Recently Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. celebrated Founders Day on January 13, and Alaina Hoskins embodies what it means to live the sorority’s commitment to service, scholarship, and sisterhood at every stage of life.
At 56, Hoskins is a mother, a college senior at the University of the District of Columbia, author, mentor, and founder of a luxury fragrance house. Her story is not one of overnight success, but of divine timing.
“I realized early on that everything I was doing was about making women feel better,” Hoskins shared. “Whether it was hair, clothes, or just listening, this has always been the call on my life.”
Before becoming an entrepreneur, she spent more than 25 years mentoring at-risk women and girls, often from behind a salon chair. Those years, combined with deep personal trauma and spiritual wounding, eventually led her to write Behind Church Doors: Overcoming Church Hurt, a raw account of surviving abuse in ministry and reclaiming her voice.
“I had to stop asking, ‘How did I get here?’ and start asking, ‘What am I supposed to learn here?’” she said. “I wasn’t built to quit.”
That same resilience now defines her brand, The Strongest Fragrance Bar, luxury fragrances designed as affirmations in a bottle. Each scent, Fearless, Compassion, and Empowered, is meant to shift mindset as much as mood. “Even if I didn’t have food, I had my oils,” Hoskins said. “Smelling good helped me show up when everything else was falling apart.”
Her newest launch, The Divine 9 Collection, is where legacy meets luxury. The debut fragrance, Crimson, honors Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the organization Hoskins pledged to at age 55. Ten dollars from every bottle funds scholarships for HBCU students and single mothers.
“I was the oldest on my line,” she said. “But I’d been doing the work long before I wore the letters. This was my way of giving back.”
Hoskins also credits her years working as an image consultant for Gloria James as a turning point. “She didn’t need me, but she chose me,” Hoskins said. “She held my ladder and fixed my crown.” As she prepares to graduate and expand her fragrance line, Hoskins is clear: purpose doesn’t have an age limit.
“I’m still redefining,” she said. “And I finally understand, I went through all of that so I could help someone else survive it.”
What does being a Delta mean to you?
“Service is not something I do, it’s who I am. Delta just gave language to the work I’d already been called to.”
Why fragrance?
“Scent shifts atmosphere. What you wear can speak life over you before you say a word.”
What would you tell women starting over after 50?
“You’re not late. You’re right on time, and everything you’ve lived through counts.”
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