"Sex smells", indeed. Part of the problem I had with my ex was that the poor guy smelled
terrible, and nothing he did could change that. Any sweat at all would leave him and the room positively stinking and that wasn't conducive to much physical closeness at all. Even now when I see him and get a hug, that smell is enough to turn my stomach.
With ratbastid and lurkette, though- totally different story. RB can be gone for a weekend, and if I catch a little scent of something as mundane as his soap I'm both comforted and excited.
And lurkette wears this ridiculously good-smelling perfume that kinda sticks to you if you hug her, so I'm left with a grin on my face all day after that. Yeah, scent's a powerful thing, no argument here.