When you see an exceptionally lovely human being, pause for a second and consider: Is this person lovely because her features are symmetrical … or is it just because she smells really good?

New research from the Monell (Moe-Nell) Chemical Senses Center suggests that a person’s perception of beauty might be affected by pleasant smells. Scientists say this research could indicate that the assessment of odors is processed in the same area of the brain as physical attractiveness.

For the study, a group of 18 young adults, two-thirds of whom were women, viewed photographs of eight women. As scents ranging from straight fish oil to a mix of fish and rose oil to straight rose oil blew into a room, the study participants rated the attractiveness and age of each woman. They also assessed the pleasantness of the odor.

The researchers found that when the participants smelled more pleasant odors, they rated the faces as more attractive. This suggests that olfactory and visual cues separately affect the way we view people’s attractiveness. In the absence of a particular kind of smell, people may rely more on the way they process the physical features of a person’s face. But a particular smell may then additionally influence the way someone evaluates attractiveness.

Odor also had an effect on the way the study participants rated age. When people were asked to rate the age of a face when smelling fish oil, younger and older faces looked more similar in age. On the flip side, older faces looked older and younger faces even younger when the participants smelled the pleasant rose oil.

Next, researchers plan to study whether the same effects are found when considering male facial attractiveness.

Apparently beauty isn’t just in the eye of the beholder anymore. but the nose too.