Best Spring Scents from Brands you didn't know

You can browse the eye-assaulting backlit shelves at Sephora with your handy set of dipstick fragrance testers to find some uplifting scent for spring--and wind up smelling like everyone else. Or, you can read on.

If you're not big on big scents (situation: someone enters a room and you go, "Red Door...yep, no mistaking that one.") and you likewise don't appreciate "mass", generic-smelling fragrances--sometimes (she says kindly) to be found at Bath & Body Works, Coty, Avon, etc., there are some smaller companies with fresh, unique, uplifting and pampering collections to try. No surprise, one thing their creators' philosophies have in common: attention to detail.

1. Thymes. The Minneapolis-based perfumer offers, as they say, "an eclectic gallery of collections for bath, body and home". Interesting tidbit: Thymes chemists are all women! One to try: the Naia collection. It a beautiful blend of water lily, cyclamen, citrus and lychee and one of my faves. The body lotion holds enough fragrance oil in a moisturizing shea butter-enriched formula so that the scent lingers gently without overpowering. Thymes Naia Body Lotion goes for $25--yes, pricier than that "2 for" offer you might find at Bath & Body Works, but it lasts a long time and you won't need to purchase a separate "body mist" to keep the scent alive.

2. Annie Oakley. The Annie Oakley perfumerie hails from Indiana, but I found them in a genuine cowboy store in Billings, MT (seriously) and have been a fan ever since. Yes, it's a little weird to shop a fragrance company that has a picture of horses grazing on its home page, but there's a reason why this company's been around since 1980. My reason is their Morning Dew lily-based fragrance. Can't say why, but whenever I wear it, I get compliments. Morning Dew Eau de Toilette is $25.50.

3. Elizabeth W. I've mentioned this small San Francisco-based company before--they really hit the scene beyond NorCal when Oprah gave their business a little shot in the arm. Oprah's no fool--Elizabeth W has a great collection of unique fragrance blends and as a company, they remain true to their small apothecary-style roots. Looking for a real pick-me-up, wake-the-hell-up scent? Hard to beat their Peppermint or Citrus Vervain collections. The Body Lotion runs $24.