
3. Women appear more attractive to men when they are menstruating.
4. Women appear less attractive to men when they are menstruating.
5. Women are more interested in sex when they are ovulating.
6. Women are less interested in sex when they are ovulating.
7. Women are more interested in sex when they are menstruating.
8. Women are less interested in sex when they are menstruating.

Your sex (M/F):

Comments (one or two sentences please):

Last question is for *women only*
Have you ever used a pheromone product containing the ingredient copulins?
If yes, do feel that it had an effect on males? (rate 1-10, 10 being the most powerful)

Send completed surveys to:
news@love-scent.com
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New Products on the Market

There are a LOT of new pheromone products coming out on the market these days and as the notion of using them becomes more accepted by both men and women of all ages, it seems that many of these products have been developed by some of the most prominent names in pheromone research. One such researcher in the field of olfaction (science of smell) who has developed a product of his own is a Dr. George Dodd. Dr. Dodd, originally of Dublin, Ireland and now a senior research fellow at the Highland Psychiatric Research Group in Inverness Scotland, has been working on a project that may make it possible one day for medical doctors to use sophisticated electronic devises to analyze a patients breath to determine the nature of his health! In addition to this research though, he has also created a pheromone brew, which he claims is very effective at attracting a human mate and has loaded it into moist towlets in foil packs and put them on the market. I don’t know if he is providing any direct scientific evidence as to the pheromone wipe’s effectiveness, but there are separate formulas for men and women, which seems to hint at the use of the exclusively female “copulins” ingredient discussed in the preceding article. In any case, the product, (called “Xcite!”) has been getting a lot of coverage in both Europe and the States apparently, and even been featured on the TV talk show “Live” with Regis and Kathy Lee. Dr. Dodd’s work in the area of olfaction has also been featured in a Time Magazine special issue “The Realm of the Senses.”

Love Scent pheromone Store pheromones was recently approached by the US distributors of the new pheromone towlette, Xcite! USA, and some tentative arrangements have been made to collaborate on the distribution of Dr. Dodd’s potion via the internet very soon. So, keep an eye out for introductory offers. I might even have a free sample to give away to the winners of the September survey/contest. (above)

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pheromones in the Cinema

This is an old one but in line with this months research review. Anyone remember the movie, “Quest for Fire” ? The film is naturally enough centered around all the wonderful things we can do with fire, and towards the end of the movie our band of cave folks are just finishing up a delicious home-cooked meal of sabor-tooth tiger meat, when our leading lady lies down by the fire for a good nights sleep. I guess it’s a cold night and she points her rear at the fire. Next we see a close-up of the face of the cave-guy sitting closest by, who is still working on his leg o’ tiger. A quizzical look comes over his face: “Sniff…..huh?….sniff…sniff, sniff.” He looks around and notices the little cave rear-end nearby, drops his food and jumps on.

You know, that’s one thing you never see in the history books: A) When exactly did human beings evolve to the point where they bothered to look around to see if anyone might be watching before they jump on someone like that, and B) When did they start bothering to ask first?

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User Corner

“I used beaches cologne on a Saturday afternoon. I was at a cable car station. There was a very long line that usually consists of a 100 people. I stood in line behind a young attractive woman. She started to notice when she asked me ‘What time is it?’ I stated the time of the day and she was still looking at me. She tried to make another question to ask, so I started a friendly conversation. We were chatting for a long time and I began to see her regularly. ”

John
SF, California

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In the mood for some laughs?
Try my weekly humor/joke E-Zine at:
http://hit-central.com/jokes

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Thank you all, and keep those articles and experiences coming!
Technical advice also welcome.

Feel free to distribute this newsletter freely as long as you include the following sign-up information:
Back issues and sign up are located at:
http://love-scent.com/zine

You can also join this list by sending a blank e-mail message to:
pheromone-subscribe@listbot.com

Bruce Boyd
Sendai PRI
news@love-scent.com