The scent of flirtation?

Really, says Shaan K. Hathiramani, a 2008 Harvard grad and the young entrepreneur behind Eau Flirt, a scent he claims men find very evocative.

The fragrance isn’t his first foray into the perfume world. Hathiramani initially created a perfume called Ageless, with crisp notes of pink grapefruit and pomegranate and the goal of making the wearer smell youthful and fresh. Shaan, along with his brother Raj, continued to experiment with scents and what feelings they are associated with. This led them to create Harvey Prince, a women’s fragrance brand that intends to “put the power of scent back into women’s hands,’’ Shaan said, by phone.

“It’s all done with good humor,’’ he explained. “Every day we get e-mails with very funny stories [from users] about how they walk into bars and get guys trying to get a second whiff.’’

Eau Flirt was developed after two series of focus groups and blind smell tests at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago and Columbia University, where the men behind Harvey Prince worked with scientists and male testers to develop perfumes with strong positive scent associations and that were pleasant on their own.

“We asked what scents guys recalled and what kind of images of women they would expect to smell like them,’’ said Shaan.

The result was a mix of pumpkin pie, lavender, mango, plum, and gardenia.

“Cinnamon and nutmeg is a very nostalgic combination,’’ he explained. “It’s associated with really classic, great memories that we collectively have - whether it’s growing up or interacting with people we love and care about.’’

But does it work?

“I got an e-mail from a woman in the Persian Gulf the other day,’’ Shaan said. “She ordered our perfume online and had Eau Flirt airdropped into a war zone. She said she had to be careful about using it because too many guys came up to her and started saying ‘Hello.’ But as you can imagine, the ratio of guys to girls is pretty favorable to her.’’

Rachel Raczka can be reached at RRaczka@boston.com.