In 2010, I remember reading that pumpkin pie is one of the most arousing scents for men. The research isn’t just anecdotal, either — scientists have ascertained this fact by measuring pencil blood flow after men in a control group were exposed to various scents .
Months later, I heard that perfume-maker Harvey Prince put this research into practice with Eau Flirt, a perfume with pumpkin and lavender notes (both proven olfactory aphrodisiacs) that “men subconsciously associate with happy, positive, and stimulating memories.”
The name of this fragrance was eventually changed to:
Harvey Prince Temptress
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Could this fragrance make men fall in love?
Since 2007, the company has created fragrances that tap into the psychology of scent.
One perfume called Ageless Fantasy is supposed to make women who wear it smell younger via a combination of fruity scents people associate with childhood memories. Another called Chutzpah promises to imbue women with confidence — and presumably, keep them from being a putz — via citrus and precious woods.
Well, bottle me up and call it Skeptic. I wasn’t convinced, but I couldn’t resist the chance to let my perfume do the flirting for me.
Despite my love of citrus scents, I usually avoid wearing lotions and potions that smell like something I’d eat. (I also happen to eat a lot of Indian food — so this might be related.)
I was pleasantly surprised to find that Eau Flirt smelled fresh and clean and not like a scented candle. The roll-on applicator made it easy to apply Eau Flirt to my pulse points, too. I wanted to be ready if a handsome stranger was downwind from my ankle.
Other women commented that I smelled good when I wore Eau Flirt.
My first word of advice when gauge men’s reactions is to not mention that your pumpkin perfume smells so good that they’ll flirt with you. Not only does it add a confounding variable to the experiment, but it also brings out the contrarian instincts linked to every Y chromosome.
Guys will argue that your perfume smells somewhat musky but they don’t think pumpkin pie is sexy, anyway.
But they wouldn’t be wrong. Eau Flirt is a spicy blend with top notes of black currant, plum, apple, black licorice, and lavender. The pumpkin pie scent comes from middle notes of cinnamon and nutmeg, along with ylang-ylang and jasmine.
The dry-down that sticks to your skin 30 minutes to an hour after application is a subtle musk with tones of precious wood. This fragrance works because it’s not overtly pumpkin pie-scented.
My boyfriend has allergies and doesn’t like perfumes. But even he liked Eau Flirt. Well, once the scent faded a bit.
When I told him the fragrance was carefully engineered to attract and arouse men, he asked, “Does it smell like buffalo wings?”
Alas, that’s one of the few universally yummy scents not in Eau Flirt. I’m hoping Harvey Prince will get on that soon with a new fragrance designed to help men bond with other men. I’m thinking we could call it Eau Dude.
Amanda Green is a writer with experience in copywriting, branded content, social media, and editorial.
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