Judith Prays, a Web developer who now lives in Atlanta, said she came up with the idea for pheromone parties after she failed to find a match online.
The parties are a marked contrast to the proliferation of online dating sites, which demand countless details from singles, and in some ways are taking romance back to its most primal beginnings. ‘‘I just kind of came here for kicks to see what would happen.’’ ‘‘I think it’s probably a bit more pseudoscience,’’ said Bakhurin, who attended with two fellow graduate students from University of California-Los Angeles. Konstantin Bakhurin, a 25-year-old neuroscience graduate student, said he bypassed the bags that smelled like baby powder or laundry detergent or perfume in search of something more unique: the owner of a distinctive yellow-T-shirt whose fragrance he described as ‘‘spicy.’’