The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Christian Vermorel composed Philippe II in 2015 as Charriol's entry into the masculine fougère canon. The fragrance takes its name from Philippe Charriol himself, the French entrepreneur who built a Swiss luxury house in 1983 after leaving Cartier, creating jewelry and timepieces marked by a distinctive Celtic cable motif. The perfume carries that same sense of heritage: confident, rooted, unapologetically traditional. Rather than chase trends, it reaches backward to a masculine scent vocabulary that doesn't get made this way anymore, clean and animalic at once, structured but with soul.
What makes Philippe II interesting is its restraint. The fougère family has always been defined by a tension: the herbal freshness of lavender and coumarin against darker, almost barnyard animalics. Here, that tension is resolved through the herbal artemisia up top and the fir resin grounding the base, a bridge between the classical and the contemporary. The coriander in the heart adds a slight spice that keeps the lavender from going too soft. It's a composition that trusts the structure to do the work, letting each layer hand off cleanly to the next without drama or surprises.
The evolution
The opening arrives sharp and herbaceous, artemisia cutting through citrus brightness with an almost medicinal clarity. Within minutes, bergamot softens the edges, and the composition pivots to its heart: lavender and geranium in quiet conversation, coriander adding a whisper of warmth underneath. This middle phase is where Philippe II reveals itself as a fougère in the truest sense, clean, soapy undertones that recall classic men's cologne without feeling dated. The drydown takes its time. Fir resin emerges first, bringing a slight turpentine edge that fades into something softer and more intimate. Vetiver and patchouli settle close to the skin, creating a warm, earthy foundation that lasts 6-8 hours on most. By the final hour, it's skin-mate. Close. Familiar. The kind of scent someone else might catch in the same elevator and not quite place.
Cultural impact
Philippe II occupies a specific corner of masculine fragrance culture, the fougère tradition that includes landmarks like Drakkar Noir and Kouros. Wearers describe it as a more accessible cousin to those classics, offering similar character without the intensity that made those names famous. It's the kind of scent that attracts people who know what they want: a proper masculine fragrance that doesn't apologize for being masculine. In a market that increasingly favors transparency and novelty, Philippe II quietly maintains a commitment to structure, restraint, and the kind of craftsmanship that defined men's fragrance before the niche era complicated everything.
