You might be the type of guy who wears cologne “just for myself”. Assuming you actually mean that, kudos to you!
Your scent is an important part of your identity, and having a signature scent that you know is good on you can put a spring in your step, make you stand taller .. generally make you more confident.
But if you’re looking for a scent to attract the opposite sex .. ah, now we’ve got to the real question!
What Cologne Do Women Like?
First the bad news. There is no one, simple answer.
How could there be? The entire fragrance industry would collapse down to selling the one fragrance, and that would be it.
But now the good news.
There are some scents recognized as being attractive, for various reasons, to a large percentage of the population.
If you are trying to impress a specific woman or are trying to make a better impression on women overall, then it is important to wear the right cologne. If you don’t know where to start – we’ve got the answers below!
How Are Scents And Attraction Linked?
It is important to understand how scents and attraction are linked.
Understanding the relationship between scent and attraction can help us understand why it is important to wear a scent that women like if you want to make a good impression.
The science behind scent and attraction suggests that certain scents trigger how the unconscious part of our brains reacts to external stimuli.
Science suggests that if we are around an aroma of something pleasant, our bodies then start to produce chemicals and hormones that help our bodies to feel more relaxed.
An example of this is when we smell food that we like.
When you smell food that you enjoy, your body starts to produce chemicals that help to get your digestive system ready to consume food, so that it becomes ready to digest this food.
Physical signs of this are when your mouth starts to build up more saliva and you suddenly start to feel like you are hungry.
This reaction to smelling food we like is similar to how our bodies react to the scent of a person we like.
Certain aromas arouse you and this then makes the body react by producing hormones and chemicals that affect the reproductive organs.
Essentially, your body starts to prepare to mate.
So scent and attraction are linked because pleasant smells on a person can trigger your body to react by producing hormones associated with the reproductive system.
What Scents Are Women Attracted To?
Now that we know how scent and attraction are linked to each other, we need to look at what scents women are mainly attracted to.
This will help us understand which scents to look out for in colognes and what cologne women like.
Vanilla
There is nothing boring about vanilla. Vanilla is one of the most common aromas in cologne and it is a good thing that it is.
Vanilla is a sweet smell that isn’t too overpowering. It is not only present in men’s colognes but also in women’s perfumes.
This is simply because the sweet smell attracts women. In fact, some men have a gene that makes their sweat smell similar to vanilla (source).
Although, instead of working hard to break a sweat, you could get some vanilla-scented cologne.
Sandalwood
Sandalwood has always been a crowd-pleaser when it comes to attracting women.
In fact, there have been studies that show that smelling the scent of sandalwood can uplift a woman’s mood and increase their arousal (source).
Sandalwood is not your typical woody smell, it has a scent that is sweet and warm. This type of scent can lead to believing that sandalwood smells sophisticated.
This would explain why it is a smell that attracts women, as this is a trait many women tend to look for when picturing their ideal man.
Peppermint
Peppermint has been used throughout history for many different reasons, the most notorious reason being to treat health issues.
Peppermint is a scent that can be very powerful so if you do find a peppermint cologne, use it sparingly.
When using a peppermint cologne, the right amount of peppermint attracts women and men (source).
Lavender
Lavender is a scent that has been associated with soothing people for centuries. So it is no surprise that women are attracted to this scent (source).
Lavender is a great scent to have in a cologne if you want a woman to feel more comfortable around you.
What Colognes Do Women Like?
So now that you are familiar with the scents that women are attracted to, you can see where we are going with this.
if you’re not sure where to start – pick a cologne that appeals to you (from the scent, from the marketing, from the name ….) that has one of the scents above as a main note.
A great example of this is Dior Sauvage – a cologne that has hints of vanilla, lavender, and bergamot. It’s consistently rated as hugely popular by women (although possibly thats because the face of this cologne is Johnny Depp…)
Another good example is Creed’s Santal. This cologne’s main notes include sandalwood (check!) and base notes of vanilla (check!).
Before You Go….
OK, that should get you started on choosing a cologne! The real thing you’ll get from this is confidence. Confidence that you smell great. Confidence that means in the future, you’ll start branching out and experimenting to find your signature scent!
But did you know what cologne actually means? What makes it a men’s scent? Check out our next article for the low-down!
Do Guys Wear Perfume or Cologne?
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