May in Shanghai is a time to get out your summer clothes and to think about stocking up your wardrobe. And just as floral patterns on clothes are popular this season, floral fragrances are also a big hit, particularly sweet scents.

"People choose perfumes according to their own desires and moods," Hu Wei, a professional fragrance expert and part-time lecturer at Fudan University on perfume, told the Global Times. "What tends to be universal in summer is that most people avoid very strong, dense scents."

This year, Shanghai's perfume market offers a huge array of flower and fruit-toned perfumes.

The heat is on

Perfume is officially placed into four categories: parfum, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, and eau de cologne. These four products are said to be able to last for eight hours, six hours, four hours and two hours respectively. "I would recommend eau de parfum for spring and summer because perfumes easily evaporate in hot weather," said Hu.

Daisy, by Marc Jacobs is aiming for the "natural" look with a bottle cap in the shape of a petal. The fragrance itself uses the scent of pine trees to strengthen the sweetness of daisy as its base note. Aromas of wild strawberry, violet and jasmine define the top and middle notes respectively to enrich the fragrance. Daisy has the aroma of a spring garden, while its lighter version Daisy Eau So Fresh has a less complicated scent. According to the company, this fragrance aims to recall childhood memories, with raspberry and lychee nut as its top note. Wild roses and fresh dates serve as the middle note for this perfume, emanating a whiff of a summer orchard.

But Daisy is not the only perfume highlighting a spring, flower-like scent. Chloé Eau de Toilette boasts a relaxing aroma via a top note of tangerine fruit. Its freesia and watermelon, coupled with a subtle scent of iris, is reminiscent of the taste of juicy just-ripe fruit. This perfume has a base note of rose which is a signature theme of Chloé.

Love, Chloé is another flower-toned fragrance from the same company and is distinguished by a gold bottle design. This perfume has been created by Louise Turner and Nathalie Cetto-Gracia, and uses a mix of iris and musk to create a light and soothing lotion-like smell.

Daisy Eau So Fresh and Cholé Eau de Toilette, are available in miniature versions so that people can refresh themselves when necessary during the day.

Masculine impression

Flower and fruit-scented perfumes are not exclusive to women, however. Men can also make use of this flower scent to give a slightly off-kilter masculine impression. Cool Water Eau de Toilette from David Doff highlights mint leaves as its top note, lavender as its middle note and amber as its base note. Cool Water is being marketed as a nostalgic reminiscence of the ocean.

Calvin Klein's Eternity, marketed towards men, features cucumber mingled with the scent of wood as its top note. Lavender and sandalwood adds to a concoction that attempts to re-create the ambience of a wild forest. An even fresher choice, Bonpoint Eau de Cologne, is a mixture of lemon, grapefruit, orange and mint.

"The choice of perfume a person wears largely depends on the time of day," said Hu. "During the day perfumes with a natural flower or fruit scent are great in the workplace, while those of stronger, amber tones, are perfect for later in the evening when people want to go out and party."

Scent libraries

The perfumes offered at Scent Library, which has four outlets around the city (No.16 Tianzifang, 274 Taikang Road; Room 607, 166 Xizang Road North; A04-05, 4/F, 388 Xijiangwan Road; Room B111, B1/F, 245 Madang Road), are also refreshing choices for olfactory fans.

The wide range of choices includes floral aromas such as lilies, geraniums, violets and those from the fruit family including oranges, blueberries, pomegranates, apples, lemons and peaches. The Scent Library also stocks many unusual fragrances such as bamboo and bubble gum.

The scent of a perfume is usually divided into three stages according to its evaporation time:

Top note: Evaporates in the first 10 minutes after being applied.

Middle note: Evaporates between 20 and 40 minutes after being applied. During these 20 minutes.

Base note: Evaporates more than an hour after being applied.