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Top dollar for personal scents
 Perfumer Jacques Chabert takes on just one or two clients a year. QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSLONDON, England (CNN) -- Having a signature scent is common practice for many people, but some take it a step further using thousands of oils, and a perfumer to create a smell that only they will have. The process of creating a perfume is so individual that even the bottle is handpicked. One company providing this highly personalized service is London-based Creative Perfumers. In a market saturated with brand names, Anastasia Brozler established the perfumery seven years ago in a bid to offer a service for people who want a scent that will capture their personality. It all begins with color therapist Adam James. He tests a client's personality type by asking them to choose from four potential bottles -- the color combinations reveal their inner personality. "The upper fraction (of the bottle) relates more to the outer personality, what you see, how people present themselves," he told CNN. "The lower (part) is more what's below the surface, what's within, what the person is feeling inside. Maybe (it's what they're) less aware of, more subconscious." It is then Brozler's job to match James's personality assessment with the scents. With up to 7,000 oils to chose from, creating the blend of perfume begins. "The nose has an ability to smell for about two hours and stops," she told CNN. "So within those two hours we have to find the oils that are best suitable to use in a formula." Once the ingredients are picked, a perfumer will transform the oils into a fragrance. Brozler handpicks the perfumers who work for her. They must meet her criteria of showing originality in their work and having experience with some of the world's biggest perfume houses. "We work with about 16 to 18 perfumers," Brozler said. "There are about eight languages spoken between them. They are from different nationalities, they are different ages, come from different backgrounds and they have created very different sorts of fragrances in the market. It's a good range." Grasse in France is the heart of the world's perfume industry. Here, perfumer Jacques Chabert, creator of Chanel's Cristalle and Guerlain's Samsara perfumes, takes on just one or two clients a year. "Well, the meeting with the client is important because the first impression that he gets from me and the first impression that I get from him is very important," he said. "We both start to exchange our liking in terms of perfumes, and I made them try to define in more detail what he likes by showing him some essential oils -- even some synthetic ones, depending on his reaction." Chabert said occasionally the perfumer's first attempt at a formula is a winning one, but in most cases it is the beginning of a months-long process. "I try to imagine how the combination of those different ingredients which he liked and which apart do not mean anything, but put together harmoniously could generate a perfume which he is going to adore." The price tag for bespoke perfumes starts at about $12,000, but at the other end of the scale, clients can expect to pay up to $70,00, depending on the rarity of the chosen oils and the materials used to create the bottle. London-based media adviser Simon Astaire is in the process of having his scent created after one of his clients gave it to him as a gift. "I'm enjoying the process. One thing that I did not anticipate is that it is bringing up a lot of emotions that otherwise I haven't thought of, or would have thought of and maybe I'm enjoying that too -- the mind aspect of it." Once created, Astaire will have the smell for life. His unique formula -- like all created by Creative Perfumers -- can only be passed down from generation to generation. -- Art of Life airs on CNN International on Saturday, April 29. For show times click here. 
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