A new survey of 800 women by Suave Naturals found that two of three working women believe their favorite perfume — their signature scent — has helped their career.

"Really, it makes a lot of sense," said Dr. Alan Hirsch, neurological director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, based in Chicago. Hirsch was the physician who analyzed results from the Suave survey, which had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

"If you smell good, people think you're good. If you smell bad, people think you're bad. Smell may be the most powerful way that people decide whether they like somebody or not."

While go-getters might claim that pleasing scents do not boost careers, few would dispute that bad smells don't help. A 2002 study by Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co. that surveyed 400 human-resource managers found an employee's unpleasant body odor may blister a career.

One in three human-resource managers said they had to speak to an employee about body odor, and 83 percent found the conversation to be "incredibly uncomfortable," the study found.

Marie-Vee Santana, a senior sensory scientist for Procter & Gamble, said scent works at the subconscious level of the brain and triggers perceptions, memories and emotions. "The same area of the brain that processes fragrances and odors is connected to the area of the brain that processes memories," Santana said.

Mark Radlinski, production coordinator for Wild Berry Incense Inc., an incense manufacturer and distributor based in Oxford, Ohio, that sells products through nearly 3,000 outlets worldwide, has no doubt that perfume packs power.

He wears no scent, he said, because he's worked with scents daily for more than a decade.

"Everything I have is unscented. I don't necessarily want to smell a fragrance. People who are overly fragrant are not very pleasing to me," Radlinski said.

What people must keep in mind, said researcher Hirsch, is that aromas are all about first impressions, and an aroma, in moderation, may be the most powerful way to make that impression.

"There are two ways that odor can make an impact," Hirsch said. "Wear something others like and they'll like you; and if it's an aroma you like, that may make you feel more self-confident, and you will portray yourself in more positive light."

Santana of Procter & Gamble recently bought Hugo Boss Intense and found that her mood swings with the fragrance.