Do you ever get a whiff of a cologne or perfume and find that someone's image immediately pops into your mind? Does the smell of "English Leather" immediately transport you back to high school?

Whatever the source--whether a lover's scent or simple a childhood souvenir--for most of us there are smells capable of transporting us back to another time or place. All the same, smell is generally a neglected sense, and we forget that there are odors besides colognes or perfumes that evoke romance and, yes, even desire.

What else? Incense might be one. The exotic smells of frangipani can take you right to the sensual shores of a tropical island, and the aroma of eucalyptus might evoke the relaxing ambience of a spa. Smell takes you into a mood quicker than the mind. It seems your inhibitions don't have time to mount a defense: you are there.

Discussion of smell in relation to sexuality often leads to the topic of pheromones. These are chemical substances secreted by some species of animals that influence specific behavior patterns by other members of the same species, including reproductive behaviors. It's not clear whether humans produce pheromones. Most scientists say no, even though a few research studies have shown some men and women get aroused when sweat fom a member of the opposite sex is wiped on their upper lip!

Whatever the verdict on pheromones, there are smells that awaken desire. There is some evidence that the smell of cinnamon has mild aphrodisiac qualities, and the same is sometimes said of certain flowers. The list goes on.

For many of us, smell is undeniably linked to pleasure (or, in the negative case, to being turned off). It's a pity we don't include it in our relationships more often: for example, buying a sweetheart freesias or gardenias--with their heady scent-- instead of florist-shop roses that are all show and no perfume. We need more scented candles, more lying on the forest floor engulfed by the clean aroma of pine needles, and more experiments with sweet body lotions and the trace of erotic smells in lubricants and bath oils. The earthier among us love to smell the scent of our lovemaking on our hands, face, and body.

Simply put, the nose is a sex organ. We were meant to have a keen sense of smell--to differentiate the scents of life. Leaving it out of our lovemaking is a senseless deprivation.