The Scent of Starting Over

Laura Larkin | Soulfully Laura

They don’t tell you that new beginnings have a smell.
It’s not the citrus of ambition or the floral burst of optimism — it’s subtler than that.
It’s the faint mix of candle wax, printer ink, espresso, well, Mushroom coffee that is, and maybe a whisper of nerves.

When I sat down to build this little corner of the internet — Soulfully Laura — I wasn’t trying to rebrand or reinvent. I was trying to exhale. After years of balancing perfume formulas, nonprofit paperwork, and Etsy product listings at 4 am, I wanted one place where it could all breathe together: the scents, the stories, the grit, the grace.

Because truthfully? I’m tired of pretending those things belong in separate rooms.

When I create a perfume for Maison Delia, it’s not just top notes and base accords. It’s a memory of a Romanian sunrise, or a moment when I didn’t know how I’d make the foundations next month’s rent but still lit a candle anyway.

When I design a shirt for Unfiltered Confidence, it’s a message to every woman who’s ever laughed through exhaustion and called it resilience.
When I look at the children at The Delia Foundation, it’s a reminder that love is the only scent that never fades.

Starting over isn’t about leaving behind what was — it’s about gathering it all, even the cracked pieces, and building something softer, wiser, more honest.

So this is me — starting again, quietly but unapologetically.
With coffee rings on my desk, dogs nestled in my office waiting for the light to go off, candle wax on my keyboard, and the belief that grace can be gritty, laughter can be sacred, and purpose can wear perfume.

Welcome to Soulfully Laura.
It smells like home.

Grace with a side of grit.
— Laura