It turns out we pick our perfume not only for its fragrance, but for how it will interact with our underlying body odor, according to a leading scientist.

Dr. Craig Roberts explained that odor is critical in coordinating a variety of behaviors in animals and while we tend to think that information in human odor doesn't really affect human behavior, it actually does.

Speaking at the IFRA UK Fragrance Forum on 'Body odor in biological perspective', Roberts says: "Human body odor contains information which enables us to recognize other individuals and may be used in choosing in our sexual partners."

Recognizing our body odor in this biological perspective has direct implications for the use of fragrances, he adds.

Now when we say body odor, we don't mean what you're likely thinking. We're referring to the chemical makeup of the body, different for everyone, which will thus affect how a perfume smells on skin.

No perfume smells exactly the same on everyone, so it makes sense we would pick a perfume based on how it would complement the natural scents we omit individually. Popular site, Now Smell This agrees.

"Your own body chemistry affects how different notes react on your skin," the site explains. "Anything that affects the 'natural' smell of your skin, such as stress, hormonal changes, your current diet or medications, might change how a perfume smells on you."

So while many of us might feel stumped when picking out a new perfume, it seems we might actually know what we're doing!

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