Diorama Dior 1949

Diorama is an unplanned addition to my collection, suddenly it was there. We met in Damstraat in Amsterdam, in the middle of a crowd of noisy tourists. It was the beginning of September with unsettled weather. First it bucketed down like mad, then the sun flashed out from behind the clouds, just to give way to the rain again an hour later. During a long shower I fled from the swells of water and vacationers into a small perfumery.
It was a strange experience for two reasons. First: I had already seen it on YouTube when Arlene from "Delicious Delights" tested a few fragrances there. Second: it is the kind of perfumery that my generation hardly knows any more, because there are no rows of shelves through which you can walk and spray as you please. No, it is rather a shop with a large open space in the middle and a long sales counter all around, behind which the vials are kept by the vendors and can only be tried on request.
Normally this would have driven me away as a relatively shy creature, but the offers in the shop window were too tempting: "Calandre" by Paco Rabanne, the original "Chloé" from the 70s and other classics, which you rarely get in front of your nose, pulled me unstoppably naar binnen, as the Dutch would say.
A friendly gentleman in his forties quickly took care of me and gave me everything to test that my heart desired: "Bandit" by Robert Piguet (not really my thing), Karl Lagerfeld's Chloé, Calandre, Rochas Femme, Je Reviens by Worth and many more... I was in seventh heaven, especially when the exclusive series of "Les Creations de Monsieur Dior" caught my eye at the very bottom. Was the orange one on the edge really "Diorama"? The one Dior that you can hardly buy anywhere in Germany, let alone test? Fantastic.
The nice salesman sprayed some of it on a strip. What was that? I knew that one! A familiar note of lily of the valley and jasmine came up my nose. Clearly "Diorissimo".
Surprised, I asked him if he had really grabbed the right bottle. There it was imprinted, no doubt, Diorama. Finally I blamed it on my overstrained nose and decided to buy it, despite of any financial shortages. After all it was quasi a treasure which I had unexpectedly found between Dam and Voorburgwal.
Back in Germany the next day I unpacked it and sprayed it on my skin, as it should have done back in Amsterdam. And again the well-known Diorissimo tone of lily of the valley and jasmine came out, this time however supplemented by strong caraway. Thank God, it wasn't bottled wrong, it was a scent of its own. Over time it became a little more varied, flowery and slightly fruity, which probably comes from the peach. But the whole thing kept the lightness of Diorissimo and never became deeper or darker.
Slowly disappointment spread. Not because the perfume is bad, no, it's a very beautiful, radiant fragrance, but because I expected something completely different. No 1940s depth, no prunes, no roses. Maybe it is because of my nose that I perceive it differently than others.
Anyway, I decided to give it a new chance in a new collection and released it into the endless expanse of the Souk. With Diorissimo in my closet, it makes no sense for me personally to also own Diorama, considering my nose almost perceives it as a twin perfume plus caraway seeds. Tot ziens, Diorama, het was heel leuk om jou te hebben.