Dannielle Sergent of Cognoscenti photo by Annabelle Breakey courtesy of the perfumer
I’d like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I’d like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars
I’d love to feel your hand touching mine
And tell me why I must keep working on
Yes, I’d give my life to lay my head tonight
On a bed of California stars. ~ Woody Guthrie
I sincerely believe that they broke the mold when artisanal perfumer Dannielle Sergent entered the world: here is a woman who marches to her own drum. She recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of her brand, Cognoscenti – with the release of a new perfume, Fire and Rain. When I was kindly sent a recent sample compilation of her fragrances, I chose three which I felt merited wearing RIGHT NOW. Why now? Because they feel seasonless, effortlessly beautiful and evoke our connection to the natural world and, in turn, ourselves: an aromatic reminder to grow where we are planted. In these times where our movements are potentially fraught with the risk of contagion due to the ongoing pandemic, that reminder is both timely and necessary.
Dannielle Sergent is a native Californian, and her perfumery resounds with fragrant celebration of the environment which has enveloped her from birth to current day. All her perfumes possess the distinct savor of innovation, originality and a sense of open space, freedom. California has an entirely different feel to it than the rest of the United States; it’s younger, less entrenched in custom and history, more recently ‘settled’, if you will – in comparison with other parts of the country. I feel that Cognoscenti fragrances reflect this – and of course, the perfumer’s extensive exploits in the visual arts. These three Cognoscenti fragrances – Wild Child, Blue Oud 32 and Fire and Rain 44 – share the common thread of inspired artistry and imagination.
Dannielle Sergent “Wild Child” courtesy of the perfumer
“Give me the wild children
with their bare feet and
sparkling eyes. The restless,
churning climbers.
Give me the wonder-filled
glorious mess makers
dreaming of mountains
and mud, aching to run through
a field of stars.” ~ excerpts from Nicolette Sowder’s poem, Give Me the Wild Children
Cognoscenti Wild Child via the brand (Wild Child was an Art and Olfaction Finalist 2020)
It’s no secret that Cognoscenti Wild Child is a favorite of mine. I love how it’s so difficult to pigeonhole; it commences as a variant of fougère-minus-bergamot and concludes as a gorgeous deep chypre. There is nothing in the least frivolous about Wild Child: it is wanton abandon combined with cryptic sensuality, dark but never menacingly weighty. The deal-breaker here is a significant presence of tarragon and lavender, which read as intensely herbal: two odors which can be polarizing, if especially prominent. There is a fair amount of rose which gentles and rounds out the herbalcy in Wild Child, but it doesn’t diminish the cavernous deep forest-floor-in-shadow verdant hue which reigns supreme. The magnificent base simply sings. Whether it’s warm, cool, or in-between, Cognoscenti Wild Child is sylvan-ly soothing and true-to-nature-evocative. 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
Cognoscenti No. 32 Blue Oud via the brand
This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,
Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic,
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Evangeline, Boston 1847
The forest primeval feels like an apt description for Cognoscenti No. 32 Blue Oud. Former Senior Contributor Pam Barr, in her beautiful review – proffered the perfumer’s vision of this perfume as a scent meditation upon the color Prussian blue, with which I heartily agree. I would add that, to my nose it feels like the marriage of Prussian blue and malachite: a symphonic blue-green flooded with the dappling light within a conifer-filled glade. Envision a floating wood, and you’re headed in the right direction – a veil of gossamer woods threaded with wisps of uncured tobacco. However, the perfumer has chosen to conjure an impression of fern and flower is her secret – and compellingly subtle. It is rare that one happens upon such a ghostly, airy fragrance that is also tenacious. Notes: blue cypress, black agarwood, tobacco, vetiver, ferns and flowers
Green green rocky road
Promenade in green
Tell me who d’ you love
Tell me who d’ you love ~ Tim Hardin
Ash on an old man’s sleeve
Is all the ash the burnt roses leave.
Dust in the air suspended
Marks the place where a story ended. ~ excerpt from T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding
Cognoscenti no 44 fire and rain by Dannielle Sergent
Californians must number amongst the bravest people; how does one live with the looming reality of widespread fires, drought, flooding, the potential of disappearing below sea level as an eventuality (for coastal dwellers)? For all the sunshine and desirable climate, miles of beautiful beaches, abundant flora and fauna – anyone who makes their home there is well aware of incipient earthquakes and other natural events which fall well within the category known as Acts of G-d. In Cognoscenti Fire and Rain, Dannielle Sergent composed a love ballad to her home state, with all its contrasts and contradictions: aromatic unconditional love. Through a variety of clever accords, she creates scent memories which integrate smoke and sun, rain and ocean, blossoms and breezes. Two particular aspects grab my attention: precisely how delicately the smoke accord plays out, when it would have been easier to bombard us with it; and the stature awarded geosmin – with its freshly turned damp soil character. Metallic tones are quite perceptible in her employment of saffron and grisalva (the latter is an ambergris-like material), and they provide counterpoint. Cognoscenti Fire and Rain has substantial longevity – and it reminds me of the summer of 1969, the summer of love. Notes: smoke (cypriol, hydro carbo resin, vetiver) rain (geosmin) California coast (salt, grisalva) sunshine (pink grapefruit, blood orange and saffron) florals (neroli, gardenia, hedione, geraniol) and warm breezes (light woods, musks, resins)
Samples and artwork generously provided by the perfumer – many thanks. My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor
Please read Dannielle Sergent’s Profile in American Perfumery here
Dannielle Sergent was featured in our Perfumer’s Workshop ‘Naming a Perfume”
Dannielle Sergent was Michelyn’s CaFleureBon Rising Star of 2012
Enjoy Ida’s review of Cognoscenti Wild Child here; former Contributor Pam Barr’s review of Blue Oud here; and Lauryn Beer’s review of Fire and Rain here.
Discovery Set via Cognoscenti
Thanks to the generosity of Dannielle Sergent, we have a draw for a registered reader for a 7 x 2.5 Cognoscenti discovery kit which will also include Wild Child if you live in the USA You must register or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what strikes you about Ida’s reviews. Draw closes 9/12/2022
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All photos via Cognoscenti unless otherwise noted.
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