The disclosure, in one aspect, provides a method for estimating a property of a fluid that includes: pumping an ultraviolet (UV) light into a fluid withdrawn from a formation downhole at a wavelength that produces light due to the Raman effect at wavelengths that are shorter than the substantial wavelengths of fluorescent light produced from the fluid; detecting a spectrum corresponding to the Raman effect light (“Raman spectrum”); and processing the detected Raman spectrum at one or more selected wavelengths to estimate a property of the fluid. In another aspect, the disclosure provides an apparatus that includes a laser that induces UV light at a selected wavelength into a fluid in a chamber, a detector that detects Raman scattered light at wavelengths shorter than the wavelengths of the fluorescent light scattered by the fluid, and a processor that analyzes a spectrum corresponding the Raman scattered light at a selected wavelength to estimate a property of the fluid.