💌 Dear Diary(subs)... get to know me

Welcome to my little fragrant chaos — part moodboard, part identity crisis, part love letter to the scents that made me who I am (or at least who I think I am today).

I’m Marinda. Leo sun, rising fire sign energy, eyeliner sharp enough to cut a man, and a full-blown, unapologetic perfume addict.

Honestly? I’ve always been a bit too much. Too loud, too sensitive, too emotional… too scented. Like, girl, you could smell me coming before you even saw me. It’s fine. I stand by it.

So obviously, I fell in love with fragrance. Like hard. Like one-spray-and-my-life-just-changed hard.

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Okay — flashback: I’m 13. Dillard’s. Back-to-school hell. Escalators humming. Moms fighting over clearance racks. The scent of teenage rebellion and shoe rubber in the air. And me? I’m posted at the perfume kiosk like I belong there.

Me & Dior

Then I see her. My first real perfume.

Dior Addict 2.

Soft pink. Fresh and floral with that citrusy bite and this clean musk finish that made me feel like… a woman? At 13? Insane. Iconic. Unmatched.

My mom — The Laotian “Madonna” literally— just looks at me and goes, “One bottle. Make it last the school year.”

So I did. And baby, I wore that bottle like armor.

This wasn’t Bath & Body Works or some crusty body spray. This was grown. This was a whole vibe. I sprayed it on and suddenly I had opinions. A point of view. Lip gloss. A crush. Secret love letters I never sent. And yeah — I smelled like I knew who I was, even when I absolutely didn’t.

It unlocked something. I spiraled (in the best way). Escada Magnetism? Obsessed. Baby Phat Goddess? Gone too soon, you sweet discontinued icon. I still grieve.

Perfume stopped being about “smelling good” and started being about being someone. It became my ritual. My love language. My way of saying this is who I am today without opening my mouth.

And now? Now I carry Addict 2 like a relic. A time capsule. One sniff and I’m 13 again, Ashanti playing, bangs too straight, thinking I’m in love, definitely not, but damn I smelled like I was.

literally every day Moto

I started House of MNK Luxe Co. because scent is personal. It’s messy and nostalgic and sexy and honestly a little chaotic. Like girlhood. Like growing up with too many feelings and not enough words. I wanted something real. Something that smells like the inside of a diary with a lock and a sticker on it.

This is for the scent-obsessed. The soft but spicy girls. The romantics. The over-thinkers. The mood-swingers. The glam squad with anxiety. All of us.

This is our sacred little space. Our altar of oversharing. Our chaotic chic perfumery.

So come smell with me. Spiral with me. Overshare. Cry. Laugh. Spritz something that makes you feel like a main character even when you’re just buying dog food in sweats.

Whatever your mood — we set the tone. Even if the tone is “slightly unhinged but hot.”

butterfly kisses always XOXO,MNK 🖤