The psychological community says that they can and call them olfactory hallucinations. Now, the psychological community, in general, is very skeptical of anything paranormal so who cares what they say. In my opinion many times very vivid dreams especially when they stick with you when you wake up are either 1) meant to get you to change your life because you are off path or 2) past life things. I know I have past life dreams when the setting is very authentic and in the past. But my guess for you is that this is someone you knew in a past life. I would try to pay attention to any message they are giving you as they may be trying to get you to go in a certain direction that is beneficial to you. The smells and feeling are a way to tell you to listen to the message.