Smells like love... Can pheromone perfumes really help you find romance?

Pheromone perfumes are all the rage on TikTok with more than 100 million views. Photo: AFP

Can a simple fragrance make you irresistible? That's what TikTok users seem to think.

They now swear by pheromone perfumes, which are supposed to act as love magnets, with users lining up to reveal the most effective fragrances to attract – or retain – their current crush.

Like the skincare and makeup sectors, the perfume industry has begun its transformation to become more responsible and reduce its impact on the planet.

A commitment that includes the introduction of natural ingredients in the composition of fragrances, or even the reuse of waste from the food industry or greener production processes.

But does this really meet consumers' expectations? Apparently so, according to many studies.

However, some of these scents are now being touted as a way to seduce and captivate love interests. As incredible as it may seem, the concept has even gone viral on social networks.

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Nearly 130 million views

Here, we're not talking about the latest fashionable perfume from this or that luxury brand, but about perfumes based on pheromones, chemical substances supposed to provoke a specific reaction or behaviour in a member of the same species.

In other words, a perfume containing pheromones could almost have aphrodisiac qualities, and could even bewitch a potential crush... or any passing stranger.

Whether this is true or not, TikTok users don't seem to care, appearing intent on believing in the properties of these fragrances, now landing thick and fast on the Chinese social network.

In combination with the pH of the skin, pheromone perfumes supposedly make those who wear them irresistible.

A bit of an exaggeration? Without a doubt.

Nevertheless, videos featuring the #pheromoneperfume hashtag already count some 130 million views on TikTok, with examples, demonstrations and would-be evidence to support their supposed powers.

And if some of the posts are ironic, most of them claim that these perfumes do have some kind of aphrodisiac power.

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Far from an exact science

The scientific community remains as divided as it is conflicted about the effectiveness of pheromones on attraction. One of the latest studies in the field even goes against what Chinese social network users think – or hope – these scents can achieve.

In 2017, researchers at The University of Western Australia studied the existence – or not – of androstadienone and estratetraenol, which are believed to be pheromones produced by humans, and their impact on sexual attraction and even infidelity.

Published in the scientific journal Royal Society Open Science, the study showed no link between pheromones and aphrodisiac virtues.

"Much of the research currently promoted focuses on studies that back androstadienone and estratetraenol being pheromones in humans, because of human fascination on how we can improve our attractiveness to the opposite sex," the study authors explain.

"This contributes to a skew in public perception on whether humans do have pheromones with many people believing we do, because research suggesting the opposite tends not to be as published, and if it is published it does not get the same degree of attention." – AFP Relaxnews