The Sora Dora brand is a prime example of how to elegantly combine family history and contemporary niche perfumery. It was founded in 2021 by Quentin Dorado, who, as the great-grandson of Antoine Soradora, can draw on an olfactory heritage that spans generations. According to tradition, Antoine emigrated from Portugal to France in 1920 at the age of 18 in a cloak-and-dagger operation because his parents wanted him to join the priesthood against his will. After various jobs, including as a miner and gardener, he finally ended up in Grasse, the perfume capital par excellence.
One of Antoine’s three daughters, Jany, is Quentin Dorado’s grandmother. She too has been surrounded by fragrances all her life and worked in a perfumery, as did her son, Quentin’s father. And so it is almost a family tradition for the former Soradoras and current Dorados to work in the perfume business, a very natural development that culminated in the founding of the Sora Dora fragrance house in 2021.
The reference to family history can also be felt in the fragrance names of Sora Dora’s creations: Jany, a fruity gourmand reminiscent of Quentin Dorado’s grandmother Jany’s tarte tatin. Gréasque is reminiscent of the small village in Provence where the young Antoine was initially stranded after fleeing Portugal and where he worked in a coal mine. Whether the historical figure Antoine Soradora actually existed in this form and with this name or is partly legend remains an open question, but that is precisely what makes this brand so appealing to me. What is fact, what is fiction?
One fact is that the young fragrance house has two collections to date: A classic collection in black and a white collection, the name says it all in terms of color. The black line represents the opulent, classic side of Sora Dora. It includes complex, spicy and often dark compositions that are reminiscent of the rich heritage of French perfumery. The White Collection, on the other hand, is modern, creative and experimental. Here, fruity, floral and sweet accords create molecular, light and playful compositions.
Ylop – Sensual closeness and polyamorous inspiration
Our first candidate from Sora Dora comes from the same White Collection: Ylop. The eau de parfum is intended to be an invitation to explore the skin of a loved one olfactorily. A fragrance that is intended to be as close, warm and sensual as an intimate touch. Ylop was created by Amélie Bourgeois, who combines the ingredients apricot, apple, tea, osmanthus, rosemary, almond, sesame, vanilla and vetiver.
Incidentally, the name Ylop is simply the word “poly” spelled backwards and thus refers to the idea of polyphony and diversity in love. This refers in particular to polyamorous relationships, i.e. those that involve more than two people and can take many forms. Ylop is intended to translate this concept into fragrance form: multi-layered, multi-faceted and open to different interpretations of closeness and intimacy.
The perfume truly captures the aura of a beloved body in a bottle and at the same time offers us the entire spectrum of our romantic stories. Sometimes it is notes echoing from a single body, sometimes mirrors from millions of other people. Ylop oscillates between its inspiration – poly – and its many individual elements – polyamorous.
Ylop opens with a fruity, sweet fragrance that seems to be bathed in a warm, amber-colored light – a mood that the visuals capture perfectly. The velvety-soft, creamy facets merge with sweet fruity notes that cannot be clearly defined as apricot or apple. This fruity sweetness is supported by woody, warm and profound accents. The nutty roasted aromas of sesame, which combine with salty, aromatic rosemary, are particularly exciting. Dark vanilla and cool, earthy vetiver add fascinating and multi-layered facets to Ylop. Osmanthus rounds it all off with a soft peachy floral finish, creating a wonderfully harmonious conclusion.
Ylop is complex and not easy to categorize: not a typical fruity fragrance, not a classic gourmand, but a sophisticated blend of fruity, sweet and woody-earthy elements with a slightly liqueur-like nuance. Transparent and modern-molecular in structure, yet with good presence and longevity, this fragrance is aimed at all those who appreciate calm, gentle and enveloping compositions. For me, Ylop fits particularly well in fall and winter, but also works as an all-rounder thanks to its versatility. An exceptional start to this short series of articles on Sora Dora, which will have another surprise in store at the end of the week.
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