Untitled. Parker, 5yo. Creative direction and digital editing by a_nose_knows for Cognoscenti Warrior Queen
Einstein predicted that something special happens when two bodies orbit each other: the space around them ripples, and circles out as waves of gravity. In 2015, important people (with important frowns and using LIGO + an astronomical event from over a million years ago) recorded such waves for the first time, proving that—when it comes to attraction—distance is not a factor. The bigger celestial bodies are, the stronger the force, generally; it’s one thing to be attracted to a huge sun and yet another to feel the tide pull of a shy moon. But size is not all: dense agglomerations of matter do the same, and the more dense a body, the stronger the force.
Untitled mother. Ismael, 4yo. Creative direction and digital editing by a_nose_knows for Cognoscenti Warrior Queen
As I read my way through life and moved from the fantasy fictions of youth into the more pragmatic “Physics for dummies” or the occasional Richard Feynman lecture, I’ve always smiled at the notion of gravity—for there is no stronger attraction force in the universe known to humans than that of a tired, busy, emotionally touched-out mama.
Mama. Luccia, 4yo. Creative direction and digital editing by a_nose_knows for Cognoscenti Warrior Queen
Until they’re 1 or so, babies are stuck to their food source like a sapling to a trunk, indivisible extensions of self, forever home and forever looking up. As they grow, they peel off, slowly drifting towards the edges of influence, into the rarefied atmospheres of the other rooms; and around the age of 3, they suddenly wake up from the slumber of indivisibility and become their own body, with their own orbit and their own revolution pace, carving little systems around their mothersun.
But take them too far, spin them too fast, or unravel the explosive catastrophe of a booboo—and the gravitational force starts zooming brighter, pulling them reliably and inextricably back to the center.
Mama. Una, 5yo. Creative direction and digital editing by a_nose_knows for Cognoscenti Warrior Queen
You don’t have to go to war to be a warrior, nor do you need a queendom to be a queen; battles (with badness, boredom, or booboos) are often fought at home, by the inconspicuous heroine that smells like homemaking. Mothers are not big, but they surely fill up spaces and their gravity, ancient and fertile, is undeniable—because the strongest force to be reckoned with is not the hurt you can cause on others, but the hurt you kiss away.
Us. Una, 5yo. Photo, creative direction, and digital editing by a_nose_knows for Cognoscenti Warrior Queen
Cognoscenti Warrior Queen by Dannielle Sergent does not breathe an ode to the singular symbol of the ever-relentless, power-in-winning femme. Instead, it centers the (my?) nose back in itself, reassuring like being pulled back onto orbit, or like being reminded of what’s right: the sharpness is kind, but asserting (bergamot, oakmoss, coriander); the embrace is warm and familiar (dry flowers, soft lavender, cocoa, spices, amber); the teachings are implicit and universal (patchouli, sandalwood); the memories (iris) are rooted and fundamental. Yes, this fragrance smells ancient and wise, yes, it is clear, yes, it is strong—but so is it nurturing, atemporal, and grand. Maybe it’s the universality I’m smelling, the undeniable centeredness, the invisible lines of attractions carrying notions of fertile cores. Or maybe it’s the reminding, upon smelling, that I, myself, am someone’s home.
Official notes are marked and linked in the description.
Other perceived notes: clove, vanilla, resins (opoponax, benzoin, labdanum), ylang, vetiver, smoke, civet, orange blossom
Disclaimer: Warrior Queen sample provided by Cognoscenti. Thank you much, it’s been a pleasure.
– dana sandu, Editor
digital editing by a_nose_knows for Cognoscenti Warrior Queen
Thanks to the generosity of Cognoscenti, we have a 22 ml bottle of Warrior Queen available ANYWHERE in the world for one registered reader (you must register on our site or your comment will not count). To be eligible, please tell us what you enjoyed or found interesting about dana’s review, what a “warrior queen means to you and where you live. Draw closes 9/10/20
Dannielle Sergent was our CaFleureBon Rising Star of 2012. Cognoscenti Wild Child ( reviewed by Sr. Editor Ida Meister) is a finalist in the Art and Olfaction Awards in the Artisan Category 2020
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