Primitif

Are you in heat? Wear this. No, it won't help. At all. It's the ruthless friend that enables you, which is what you really want, right? You can't expect a pep talk and an honest piece of advice from a girlfriend whose name means "primitive", can you? Max Factor sure got the name right on this one. Yes, Primitif... a delectable savage. She's carnal, but low-key about it; not in a "femme fatale" way, but she reads like a 1960's sleaze novel: "Gale seemed like a steady broad with her modest smile and unsuspecting curls, but she couldn't stop yearning for a love affair with her best friend's husband" kind of thing. Then you're plunged into a sloppy mid-century sexcapade that ends in an emotionally heated triangle (how predictable) - a man defeated by his curious desire, his scorned wife, and that damned instigator, Gale, acting like the victim. Mhmm. Animalic, spicy, musky, and warm. Powdery and peachy. It's almost your standard aldehyde, but there's so much more to it. There's that layer of impulsion (civet, earthy oakmoss and vetiver) and secret desire (boozy peach, powdery orris and sleepy florals) that it imparts on you. It prowls, it meows, it beckons you to kick off your kitten heels and smear your lipstick. If Primitif were a song, it'd be "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield. Note: this comes in a few different bottles. Mine is very different than what is pictured here. It's the "Spray Mist Cologne in Crystalique Decanter" and looks like expensive crystal, clear, with a wide base that tapers into a skinny spout cuffed in gold, topped with a large "crystal" cap (the cap is actually plastic). It's beautiful... and phallic, go figure. Absolutely a successful blind buy for my vintage curiosities.

I'm afraid to affirm how gorgeous and carnal this frag is. I mostly wear it to bed because it's deeply inappropriate in virtually all other contexts. I first acquired a gigantic cologne in the full presentation pictured for a song on one of the sites. The splash application wasn't working for me, so I decanted to a small spray bottle and wow. This time, the orris comes forward, yesterday the jasmine, and the other night, the sandalwood. I decided I had to try the parfum--the one that comes in the small clear cube bottle with the weird cheap looking black high density glitter foam cat with flashing rhinestone eyes presentation. I didn't even want the cat presentation, I just wanted the parfum and this was the cheapest listing. To my surprise, the parfum did not keep as well as the cologne, or perhaps it was the condition history of the one I purchased. There's an off note that never dissipates. But guess what? As soon as I pulled the cat out of the box, I was like, oh, I get it, this is rad and set it in its rightful spot next to the gorgeous cologne presentation. 12/10

I have a bottle from the 60s that was sealed when I purchased it. Opening is explosively aldehydic, wrapped in creamy civet and lily of the valley. The effect is something akin to stepping glamorously from a shower -- soft, just a bit soapy, but not offensively so. On my skin I get a multidimensional peach -- the peach note itself teased at times in a floral direction by the floral heart notes, sometimes a juicy direction by the bergamot and aldehydes. Slowly, a leathery facet emerges supported by the musk and oakmoss, evoking to my mind fuzzy peach skin. Finally, sandalwood and vetiver suggest pit and stem. As the drydown continues, primitif begins to live up to its name, progressing toward animalic base notes that, on my skin, never lean skanky, but lead the floral heart the the perfume into warmer, darker waters. I get just enough of amber and patchouli to keep things warm and alluring.

Absolutely divine. Peachy, lactonic florals snuggled up to furry little forest critters - all bathed in a warm, aldehydic glow. Primitif is one of the very best examples of an American chypre. I get the same, slightly raunchy tiki bar vibe that I get in Aphrodisia, but this one takes the cake in terms of quality materials. This is such a cool souvenir of the past. I feel so lucky to possess a quantity of this glorious perfume. Oh, the packaging is also amazing. It has mid-century modern charm all over. Just delightful.

OMG I just got a 1956 era bottle of Primitif cologne and am blown away by it. It is earthy, delicious, sexy, real womanly, red lipstick kind of gal. I absolutely am amazed by the quality. This is no little girl's stuff. And even though it is cologne, it is as great as my other vintage favorite, Chanel No. 5 Cologne (vintage of course). Musky, sexy, red lipstick. No apologies for being a woman is what comes to mind. This is truly a wonderful find. Honey, put this on and do your thing. I LOVE THIS ! This stuff is GREAT.

Parfum in the rectangular cube bottle. Fantastic fragrance, unlike anything else I own. You must like patchouli here. I have the impression of a dark roast coffee as a general reference. The main floral I get is geranium, very realistic, and the oakmoss is dusty and earthy, very natural. Strong and seductive. Hats off to whoever created this, it's 1950s perfumery at its best.

Vintage - same bottle as the photo in the profile.. This. is. perfume. Oh yes. This is not a smell of apple pie, nor guava grape, nor ozone, nor candy gourmand fluffy fluff fluff. No, this is sex, on an old leather couch. Little bourbon spilled, laden vase of sweet white flowers overturned on the silk wool carpet. That ́s OK, better things to do than tidy up.

I absolutely love this.. I think I made another review that said it reminded me of my sin but I take that back.. this, to me, is close to Revlon Unforgettable but with more spice. It’s like unforgettable and toujours moi mixed.

Oh my God I loovveee this.. it reminds me of something I might have.. maybe My Sin? I’ll have to test and see but this is amazing .. God I freaking love vintage perfumes! Edit: It’s similar to Toujours Moi!

The closest that the polite Max Factor company ever got to a "hotcha" perfume. Warm(almost hot) with a good dash of woods and spices. A perfect autumn perfume.

Hey now! Oh my wowie wow wow! Carnal. Sex in a bottle. As soon as I opened Primitif, I started blushing.

A more mild-mannered cousin of Revlon Intimate. Results may vary!

I've been so fascinated by the old hilarious 1950s print ads for this that I had to buy a tiny bottle (probably one that women would have kept in their purses back in the day) on ebay just to see what it was like. I have no idea if what I have has kept fresh, but it smelled exactly like what I expected it to smell like: big aldehydes, big syrupy peach, and big animalic civet, with lots of florals behind it. This is what a gangster's mistress at mid-century (like Gloria Grahame's character in "The Big Heat") would have worn to smell sexy and cheap. There is nothing subtle about this, but that's what makes it so much fun. It almost sums up the word "floozy."

Primitif smells like you just had wild sex on a hot muggy night, and you're walking home in bare feet, stilettos is one hand, purse in the other. The scent of your Arpege parfum mingling with sweat, and sex, and a twinge of regret. A little raunchy and damn sexy. Meow.

I have mini vintage bottle with the square top. It is a sweet yet deep fragrance , not floral (I usually fine myself wearing florals) but interesting.

goes on chypre then develops into a deep, rich floral due to the musk and civet

Scored a vial of the pure parfum on eBay. The vial is full, the flacon original, and the jus within smells marvelous. It is definitely an oldschool floral woody chypre, rich with animalics, in the vein of Avon OCCUR! and Revlon INTIMATE... and all three, I'd say, were affordable riffs on Lanvin ARPÈGE. Of these three drugstore-tier fragrances, PRIMITIF is my favorite, mainly because it is blended better than the Revlon or Avon, the composition is more "suave", seamless, has more "gravitas", somehow, and I'd say the ingredients are better. I cannot fault PRIMITIF: for a drugstore price, one could get a truly high-quality va-va-voom aura of Midcentury nocturnal sexuality. It is no slouch. It's definitely a Midcentury perfume, and chances are good most of today's cheerleaders and sorority sisters wouldn't *dream* of smelling like this, even for "retro irony". This parfum has a buttery, fatty quality that smells lush, no doubt due to the marriage of ylang-ylang, civet and vintage nitromusks. Its unfoldment on the skin is sophisticated and rich. Amazingly the sweet citrus, with a fleck of stewed peach, is still intact, and forms a delectable accord with the patchouly, urinaceous civet and orris. All the floralcy here is of the dark, musty kind, and all flowers are subordinate to the main idea of the musky chypre. Something, I know not what, is bestowing a subtle aromatic quality to leaven the whole dusky brew... it may simply be menthol. Though the ad, featuring a smoldering Jean Patchett, assures us that this scent is made for the woman who is "every inch a female", it does not scream "femme" necessarily, and a man could easily wear this. This is another one of those humble vintage numbers that, if released as pricey niche today, would be hailed as the second coming. Papillon Artisan SALOME is basically PRIMITIF, dialed to 400 megawatts. I highly recommend, if you are a student of perfume history, to try PRIMITIF. [UPDATE--->] There is no doubt in my mind that the cedar, rose, sandalwood, patchouly and civet are the real deal in this parfum. And almost surely the oakmoss, too. And this was "drugstore perfume" ! Who has hypnotized the youth of today into thinking that Windex, Tide and Febreze are the way ya wanna smell anymore?

Dime store fragrance. That's what this stuff was called in the 1950's and 1960's. Max Factor brought it out to compete with Faberge's Tigress, which I'm sure always sold better. But Primitif sold well and there was and is lots of this stuff around. It's held up pretty well too. I just doused myself in some out of a small bottle I have. It smells a lot like it did when I wore it in the late 1950's through probably mid-1980's. It's rich and dark and brooding. Sexy though. Max Factor made it in all sorts of presentations, the most attractive being a black cat about 5 inches high made of a sort of matte finish paper mache inside a clear plastic dome. The earlier ones may have had a glass dome. The cat is wearing a small brass looking violin around its neck. Of course I have one of these, but not the dome. They're around on eBay though. They also made sets with soap and powder and whatnot, maybe into the 1990's. Good stuff, even today. A lot like Reminiscence Patchouli.

My bottle of this just arrived. It is boxed, the same one in the pic here, 57cc (about 60ml). It appears unused and it smells (from the bottle) abolutely divine. 1960s or perhaps 70s I should think. Marie 69s review below sounds as if it may be pretty much spot on though i haven't tried it on skin yet. And my point is - I paid £6, or about $8, including shipping. What kind of crazy world is this, when utter gems can be found for pennies and yet people pay £££/$$$ for niche fragrance a tenth of the quality? Moral - if you enjoy quality fragrance ebay is still your friend. The stuff is still out there. Yay!

It literally made me feel my heart beating. Its a roll in the hay special. Give it 20 mins to stop panting, then inhale the hug. For special moments only! An intimate pleasure. Am so happy to have this in the small bottle - the dome setting with bottle being hugged by a bow tied boa wearing shocking pink cat with one jewelled eye missing. Perfect visual summation of this gem :) Get it if you can - safe blind buy for vintage lovers that like the hot deep sensuous dark animalic realms.