There are scents that were just made for summer. And why not? Everything changes in the summer, from the weather to our activities. Even the clothes we wear get lighter. So should your fragrance. In fact, there are perfumes that are absolutely perfect for these hot and happy days of summer.

Your individual skin chemistry affects how a perfume wears on you. Skin chemistry is reason that the same perfume can smell differently on two different people. The warmer months can change your skin chemistry, including how much you perspire. If you shower more frequently in the summer or if you go out in the sun and your skin gets dry, these things can also change how a scent works for you.

The perfume you wore all winter in the house or at the office may not work as you start spending more time outdoors and wearing looser, lighter, or skimpier clothing. As a general rule, winter perfumes tend to be heavier, muskier, "darker," while summer scents are lighter.

There are lots of great ways to get some summer scents. The fact is that summer is a fun time for most of us, filled with parties and social occasions, vacations, and days at the beach. It's a great time to go for happy, frivolous, trendy kinds of scents. Think light.

Great ideas for summer scents are plentiful right now with a flurry of new fragrances in the fruity-floral family. These scents take light, exuberant florals and mix them with distinctive fruity notes. Good examples of fruity florals are Sunset Heat by Escada or Sugar Blossom by Fresh. If you want to get a great summer scent but still want to get something from a perfume boutique, try Little Italy by Bond No. 9 (http://www.bondno9.com) which is one of the greatest citrus scents going.

Another great fruity-floral line of products is available from Carol's Daughter, which is best to buy from a large perfume site (http://www.sephora.com). When you put on a cheery peach-inspired scent like Groove by Carol's Daughter, you can't help but think of summer.

Of course, some people do not care for fruit-inspired fragrances. Light florals are another good idea. For the high-end florals, test out Very Irresistable by Givenchy or Chelsea Flowers by Bond No. 9 or Goddess by Baby Phat. True, you are talking girly-girl fragrances here, but what is more fun for summer.

If you want something a little less girly-girl, there are a lot of fragrances right now that tend to be light and almost cross-gender, that is, it might be unclear in a blindfold test whether they were cologne or aftershave. An excellent example of this kind of scent is One by Calvin Klein. I think it's a fabulous scent, but I only wear it in warm weather.

When buying a fragrance product, your type of product may shift in the summer. In the winter, perfumes and eau-de-parfums work best; they are heavier, last longer, and seem a bit more dramatic. During the summer you may be better served with a nice light cologne or eau-de-toilette even though you may have to re-apply it periodically. But since summer is an active time for most of us, we tend to sweat and shower more in these warm months, so you are just naturally going to need to touch up your fragrance more frequently.

It's true that colognes and eaux-de-toilette do not last as long as perfumes, but the very lightness of these products can make your favorite scents seem more breezy and summer-light. If you can't make cologne last, buy a scented body lotion or cream plus a shower gel in the same fragrance. Then layer the product on. An emollient cream or lotion (sometimes sold as butters or souffles) can be a great base on which to apply a spray-on scent to make it last longer.