Losing Weight Has Never…Smelled Better?!

The fragrance industry can be a little odd. Lady Gaga’s got a perfume coming out that she reportedly said contained blood and semen (um, can we say gross?) and there’s even a bacon cologne which, I guess, targets the same bacon-fanatics that can’t live without BK’s bacon sundae, the thought of which makes me gag. But if you think you’ve seen it all, you’re wrong, because now there’s a weight loss perfume on its way to market.

Prends-Moi Eau De Minceur (which translates to “Take me”) claims to be the world’s first slimming fragrance (I guess it doesn’t mean “Take me…out to dinner”). It’s formulated with Betaphroline, caffeine, carnitine, and spirulina extract, a blend that is said to stimulate the enzymes that break down fat while triggering the release of beta-endorphins naturally present in the skin. In turn, they emit a ‘pleasure message’ from the brain that basically tricks your tummy into thinking it’s full, thus reducing the amount of food you feel the need to eat. This French perfume retails for about $50.

Accordingly to Daily Mail, a trial study by BIO-EC of women aged between 18 and 70 years of age, who were not on a diet, found that 75% felt the perfume limited the need to snack, and 73% felt a feeling of pleasure.

And what about the smell? It’s described as having “lively accents of bergamot, mandarin, and grapefruit.” Sounds lovely.

And this isn’t the only product that claims to use scent as a way to lose weight. Another one, SlimScents, urges you to “harness the POWER of an EXCITING new research breakthrough” to “sniff yourself thin” (yes, that’s a real quote). Don’t believe it works? Welp, they’ve got some pretty compelling “scientific” proof on their website (can you sense my skepticism?). You can buy a one-month supply of the SlimScents pens (they look like Sharpies) for $49.95.

Frankly, if you want to lose weight and be healthy, my recommendation is that it’s probably way more effective to smell like sweat after a good workout at the gym than like mandarin and grapefruit, just sayin’. Trying to spritz your way to weight loss and happiness just seems ridiculous to me; while I’m not saying aromatherapy can’t help curb your appetite to a degree, it’s certainly not a substitute for eating healthy and excising regularly. 

When asked if Prends-Moi really works, cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson told Shine that, though more testing will have to be done to successfully evaluate the claims, "Betaphroline is a neurocosmetic, which means it only has an effect on the skin or body if your mind is tricked into thinking it will have that effect.” However, the combination of ingredients is proven to soften the look of cellulite, but is very unlikely to make you lose any actual weight.

Real or not, seems like people are loving the idea: there’s a waiting list of 6,000 people anxious to try Prends-Moi. Would you try it?