The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Mojitos calm the soul, or so the theory goes. Proad took that premise and handed it to Sophie Labbé, asking her to build a fragrance around the idea of whispered calm captured in a bottle. The result is a mint-forward composition that borrows the cocktail's spirit: bright, cooling, immediately refreshing. But Labbé wasn't interested in making a literal interpretation. She layered in basil for herbal complexity, blackcurrant for depth, and grounded everything in cedarwood and musk. The name says mojito. The fragrance says something more lasting.
What makes this work is the hand-off. Mint opens bright and cool, the kind of clarity that feels like stepping into shade after sun. But it doesn't stay there. Basil arrives to complicate things, aromatic, slightly green, less obvious than mint but more interesting. Blackcurrant adds a dark berry note that catches you off guard in a fragrance called mojito. And then there's the base: cedarwood and musk. Nothing flashy. Just warmth that stays close, that lingers after the top notes fade. It's a perfume that earns its longevity by not trying to announce itself.
The evolution
The opening is all mint and lime, sharp and immediate. Citrus sparkle cuts through the first hour like ice clinking in a glass. Then the herbs arrive, basil enters around the 30-minute mark, softening the sharpness into something more aromatic. Blackcurrant follows, a dark fruit note that feels unexpected in a mojito-inspired scent but works. The drydown is quiet: cedarwood and musk settling close to the skin, fading to a warm trace you catch on your wrist hours later. Moderate sillage throughout. Nothing announces itself, but everything arrives.
Cultural impact
Proad joins a growing wave of Thai and Southeast Asian niche fragrance houses reimagining fresh, herbal scent profiles with warm woody foundations. The Rhythm of the Soul collection, launched in 2025, positions evocative, literary-inspired naming as a core identity pillar alongside the scents themselves. While Western luxury houses have long used conceptual storytelling in marketing, this approach remains relatively fresh in Asian niche perfumery, where fragrance culture is maturing rapidly alongside growing middle-class interest in artisanal goods. The mint-and-herbs genre itself reflects broader wellness trends favoring clean, calming scents over heavy orientals.
The House
ProadProad is a Thai fragrance house that interprets human nature through scent, drawing inspiration from the Roman Catholic concept of the seven deadly sins. The brand creates perfumes that explore themes of desire, memory, and emotional states, translating abstract concepts into wearable compositions. Proad has released multiple notable scents including Cherry Syrup (2019), Taipei (2021), Kyoto by Night (2021), and Pure Chemical No Natural (2022), with recent releases such as Lust and Let the whispers of Mojito calm your soul arriving in 2025. The house positions itself as a niche player in the fragrance market, producing fragrances in collaboration with perfumers and drawing from diverse sources including travel, music, poetry, and personal recollection.
The Creator
Sophie LabbéLabbé toggles effortlessly between florals andwoods, between skin-close intimacy and confident sillage. Her jasmine work, especially the Jasmin Noir pairing for Bulgari, shows a preference for richness without heaviness—amber-tinged petals, mossy depths, a warmth that never ov…
