Fresh spring scents (that make great Mother's Day gifts)

By Melissa Magsaysay

As the first hints of summer flicker tantalizingly into view, scent is a beautiful way to invoke the new season.

“Once the weather warms up, people want to lighten up their fragrance — or at least change it,” says Robin Coe-Hutshing, founder and creative director of Studio BeautyMix at Fred Segal, Santa Monica. “Even if it’s not lighter, it’s something that indicates a change.”

Coe-Hutshing says that orange blossom, mimosa, sunny florals and citrus are the most popular fragrance notes for the spring-summer season. “You don’t want anything too cloying in the hot weather,” she says.

Fresh scents such as light, juicy lychee mingle with the classics like sweet orange blossom in a host of new products that carry the scent of spring. Some may stay with you just through the summer, but others could wind up on your list of favorites. All would make great Mother’s Day gifts — or a welcome token of thanks for bridesmaids.

Jean Paul Gaultier “Classique”

$62 for 3.3 fluid ouncez at Bloomingdales and www.sephora.com

Packaged in his signature “torso” bottle, “Classique,” a limited edition available through the end of summer, is a clean scent with notes of rose, orange blossom, clementine and Sicilian lemon. At first, “Classique” smells a little too clean — literally, like soap. But the softness of the rose and sweetness of the orange blossom come together for a scent that’s reminiscent of a great suntan oil I used during my last sun-soaked holiday.

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