Scent brings couples together – a new dimension of dating sites

The dating app matches people based on scent. To connect, the service analyzes sweaty T-shirts. Smell Dating sends interested parties their phone numbers if both the user who likes the T-shirt's scent and the T-shirt's owner like the scent of their shirt. Is scent the key to finding your perfect partner? A new app claims that the key to finding your soulmate is scent. Those who want to find their soulmate this way must give up deodorant, perfume, and bathing for 72 hours, as these mask natural body odor. Unlike other dating sites, Smell Dating doesn't ask for details like sexual preferences, gender, likes and dislikes, or whether you're vegetarian or not. All the developers require is a phone number and email address. While most such sites focus on appearance and personality, scent plays a key role in the search for a potential partner. How does it work? Smell Dating sends T-shirts to interested parties. They have to wear them for three days and then return them. In return, they receive 10 T-shirts from other users. They then have to smell each T-shirt and choose the scent that most arouses them. If the owner of the T-shirt also chooses the challenger's T-shirt, Smell Dating sends both their phone numbers. And so the communication begins. All for $25 and only for 100 lucky participants who live in New York City. According to BuzzFeed News, 35 spots have already been filled. How do the authors justify the validity of such a dating site? While it sounds like a marketing ploy, numerous studies have confirmed that the way someone smells affects how attractive others perceive them to be. It's about trusting your subconscious, your intuition, and not relying on preconceived judgments and prejudices , says Smell Dating co-founder Tega Brain, adding, "You can't control which taste or smell you like; you have to trust your sensory system ." For example, the University of Oxford researchers asked women to rate the attractiveness of a group of men based on a headshot. While they completed the questionnaire, researchers released either a pleasant or unpleasant aroma into the air. The results showed that women rated the men's faces as less attractive when a foul odor filled the room. Similarly, their ratings were more favorable when the room smelled pleasant. Meanwhile, a study conducted at the University of Manchester suggests that people are subconsciously capable of choosing the partner with whom they might have children. Those matched are able to sense whether they have found a partner with the optimal genetic makeup.