Sugar Editorial Picks
Nov 05, 2009 -
Yesterday in the office kitchen, TrèsSugar, Fab, and I got into a discussion about durian, the controversial-smelling Southeast Asian fruit. Très loves it, but Fab said she simply can't get over the smell. The whole discussion got me thinking about olfactory offenses in the kitchen.
- 42 Comments
Oct 14, 2009 -
Are you cursed and blessed with a good sense of smell? Cursed because you smell every ungodly stink no matter how far away, and blessed because lovely smells affect you deeply?
Psychology professor Denise Chen at Rice University thinks you may also be more empathetic than your olfaction-challenged neighbor.
- 11 Comments
Apr 08, 2009 -
Well, I could have told you that based on purely anecdotal evidence (i.e., growing up with a teenage brother), but now I've got the scientists to back me up. According to a new study out of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, women are far more adept than men at cutting through fancy colognes to detect a dude's scent.
Apparently, men and women are equally skilled at detecting stink, but women aren't as easily fooled by cover-ups:
Underarm odors alone smelled equally strong to women and men.
- 5 Comments
Jan 15, 2009 -
Some guys seem to exude sex, a trait often attributed to pheromones, the chemical signals that people supposedly emit when they're in the mood. But turns out, scientists have never been able to find evidence of such pheromones in humans.
In an essay published in the journal Nature, scientists say they haven't pinned down so-called "releaser pheromones" in humans, which would trigger sexual desire.
- 10 Comments
Jan 13, 2009 -
I've heard that some women love how their man smells after he works out, and it turns out that musty aroma might be telling you more than you think. According to a recent study, the scent of a man's perspiration can subconsciously tell a woman that he's "in the mood."
Researchers in this study asked 20 heterosexual men to stop wearing antiperspirant and other scented products for a few days.
- 9 Comments
Jan 08, 2009 -
One of my friends recently told me that when her husband is out of town, she sleeps with one of his old t-shirts so she can snuggle with something that smells like him. It keeps the loneliness at bay and although it sounds a little childish, she's not alone. Researchers reported that as many as three-quarters of women admit they cuddle with clothing worn by their significant other when he or she is away.
- 33 Comments
Jan 14, 2008 -
Scents are all the rage this season, and I'm not just talking perfume. This month's Psychology Today has a fascinating article about how natural scents determine our attraction to others. It's widely known that pheromones, a natural scent released by humans directly related to sexuality, influence lust and that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling.
- 16 Comments
Sep 19, 2007 -
We all have favorite smells and smells that we would like to eliminate, but I have a question for you -- do you think everyone smells things in the same way?
Source
Take the quiz
- 17 Comments
Aug 08, 2007 -
We all have our very own favorite smells -- which is why we also have smells we can't stand! Personally, I am sensitive to cooked broccoli, really strong cologne, and old, rotted flowers -- did I mention I have a sensitive nose?! So ladies, what smells do you have aversions to that you would like to eliminate forever?
- 41 Comments
Jul 27, 2007 -
When I asked you all which of your 5 senses you would sacrifice for a year, giving up your sense of smell was the second runner up with taste taking the lead by a mere 5%. I happen to think the sense of smell is one of the most powerful senses. A smell can instantaneously bring back memories, you can recognize someone by his or her smell, and life wouldn't be all that worth living if we didn't take a little time to stop and smell the roses every now and again!
- 65 Comments