Ok, everyone, this will be my first review here. I started writing it nearly a year ago and thankfully I had all experiences written down. Now I just went over it a bit and changed a few things since I have been using other pheromone products for the last year and can benifit from the experience.
This review is a bit longer than most of the others, but I enjoy writing and I hope you enjoy reading it.
![Give rose Give rose](/images/smilies/give_rose.gif)
I also get to practice my English a bit which I haven't been doing nearly enough for quite a while now.
I bought MAG because of the reviews on a different site. I know now that this was not a site that should be blindly trusted but they also tested Aqua Vitae and Alpha Maschio and both were in the top 5 at the time. It was said that MAG was not a discreet instrument but a sledge hammer where one spray is really enough (2 can already cause an OD). I was pretty much a beginner at the time, so I didn't really know what to expect. The price was a bit steep but because the review said it was very alpha (and thus exactly what I needed) and even usable for a beginner, I thought what the heck. The very high shipping price of 30 USD made me order two bottles at once. All in all I paid 144 USD via PayPal. With what I read on said website, my expectations were high if a bit fuzzy.
One more thing concerning the price: MAG comes in a 0.46Fl Oz bottle. If I assume the US version of that unit, we would be talking about 13.6ml here - at a price of $69.65 (which is claimed to be a discount price, $99.50 is the regular price). Two bottles cost $112, which is 27.2ml or 0.92Fl Oz. As a comparison: Liquid Alchemy Labs sell Aqua Vitae at $67.97 for 30ml (which is just over a full ounce). The new Overdose costs just under $100 for 50ml. Most good products (colognes) I have seen up to now range about the same as AV does. MAG is pretty much an exception.
The parcel got to Germany pretty quickly and the tracking was really good. I'm not sure if I'd really want to pay that much just for the tracking, but if it's there, I thought, go ahead an use it. Another matter was the custom's declaration which said "commercial sample". In principle a really good idea (because usually it means you don't have to pay any customs), but if the customer doesn't know that he is recieving a "sample" and the parcel is caught up in customs until you present a bill or something, that piece of missing information costs you - in my case a little under 20 EUR[1]. I did get to see the parcel before paying the customs but that didn't help because the declaration was printed in a really tiny font - I missed it at the custom's office and it's quite possible that the people processing the parcel missed it too. If you ever buy something from Luv Essentials, go to the custom's office armed with a magnifying glass.
The first time I tried the stuff I was a little unhappy with the sprayer. The formula is oil-based (which is not a bad thing) and the sprayer is pretty hard to dose and aim. The first spray missed my neck and went right onto the collar of my shirt where is left a nice stain. Shit happens, I guess. I put on another shirt and had another go. This time I held the bottle closer and hit my neck. On the website it said that MAG smells pleasent and can be worn alone. I don't agree. There is a mild citrus smell and a light (but unpleasent) smell of pheromones. It reminds me of a rather sharp underarm perspiration. Over time both seem to dissipate (takes about 10-15 minutes for the citrus smell, the pheromone smell goes away much faster). I used a cover scent anyway.
I have a pretty good nose and can smell things that others cannot or can only smell when the concentration is much higher. I was a little disappointed about the smell of MAG. I could hardly smell the pheromones in it (I have smelled much "worse") and the really very mild citrus scent to me seemed far too reserved to cover the high amounts of pheromones said to be in the product. I had these thoughts even back then. Today, when I compare the smell of MAG to Aqua Vitae (unscented) or even the German Pheromax cologne, I know I was absolutely on track. AV smells much more of pheromones than MAG does and even Wolf (yes, the scented stuff) to me has more of a pheromone smell than MAG. This is not necessarily a bad thing. But somehow hints that the pheromone concentration isn't as high as promised after all. When I put on AV, I can smell the pheromones for hours even after I have put on a cover scent. MAG only smelled mildly of pheromones, when it was in the air (from the sprayer to my skin) and a pretty short time after that (say one or two minutes).
Another strange thing I believe to have noticed about the smell: When the bottles were new, the pheromone smell wasn't strong but it was definately noticeable to me when I sprayed on the cologne. When I stopped using the product (a few weeks later, one bottle being half empty), I couldn't smell the pheromones at all when spraying it on and the citrus note seemed to have almost disappeared completely aswell. I stored it as recomended in a dark and cool place (however, not in the fridge).
The first go I gave MAG was the day after I got it when I went to work. I put on one spray as advised in the paper I got with the stuff and drove to work (about 20 minutes). Work usually starts with lots of people crowded in an office waiting for their assignments. Most of my coworkers were men at the time, but there were a few women. I couldn't make out any changes in behaviour, but I wasn't expecting any. Personally, I believe that reports of hits in this kind of scene are pretty much bull, for two main reasons: Firstly, everyone there is already pushing his natural pheromones into the air, which makes a good mix anyway and secondly, it is very unlikely that if you are cooped up with so many people, it is pretty much impossible to tell who is emitting the pheromones. So even if a female picked up my vibe, she wouldn't know who to hit on. ;)
I was really going for a girl at a petrol station I saw nearly every day. She was 27 at the time, east-european and pretty cute. From her I had once gotten something that I consided a hit. I was wearing Pheromax at the time. This time however, nothing happened. She was annoyed and didn't respond well to me. This was not an effect of the cologne (some OD thing). I can be pretty sure of that because I had just walked in and we were 6-8m apart when she let me know how good her mood was. There is no way she could have picked up anything that quickly over that distance! In stayed and talked to her a few minutes while I had a cup of coffee. Her mood didn't improve and I left to get back to work. Nothing interesting happened that day or for about another two weeks.
I was a little frustrated because of the lack of results and wrote to Luv Essentials. In my mail I asked specifically if I was doing something wrong. The reply I got was to send back the stuff and they would refund my money. This wasn't really what I wanted, because I wanted the stuff to work and I also wanted to be sure that I wasn't to dumb to use it. So after writing again I got a pretty cryptic mail saying that pheromones just don't work for everybody but I could try increasing the dosage to three sprays but no more. So I first tried two and then three sprays. Nothing really changed - except the bottle ran out much quicker. I went out a lot during that time because I knew that pheromones wouldn't work at home. I had a good time just about every evening I went out. But I can't say that any evening would have gone differently had I not used MAG. Indeed, on a couple of nights I didn't use MAG at all but just a regular cologne, just to see if anything changed.
One Saturday I went out with some friends (three guys and five girls) to watch a movie and then to have a few drinks. This evening was to be quite entertaining even if not thanks to MAG. I put on three sprays of MAG and some regular cologne to cover it. When they picked me up, one of the guys (who was sitting in the back next to me) said something like: "Dude, you have to ease up on the cologne." He calmed down pretty soon because the regular cologne was still wet when I got into the car und thus smelled quite intensely. Before we sat down to see the movie, we got some drinks, nachos, whatever. I was just standing around, waiting for the others (I already had my coke) when this girl (late 20s, I'd guess) completely ran into me. This wasn't a playful bump, it was more of a crash. Because she was carrying a big bag of popcorn, there was something like a popcorn-explosion - which went all over me and even
into my shirt. I was looking in a different direction, so I didn't see her coming. One of my friends came up to me, having a good laugh as he did so and said, "I saw that coming. She was talking to her friend and not looking where she was going." We both looked at the girl who was still walking away rather hastily while I was picking the popcorn from my hair. She turned around and said she was sorry, trying to smile while looking quite red. I was about to call out a warning to her, when she ran flat into a wall. It took all the effort I could muster not to break down laughing. I was one of the few who managed that. Was that a hit? I don't think so, Tim.
![On_the_quiet On_the_quiet](/images/smilies/on_the_quiet.gif)
I went to the little boy's room to take off my shirt and get the rest of the popcorn off me. Then we sat down for the movie.
Later that evening we sat in a bar. I chose a place that was frequented often by people so as to expose as many as possible to my scent. We were having a lot of fun and laughing a lot - especially about my little incident. I talked to a few people I didn't know. But that is something that comes naturally to me, so it doesn't really mean anything. The seat next to me was empty and there weren't too many of those, so when customers left, they often came near me to pay, as did a really pretty young girl, probably about 18 or 19 years old. She stood there for a moment waiting for the bartender. I said "hi" and so did she. She was smiling and did talk to me while she was waiting but all the time she looked a little stressed out. I thought maybe MAG was making me too alpha and so intimidating to young girls. She paid and when the bartender gave her the change, she had to stretch over the empty barstool to reach his hand (she was at best 160cm tall). As she did that, she let out a loud and rather lengthy (at least 2 seconds long) fart - right next to me! Heads started turning in our direction (even though many of them probably thought I had farted an not the pretty little girl). Even the bartender stopped in his tracks. She turned red as a ripe tomato in less than a second and was out of the bar within two seconds. At that point I got a pretty good idea why she looked so stressed out. Was that a hit? God I hope not, Tim!
Basicly, MAG did nothing for me, so I sent it back. I got my money back without any problems. With the money I got back I went to Garry Nelson and bought one bottle of AV and one of Wolf.
I don't know if MAG just wasn't for me (although a heavy alpha-product would be my first choice) or if the product itself simply is a fraud. The rather cryptic and hollow answers from the customer care team don't really make me feel confident. It seemed as if they were either holding back information or were just clueless. If you throw the price into the equation, I'd say that MAG is not a product anyone must have.
Hope you enjoyed my first review!
Cheers!
Chris
[1] Which also shows how much the Euro hast lost to the USD.