doomsday_disco

I haven't actually had this soda, or its namesake pie, so I can't compare it to the actual thing, but this smells like a fizzy, tropical (maybe pineapple-y?) soda with something clean beneath it (not sure if it is an aldehyde or a musk), as well as some graham cracker crust and some whipped cream.

I really wish that clean aspect weren't present in this, because it's the most pie-like of the 2025 pie frimps since it actually has a discernable crust note (which smells delicious!). I'm still going to hang on to my frimp, though.

This is definitely stronger on the lemonade than the strawberry, and it's a very tart lemonade. I'd say that there's more sweetness to be found from the lemonade in Grumblotch’s Salts, even though that scent has a mineralic quality to it and some salt. I'm also not getting any pie crust from this. It gets sweeter and improves after it has been on the skin for several hours, but the scent is pretty faint by that point.

Of the 2025 pie frimps, this was the one I enjoyed the least.

London Fog Cream Pie smells like Earl Grey, with its bergamot and tannic black tea leaves, swirled with frothy steamed milk and a dash of vanilla syrup -- which is to say, it smells like a London Fog!  It gets a little buttery after several hours of wear on me, but not overly so -- although I suspect that's the cream part of the cream pie at play. I don't get anything overtly pie from this, though.

This is my favorite of the 2025 pie frimps -- I only wish it lasted longer and were stronger!

This is very strong on the matcha, which isn't the same as the Lab's regular, lemony green tea note, and it isn't too bitter or vegetal. The matcha smells very similar to the matcha notes used by Astrid Perfume and Nocturne Alchemy (for those who aren't as familiar with BPAL but have tried some other perfume houses). I don't really get any pie crust from this, and it takes several hours before a light vanilla emerges, which I suspect is the cream part of the cream pie.

I really enjoy matcha scents and will be hanging onto my frimp, but I do wish I got more actual pie from this!

This goes on with the dusty patch of the Snake Oil being the most prominent aspect of the scent on me. The pomegranate note is present, but it is rather understated. Over time, the Snake Oil spices join with the patch, so that it's mostly Snake Oil slinking through that little bit of candied pomegranate, which makes it seem like a slightly darker Snake Oil blend. I can't compare it to any other pomegranate GC variants as I haven't tried any of the others, but there's definitely way less pom here than other pomegranate grove scents I've tried. I no longer have any around (since I swapped my bottle away many years ago), but I would probably put this in the same family as Snake Charmer, due to them both containing spices and dark fruits, but this is not as complex, not as strong or as spiced, and the candied pom is way more subtle than Snake Charmer's plum.

I think I'll hang onto my decant of this to see how it ages, but I have fortunately been spared from needing a bottle of this (which is good, because this Yule update has slain me). Snakes in the Coffee Beans is the Snake Oil variant of win from this year's Yule update.

I was hoping that this would be pomegranate swirled an actual pistachio cream, whether that be the pistachio cream that's so trendy in desserts right now or the almond-esque pistachio cream in a pistachio cream pie. Unfortunately, it's that cherry/almond sort of pistachio that I got from Vanilla Cream, Pistachio, and Macadamia.... and the cherry aspect of that, combined with the pomegranate, just smells medicinal to me.  The pomegranate ended up as the dominant note, but it still could not take it out of that territory, to my nose. And I never got any actual cream note.

Okay, I know I said in my Hiss and Hearse review a few months back that that was the one of the best Snake Oil-heavy Snake Oil variants in a while -- but here I am reviewing Snakes in the Coffee Beans and feeling the same way. In a lot of the Snake Oil variants from the past few years, it might be heavy on the musk, or the patchouli, but I rarely get all of the components of the Snake Oil with whatever has been added in a particular variant. But in Snakes in the Coffee Beans, I totally get the aged vanilla absolute from the Snake Oil (which, in my opinion, is more sheer than the vanilla of the OG Snake Oil -- but it's still good), along with the spices, musk, and patch, all swirling with the coffee beans. So it gets points not only for being very Snake Oil-y, but also for its super realistic coffee bean note, and the fact that this goes strong for hours on end.

I like this way better than the other coffee Snake Oil variant that is PSL: Pumpkin Snake Latte. I'm definitely going to have to upgrade my decant to a bottle.  

This is a really cozy scent. It was unexpectedly somewhat like a sweet, creamy, lemon-like scent on me during the first few hours -- I think it's the honey mingling with the hay note, which was also somewhat lemon-y in the Vanilla, Nutmeg, and Hay Absolute trio. Then it becomes a sweet and toasty oat scent -- kind of similar to One Has to be Careful -- but with a bit of added spice from the clove and a comforting, non-laundry!!! wool note.

Of the two scents I tried from the Erlkönig collection, this was the one I enjoyed most. I will have to give it a full-day slather to see if I need more of it, but for now, I'll definitely be keeping my decant.

This is a very fruit-forward suf. It mostly smells like jammy blackberry filling to me. I don't get a ton of cream cheese or pastry from this -- both notes are there, but they are buried beneath the blackberry note for a really long time, and then when I do smell those notes, they still can't hold a candle to the strength of the blackberry. I would say there is far less cream cheese in this than you'd find in a danish, and the pastry is most noticeable in the long drydown after the scent has been on the skin for several hours, but I only get it when sniffing my arm up close -- never in the throw.

It smells delicious, but I'm not sure that I need more than my decant (although I'll probably retest it before it goes away just to be sure!).

When I tried this just on the front of my wrist one day, the coffee disappeared pretty quickly on me, and I was left with just the rose.

When I gave this a full-day slather (slathering it on wrists, down my forearm, in the crooks of my elbows, and on my neck), I could smell the coffee beans with the rose throughout the day, although the rose note definitely was the dominant note after the wet phase and got stronger over time. It has great throw, too, and I could smell both notes in the throw.

Originally, I was going to pass on this, but then I decided I had to try it since Bulgarian rose is usually my favorite rose note, and I thought, what if this smells like a bouquet of roses in a coffee shop? It doesn't really give me that vibe, since the rose is stronger than the coffee, but it is still really nice. I'm going to have to slather it on again to decide if the decant will suffice, or if I need a bottle -- I think it would be a great Yule to wear in January when you're getting antsy for the Lupercalia update.

This smells like the thick, goopy, toffee-like honey of Harlow's Lace on top of a buttery milk note. It's very rich.

I was hoping that this would be more like the milk and honey and Alice, but alas. Great throw and staying power, though!

I originally debated a bottle of this, but went the decant route instead in case it ended up being too sweet.

Well, I would have been happy with a bottle. This smells like caramelized banana deliciousness -- perfect for pairing with all of my BPAL banana scents.

The only downside to this hair gloss is that it doesn't seem to have a lot of longevity or throw.

When I tried this last weekend, the test was all for naught because my hair still somehow smelled like Hunter's Moon: Coffee Bean & Incense Hair Gloss despite me washing my hair before testing out this hair gloss. (That one's a strong one with serious staying power!)

So I tried it again yesterday in wet hair, and today in dry hair. I couldn't smell it in my wet hair for more than a few minutes after application. In my dry hair, even though I applied this very liberally, I could only smell a light caramelized sweetness whenever I held my hair up to my nose. I never got a whiff of it throughout the day despite applying a ton of it and having really long hair down to my ass. 😅

Although I wish this had some throw and better longevity, I'm still debating upgrading my decant, not only to pair with my banana scents, but also to potentially spray all over my arms as a scent of the day -- maybe if I got some on the sleeves of my shirt, I could actually smell it throughout the day. I'm going to try it out!

Mabel is predominantly about the black lipstick on me, backed by the cherry slush. The black lipstick note is the same one from Black Lipstick that is a highly realistic lipstick accord with a waxy creaminess and definite make-up smell to it. The frozen cherry slush features a bright maraschino-like cherry instead of a black one, but it's not sweet like a cherry slushie would be.

I decided to grab a decant of this to try at least one of the Transanta scents from this Yule collection. Although I really appreciate the realism of Beth's lipstick accord, it's not something I could see myself wearing as a scent of the day, and there's not enough cherry here to make this more of a cherry slush scent than a make-up one on my skin. But if you do like to wear Black Lipstick and wish it were tinged with cherry, well, here's your scent!

My first thought was of Ikea, too, actually -- specifically, of the lingonberry juice they have in their restaurant.  Julween reminded me of that lingonberry juice and popcorn garlands -- but the latter is due to the buttery porridge note that I mistook for popcorn before I refreshed myself on the scent notes. I only get hints of the other notes, which are most noticeable in the background during the wet phase of the scent. Eventually, the buttery porridge note overtakes the lingonberry, but the lingonberry never disappears.

I'm not sure I need a bottle of this one, but I'm totally keeping the decant around for when I go to Ikea to drink lingonberry juice and eat veggie meatballs.  

This smells delicious! It smells like a more heavily spiced oatmeal raisin cookie (but it's not a cinnabomb!) slathered in buttercream, or a buttercream-slathered spice cake that was made with treacle. It doesn't have a ton of throw (I do have to get close to my skin to smell it), but it does have decent longevity.

I almost blind bottled this one, but I was iffy on the treacle and decided to go the decant route instead. But I really do enjoy this, so I'm going to have to give it a full-day slather to determine if the decant will be enough, or if I'll need more. Honestly, I'm tempted to get it just so that I can say that I'm wearing Indigestion by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

I have the original release of the perfume oil and blind bottled the hair gloss to pair with it, and to have a pumpkin-y hair gloss without a ton of spice.

Alas, this hair gloss doesn't smell like my bottle of The Witches from 2015. Like amoray and alterosen, this is mostly about the honey in my hair.

I'm not sure if this is one of those situations where it just smells different in hair gloss form, or if it is a batch variation with this year's perfume (due to all of the variabilities that can happen with components). I'm starting to think it is the latter based off of the few reviews of the 2025 version that have been posted thus far, and it's kind of bumming me out since I planned to buy the 2025 release of the perfume oil before the Weenies go down. I guess I'll sit on my hands and hope for more reviews.

But the original version of The Witches has lots of vanilla, cream, lightly spiced pumpkin, and a much more subtle honey note. So I'm surprised that this is as honey-forward as it is!

Ugh, the Lab is killing me with all of these wonderful lotions.  

Together We Shall Rejoice is a lovely apple orchard scent. It's nothing like Apple Orchard atmo, or Bits of Birnam Wood, two apple scents that are also very orchard-y. No, this one is more green to me, with lots of fresh apple blossom, crisp green apples, and green trees.

You could pair this with any apple scent, but I'd be more likely to pair it with a green apple perfume or one that features apple blossom. I agree with LavenderCoffee that this would be perfect to wear in the spring or fall.

Regarding the texture (I'm copying this from my initial lotion review): This is a thick lotion. It's not as thick as Epically Epic's whipped body butters (which they no longer make  ), Blood Moon Botanica's body butters, or Strawberry Boo's frosting-like body butters, nor is it thin and liquidy like Paintbox Soapworks' lotions or Moonalisa's potion lotions or avocado butters. I haven't had one in a while, but I would say the thickness is probably most comparable to Haus of Gloi's pumpkin butters, but this might even be thicker than that, and it is somewhat stickier.  I like that this is on the thicker side, because I live in the desert and have very dry skin. I find that this doesn't take long to sink in (but again -- I have very dry skin, so you may not have the same experience). 

I'm going to have to update my decant to a bottle before this goes away.

This smells like Peacock Queen, which is to say that it is a voluptuous, velvety, dark red rose with prickly thorns.

I've tried many a lotion from the Lab at this point, and I'd say this is one of the ones with the best throw that I've tried, but that may just be because Peacock Queen is a haughty girl, y'know?

Regarding the texture (I'm copying this from my initial lotion review):This is a thick lotion. It's not as thick as Epically Epic's whipped body butters (which they no longer make ), Blood Moon Botanica's body butters, or Strawberry Boo's frosting-like body butters, nor is it thin and liquidy like Paintbox Soapworks' lotions or Moonalisa's potion lotions or avocado butters. I haven't had one in a while, but I would say the thickness is probably most comparable to Haus of Gloi's pumpkin butters, but this might even be thicker than that, and it is somewhat stickier.  I like that this is on the thicker side, because I live in the desert and have very dry skin. I find that this doesn't take long to sink in (but again -- I have very dry skin, so you may not have the same experience). 

I'm glad that the Lab released this lotion since my bottle of Peacock Queen bath oil is long gone. I look forward to pairing it with lots of my rose scents!

In a surprise to no one, this is, of course, a very cinnamon-forward scent, but there's a marzipan-like almond note that makes it like a creamy cinnamon at first, and then the almond calms down and it reminds me of some cinnamon-covered roasted almonds that can be found at a Christmas market.

Although I didn't experience a burning sensation from this, my skin was red where I applied it on the front of my wrist, so if you have sensitive skin like myself, definitely make sure you test this in an area where you can more easily wash it off in case it gives you a reaction. Fortunately, since this wasn't actually burning me, I didn't have to do that -- but I don't think this is something I'd be able to slather, as there's no way I'd be able to apply it to my neck, the crook of my elbows, or even along the length of my forearms like I do with most scents.

Since I'm unable to slather, I'm just going to have to stick with my decant.

This is the breathless euphoria of being lifted by unseen hands, friendship blurring into invocation, play into wild belief. The body is still, heartbeats thrum and murmur, the spirit floats. Something listens.

This is a fragrance of surrendering gravity and trusting the darkness. It opens like a breath held too long, cool and smoky, trembling with anticipation. Pale, translucent florals drift upward, buoyant and unreal, while incense draws you back just enough to feel the disorienting pull between here and elsewhere. The base settles into dry wood and shadowed resins, like the floor beneath your back, solid, unyielding, waiting.

I agree that Pine Cone Sack Attack is reminiscent of the sticky sap of a Christmas tree. My cousin invited my partner and I to attend a wreath-making class at a bar last month that involved clipping actual fir, pine, juniper, and cypress branches to assemble the wreaths. This reminds me of the pine and fir sap that got all over my hands while creating my wreath. While the amber lurks beneath the pine sap at first, it eventually gains strength and becomes the dominant note, backed by the pine sap. It reads as a golden variety of amber to my nose. 

I really enjoy the pine sap forward phase of this scent, and at first, I was bummed that the amber ended up taking over -- as I prefer my evergreen scents to stay evergreen-forward -- but this ended up growing on me the more I spent time with it, and I think this particular amber complements the pine sap note really well. I'll definitely be keeping my decant, and I plan on giving this a full-day slather to see if need a bottle.

Snowman Beatdown smells like a cool cologne on me. I'm getting a minty (or something mint-adjacent) ice note, and I think some ozonic snow and sage that are all combining to remind me of cologne. I slathered this on my partner and tested it on myself, and it smelled the same on both of us. Great throw and longevity.

I'll be keeping my decant around to slather on my partner, but this isn't something I could personally see myself reaching for over other icy scents.

This wasn't something that jumped out at me on my first few perusals of the Yule collection, but I decided to grab a decant in the end just in case it ended up being a flormand.

Alas, this is definitely more of a straight-up floral on me, despite the honey and cream notes. I get a smattering of honey behind the pansies when I sniff up close, but it's all about the pansies in the throw (which is strong), and I'm not getting much cream (on a positive note, the cream isn't a butter bomb?).

Dismembered Noggin Bouquet is sadly not sweet enough for me, but it was fun to get to try it.

I wasn't sure how this combo would work out, but I decided to grab a decant since I was getting so many Yule decants anyways.  

This is mostly about the apple pie on me. The black coffee is present and is strongest during the wet phase of the scent, and I'm pleased to report that the coffee and pie notes do not clash, but then it becomes all about the apple pie. If you tried the Apple Pie scent from the Trading Post's Great Pie Debate collection about a decade ago, this is that same apple pie scent that's more spiced apple pie filling than pie crust (I'm sadly not getting any crust on my skin). It is still delicious, though.

I think I have less than half a bottle of Apple Pie left, so I'm debating upgrading this before it goes away so it can fill that void when it runs out. I also love wearing my BPAL pie scents during the week of Thanksgiving, so this would be great for that purpose.

Who would have thought that coffee and root beer would make such a great combo?

Sometimes, I get more fizzy root beer in one sniff, and more creamy coffee in the next, but both notes are there, swirling together so well in a way I didn't know was possible, and with great throw.

I'm going to need to give this a full-day slather before the Yules come down to see if I need more than my decant -- but at the moment, I think it's a strong possibility.