Have you been attracted to someone and don’t know why since they’re totally not your type? Well, according to some scientists, pheromones might have come into play, which are smells or chemical compounds that our body releases via oil and sweat that the brain picks up. Most of the time, you won’t even know you’re releasing this pheromones or that you’re smelling them, but your brain will start tinkering away and cause you to have a reaction to them.

Pheromones are huge in the animal world, with many animals finding mates or using it as a defense tactic. The most famous pheromones are powerful aphrodisiacs. Take for instance, the male boar whose saliva is filled with androsterone and androstenol to attract female boars. And once a female board does smell it, they’ll automatically present their rear to the male boar to start reproducing.

Pheromones are perceived via olfactory sensors, with studies indicating that they are released via several areas of the body like our skin, salvia, urine and sweet glands. Some believe that pheromones play a part when women breastfeed their babies, since a newborn knows where to find milk moments after it’s born. Something about how the mother’s breast milk smells comes into play.

Yet many believe there might be a sex pheromone that causes us to choose mates over others. There was one study in 2005 that had gay men smelling anonymous samples of sweat, with all of them preferring the scent of another gay men. The same was provided to straight men and they preferred the scent of a woman.

Some believe that we pick our mates by subconsciously reacting to pheromones that they secret to figure out their genetic compatibility. There’s this famous pheromone test that women smelling anonymous white tee shirts of men and then choosing those that were worn by strangers that were genetically compatible with them and repulsed by those that were incompatible. Some of them even preferred odors that reminded them of their own boyfriends.

The pheromone androsterone is said to cause “sex appeal,” with only about 10 percent of men emitting significant amounts of the pheromone from either their skin or hair. So even though they might not look sexy or appealing to women, the fact that they have strong androsterones, women will find them attractive.

But pheromones aren’t just about attraction. They can have a wide range of benefits, with people that use pheromones reporting that they feel less anxiety, increased confidence, are more relaxed and just feel happier. Other feel they have a better sex life when using them and just feel more attractive to the opposite sex, often revealing that they have more romantic relationships now that they’re using pheromones.

Although many remain skeptical, many still believe that human pheromones can truly impact a person’s decision on their mate and can positively affect their mood. Pheromones can also heighten one’s passion and sexual experience, which is why many opt to use some sort of pheromone fragrance on their erogenous zones.