Photographer unknown
“Can we speak in flowers? It’ll be easier for me to understand.” ~ Nayyirah Waheed, reclusive poet quoted by Dannielle Sergent
Dannielle Sergent of COGNOSCENTI
Forestière: definition of COGNOSCENTI Wild Child in a solitary word. Independent perfumer Dannielle Sergent of COGNOSCENTI is a finalist in the Art and Olfaction Awards 2020 (number seven!) this year: the Artisan category, her offering being Wild Child from her Dark Lovelies Series. Serendipity is a marvelous thing: a sample was sent me last week, and I’ve found it as mysterious and compelling as her exquisite oil painting bearing the same name. Between image and fragrance, a scented synergy exists, a tenebrous weightlessness which defies logic, hovering above the skin by its wild lone.
Wild Child Botanical print also used for the scarf*
Sometimes I’m late to the party, despite effort. I was very familiar with Dannielle’s initial fragrances and appreciated her aesthetic and presentation, but how her painting escaped my notice is beyond me. When I viewed the cards enclosed with my sample I was dumbfounded at their beauty: haunting, detailed botanical images suspended against a black canvas trailing vines, blooms, tendrils in variegated hues of brown, pink, green and purple. My description sounds lurid – which is why I’m so grateful to share a few of the perfumer’s photographs. The synchronicity of painting and perfume furnishes a point of convergence for us, multisensorial and fully-fleshed out. Thank heavens for synesthesia.
Gabrielle T. Wickbold
Dannielle Sergent’s COGNOSCENTI Wild Child is a nocturnal being enrobed in Nature’s knowingness; a barefoot dusktreader leaving a trail of subterranean naiveté in her wake. Her law is her own, inclusive of herbal lore mirroring Nicholas Culpeper’s (and his was published in 1653!). Farouche, the French might say: shy, fierce or both. Wild Child is ineffably tender, discreet – a beneficent specter. It is not in her disposition to impose upon anyone; she quietly insinuates herself into your good graces…
Botanical print of Tarragon
For many, the deal breaker may be tarragon as olfactory protagonist: the primary prerequisite is a love of the keenly anisic/ herbal. Anise may assume many guises and some will, for example – adore basil but detest tarragon. Others favor hawthorn (anisaldehyde figures prominently in recreating this aroma) and hate heliotrope – despite the fact that very similar compounds exist, common to each. Wild Child’s initial thrust is richly dark licorice – not the treacly-sweet candy as many know it but a salty depth found in Scandinavian, north German or Benelux licorice called salmiak. That’s part of what lends wildness to the composition: sweet, but not overly so. It immediately engages with a lyrical French lavender and this duet is one of my favorite stages in Wild Child’s development.
Subtle floral nuances temper licorice with gentleness: ethyl linalyl acetate softly rounds out any spikiness of lavender, introducing a whiff of pear, bergamot. Florosa® is a creamy muguet floral modulator as well; Turkish rose and Givko® rose share a similar scent profile – a curvaceous true rose, naturalistic and fresh. I marvel at how Dannielle manages to utilize these materials without undermining Wild Child’s initial impression. It would be easy to overdose them and that never happens.
James McNeill Whistler Nocturne in Black and Gold-The Falling Rocket
Wild Child sports a nouveau chypre base, supplanting sandalwood with cedar, both natural and manmade. IFF’s famous Iso E Super® works its velvety sorcery, merging with my beloved labdanum and tree moss, the vetiver caress, and two very different patchoulis – one aged and wine-dark, the other an airy, ‘cleaner’ take on the dusky substance. If you are not a fan of patchouli, don’t despair: the result isn’t in the least headshop-y or acrid burnt-grassy à la Harvard Square-in-1972. The night forest is evoked brilliantly and seamlessly, harmonic and balanced. As with the perfumer’s oil painting, equilibrium is all.
I love herbs (as anyone observing my cooking/baking ‘porn’ is well aware), chypres of all sorts, and the forest as sanctuary-of-choice – so Wild Child has been a delightful fit. I find it wearable, intriguing and unique, but it’s best for one to sample first before purchasing as there is no one-size-fits-all in perfumery. If I were judging the Arts and Olfaction Awards in the fall, I would pay special attention to this lovely submission.
Notes: tarragon, French lavender, ethyl linalyl acetate, Florosa® (Givaudan), Iso E Super® (IFF), Anatolian rose, Givko rose® (Givaudan), labdanum, cedarwood, vetiver, tree moss, aged patchouli and patchouli acetate
Sample and artwork generously provided by the perfumer – many thanks. My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor and Natural Perfumery Editor
Dannielle was our CaFleureBon Rising Star of 2012
Thanks to the largesse of perfumer and artist Dannielle Sergent, we have two draws for two registered readers(you must register or your entry won’t count).
One draw is for a 22 ml full bottle of COGNOSCENTI Wild Child WORLDWIDE.
The other is for a silk 42 x 56 “scarf imprinted with the perfumer’s wonderful botanical painting* and a sample of COGNOSCENTI Wild Child if you live in the USA (but you are also eligible for the 22 ml as well).
There are two winners
To be eligible, please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Ida’s review and where you live. Please leave your choice should you win. Draw closes 5/10/2020
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