A special cologne/perfume

[Brandnewbuddy]

So I know this idea has been pitched before but I think it still has some legs.

Guy or gal get a fragrance from a shady ad hoping it will improve their love life…and it certainly does…but not quite as they thought.

I figure the twist here is that the fragrance isn’t a straight aphrodisiac: it instead resets and manipulates people’s impression of you. For example, let’s say you’re in college and you regúlarly turn in assignments late. You then turn your next assignment in on time and wear the cologne, professor thinks you’re a great student and any of those past times were just flukes.

Of course, the company didn’t advertise it that way, they just put your generic “get the girl or guy of your dreams!” Ad and called it a day.

So protagonist might try it out and think he got ripped off, only to find some unintended consequences.

1. Pretty obvious one: guy gets a date with his crush and wears the cologne: only problem is, he comes in as a nervous wreck so she thinks of him only as a nervous wreck. He goes back home, sis or stepsis is there, who comforts him and catches a whiff of his cologne: suddenly he’s no longer her brother but instead a sensitive man who she has known all of her life. One she’s been comfortable telling her secrets too, who she’s always Been comfortable with…and she’s confessing her love for her brother and pulling him into kiss.

Stepsibling might be a better start as guy could argue that it was just a fluke, they aren’t related and then loans the cologne to a friend who tries it out but gets dragged along to helping his mother out with something…and suddenly his mother sees him not as her son but a very dependable young man.

2. Girl uses it before a party hoping to snag a guy…only to find out that he already has a girlfriend. Girlfriend is a bit of a bully so she follows her to tease her a bit but she catches a whiff and suddenly the girl is transformed in her head from a pathetic nerd who wanted her man, to a very cute young woman who she just wants to make feel better.

Alternatively: everyone at the party catches a whiff and now they all have different opinions and desires for her.

3. Old guy at the company uses the sample vial when it gets sent to him by mistake in the mail. Everyone at work thinks he’s a cantankerous old coot who needs to leave and upper management is trying to see what they can do to screw him out of his pension.

…one whiff though and suddenly people see him as an out spoken man who knows what he wants. The attractive manager who was about to try and breath down his neck calls him in for a personal meeting and winds up locking the door after getting one whiff of the scent.

 

[noyesmaybe]

Like the old axe commercial?

 

[LupusDei]

The concept has potential for having the mind control sudden status shift feature but lot less if any control and not necessarily sex or submission as consequences.

I would call the thing Love Potion "Second Chance" but not have it as an established, commercial product, but something someone is experimenting with. That could explain why the effects aren't fully understood and perhaps not quite what was hoped for.

On the irrelevant realism in magic debate, how it comes the wearer isn't themselves affected by the effects?

If they are, they would get new first impressions about anyone they met while wearing it. Could it be it's intended to only chemically reset first impression in persons, for example, of female-like hormonal balance? Even that couldn't be stable and guaranteed thing, and glitches might be a fruitful direction to explore.

Or are they supposed to be able to overcome the effects for knowing and expecting them? That can't be guaranteed, and by extension would quickly diminish the effect on others recognizing the scent (with may potentially be obfuscated, of course).

That it works, or seem to work, for situations outside of sex could be whole plot arc in it's own merit. Retrying a job interview could be huge. Inadvertently seducing the interviewer, because the thing is a love potion after all, can lead to unforeseen complications.

 

[urblueeyedangel]

Has to be Alien for women I used to adore midnight poison then it was stopped and sauvage for men. Gets me wet everytime.

 

[BrandonHarris]

Well, that sounds a bit like telling a story. It is not so easy to get a man just because of the perfume you wear. Yes, perfume is important because the smell makes the first impression about yourself, but that does not mean we have to spend a lot of money on perfume. Some time ago, I spent a lot of money on perfume, but I don't do this nonsense anymore. I found a much cheaper alternative: ordering perfume samples from DecantX. They are very cheap, but in return, the smell is great. Many people complimented me.