Have you heard of the latest dating sensation to hit America? Pheromone parties are the brainchild of a 25-year-old neuroscience graduate student from California, who realised that how her boyfriend smelt was a big factor in her attraction to him. Now, men and women are attending parties to which they bring a worn, unwashed t-shirt, and attendees are selecting their preferred date based on sniffing t-shirts and deciding which smells the most appealing. Sounds a little bizarre, perhaps, but the party organisers report some good results, with matched pairs finding a connection.

There is a scientific grounding here: our sense of smell does play a part in determining our selection of a mate at a biological level. And I have always found, personally, that scent has the power to induce romance and sensuality – the scent of the person, beyond perfume and cologne.

It is drummed into writers that when we describe, we must try to appeal to our readers’ five senses – touch, taste, vision, hearing and smell. So, when I describe a meal between two lovers, for example, I may talk about the sharp taste of a lemon tart on the tongue (taste), the feel of the fine linen napkin against the bare legs (touch), the contrast of the white tablecloth and the bright, colourful fruit basket (vision), the hum of cicadas in the nearby bushes providing a soundtrack to the dining (sound), and the scent of jasmine in the air (smell).

The same approach applies when describing to a reader the growing attraction between a male and a female character. Take the following lines from my novel Burning Embers:

He remembered the scent of her hair and the feel of its silkiness brushing against his neck.

At this distance, she could detect the faint scent of his cologne

As he stepped back to let her pass, a whiff of cologne that mingled with the clean, manly scent of his skin tickled her nostrils, sending unwelcome tremors through her body.

Whiffs of his aftershave mingling with the familiar very personal scent of his masculine body were finding their way to her.

Rafe leaned in to whisper in Coral’s ear, and she felt him breathe in her scent like a man thirsting in the desert who had finally found water.

What do you think? Would you class yourself as someone who has a strong sense of smell? Do you find a partner’s scent attractive? Have you ever been out someplace and felt a stirring of attraction for a stranger simply because you caught his scent? Do you prefer the scent of cologne, or do you like a more natural scent? I’d love to hear your thoughts.