The Vanadium Synthesis

Field Reports & Anecdotal Experience Men's Journals
1

I am a former molecular biologist and physician (among several other careers and technical pursuits) who has been a strong believer in pheromones since my experiences with Jovan Andron in the '80s.

I’ve always wanted to experiment with them, because I’m a scientist to the bone and experiment with everything in life, but I never got around to it. Several months ago I bought several social pheromones with the intention of crafting a suitable first impression for a new venture. I’m in my early 50s and a recent long term illness prematurely aged me (but I seem to be recovering a bit from that), but the start-up world idolizes youth (in a way it certainly didn’t when I was running a small computer hardware/software design firm in the early 80s, meeting with rooms full of executives who were often 3x my age – born in the wrong era, I suppose)

Part of the reason I never really tried pheros much was that I felt little need (though Andron made my ex wild). I think I was blessed with a good natural hormone mix. I was that short skinny not terribly handsome or well-dressed guy who made you scratch your head and ask “Is she really going out with him?” Don’t get me wrong: I had a lot of stand-out traits, but they weren’t the ones usually pull in the hottest/smartest girls (hotness without brains is boring, but there are a LOT of girls with both)

I’ve always been surprised by how positively many people responded to me on first meeting–more positively than I could objectively justify, even when I was a kid. I think reasonably highly of myself, but my best traits are not immediately obvious on first impression. Perhaps related, a small but significant fraction seemed to hate me on sight, in a manner that is also reminiscent of certain pheromone mixes.

But that’s enough about myself for now. There’s plenty of time. I’m sure I’ll recount more, past and present, as this log unfolds.

I was finally pushed over the edge to begin my own phero blog by an unusual incident this weekend, plus the fact that it is July 1 (which has no special significance, but I’ve been trying hard to take every excuse to make a start or re-start, and it’s been working out well for me)

Many of you may find this blog boring for, say, the next 6 months because I will be experimenting with social rather than sexual mixes. I have too much on my plate right now to have the time for serious relationships and I’m not interested in flings. (I did get some TUTH and AMMO, out of curiosity, but I’ve barely used them)

I guess I have to start somewhere. Here are some random observations

Before trying Androtics pheros, I picked up some Liquid Trust (oxytocin) from LS, and was fairly pleased with the results. TBH, that experiment was domething of a mistake: I’d recalled reading some interesting studies on various effects (memory, focus, bonding) back in the 90s, and since it was a familiar substance to me (routinely used to induce labor), it seemed like an old friend to experiment with. Sadly, when I reviewed the literature while awaiting delivery, I found that most of those papers either failed in replication studies or were repudiated outright; further, it’s not really a pheromone per se and doesn’t look (as a molecule) like it would diffuse especially well – so I wouldn’t have tried it, but hey, I lucked into a good thing. It seemed to work well with my personal signature. I no longer use it because I’ve had stronger results with true pheromones, but I might experiment with it again as a moderator sometime down the line.

My primary experiments have been with IS and IG. I’ve played with TAC a little, but my TO-GO bottle leaked almost immediately, leaving only a few drops. My first several months of experiments were at a volunteer group, not work, because I firmly believe that “anything that has effects will have side effects” (including herbals and natural remedies). It’s just the nature of the beast. God didn’t say “I’ll create a perfect cure for pancreatic cancer and hide it in this one plant in the Amazon”. The positive effects of most medications are most often accidental, and the negatives effect are just the same. Put differently: everything is a side effect, there are just side effects we like and those we don’t. Even the evolution of our own core biochemistry is just a long history of blindly finding uses for new random internal chemicals and their side effects.

I got some A314B, but rarely used it until recently. I specifically wanted to aim for “friendly” not “high status”. My background and manner carry enough status. I could see an overload backfiring, especially in a meeting, debate or technical discussion, when I don’t tend to use the easy-going “country doc” manner I learned in clinical practice, which suits my inner personality and is fairly effective at initiating deep discussion (That’s why I haven’t tried IH yet: I’m afraid the self-effects might make me too chatty – something I’m prone to, as you may have already guessed)

Once I felt that I’d reasonably mastered IS/IG (and the nuances of manner that go best with each), I tried adding A314B, and found one interesting fact: even people whose immediate reaction to A314 wasn’t very positive could come to an accommodation whereby the result was good for me. In another thread, I posted about my experience with a volunteer supervisor who seemed to react poorly to it: after several shifts, we settled into a new pattern; now she’s friendlier to me than ever and speaks more positively about me to others, but she still tends to leave the desk area whenever I am on duty, leaving me to run the whole operation.

Over the last 6 months, I have had countless striking interactions with IS or IG plus occasional additions of other pheros (LT, A314, TAC – and sometimes TUTH, Chikara and others, on a lark), and now get the best results with A314 plus IS or IG – but I’m very glad I learned from the socials first. I almost vcertainly would have have triggered OD reactions (pheromonally and with my accompanying style) if I had started on A314

Now I think I’m ready to move on to trying other additions.

But I mentioned that one of the things that pushed me over the edge to (finally) starting my own blog was a striking incident. Here it is:

I was scheduled to visit an innovation facility about an hour’s drive away. I wasn’t seeking to impress anyone, just to get a tour. My group already had a good relationship with that group, and we’ve had staff move from one to the other. I spritzed with 1xIS(2x) and 1xA314B(1X) on a lark. Then I was delayed several hours by a family matter. Since the weather was hot and I knew I’d be driving with the windows down for an hour, so I applied another spritz of A314B (My IS was running low). I ended up being delayed a few MORE hours before I finally arrived.

I was disappointed to find the doors locked and the lights off (I later learned that while my group is reasonably busy 24/7/365, their facility is much more sparsely used, especially on Saturday), but I did see a light on in one first floor window, so I tapped on it, hoping it was my contact.

It wasn’t, but the gentleman showed me around anyway, protesting all the while that he wasn’t authorized to give tours or demonstrate this or that piece of equipment. I didn’t press at all (we like to keep reasonable control at my place, too), but he kept going on his own initiative. I couldn’t have asked for more access.

After that we sat down and had a deep and fascinating discussion of his projects ranging over a wide range of technical fields (He’s a sharp guy! Fortunately, I shared many of his interests) Finally, I had to leave, and he had to get back to his projects. I suggested that we trade contact info, but while he gave me his, he refused to take mine, saying “I’d like to hear from you, but I’m not going to contact you. I don’t keep anyone’s contact info. I basically hate people. Seriously. It’s not the usual introversion or whatever. It’s different.” I hadn’t found him to be anything but cordial.

The next day I got an email from my contact apologizing that he hadn’t been around, and suggesting that we reschedule. I told him that there was no immediate need; that I’d gotten the quick look-see I needed (I didn’t want to mention the in-depth tour) and suggested some ideas for how we could work together. I mentioned my long fascinating discussion with (let’s call him) “R”. His response: “He TALKED with you? Wow!”

I suppose it’s not much of a story but it’s different than the usual reports of IOI, hits, displays of respect or instant temporary friendships. I’ve got plenty of those stories, too, but this interaction stood out as different.

Men's Journals Index
An Older Gay Male Perspective
2

Nice start to your journal Vanadium. Keep it up!

3

An incidental observation:

I’ve found that social pheromones at my conservative doses seem to do a lot toward decreasing family discord. Even my aged parents, with whom I’ve never gotten along particularly well (but who now live with me, due to ill health) have become much more pleasant and easy to get along with. Strangely, I have not been able to pin this to any particular phero. It seems that almost any of the pheromones I tried helped somewhat. It’s as if they hated my old phero signature, and any change was an improvement. (While others often described me as “the son [their] parents wish they’d had”, my own parents would have describe me as willful, contrary and otherwise unpleasant – classic familial scapegoating)

I think this is a significant effect, and would recommend that others with family strife [or a history of it] try it. I only use social pheros 2-3x a week, and my family is only exposed incidentally but it seems to have produced a lasting adjustment. Life quickly became much smoother when I began wearing pheros

Since I was a child, whenever I was headed somewhere, they’d suddenly become very demanding, as if to assure that I am late or derailed as I leave. That behavior has suddenly ended. My early experiment logs (Sept '13- Jan '14) recorded several incidents when I was driving them to an appointment or to visit a relative (being driven somewhere was another thing that very often set them off) and saw the classic indicators that they were about to start a fight, but then they suddenly seemed to change their minds.

I call it “an enduring adjustment” in their interaction because it persists even when I’m not wearing pheros [which is most days]. It’s so consistent that I’d forgotten how quarrelsome they still were just a year ago. I can’t think of any other change in our lives that could account for this, and according to my logs, the immediate effect in my earliest experiment (Liquid Trust oxytocin) was quite striking. I absolute DO NOT feel justified in reading too much into this (not 50+ years after my birth), but I do note that oxytocin has been implicated as a possible factor in parental bonding.

I never expected that my relationship with them would ever be so pleasant. Now that I recognize it, that unanticipated benefit alone would be reward enough for my experiments.

I haven’t seen this area discussed much. It does show up in some reports, but most “family use” reports focus on sexual pheros used to influence spouses/partners. My kids are grown (and we always got along great), but I wonder if socials might be useful in re-bonding with troubled teens/phases. Androtics does not recommend using pheros around children, but it’s a thought.

I’m sure others must have “incidental exposure” anecdotes involving their teens, especially in divorced families where a primary custodial parent is actively dating.

4

Looking back over my notes I see that I impulsively added a spritz of TUTH before a work-like situation or meeting about 5 times in 2014 (hadn’t realized it was so often).

Looking at the results, let me add my voice to the chorus crying “Don’t do that.”

I’m a little dismayed that I tried it so often. The temptation to do a random “WTF” spritz beyond your planned dose or to add a spritz of something new is strong, an it’s not necessarily a bad thing. You might make a serendipitous discovery IF you make a note of it and review several trials a few weeks later (I like to take notes the same day, but I wait a while before trying to draw too many conclusions from a test series) I clearly didn’t review the notes from those WTF trials or I’d have stopped after the third trial. I also worry that random unrecorded WTF spritzes of other pheros may have polluted my data a little bit.

I think I’ll store my current mix-of-the-week away from my other pheros, so I’m less tempted to impulsively do something “off the books”

5

Very interesting incident today.

I take two half-shifts a week working the front desk at a volunteer nonprofit, dealing with member issues, signing new members and giving tours. I’m a people person, so I really enjoy this (for 4 hours… beyond that I need a break) I particularly enjoy giving the tours, and because I’m enthusiastic/effusive, I’m told my tours are highly rated by people who take them. I often get called in for special groups (e.g. yesterday I was called in for a special tour for a major Cambridge business school)

Over the last week, I’ve set a baseline using a standard mix of 1-2 sprays A314, 2 sprays IS, 1-2 sprays IG while doing a) front desk duties, b) classroom instruction and c) administering practical skills testing.

Today, I began a test of the IG Variant Test Pack, substituting MX400 for the IG and adding 1 spray IH (I don’t dare wear 2 sprays IH until I learn to manage it; I have a tendency to be chatty as it is)

The tour went well, but afterward I positively could not get rid of them! Usually folks are tired and a little mind-blown after the tour (our facility is world-class), but they clustered around my desk and would not leave. All 8 (two pairs, a triple and one solo) stood around my desk transfixed.

I’ve given hundreds of tours, and it’s not uncommon for one or two people to just not want it to end (maybe they’re tired and can’t quite think straight) but I must’ve said at least 4 times “The tour is over, and I hope we’ll see you again, but since there are no more questions, I think we’ll have to break up now.” No dice. When I tried to move them toward the door, they’d scramble for just one more question to ask, like a kid who wants to keep you talking, so they don’t have to go to bed. This went on for 15-20 min! One asked when I’d personally be giving the tour again, so she could bring friends.

It was a little weird. This might be a good base mix to start your new cult.

Some displayed more talkative IH signs (? - I don’t have much experience with IH) but all seemed to be experiencing a super-IG “every word you say is gold” effect. I think it was MX400 plus the IH, not either alone.

The day as a whole was great day (it usually is), but I began to notice that some friend/colleagues began to respond unusually positively to me about 7-8 hours after application, when it should have been wearing off. I wonder if 2 sprays may have been too much. at around 6 hours, one woman (50s) snapped at me (out of character), but after I corrected a minor misunderstanding, she was instantly cheerful – literally singing a little tune under her breath.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with a similar mix?

It was striking but a bit unnerving. As far as self-effects went, I did feel a bit more energy during the day, increasing quite noticeably into the evening and night, which may confirm my suspicion that I’d do better with a lower dose. Another possibility is that today’s high heat, humidity and my sweat delayed release or transferred some into my clothes (casual knit shirt)

I may try only 1 spray each of A314, IS, MX400, IH tomorrow and the day after.

6

As planned, I cut yesterday’s dose in half. Similar but less freaky reaction. Had many displays of strong noteworthy nonsexual affection (e.g. out of the blue from very cute instructor I’ve spoken to maybe two minutes in six months since we met: “You’re my favorite” and “It was nice talking. Let’s do this more.”; people asking specifically to work with me; people saying they had to go or were already late (which I knew to be true) but lingering or even returning --more than once, in one case) Lots of obvious IOIs from younger females (late 20s-30s) I’ve been lightly flirting with for weeks or months (I’m not looking for romance right now). I was definitely “Prince of the Palace” all day and through the after-work in-house social event [alcohol served]. I’ve been a King in other settings; I prefer Prince

I don’t want to oversell this. A mix only enhances who you are and how well you can work it. This mix is very congruent with my natural style, current goals, and natural sig. I could see it as my new daily mix, but many experiments remain; I doubt I hit the bullseye in my first trial]. It seems effective at 1-spray, but leaves room to double and/or enhance it with other pheros for special situations/goals

I could see using this as a base for an attraction mix, were I looking for one. My style has always been “There will always be handsomer, more macho or mysterious guys. Be more fun to be with, and enough gals will always chose to be around you in the end.” It’s a life strategy: it’s fun for ME to have fun with others, and I somehow learned early how to convert that to the outcome I wanted a fair percentage of the time (you can’t win them all, or even most of them – nor would it work out well if you could)

Frankly, I’m curious to see what yesterdays 2x mix could do with a prominent sexual steering component. The more I think about it, the more this mix reminds me of my Junior/Senior years of high school, when I was cute in a Karate Kid way, and was surrounded by cute, admiring female friends and sharp, admirable male friends in several unconnected social circles. (When did my life get too serious for flings?)

I’m still hoping to hear if others achieved that same base reaction as I did, even if it’s not necessarily what they were looking for from an IG variant.

Per Androtics’ suggested protocol:

  • This mix has good silage and trail (better than IG), even though fans are being used in many areas, which could disrupt trails. It seemed to have good effects with long exposures at a range of 10m.
  • The effect strikes some quickly, but it’s hard to say whether it strikes others more slowly or just less obviously at first
  • The 2x mix was slightly too effective on some people up to 5hrs, but “in the groove” up to 8+ hours. 1x seemed to reach peak at 3-4 hours, showing milder but significant effects at 6-8 hours. I wonder if A314 was taking away from some effects (but adding others). It seemed to get friendlier around the time I’d expect A314 to decline
  • if IS is a 7, IG+IS is an 8. My current mix is a 9, but don’t assume 10 is a perfect score. It’s clear to me that “this dial goes to 11” [Spinal Tap] and beyond

Today was much drier and a bit cooler than the past week, so I can’t directly compare the temporal scent profile of today’s 1x with my recent 2-spray baseline. During the high humidity, I’d found the Neroli in my 2-spray baseline (a total of 6-7 sprays, adding up all components) to cling close to me, pop up obtrusively at random moments over the next 4-8 hours (i.e. I’d sudden noticed a brief whiff) and stick around after I undressed – even well after I got home, working shirtless at my computer.

Whether due to cutting the dose to 1x, or the less oppressive humidity, I couldn’t smell that I was wearing anything at all, even without my usual cover cologne, but had striking effects, suggesting that there’s room for ‘amping up’ this mix in specific situations. It also makes me suspect that many enthusiasts use too much in over-complex mixes. 6-7 total sprays may be heavy, given that my early experiments showed clear impact from 2-3 sprays (total) of 1-2 Instant mixes. (This result may reflect that my personal sig is unusually strong or that I developed an unusually good “behavioral fit” to it early on. Either hypothesis would fit my prior life experience. I assume my natural sig is strong, because I’ve always experienced distinct possible OD incidents or ongoing circumstances periods in my life even without any additives).

I’ll probably do a separate entry (or thread) on overly complex mixes at some point.

As a scientist, I must say “if Androtics/pheros are just placebo, (a hypothesis no scientist should ever discount) I’ve been completely taken in. My observations seem strikingly positive!”

I’ll probably continue this run (1-spray each using MX400 ) through the weekend, Take a Break Monday, then start my first series with MX401 (or MX402 ) on Tuesday (unless my meeting/etc schedule changes) I wonder what they’re like?

7

Here are my application points.

I apply A314/status hormones to the back of the head/neck in decent weather (not when I’ll be sweating in/to/from the car) or behind the ears – in the soft recess between the back of the external ear and the big bony prominence of the mastoid process above/behind the TMJ (temporomandibular joint). I don’t have a clear choice in hot humid weather.

I often apply a “soft social” (like IS) either behind the ears or over the carotid in the front of the neck. These two sites are related: skin oils from behind the ears tend to slide down the neck, and are guided by the bulge of the SCM (sternocleidomastoid muscle) over the area of the carotid. I DON’T apply pheros at the “jugular notch” (bony notch at the top of the sternum or chest bone) as some people do. That’s a very cold (slow release) spot: the room-air-carrying trachea just under the surface constantly cools it below body temp. I might use it if I wanted a slowed release, but I haven’t tried that.

To minimize self effects (IH) or allow instant control (vivid hand gestures reportedly release a little kick into the air), I apply my most “outward facing” socials to either what people wrongly call the “wrist” (below the the external crease between the visible hand and forearm) or the back of the hand. The inner “wrist” is warmer (per IR photography) and may release faster, but that also means pheros should wear off faster if applied there. The back of the hand has the same air-spread control, but is cooler/slower, and more susceptible to being removed by external factors (hand-washing, reaching into pockets, etc.).

[Note: the anatomical wrist is actually a cluster of bones in what most people would call the “base of the palm of the hand” (near the level of the base of the thumb). The area commonly called the “wrist” (below the hand/forearm crease, at the level of the radial pulse-point) is pure forearm. Just feel the bones! I too call this “the wrist” in colloquial speech, but you’d be amazed how many carpal tunnel patients never get the anatomical truth properly explained to them, and do things that aggravate their condition]

I’ve had good experiences wearing certain pheros or raw biological musks just in or below an opened collar for slower/longer release, but others say it impedes diffusion too much for them, in their preferred settings.

I have used a drop of a no-longer-allowed-in-perfume single ingredient (bought from a scent house) inside the back of of my folded-down collar on outerwear. Since it is an undiluted ingredient, worn away from the skin, it lasts a week or more (and longer after repeated applications). I’ve received many compliments on this “characteristic personal scent” and since it’s inside the collar itself, I never have to think about applying it. No I won’t tell you what it is (that’s my secret) but maybe you’ll find your own that works well when applied this way. I have a friend who uses civiet musk sold as a hunting trap lure, but he’s very good-looking. so I can’t be sure if they’re responsible of his success (or if they’re self-effects)

Crazy Science Time
I’m fully willing to accept that the following may be a mistaken interpretation, a personal anatomical quirk, or simply a nutty belief.

I believe I’ve seen good evidence that many people have a tiny pheromone-exuding gland/duct at the junction of the external pinna and the facial skin behind it. I believe there’s a gland there because I’ve seen a 2mm calcified nodule in exactly that spot on many men. I was surprised when I developed a tiny white hard cyst-like nodule there myself around age 37. At one point, I picked at it repeatedly (bad habit) and it always recurred. It has since healed with (apparently) a slightly enlarged duct (not visible) from which I can “express” (squeeze out with finger pressure) a 2mm blob of clean sebaceous 'cream" (like hair cream or thin toothpaste) every two days. It’s very clearly not pus (I’ve looked at it under a microscope), doesn’t have an obvious smell, and produces at a very consistent amount (hence I specified “every 2 days”–squeezed daily, there isn’t enough to come out well). It may sound gross, but I have squeezed it out and spread it along my jawline as an emergency pheromone top-off to fairly good effect. As a physician, I know what “the gross stuff” looks like all too well! This looks more like some waxy musks or mammalian sebaceous product.

This might well explain a few things about my strong personal signature. In the 15 years since I picked at it, it’s become consistent and always “clean”. I vaguely wonder if massaging it regularly stimulated it. I certainly feel like my pheromones have stabilized and even increased somewhat in the 15 years since I was 37, when pheromones typically decrease.

I don’t know what use this info would be, unless you have a painless 2-3mm calcified white nodule behind your ear (I’ve seen several guys in their mid-30s who do). I’m not even sure what I could advise you to do if you DO have such a nodule: I can’t recommend you pick at it – suppose it got infected or healed shut? I feel professionally obligated to have you get it checked for pathology, but if there is a gland there, I guarantee, it isn’t in any of the standard anatomy references, so your doc won’t be able to recognize it as a pheromone gland. Personally, I DEFINITELY wouldn’t get it excised “just to be safe” – I can think of no medical reason to do so, and wouldn’t want to risk losing the gland. But I’m not your doctor.

I also don’t know what this gland/duct might look like when it isn’t a calcified cyst. I’ve looked at that spot on thousands of men during routine physicals (checking for melanomas, etc.) , and rarely saw ANY possibly noteworthy feature. certainly no visible duct

8

Sorry to have been away so long. I’ve been repeating and refining certain mixes to clarify the effects of individual social mixes/putatives. That takes time. I don’t consider a result worth reporting unless it was “outrageous” and replicated on the next exposure or (more often) “striking” and replicated in two CONSECUTIVE trials AFTER the original observation. (For those trained in formal experimental design: my design criterion was two out of three consecutive follow-up trials. I may still accept that in the future, but I haven’t needed to: all my tests to date succeeded on both of the next two trials)

However, those results must wait until the weekend. I have something more universal to discuss: “generally increased head-turning” hits.

When I was a teen in the 1970s, just beginning to experience what I now believe may be an unusually strong personal phero sig, I did a simple test. As my parents drove down a “main street” into Boston, I “willed” all pedestrians to look at me. (New England has many roads that run from town center to town center, so we drove one road through several towns to reach Boston/Cambridge)

About half (or more) turned to watch us. Even if I was in the back seat. Remember being a sullen teenager riding with your parents? You slunk down a bit and didn’t try to stand out

Having often been a pedestrian on that road, I found my results shockingly positive result. I rarely turned MY head to look at a passing car --there were simply too many passing cars-- yet when I counted, it seemed that MOST usually did turn. Our cars were not striking. They were mainstream, and maybe a little older than average, but didn’t have any exhaust leaks or make unusual sounds.

I was never handsome. I was socially popular to the consternation of my friends, but I was at best “kinda cute” --a swarthy ChaChi (Happy Days), Ralph Macchio (Karate Kid) or a shorter, darker Tony Danza. As a friend said, on learning that a mutual female friend had had a crush on me for years: “Look, I can imagine a girl loving you but a CRUSH? No way!”

I doubt my naive teen notions of possible telepathic links carry any weight, or that pheromones can shoot from a back seat through closed windows in front of a car traveling 30-40 mph to provoke a head turn and swivel-track starting 50-100 feet away, so I can only conclude that if you look for head-turns, you’ll see a lot more than you’d imagine possible by chance. I weigh reports of pheromonic head-turning accordingly.

There may be something going on, but I doubt it’s pheromones.

(Incidentally, haven’t tried to replicate this experiment by “willing” people to look since my teens, but I haven’t noted that same head-turning in my adult life, even when I have an attention-grabbingly loud muffler etc., as in the last two weeks [my mechanic is on vacation])

I say that purely in the interest of science. I won’t report a pheromone response unless it’s a LOT stronger and more specific than vague head turning (but I won’t judge anyone who does: it’s just weaker data)

What’s stronger? How about a very attractive 20-something cupping her breasts and sticking them toward me saying “My hair was this long” while telling a story about hairstyles in a group. (I laughed, repeated her gesture and said “don’t do that”. We all doubled over in laughter that left us squeaking, barely able to breathe, and I know it’ll be a running joke for weeks/months). Even more overtly sexualized gestures are common with my social mixes, even with girls half my age. Pheromones hit hard!

I’m saying this so people can weigh reports better. I see see positive hits almost daily that are a lot stronger than “increased general head-turning”, and I’m in my 50s, a bit heavy, with a bald-shaven head

BTW, I welcome responses. I see this as a dialogue, not a monologue, and any insights or related experiences you my have can help/guide me.

9

Brilliant and very scientific - bravo sir

10

Okay, I’m back. Again, sorry for the absence but I’ve been conducting a lot of blinded A/B trials, which take many days of testing to get enough combos.

Also, I hit a plateau where “nothing seemed to be happening”. However, the A/B testing revealed that I’d been experiencing unmistakeable effects.

I’ll try to report some striking incidents later, but I want to get this posted

Here’s how I do A/B testing:

  1. I remove the labels from a to-go (I have some compatible empties)
  2. I mix ~1/8 TOGO of my comparison A and B pheros with a cover scent and put the same total volume of plain cover scent in a third tube
  3. I label the spray caps with the test# [e.g. to compare IG vs A314, I may label them both “Z”) and the bottom of the spray with the actual identity
  4. I put my current options in a container wide enough to give them room to move, but not tip over (sadly, my free TAC in my first shipment leaked before I could test it, so I’m cautious about storage) and shake it enough that I’m not sure which spray is which
  5. Each test day, I put the sprays I pulled in a separate container after application, but don’t read the bottoms until I return home
  6. Though it increases the combinatorial possibilities, I often had 2 tests going at once, e.g.: [1xA314B vs 2x A314B vs placebo] PLUS [MX400 vs MX402 vs placebo] for a total of 9 possible combos

I applied these with IS (because I like it) and sometimes added an unblinded test (MX403, which seems to act like IO + IH). I’d have blinded MX403 (vs placebo), but that would have taken me twice as long to have any reportable results [that would be October!] and I wanted to have some results to report before Androtics gave up on me.

Here are some of the more apparent results of this round of testing:

  • For me, 2x A314b is too high status; 1xA314b is strikingly friendlier
  • Less is more for me: I’ve settled on a base mix of 1x IS/A314b/IG with additions (MX403, TUTH, etc.) in specific situations
  • For months, I’d used Jovan Musk aftershave as a cover (as homage to my first phero, Jovan Andron) but I found Jovan Musk cologne on eBay in July, which I used to get a longer-lived scent. MISTAKE. The cologne seems to use a fixative which “pins down” both the pheros and the cologne scent for 3-4 hours before the release ramps up. This may have some strategic use in rare cases, but it was really annoying in my test sessions. Besides, I liked the aftershave much better and it kept “enough” scent up to 8 hrs. Maybe my “cologne” version was a cheap refill by an eBay swindler?
  • Reviewing my old (pre-Androtics) winter notes, I note I got much better results from Liquid Trust (LoveScent oxytocin) when I put 1 drop Moss Oak extract under my jacket collar (lasts all week), I will try MO extract with Androtics in winter if I can find my MO bottle
  • It seems that civet musk extract plus MO was better than MO alone, last winter, but I didn’t record enough trials to say for sure – but hey, the crisp cool fall comes early here in Cambridge, MA, the winter is long, and grad students are fair game…
  • more to come (I don’t have that summary sheet with me right now)

You’re probably asking yourself why I felt I hit a plateau where nothing seemed to be happening. It seems to be several factors:

  • My logs suggest that I WAS getting phero effect, but had come to accept it as a baseline.
  • 2 sprays A314b made me seem too unapproachable. Pure respect is boring
  • The fixative in MY “cologne” (if genuine) reduced/delayed the effect
  • I’ve probably come close to maxing out my target effect in my chosen test setting. As I explained up front, I was going for social and approachable, not sexual, in a “safe” volunteer setting (not work, hence little chance of real backlash). I’ve had people suggest that I should throw my hat into the upcoming Board of Directors selection (I don’t want to commit to that position) I can’t think of any greater effect I could realistically aim for.
  • I’d dismissed a LOT of blatant responses from mid-20s to early 30s females. They are hot (and smart, even more of a turn on), but I have a stepdaughter that age, and most those young ladies have BFs/husbands. I’m not looking to seduce/romance them (nor am I convinced that they really want that) so I’m just enjoying the heavily flirty friendships. I hadn’t noted those as hits because I used to have a LOT of those (most of my friends were female), but I now realize that I haven’t had nearly this many of those for 10-15 years, so I guess they are hits!
  • Guys are culturally trained early on to take note of sexual responses (unless they are just oblivious, as many are), But I’ve been actively dissuading those, which skewed my scoring. On a pure social/status level, I’m pretty much pegging the needle in this group

I’m tempted to get some sexuals for special events, to see what happens. One one hand, I’m confident I won’t do anything foolish, but on the other hand, I learned as a teen that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. THEY are trained that they should be the gatekeepers, and often respond poorly if a guy rebuffs their offer. I’d rather keep them as friends. I think I’ll expand my testing to other parts of my life. I’ve learned almost all I can (without causing trouble) in this group.

This is getting too long. More to come later.

11

I do the same basic thing sometimes with molecules. As you know, if a blind substance stands up in a large enough sample–if it actually gets results better than plain fragrance and chance odds–it is a winner. This is really the ultimate goal here. There are too many product anecdotes. They are probitive of nothing. Because it costs too much for the smaller sites to do blind testing. Eventually, the public will demand statistical proof.

Test AMMO against plain -enone in FF21. How many could tell. Does it actually work better or worse than AMMO in a sample of 100? It is expensive. However, you can release the study and say you have actual test proof a product works better than plain cologne. Right now, only SOE uses science studies. And they do have the proof. The basic science literacy in this country is something AAAS needs to address. This whole industry is built on anecdotes. Really, every single damn pheromone spray ought to be tested in a sample of 100. Only those with 60/100 results (direct physical contact, etc.) ought to go to market.

I like reading reports like this. I swear though, if I have to read another damn thread about such-and-such pheromone combo stack, I will barf. There are too many products. We need about 50 proven colognes/perfumes. The stuff that does not test out, it can go away.

12

I agree about mix reports. While I have found some to be interesting food for thought, they are prone to be too individual (at least for my personal phero signature) and likely to increase bandwagon effects/reports.

While I do report my mixes (otherwise I might as well be talking cookie recipes), I’m more interested in methodology to improve both reports and personal investigations. Unfortunately, this takes time. Next week will be the first anniversary of my return to pheros after many years (I began with another vendor), and I feel like I’ve barely established a proper baseline for observations/reactions. I can’t imagine how long it would take me to explore the dozens of AD putatives in some people’s kits. I expect it to go faster now that I have the baselines and will be exploring more mixes in more settings, but I’m just not inclined to jump to conclusions based on 1-3 tests [though hit reports are always fun to read]

With that out of the way, let’s handle some of the backlog from July/Aug.

RATIOS
I’m not sure what to make of reports involving varying ratios of IO+IH. According to the official thread, IO is 70% alpha Androstenol + 30% beta Androstenol, while IH is the opposite ratio, so 1xIO+1xIH = 2xCTTM which is 50/50 alpha/beta (see Chapter 2) but didn’t get the same raves. Further, mixing 30/70 and 70/30 will only yield micro-fine tuning (reverse the ratios below for IH/IO)

  • 1:1 IO/IH =50/50 alpha/beta Androstenol ratio
  • 3:2 IO/IH =54/46 alpha/beta Androstenol ratio
  • 2:1 IO/IH =56.7/43.3 alpha/beta Androstenol ratio
  • 3:1 IO/IH =60/40 alpha/beta Androstenol ratio

I don’t imagine too many folks are going past 3:1 (4 sprays total) before adding the rest of their mix. Maybe adjusting a mix by a few percent really does make a difference, but that could only be highly individual and any benefit would be diluted by the environment (not just your pheros, but those around you, air movement, temperature, humidity etc.)

I mention this, not to criticize, but to help others decide what experiments are worth doing. After the above analysis, I decided not to focus on ratios as much in pre-mixed sprays. With unmixed putatives (100% single ingredient), 1:3 vs 3:1 = 25/75 vs 75/25 (a broad range) but with IO/IH, you’d only be hitting 50% +/-10%

PHEROS ARE SIMILAR TO SMELL, WHICH IS KEY TO TASTE
I could counter-argue that pheros share a great deal with smell and taste, where small adjustments make a big difference, but I don’t think that’s a good analogy. Our cuisine became more precise as grew able to control the cooking/serving environment more precisely (You could use the same spice rub as a barbeque master and still never approach his results, because he fine-tunes for every detail of the competition setting, including transient weather) Our situation, wearing pheros in the Wide World, seems more like adjusting the percentages of flowers in a garden to improve the fragrance in the breeze. Good luck dealing with changing local conditions! Me, I’d rather try new flowers vs fine-tuning the ratios.

I do think that cooking is a good analogy in other ways. Too little salt makes a dish bland but too much makes it inedible. People vary widely in preferences, and different dishes have different needs. The salty shock that is delicious in vinegar potato chips would ruin scrambled eggs. I’ve read a few reports by people who aren’t really into science and math (which is fine) but we have many concrete examples in daily life (including mixing concrete itself) that may help them design their tests.

  • Details matter, but solid fundamentals matter MUCH more
  • de gustibus non est disputandum (there’s no arguing personal taste)
  • Using the same golf clubs won’t make you the equal of Tiger Woods
  • Presentation can greatly affect how a dish is enjoyed
  • A few good ingredients, simply but expertly prepared, can be a great dish. Sometimes adding more ingredients isn’t worth it
  • etc.

All I’m saying is: don’t let the stuff you don’t understand mystify you. You know everything you need to craft great tests, if you think it through.

For example, though I’ve been working with fairly conventional mixes, I think 4 ingredients is a bit much (especially when each ingredient is itself a mix). In September/October I’ll be looking at simpler bases (for different situations), so I can better observe/explore how various P/MX sprays steer them. If you want to learn what a molecule can teach you, you have to be able to hear it. Giving a professor a podium can showcase his strengths or weaknesses, but not if he has to wrestle with complex AV controls!

Getting long again. More later

13

50/50 alpha/beta nol is quite effective. 25 mcg of each is about optimum. It begins to get hysterical and silly beyond that. Like people high on weed and nitrous oxide.

14

Thanks for that info. Though I did a lot of forum reading toward the end of last year, I tried not to read so much that I’d bias my results. I guess I missed the raves about CTTM(2). I’m not surprised. I’ve always found it easy to get people to open up to me, so I wouldn’t have researched that. (My mix tests suggest that I’m naturally strong in a-nol, I may try experimenting with adding pure b-nol to confirm)

That could help explain my experiences with “Instant Cult”, which is really not that unusual a mix, and probably wouldn’t give such a strong result for most guys.

I had an interesting response today. Monday and Tuesdays are usually phero vacation days for me, but a friend called me over to help with an errand that might get grimy, so I grabbed a shirt out of the laundry pile. As I pulled it over my head, I got a good whiff of the Instant Cult variant I tested Wednesday (I consider IC a mere novelty, I don’t wear it, but it was over 90F on Wednesday after a fairly cool August, so I took the opportunity to double-check a very unusual hit I had in July)

Apparently I’d been sweating hard enough to wash a lot of it directly into my shirt. I hadn’t notice because the place had been too empty to make many observations: the end of academic summer seems to impact almost everyone in Cambridge somehow.

Eluted by my sweat and left in a hamper for 4 days, the balance was obviously completely off, but on my way home from my friends, I did some shopping and noticed a pattern from 5 people in three stores. They’d unmistakeably scowl at me (made me worry) from 3-5 meters away, but would then start smiling “crazy wide” (a term I’ll explain) within 30 seconds if circumstances put us within 1-3m

This is easy to explain, of course, but it was funny. It also affected store personnel (the always-friendly deli guy never got in ‘happy range’ because of the glass counter between us, and scowled at me as he served 4 earlier customers and me, which I’ve never known him to do in all these years) and other customers in my checkout line.

To explain “smiling crazy wide”, I should explain the incident I was trying to replicate: I’d been working the front desk when a cute redhead (early-mid 20s) came in to make some inquiries. I told her I’d be leading a scheduled tour soon, so she ran out to grab her boyfriend from the establishment next door.

She said he’d be the one who’d really be interested in our facility, so I focused more on him (while taking care, as one does on a tour, to give due attention to both), but in 5-10 minutes, she was “cutting him off” – not just interrupting him, but physically interposing herself so he was hidden behind her and I could only see her.

Then around 15 min into the tour, she asked where the nearest restrooms were. He and I chatted while we waited for her to return, and when she did, it was a full-court press: she did all the IOIs we all know so well, including arching her back so much that her knit top exposed a lot of her midriff and throwing her redhair around like a Hollywood sex symbol. This struck me as odd, as she’d struck me as conservatively dressed and coiffed when I first saw her, but now she was in full-on vamp mode. From that point on, I felt bad fo her boyfriend. Not only was she strutting her stuff for a stranger right in front of him (and quite effectively, I might add: I may not be in the market for 20-somethings, but I’d have had to be dead not to be impressed) but she wouldn’t let him get a word in. She was constantly talking about HER plans for using our facilities, though she’d originally been inquiring for him.

And she was smiling so hard that she looked mentally unhinged. Despite her age, I might have been tempted except for the clanging of my internal “crazy girl” alarms.

Tisha listed “smiling with her lower lip” as a classic IOI. I’m not sure what that means, but I’ve had a few girls smile so hard with their upper lip that they give themselves ‘horse teeth’ (if that means anything to people who’ve never had horses)

It was only later that I put it together. While in the restroom, she’d taken off her light overshirt and draped it over her arm, untucked the knit top under it to expose her midriff, and fluffed up her hair – and I assure you, I’d have noticed that hair if it had looked that way when she walked in. I’ve admired it since [the equally red-headed] Brenda Starr wore it in a comic strip seduction when I was a kid.

It seemed like a LOT of conscious work to impress a guy who could be your dad. I never saw them again, which is a bit unusual – people who are impressed by the tour usually swing by a few more times, and often join. I imagine she (and/or her boyfriend) might have found her behavior embarrassing on reflection.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t written down my exact mix that morning, but I thought I had a good guess. Wednesday, there was no one around to test it on, but what remained on my shirt today was still enough to cause at least one horse-toothed crazy smile – not even smiling at me, just looking vacantly off into space.

15

I wanted to clarify my reasons for using the double blind system above. It may not be the best way to find a working use mix, but it gives better data.

In my case, I was spending much of the last two months trying to work out the exact difference between the sprays in the IG variant pack (They are very different). As it turned out, the randomizing bit me in the butt. I drew far fewer samples of MX402 than MX400, and drew 402 much more on hot/humid days (we had an lot of warm comfortable days this Aug) I’ll finish pinning them down in Oct, when conditions are more consistent. Moral: random is random, and that’s not always convenient.

Also, since I set each day’s draw aside until that evening (immediately looking to see what I had applied would have eliminated one big benefit of double blinding), I sometimes forgot to record which variant I had used until I was rushing out the door the next day – in which case, I was more likely to just look at it and “remember” as I tossed it back in the randomizing jar. A number of days ended up not being recorded (Hey! Maybe I got an equal draw of 403 but it just makes my memory worse? j/k – but it’s a thought to test) Moral: when you see a mistake, fix your system to avoid it. Don’t wait 6 weeks, like me!

As for my last report, it had a moral too. I’ll expand on this later, but it basically illustrated the very real effects of unbalancing a mix (Good thing, too-- I was about to place an order containing dilutents) In this case, the ingredients of the mix probably eluted differently into my shirt and then “decayed” or defused away at different rates, but I could easily have unbalanced the mix by blindly adding them to a perfectly good solvent like DPG or perfumers alcohol. When you dilute a mix, you’re diluting each of its pheros and each non-phero constituent independently. If there is a stabilizing or ‘lifting’ ingredient, it may now be too dilute to be effective; if there is a mix of solvents to make all the pheros diffuse at the same rate, you may throw that off, so they diffuse at different rates. Etc.

Moral: diluting single pheros (e.g. Putatives) is usually fine, but diluting consumer mixes should be followed by careful observation for changes. Many may enjoy such experiments (it may improve a mix for you), but this was a good reminder that this kind of complication wasn’t a good experiment for my tastes. It might be more worthwhile when I’ve settled on a few well-familiar effective personal mixes.

In this case, there was a distinct change in the effective distances (likely due to differential diffusion) resulting in “rings of effect”. The outer ring was striking to me because people don’t scowl at me very often. It might be hard to get a gal close when you’re annoying her 10-15 ft away!

16

Well, today was a vote for Henry David Thoreau’s “simplify, simplify”

MX402 behind the ears and some IS on the outer forearms. The result? well, it might have been coincidence, but it definitely wasn’t placebo. I’d hardly settled at my desk and fired off my first email of the day when people, including some I don’t frequently talk to, began clustering around to chat. Lots of approval seeking, etc.

I did note that a few people, of both genders, were less friendly than when I wear A314 (but were still friendly)

It was a long day capped by an evening meeting. I didn’t get home until after midnight. I topped off with IS before the evening meeting, because IS doesn’t last as long, but it really didn’t seem to do much. [This could also have been due to the meeting setting/format] When we got back to the office after the meeting, folks seemed very social again before they started to trickle home.

MORAL: trying things alone or in simple combos sometimes sounds boring, but it’s definitely worth getting back in touch with their [nearly] solo effects, especially with pre-mixed sprays. MXs/Consumer mixes are not as simple as Ps. Adding ingredients risks muddying something

17

For 4 days (Thurs-Mon, one office day, a weekend evening event and two days running errands) I wore 2 sprays each of IS and MX403 (a “reporter test” mix) to assess MX403 more carefully. Normally, it does almost nothing for me, and even mutes some other sprays, like A314. That was exactly my result this weekend. There may have been a little added respect, but well within my normal range without pheros. I’d done better with 2 spr IS alone.

I’m not dissing the mix. It’s just not for me, and I think I know specifically why. I hope to confirm or refute my hypothesis when my order comes in. (I didn’t realize one of my other sprays would be a custom prep that may delay the whole order) If I’m right I may be able to pep MX403 up to complement my personal phero sig.

18

Today was 2 sprays each of MX402 (a current personal favorite, very different from MX403, above), IS and IH, in the morning. Refreshed with 2 spr IH at 6 hours.

All I can say is: I wish I were seeking 20-somethings. I’d be a very happy man. But I’ll be 70 as they hit their late 30s/early 40s sexual peak. I’d never survive that and I don’t have a death wish. (YMMV with this mix. As I’ve noted, I seem to have a strong distinctive natural sig)

One very nice 7.5/10 (8 is “quite striking”; 9 “intimidating” and 10 “completely scary”) had a (natural?) phero mix that I found unusually friendly, compatible and appealing. It wasn’t anything torrid, but I wanted to touch her, and vice versa, so we did. (Why not?) Fun girl. I guess I could use more young female social friends to keep me young.

To anyone who says “I’m okay, Jack; it’s just that pheros don’t work”, I can only say. “I bet you’re right. It’s not you. If you need me, I’ll be over there with those girls.”

I just got a nice big shipment of yet untested (by me) pheros that should keep me busy testing until 2015, at least. Now THAT is intimidating. How do those of you with enormous accumulated phero libraries manage all that testing?

Never mind. I don’t want to know. As I said, I don’t have a death wish.

19

It turns out my new order had come in yesterday, so I began my test series with beta -nol, on the hypothesis that it would really suit my sig.

Around lunch, I realized with a shock (wrongly) that I had a special target-rich event this evening (it turns out I was thinking of the wrong week). I decided to go against my preference of trying simple tests first, because a simple beta-nol test wouldn’t have suited this event

I applied a cologne sample I had in my desk, but something must have gone horribly wrong with it. It wasn’t like the real cologne. I tried to scrub it off in the washroom and apply Bulgari Man. Even that wasn’t particularly great, but adequate. I didn’t have any other formal evening cologne on hand.

Around 3 pm I applied 2 sprays each of MX297, 12.5mg betanol (25 mg total) and on a whim two sprays of Ammo. I applied early (mostly to my forearms, then wiped to the back of my neck) because I hadn’t tried any of these before, and was working from a consensus of mix reports (which had used IS, IH, or some other Instant instead of betanol). After my fragrance debacle, I wanted to be able to wash them off more easily if the aroma was terrible. I needn’t have worried. The mones turned the distressingly strong remaining stench of the first cologne, and the disappointing attempt at coverup into something quite nice!

At work, everyone was suddenly unusually nice (they’re very nice people, but this was “a different kind of nice”), even those who have been neutral or slightly negative earlier in the day, and/or who had previously shown multiple neutral or slightly negative reactions to A314 or IG. If this bears out, this could be my new work jam (minus the Ammo – I don’t need THOSE complications!)

For no apparent reason, traffic was unusually heavy, and folks were driving like maniacs: doing 70+ and swapping lanes on the highway and failing to read the traffic even two cars ahead of them in the city. I’ve always been a fairly sedate driver, who hangs back a bit to let the idiots work out their issues. That didn’t really change today, but I noticed that I was reading the cars much further ahead than usual, which let me effortlessly and calmly shave 5 min off what is consistently a 35 min drive in normal conditions. I’ve noted that mones can affect my driving, and may improve it. I hesitate to say that conclusively: every idiot thinks they’re above average, esp. when they’re driving like LeMans and scaring their passengers. I assume that I, too, might mislead myself, but I surely FELT like I was driving smoother, but more efficiently through a better anticipation of patterns in how the other cars were moving

You’d never know this from my reports, but I’ve always been known as a very funny guy in person. Tonight, I was “on” all night. Not the usual “on” of a good evening when the wisecracks click, but a pure perfect “on” – the kind that doesn’t happen often, maybe not even once a year.

I don’t want to spell out every hit or notable incident. I’ll just summarize.

I’ll try doing this in the MX/Putative format

Silage: hard to judge. Indoor diffusion seemed more spherical than trail-like, but circumstances in various areas of the venue may have made it hard to discern silage accurately. Seemed to work outdoors, where it seemed to have a ‘downwind range’ of 5 meters or more (vy light wind)

Length of effects: it’s been 10 hours and I think I can still discern it myself

Tenacity: Some clear social/status impact within seconds, but seemed to take a few minutes to full impact, even up close. I wasn’t looking for sexual hits, but I did meet a few women in my target range (35-50) who seemed interested enough that I could have worked with it, had I been so inclined (two spontaneously gave me contact info, saying they’d like to assist programs I’m working in – but couldn’t say how they could help) but I can’t call them sexual hits and can’t assess the sexual impact. I can only say that I’ve definitely seen stronger sexual impact, but I’ll definitely take the results I got. I had a strong sense that they’ll remember me. Males/females I’ve hardly talked to made a point of approaching/engaging

If this mix were a song, it might be "Everybody Loves Me, Baby " by Don McLean lyrics
(I was introduced to that song by a friend 30 years ago. He said it reminded him of my style at parties in high school/college. It wasn’t entirely a compliment. I’d more than once unwittingly antagonized, and then later walked off with a girl he’d silently had his heart set on. I never understood why he was so silent. If I couldn’t tell after knowing him for a decade, how could she? Of course, that was his point: he would be mortified if a girl knew, unless/until she clearly reciprocated first–which simply doesn’t happen that often)

If this mix had a texture, it would be smooth, yielding, and slightly slippery/moist like a bed of silicone whose surface you could sink ‘through’

If this mix had a flavor, it would be slightly fruity (Neroli w/ hint of berry)

If this mix were a celebrity it might be a 35 yo Wil Smith (by all accounts a decent caring charming guy, but also a comedian/singer) with a George Carlin/Robin Williams frosting – very funny, nonconfrontationally sarcastic

20

Back to make an anecdotal report:

This weekend was the annual Thanksgiving dinner for a nonprofit where I used to volunteer. (The regular volunteers include a lot of academics/graduate students, so we always schedule it to precede that actual Thanksgiving vacation week). I haven’t been active there in the past year, due to outside demands, but I’ve been intending to be more active again.

My base mix is roughly 2 sprays IG + 1 spray IS, split between neck and throat (I have to be careful about sexuals and OD risk, because my natural pheros have always run high. I like socials to add a little polish) but since I was returning after a long absence, I planned to make it 3 IG + 2 IS to create a stronger reminder/impression. My intent was to remind the core crowd who I was, not impress anyone new, so I didn’t add any non-base pheros.

However, after cooking several turkeys+fixin’s (I’m known there as an avid cook), all I could smell on myself was “turkey dinner OD”, so I impetuously (a trait I have had to fight in all my years of phero experiments) applied a second 3 IG + 2 IS.

I wish you could have seen the results among young technical women (recent graduates of architectural, law, engineering, medical science, etc. graduate programs – no MDs, but I’d have been shocked if they didn’t stay home to sleep on any evening off. Been there. Done that. Got the clinical coat.)

I’m twice their age (and look it), and I did nothing to encourage them, because mid-late 20s isn’t my target range, but it was funny how they bordered on Quite Inappropriate, even with their boyfriends right there in the conversation. Some acted like they were drunk (they weren’t: we only had a limited supply of “seasonal” adult beverages) or high (which I couldn’t verify, but I didn’t see any over physiologic signs) or even borderline crazy (which is always possible, but they were generally pleasant). Not flirting–more like “I must hit on him. Wait, what am I doing?”

The reactions among the “regulars”, who already knew me well (as I knew them), seemed more “overwhelmed” [mild OD].

Overall, I wouldn’t call my double-dosing of an already heavy dose a striking success (it wasn’t meant to be anything special), but the response would certainly have answered any questions a newcomer might have about “does this stuff work”. Younger users might find “higher” [than usually suggested] doses of IG+IS surprisingly useful, along with a spray or two of a strong sexual to steer them.

Basically, I’d describe it as “Well, you’ve surely got their attention, now what are you going to do with that (or they with you)?”