This Stinks! Spooky Old Spice and Adjustable Cones!

A review of spooky Old Spice scents and adjustable cone air fresheners explains which Halloween fragrances stink and which ones actually deliver seasonal vibes.

To kick off the Halloween Haunt season, we're always looking to try new things that take us beyond the typical decor, and this year we've come to our senses — or is it scents?

Old Spice hits it out of the park with creativity in its playful artwork and branding. We really liked the DC Batman and Superman soaps and deodorants from last year, but this year's The Lawn Ranger is our current favorite.

In the interest of fall and Halloween season, we decided to check out the Frankenstud and Apple Crumbro scents. The Frankenstud has notes of vanilla and pistachio, while the Apple Crumbro smells like apple cider. The Frankenstud is available in the clear deodorant and the Apple Crumbro is the white antiperspirant deodorant. We prefer the clear option, but the Old Spice white version doesn't flake as badly as some other brands. Both scents were available in body wash but not the 3‑in‑1 body and hair wash we prefer.

So, did we like the scents? No.

The Frankenstud's only redeemable value was the cool art on the packaging. To us, it kind of stinks. Apple Crumbro smelled okay, but it was kind of like washing in apple cobbler. It had more of a sweet scent than the spicy one we'd associate with cider.

Just before we published this article, we received the Old Spice Pumpking Pumpkin Spice body wash. The smell is very pumpkin spice-smelling, so if you like the idea of smearing the great smell of PSL all over your body, then this is the right soap for you. Like the apple version, it smells as its advertised.

If they want to make a fall smell, I would add something a little more masculine, maybe a "leaves"-type smell. These are novel, but I prefer not smelling like I spilled by Starbucks all over me.

Our advice: go with The Lawn Ranger if you're looking for something different this spooky season. It has a great fresh‑cut lawn grassy smell, and you can imagine you're walking through a freshly mowed graveyard at midnight.

Since we're all about activating the nostrils in this post, let's take a look at some adjustable cone room air fresheners — we call them smellies (a term from the '80s, just go with it).

Walmart has been killing it with its own brand of cones, and now it's expanded to a couple holiday offerings: Harvest Pumpkin Spice and Mulled Cranberry Cider. The Pumpkin Spice had a light smell but wasn't great. The Cranberry Cider was just okay.

Renuzit's latest aren't spooky, but they are more interesting. Coming in White Gardenia & Linen and Citrus & Tonic, these prestige Elevated Air cones both smell great. The Citrus & Tonic had a very pleasant lime smell and the Gardenia is a strong floral. We picked these up at Hy‑Vee for $3 each, so they are about twice the price of the regular Renuzit cones. We have a thing for the cones, so we're compelled to try them. We do miss the old Renuzit cone‑shaped design they phased out about a decade ago. And for all the Renuzit fans out there, it never got better than those classic Power Room scented cones from the late '80s and early '90s.