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The Nose Knows — How Scent Helps Us Find The Right Partner
It’s not a hygiene thing.
Even on the days when my partner and I are fighting and my brain screams “head for the hills!” my body tells me the opposite. He smells so… right. His scent is intoxicating to me. It’s like after-shave or cologne — except he uses neither. He, in turn, loves my scent first thing in the morning, after it’s had the night to marinate in me-ness. Our smells attract one another, our bodies are a couture fit. The rest we could work on.
My friend Jen and I used to talk about this in college. A guy could be the nicest human being on the planet, but if he didn’t smell right — not good or bad but “right” — we couldn’t stick with him.
It’s not a hygiene thing
Some people love the smell of a sweaty partner (I do not). But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m convinced that the natural musk lifting off a person’s skin is nature’s clue to mate selection. At least for sex. Evolution champions reproduction. Whether or not we’re ready for a baby — maybe we’re even on the pill — nature wants us to find a partner who promises to produce the strongest offspring. Usually someone with opposite immune genes to our own, to ensure survival.
