A Unique Spin on Fresh Scents for Mother's Day Gifts

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The tulips and daffodils are beginning to pop up on The Avenue and the cafes will soon be booked solid with brunch reservations. We're talking about Mother's Day—its almost here, and for any child who wants to keep good, you need to get her something more impactful and meaningful than a normal holiday gift. A fresh new fragrance would be one of these gifts. After the jump, we've compiled a bunch of useful and meaningful fragrance options for Mother's Day.

A newer company called 21 Drops has been making waves lately with their 100% natural roll-on oils and eco-friendly packaging. Each blend, conveniently numbered 1-21 serves a specific purpose and great for women who are in need of specific remedies. Each scent targets areas of the brain that relieve ailments like PMS, hangover, headache or inspire passion, focus, calm, sleep or will power. And if PMS is a thing of the past, not to worry, one of the scents is called "The Change", which is for menopausal and post-menaupausal women. You can find 21 Drops at The Fairmont in Streeterville, Art Effect on Armitage or at Sephora.

Since 1993 owner Ted Neenan has been slinging oils in his Lincoln Park clubhouse The Aroma Workshop. Here, Ted's trained nose guides customers belly-up at the fragrance bar through making their own personalized fragrances. With an array of little bottles lined up like smelly soldiers, you can mix scents like ylang ylang and ocean, ozone or oak moss and rose and peony flower to make a perfect personal scent. Prices are reasonable but depend what type of bottle you choose and if you choose for your customized fragrance to be straight fragrance oil or sprayable with an atomizer.

Chicago-based Tru Fragrance has announced that Orange Blossom is the seasonal HipNote for summer. Created by Patricia Choux who created Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors, this summer scent is a white floral and evokes nostalgic memories of warm summer months and a beach environment.

HipNote Orange Blossom features top notes of peach blossom, driftwood and freesia, layered with gardenia, and finished with notes of amber, sand accord and almond milk. The fragrance is only available as a limited edition by request through the Hipnozes by Tru Fragrance Facebook page.

If classic is more mom's speed and you still want to stay local, Tru Blooms also made a Chicago-specific fragrance called TruBlooms. It's a bright floral perfume made of elegant sheer rose, traditional lavender and sensuous violet--all grown in Chicago's gardens. Each limited edition bottle is etched with a number from 1 to 2150 and are priced at $65 or $38 at shops like Green Goddess, Art Efect, Fleur, Larkspur, Milk Handmade, The Peninsula or the Peggy Notebart Museum.

Saks Fifth Avenue on Michigan Avenue will have its fragrance week from Sunday, May 5 through Mother's Day, Sunday, May 12. As always, we love the fragrance department because they overload us with samples and there are gifts with purchases. During this week, find a new summer fragrance and get a free atomizer in coral, clear or blue.