KYLIE Minogue, Kate Moss and Celine Dion are some of the stars who have launched their own fragrance.

But you don't have to make the cover of Heat magazine in order to get your name on a bottle of scent.

Bespoke designer fragrance is nearer than you think, now that Essentially Me has arrived in York.

Florencia Clifford is the company's local consultant, offering one-to-one appointments in her city-centre home where, after an hour, a new fragrance is created.

Argentinian-born Florencia, 38, who is married with two children, became involved with the company last year and has been making one-off perfumes for clients since.

To begin, she puts me at ease by serving strong filter coffee. This, she tells me, will also help neutralise the many smells I am about to sample from the box of 60 essential oils lying in wait on the dining table.

"The essential oils are split into six categories: citrus, wood, balsamics, florals, leaves and herbs," says Florencia.

With great care, she opens each bottle, shakes it gently then inhales its aroma, before passing it to me.

"Try not to think whether or not you can imagine it in a perfume, just say whether you like the smell or not," she says.

Closing my eyes, I inhale and try to decide if I like it. It's harder than it sounds. Among the smells I could recognise were thyme, bay, honey and coffee, all lovely, but I wasn't sure I wanted to smell like I'd been in the kitchen all day.

I dismissed quite a lot of the oils - most of the florals were too sweet; the seaweed and hay oils reminded me of rotting fish.

I picked 13, including grapefruit, vanilla, almond, cocoa, coriander and one floral, osmanthus.

Florencia explained that each fragrance had three levels or notes': the heart, the nuance and the intrigue. She said coriander might form the intrigue note of my scent. "People won't know what it is, but it will make everything else work."

Taking stock of my final selection, it seemed slightly odd - more Delia recipe than bespoke fragrance. But cooking and perfume-making are closer than you might think.

Indeed, Florencia, who is an accomplished cook, was recruited by Essentially Me after the company's founder and master blender, Alec Lawless, spotted her cooking at a Buddhist retreat in Wales last year.

"I have a special tin of spices and I sometimes create a menu around the spices and herbs I want to use," says Florencia. "Alec really wanted me to become a consultant because, from watching me cook, he thought I had an aptitude for blending."

For years, Florencia has also made her own fragrance, by adding essential oils, such as rose, patchouli and jasmine, to moisturisers and body creams. "I did it mostly because I could not find a perfume that I liked," she says.

Florencia is passionate about natural fragrance. "There is nothing wrong with synthetic fragrance, but it's just a matter of choice about what you want to wear," she says. "Natural perfume is like buying a country loaf rather than some white, sliced bread."

Natural perfume is heavier and darker in colour than commercial scents, adds Florencia. It is also more expensive. A 50ml bottle of bespoke perfume from Essentially Me costs £125 - more than double the price of a leading designer scent on the high street.

Natural oils are much more expensive than synthetic ones, says Florencia. "Ten thousand kilograms of roses are needed to make one kilo of rose oil. And some oils are very labour intensive to harvest - jasmine and tuberose must be picked at night, usually by hand."

The beauty of a bespoke perfume, says Florencia, is that it is unique. It can smell of your favourite flower, or represent a precious memory, perhaps of an aroma you once cherished.

"Smell can transfer emotion," says Florencia, "I'm very interested in this portal of smell and unconscious memories, how things you have forgotten can come back when you smell something."

After a consultation with Florencia, your selection of oils is sent to Alec, who will make the fragrance. "He will send you two samples first," says Florencia. "These will be two different blends for you to wear for a few days before you make your final choice."

The end result - a 50ml bottle of eau de parfum - should arrive through the post within two weeks of your consultation.

Florencia also sells a range of Essentially Me's ready-made eau de parfum, made with natural oils, for £65.

She adds: "We also do a gift certificate service, so you can buy the whole experience for a friend or loved one."

And my perfume? Of the two samples, one was quite sharp and citrusy, the other spicier and mellow. I could pick out a peppery hint in both, probably from the coriander.

Interestingly, each changed over the day, at times almost smelling identical, then moving on again to settle into their essence. The mellow one, with a spicy, yet warm vanilla base, was my favourite. It was like nothing I'd ever smelt before in a perfume shop, yet oddly comforting and familiar.

Perhaps it was Essentially Me.

To book a consultation with Florencia at Essentially Me, telephone: 01403 785792.