But can you rub it under your arms?
http://www.fastseduction.com/cliff/2001-03-17a.shtml
I left some of the story out because it was so long. If you aren't interested in methodolgy, don't read that part:nyam:
The combined aromas of cucumber and the black-licorice candy Good & Plenty
appear to boost sexual arousal in women more than expensive fragrances, an
Illinois researcher has found.
Dr. Alan Hirsch, a neurologist and psychiatrist at Chicago's Smell and Taste
Treatment and Research Foundation, concluded that men's colognes actually
impaired physiological sexual responses, and some food odors unexpectedly
increased them during a study involving 30 women, aged 18 to 40.
"If your purpose in wearing cologne is to enhance sexual arousal," Dr.
Hirsch said, "you may want to try something else."
In Dr. Hirsch's study, women exposed to the scent combination of cucumber
and licorice candy experienced an average vaginal blood-flow increase of 14
per cent. Baby powder, or the combination of pumpkin pie and lavender, also
prompted significant increases. Chocolate and perfume raised flow levels
less than 5 per cent; charcoal-barbecued meat and cherry appeared to be big
turnoffs.
Rates of vaginal blood flow are considered conventional indicators of sexual
arousal. Dramatic changes in flow rates are generally seen during such
events as the uterine contractions associated with labour during childbirth.
"It is unlikely to be a coincidence when you have greater than a 10 per cent
change in response to vaginal blood flow," Dr. Hirsch said. "There could be
some natural fluctuation, but not at that level."
Three years ago, Dr. Hirsch studied odors that increased penile blood flow
in men. Similar to the results in women, pumpkin pie with lavender tended to
cause the greatest arousal in testing 55 men, aged 18 to 64. One man was
aroused by these odors even as he slept through the testing process.
Cinnamon buns also had a significant positive effect on men. Chocolate and
floral perfumes were among those with the least impact.
Unlike the blood-flow reductions measured in the women in response to
certain smells, however, no odor inhibited male arousal.
The researchers initially tested 30 scents, ranging from floral perfumes to
bubble gum. The sample was then narrowed to the fragrances producing the
most significant responses.
Those who participated were exposed to surgical masks impregnated with
certain scents.
In the women, vaginal blood flow was measured with a tampon-like device
while the subjects sequentially wore eight surgical masks impregnated with
odors and two blank masks that served as controls -- applied in a
double-blind, random fashion.
The same methodology was used on the men, whose penile blood flow was
measured using a device similar to the tightening band used for taking blood
pressure on a person's arm.
Dr. Alan Hirsch of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation
led a study that initially looked at the impact of various aromas on female
sexual arousal, measured as percentage change in vaginal blood flow. A
summary of a few of the most telling examples:
Good & Plenty (black licorice candy) combined with cucumber +14%
Baby powder +13%
Pumpkin pie combined with lavender +11%
Baby powder combined with chocolate +4%
Perfume +1%
Men's cologne -1%
Good & Plenty -12%
Charcoal-barbecued meat -14%
Cherry -18%
