Seeing how my previous hub on this topic received so much attention, I've decided to share yet another pearl of wisdom with you, my devoted readers. Here, I intend to elaborate on a second opener for meeting women: the famed "perfume opener." You should know that I've experimented with this opener for months and the information you'll be receiving is not mere theory and speculation. It is the result of painstaking repetition and reflection in the field with real people. As a result, I'm able to present to you the closest thing you'll ever find to a "formula" for picking up women; however, I do not promise immediate or guaranteed results with this information since the hardest part about all this is the procedural aspect--i.e. putting the formula into practice in the field. The process is like learning how to play the piano well. You can read about the piano and listen to the greatest virtuosi, but you will never become a virtuoso yourself unless you take the time to practice. Once you slog through the learning curve, you'll find that you'll get some very good results. What I can guarantee for sure is that you'll have quite a few funny stories to share with your friends. Finally, if you take the time to master this "stratagem", you'll find meeting women to be peice of cake--or perhaps I should say as easy as a spritz cologne.

To begin with, we need to talk about venues--i.e. the appropriate setting for administering the perfume opener. I suggest the following:

• Department Stores: for instance in New York City, I would suggested going to Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and/or Barney's
• Malls
• Makeup Chains/Perfume Chains: in particular, Sephora

In general, you need to go to stores that sell men's cologne. The reason why I like Sephora so much is that it is primarily a makeup store, and therefore exclusively for women. Thus, the girl to guy ratio is always very favorable. At the same time, they have a remarkable selection of men's colognes, so you have a passingly legitimate reason to be there. Furthermore, there is something about this store that draws particularly attractive women--it's a kind of the Victoria Secret of makeup.

The disadvantage of the Sephora chains, as compared to the larger department stores, is that they are smaller, and so it's a lot easier for the staff to catch on to what you are doing. For sure, there have been employees that were aware of my true motives, but so long as I was discreet and polite, they generally turned a blind eye or observed in quite amusement. Also, I advise that you not linger in any one Sephora for long--doing more than five openers is pushing the limit. The advantage of Manhattan is that there are at least a half-dozen of Sephoras all within walking distance. Malls and department stores do not have this limitation; you can literally spend the whole day there. However, you will find yourself working a little harder to locate satisfactory targets since these venues are larger and have a more diverse mix of ages and genders.

You should also note that the more upscale the department store is, the more challenging this technique will be. In my experience, I find women become pretentious in proportion to the pretentiousness of the setting they happen to be in. However, the women in upscale settings tend to be more attractive, and their reactions tend to be more humorous whether they be positve, negative or neutral. You and your wingman will always have something to laugh about.

I make no claims to being a fashion guru, and fashion admittedly varies to some extent depending on your geographic location; however, as a rule I suggest you dress "well" according to the standards of your locale. In the New York venues that I have suggested, an appropriate casual look might include leather shoes, nice jeans, a button down shirt, a nice watch and a pea coat or a leather jacket. It's also correct to wear a suit; however, I would only do so if you are accustomed to wearing one during the ordinary course of your week.

I CANNOT emphasize this enough: how you dress makes ALL the difference in picking up women. The single easiest way to improve how women respond to you is by dressing well. It's also important that your wingman dress commensurately nice as you will be judged on the basis of the company you keep. Superficial details are everything in this game, and so you need to do your utmost to consciously manipulate these details to your advantage. The sartorially challenged should promptly seek the guidance of a discerning female friend--better yet, kill two birds with one stone and ask an attractive lady for fashion advice as opener.

I'm a strong advocate of doing pickup with a wingman, especially when you're learning. The advantages of working with a good wingman are as follows:

• Support: You will get rejected, and you will feel bad about it. Feel the burn and grow stronger. A good wingman will provide support and encouragement when screw up. If you're alone, it's all too easy to start feeling bad for yourself after a mishap. If a wingman is present it's a lot easier to maintain high morale, since both of you can make a joke of a bad approach. By doing so, you will be less apt to exaggerate the significance of one particular woman's reaction. It will therefore be a lot easier to be dispassionate and to learn from experience. This is a game and games are supposed to be fun. Also, remember to be a good sport, since you can't win all the time. Finally, rude women are to be laughed at--however, in truth, I've rarely encountered any maliciously rude women, even in New York City.
• Motivation: When you are alone, it's easier to get bored or side-tracked. Having a wingman keeps you focused so that you "stay the course." A perennial problem of novices is "approach anxiety." Wingmen will devise methods tp help each other overcome this debilitating limitation. One method is "money motivation." The way this works is as follows: you give your wing a sum of money--perhaps fifty dollars. You then agree to make five "good faith" approaches within a one hour. If you fail to make the approaches, you lose the money. If you want to take it up a notch, increase the number of approaches or add a mandatory number close requirement. The virtue of this method is that it distracts your subconscious mind from the anxiety of approaching women with the anxiety of losing money.
• Objectivity: A good wingman will inconspicuously observe your approach and your delivery of the opener. This is a tremendous advantage as it is incredibly difficult to be self-observant while interacting with a woman. You will need an objective eye to correct limiting idiosycracies. It is essential that these criticisms be constructive and be given in a spirit of brotherhood.
• Creativity: By working with a wingman in a spirit of harmony, you create, in the words of Napoleon Hill, a "Mastermind Alliance." The mastermind alliance is a blending of minds where two (or more) minds form a "group mind" whose power is greater than the sum of its parts. You will learn faster, and you will more easily devise creative solutions to the very fact specific problems you'll inevitably face. The power of the mastermind increases exponentially with each additional mind; however, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain harmony with the addition of more individuals. Without harmony, you will not be able to tap into this power source--in fact, you will be weakened. This is the single most important tip in the whole article and its utility is applicable in many other contexts.
• Social Proof: If you are with a presentable looking wing, this will give you "social proof." In other words, you will appear less creepy. There is nothing, but nothing, that will destroy your chance of success more than appearing "creepy."

And so we finally arrive to the crux of this article--the tried and true Perfume Opener.

1. When you enter your chosen venue, you should immediately proceed to the men's cologne section. Do not look around tentatively or stare women down like a predator. Purposefully enter with your wingman discussing "cologne" or even pretend to be disputing about which colognes smell best. Pretend this is a scene in a movie or sitcom, and never take any of this too seriously.

2. Once you're by the cologne, get a few sampling strips. Do not let the saleswomen spray cologne on you, and in no event should you get sprayed with more than one cologne! This is especially problematic in department stores. In Sephora, the sales help generally leave you alone.

3. Pick three colognes and carefully spray each sampling strip. Be sure not to mix up your samples as you will not be able to distinguish between the three after a few moments of smelling them. Choose you colognes wisely. They should be names that you can remember and pronounce! You don't want to sound like a stuttering fool or stand mute while trying to remember names. I can't tell you how many times I've cringed after listening to a wing butcher the name of a well-known cologne! I generally pick the following three colognes: Dolce & Gabbana, Yves St. Laurent and Tom Ford. Make sure you pick out men's cologne...that's what the word "l'homme" means on the bottle.

4. Spend a few moments smelling the samples and looking somewhat confused...you might dicuss the matter with your wing or you might not...

5. At this point you will discreetly locate your target . Note: do not gallop from one end of the store to the other in order to get your "female opinion." Be subtle and indirect. Do not approach anyone more than a few yards away. Do not make a frontal assault on your target either. Rather, approach from the flank (i.e. from the side or at an angle). It should appear that your purpose is to select a cologne, not a date for Friday night.

6. Next you ask for her opinion. As a variation you might have your wing do the opener on your behalf. Here are the words you are to use:

"Hey, help me out and smell these colognes. They all smell the same to me. Which of the three do you like best?"

After you recite this incantation, immediately hand over the samples to your target. I advise that you use this wording verbatim until you get more experienced. Let's dissect these sentences, and understand the rhetorical and psychological effect of the wording.

• First, note that the first sentence in NOT a question...it's a command--the verbs "help out" and "smell" are in the imperative mood, grammatically. Some may squirm and feel that this is impolite or pushy, and it is. However, you can soften the effect by the intonation of your voice and by non-confrontational body language. Nevertheless, you always want to be in control of the "frame", or the subjective reality, of the interaction.
• Note that the use of "commands" subconsciously communicates the following subtexts: (i) you are not a wuss who feels obliged to please and supplicate for female attention; (ii) you are not asking for some grandiose favor; (iii) you obligate her to give you her attention and an answer.
• To be crystal clear, it would NOT be appropriate to say, "Excuse me miss...um, uh...could you please help me pick a cologne?...um, uh sorry to bother you..." etc. Note that this question gives her the option to retreat from interaction. My question ("Which of the three do you like best?") assumes she is willing to interact. Thus, you accomplish the following: (i) you make it much more difficult and socially awkward for her to retreat; (ii) you display confidence by assuming she wants to interact; (iii) you give her the opportunity to be an expert as women enjoy helping clueless men get up to speed on fashion.

If you don't believe these subtleties matter, make an experiment of it and see for yourself whether it makes a difference. In isolation these details are insignificant, but the cumulative effect of attending to them does make a difference.

7. Now at this point, she will be smelling the colognes and thinking about her choice. DON'T tell her the names of the colognes until she has made her choice. The surface reason, if she asks, is that you don't want to prejudice her answer and have her make a choice on the basis of a name. The underlying reason, which you obviously won't share with her, is that it will extend the interaction.

At this point in the interaction, be prepared to answer the following questions:

• "Who is the cologne for?"
• "Why are you in Sephora?"
• "What do you do?"

The best way to answer these questions is by not answering them; instead have a cocky-funny response prepared. For instance, if a woman asks what you do for a living tell her you are a professional hopscotch player or a cigarette lighter repairman. Be absurd and stick to it. This is were imagination and humor come into play. Be funny. And don't allow her to control the interaction by having you jump through her hoops. By not giving her straight answers to her questions--at least not at first--you generate attraction and distinguish yourself from all the other wussies who recite their resume on command.

8. The next step is, in my opinion, the most difficult. You need to transition from talking about cologne to talking about her. Here are several suggestions: (i) comment on her foreign or regional accent; (ii) comment on something noteworthy about her appearance or clothing; (iii) or just throw her a non sequitur, ideally something funny, and see what happens. If you are absolutely at a loss for words or you decide that you are not so attracted to her after all, politely hear her answer, thank her for her time, and promptly move on to the next target.

9. Once your interaction shifts from talking about cologne to something else, you need to navigate carefully. On the one hand, you need to discover common ground and especially some reason to meet again; on the other hand, you need to do it in such a way as to not show too much interest. You must avoid giving indicators of interest until you see her demonstrating some interest in you. For example, if she is smiling, pulling her hair, and laughing at all your jokes, even the ones that are not funny, then you know she's interested. Finally, you need to get her contact information. As a rule, I always ask for the girl's number even if I get mixed signals. You'll sometimes be very surprised by who is truly interest and who was merely being polite. Also, never give a girl your number if she says, "Why don't you give me your number?" In a cocky-funny manner, gently insist that she give you hers. If she refuses, so be it. Wish her well. 

Here's an example of a transition from cologne opener to "number close." The venue was Century 21 in lower Manhattan. When a female appeared that caught my interest I proceeded in the way described above. I noted that she was dressed in such a way that suggested she wasn't from NY. When I spoke to her she clearly had an Australian accent which I commented on; however, to be a little offbeat, I asked whether she was from Capetown, South Africa, since the accent there is similar.

By saying something offbeat, I achieved the following: (i) I distinguished myself from every other predicable wuss that spoke to her in NY who invariably asked whether she was from Australia; (ii) I gave some indication that I was well-traveled and knew something about the world; (iii) I stimulated her to ask why I would say " South Africa, of all places!"

My comment caught her interest, and the conversation spun on about traveling and that she was visiting her friends, etc. Soon one of her equally attractive friends appeared and so I had the two of them debating which of the three colognes they preferred. The natural next step was to get the girl's number and offer to show them "all those hidden spots in NYC that tourists don't know about." And so it goes... ;)

There you have it...the perfume opener. I have to say that this is one of the best forms of free entertainment around--plus you have the bonus of adding entries to that little black book. The beauty of this opener is that it is indirect and it engages the senses. I think indirect openers are best because it gives you the opportunity to end an interaction without losing face when a female is clearly giving indicators of disinterest. Furthermore, despite my very cerebral description, you will find that this opener is anything but cerebral. It engages the senses--specifically touch and smell. These are two very powerful faculties, and stimulating them with a masculine fragrance can engages the emotions. As a rule, when you are trying to generate attraction, engage the emotions and the senses primarily, NOT the intellect. Finally, I urge you to treat women with respect and approach this process in the spirit of an entertainer, not a manipulator.