It was Portia who suggested this week’s question but refused to lead the discussion. I decided to run it myself because I’m also curious to read your answers.
Saturday Question #85:
How Did You Get Your Screen Name?
How did you decide what to use as your online/screen name in Perfumeland? Leaving aside Facebook where most people use their actual accounts with First and Last Name, what is the handle you use in perfume-related communities to post or comment on posts? Is it some version of your name, a nickname or completely arbitrary or fictional creation? Why have you chosen it?
My Answer
Almost nine years ago, I’ve published a post in which I told a story of how I came up with both my screen name and this blog’s name. What is interesting, in that post I counted comments from at least 9 people who still read my blog these days.
For those of my newer readers who is not curious enough to read an ancient post, I’ll give a short version: Undina (my native language-specific spelling of the word “Undine” – a category of elemental beings associated with water) was a nickname that I’d chosen a couple of decades ago (wow, time swims fast!) for a role-playing chat room that I frequented and where I spent many happy hours. Out of all possible species of the undines group, my character in that chat room had transformed into a mermaid. And one of the virtual props I used there was a looking glass on the wall. So, my screen name and my blog’s name are kind of homage to that wonderful time.
A collage made for my character by one of the chat’s habitués
Now it’s your turn.
Undina's Looking Glass 
I’m boring, it’s my name. :-)
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Lol!!! Me too.
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Well as you know, I use my first name when commenting but . Portia came up with my blog name during a video call. My version was way too long.
I remember your blog post and how your mermaid swam in and out through the looking glass. Love that.
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Now I’m curious what was your initial idea :)
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There’s nothing wrong with it :)
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I’m boring too. It’s my name. Couldn’t be bothered to summon the imagination to think of something else!
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You have to use your imagination when there is no possibility to choose your real name as a handle. :)
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For a long while I used derivations of my favorite sweet treat. Now it’s my name here.
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I don’t was wondering: why did you decide to change it?
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Not sure. Initially I was named after cheese…you and Portia remember, about ten years ago. Then my candy name was used already on another blog and when I used it on APJ someone popped in out of the blue and yelled at me saying it was his name. I added the C in front of it after that. The number was added to match my now defunct email address. I guess I started using my real name here because this is now the only blog I comment on from all the regulars from my past.
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Now we all want to know which cheese? Chocolate Gorgonzola? Chocolate Brie? Chocolate Cheddar? Chocolate Buffalo? Do tell.
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Brie
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Aha
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Brie, Marzipan, Chocolate Marzipan, Brigitte.
I’ve kept score.
Portia xx
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A-ha! I missed Marzipan :)
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I remember the cheese one, but I don’t remember the additional “c”…
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Chocolate
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Ah… No, this one I remember. I thought you were saying that the “c” word was added to cheese.
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Tannina is the version of my real name Tanja, that I use in the interwebs. It’s also my mail adress
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I like that variation!
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The hint is in my gravatar, this is Cassie, and since I created it for perfume blogs I just tacked on the flower at the end. Seemed fitting. No plans to change it.
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Cassieflower,
YOU are the specific reason this subject even crossed my mind.
Portia xx
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Woohoo
So I can be useful sometimes 😉
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HA! Often. XX
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Always!!!!
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I was also wondering :)
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Undina,
I think we should be reminded of your fabulous story at least annually.
Most of you know Australian Perfume Junkies was a blog 2012-20.
Portia is part of my drag name (Portia Turbo) that has become the name I use in all daily life except government and bank stuff. It’s the name I respond to and anyone respectful will only use that name.
Thanks Undina for using my suggestion,
Portia xx
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That was a great idea for the SQ, thank you!
There is a fine balance between telling the same story again and again and periodically doing a recap of “previously on Undina’s Looking Glass,” and I’m trying to figure it out :)
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You seem to be getting it right from where I’m looking.
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I really enjoyed the story of Undina’s Looking Glass when I read it for the first time last year. It’s a great name, and thank you for sharing the picture of the collage made for the chat room, which I don’t think was in the original post about it.
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It wasn’t there. I recently found it. And I thought that I should include something new here – for those who did read the old post ;)
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I could never even think of you as Tom, Dick or Harry (just as a for instance.)
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Yeah, ME TOO Cassieflower.
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Totally boring – initials and location. I’m just not creative!
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Until you know, your name looks very deliberate ;)
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I say it in my head like MMMMMM kin PA
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Love to read how you came up with your names. My real name is Esperanza and one of my favorite fragrances, Dioressence. I use my real name more often now but my blog is still called Esperessence.
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Thank you!
I love how you created your blog’s name!
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My initial fascination with perfume was sparked by reading complaints about reformulations and banning or turning away from traditional perfume ingredients, and at the same time learning that old perfumes don’t always go bad. I honed in on oakmoss as being something I could still find in readily available and not too pricey vintage perfumes. Estee, Champagne, Teatro alla Scala, Tweed, and Dune might give you an idea of scents that drew me in. I love a fruity chypre. When I decided to quite lurking, I took my love of oakmoss, fruity notes, and Berry which is part of my real name, and came up with MossyBerry.
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Love it! I thought your screen name probably came from a love of oakmoss and berry scents.
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That’s a good explanation! (and yes, I thought the same as rickyrebarco).
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I also love that they gave you an avatar with moss colour, leaves and berries.
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Rickyrebarco was my first Italian greyhound ‘s name. Originally spelled Rickyrebarko as in “bark” like a dog. It was supposed to be a reference to Ricky Ricardo of I love Lucy, but no one ever made the connection so I guess it was too silly a pun. But I liked the name as it’s unusual and I have never seen anyone else with this screen name. Long story 😂
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For some reason, I thought your name was a reference to Roccobarocco – maybe you mentioned that perfume once? LOL – I never get the lyrics of songs right, either. Glad to be corrected and the sillier the pun the better IMHO.
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Roccobarocco would have been very cool, but my screen name is not that classy! “-)
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I’ve never seen “I love Lucy” – so I wouldn’t have made that connection (for either your dog name or your nickname), but now when you explained, I think it’s a good idea.
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UNDINA! Please go watch some I Love Lucy. Just a few episodes. It’s amusing but more important is that she was the first woman in Hollywood to make her own production company and produce all her own content. Even more amusing is that this whip smart hyper business savvy person made a fortune playing the fool.
Portia xx
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Yes, what Portia said! Lucille Ball was a fascinating person. Here’s a link to a good documentary about her, too: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/lucille-ball-finding-lucy/477/# Oh, and thank you Portia for such a good Saturday Question topic.
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I had little personal blogs in the past with virtually no readers, and took them down for various reasons. I then started this one as Righting the Write, trying to be clever. I wrote exactly 10 posts and then left it dormant for a few years. When my obsession with perfume switched on and I started pursuing it in earnest at the very beginning of 2019, it was soon followed by the urge to write about it. By then I had learned that a perfumer is also called a “nose” and I’ve always like rhyming words, so Nose Prose was born and I changed the blog name to that, knowing I’d have to stick with it from then on!
Making this a longer story, when I was in primary school, a teacher taught me a game called “Hink Pink” where you give a clue for a 2-word phrase and indicate the number of syllables in each word by saying “hink pink” (1 syllable), “hinky pinky” (2 syllables), or “hinkety pinkety” (3 syllables). So, for example, a clue for Nose Prose could be “perfumer story (hink pink).” Fun game for when you’re bored in the car and there’s more than 1 of you!
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I love this game. Thanks for mentioning it! I love word play, especially with rhymes. My son and I used to make up rhymes and phrases with puns when he was in grade school and middle school. He loved them and we still trade some funny rhymes when we are together.
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That’s awesome! Wordplay is so much fun. I love how you came up with your name as well!
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That’s a great story!
I also like different word games, though when it comes to English, I’m in a disadvantage, since it’s my third language (doesn’t prevent me from playing though ;) ). And I’m absolutely rubbish with rhymes.
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I’ve noticed quite a few puns in your posts! Time swims fast… :)
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Well, Asali came up when I tried to find a name with all my own letters without success 😀, one letter would need exchanging for another. Asali, however, is a name which a famous danish poet I.P. Jacobsen uses a lot. He came by it as an old Norse name, also Asalil. Not only do I love his poetry, he was also a biologist, so his description of nature, flowers and scent is always very sensitive and naturalistic, and his poems are full of it. I thought it fitting as a perfume screen name,
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This is an interesting story of the name. Thank you!
I heard the name but haven’t read anything by Jacobsen (I know that at least one of his books was translated in Russian but our paths hadn’t crossed).
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Really, you actually remember a book? He wrote lots of poetry and only two novels, but they became extremely popular in their time, even more so outside of Denmark. Many German composers of the time took up his verses for music. The story goes that some even learned danish to read Jacobsen and Kierkegaard in their original language.
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Kierkegaard was also a popular name in my previous life :) (No, I didn’t read anything by him)
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My screen name means “The Big Stink”.
When I fell into the rabbit hole, I wanted to use a short screen name that’s not my name that sounded unusual but also related to scents, perfumes, etc. I used Google translate and was able to pick from around 40 combinations. With no background in most of the languages to pick up on subtleties, I landed on “haju suuri” which I thought translates to “smells great” in Finnish. It took a Finn reading Kafkaesque’s blog to burst my bubble when he explained that the name translates to smells great but not in a flattering way.
It amuses me that I ended up with a name that meant the opposite of what I wanted but I’ve stuck with it!
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That’s a great story! I understand Finnish is even harder to master than English when it’s being learned as an adult.
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🤣 I LOVE that.
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Actually about that… Almost three years ago (in 2019), out of the blue, there was a comment for your first guest post on this blog (from 2014), where a person very seriously was explaining why whoever explained the translation to you was wrong. I have never approved that comment because the explanation, even if it holds water, was boring and your story is great. But if you’re curious, the main idea of that explanation was that to be correct in Finnish it should have been “‘suuri haju’, not ‘haju suuri’” – to which I say: who cares? ;) Oh, also, that person claimed that “the meaning of ‘haju’ depends on the context. It can mean scent, odour, smell, funk or stink.”
But I suggest we stick to your version :)
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“Never let the truth get in the way of a good story” was one of the idioms my Drag Mother taught me about hosting and telling stories. She would ramble on for ages about a kernel of nothing, using tone, volume, repetition and outright fabrication. It only ever elevated a story and helped bring the audience on a ride.
Hajusuuri will always be the Big Stink for me, even if I’m in Finland. Promise.
Portia xx
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I chose ScentSpirit because scent speaks to my spirit. I also have a Masters degree in theology so it was kind of a connection to that part of my life.
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And how wonderful to see you here!!
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Always good to see you Brigitte, hope all is well with you.
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All good on my end and I hope the same for you. Xoxo
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It’s a very good screen name!
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Mine is not that exciting, I was living in Dubai when I first really got seriously into perfume. It doesn’t make as much sense now that I moved back to the US but, I will always hold onto my memories of all the perfume fun in the UAE.
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That would be a fun place to go perfume shopping – good way to connect to your perfume roots.
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Maybe not exciting but unique. I remembered you from loooong-long time ago on other blogs.
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My screen name comes from a book I loved (and still love) as a child: “Old Herbaceous”, by Reginald Arkell. I started blogging in the summer of 2015, when I had broken my shoulder and couldn’t garden (or do much of anything) for some months, and I started with a little garden blog, also called Old Herbaceous: https://oldherbaceous.com/about-3/. I had plunged into serious interest in perfume around 2014, and at the same time, I was having a really tough time at work (yes, I kept working with the broken shoulder, from a medical lift chair at home), so I started a different blog called Scents and Sensibilities as a mindfulness exercise and fun distraction from job craziness: https://scentsandsensibilities.co/. I just kept using the screen name Old Herbaceous, and here I am!
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It pains me even to think about your shoulder. But I’m glad something good came out of it :)
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I’ve really enjoyed everyone’s comments in this post – word and name origins show how wonderful and creative the human mind is!
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We should thank Portia for the great topic.
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Wish I had sth smart to say but I’m me (I?). 😁
The blog name is a reference to my hair color though. And the fact people categorize each other quite often on the basis of looks.
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You are you! And your blog is very much you :)
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My original Basenotes handle was a play on CB I Hate Perfume using my initials (VM I hate civet), while the name I use for my blog (flittersniffer) came about because I am a fickle Gemini – also when it comes to perfume – and a Vanessa. The name is a Latin genus of butterflies, butterflies being of course noted for flitting from flower to flower in a non-committal manner.
Bonkersvanessa is a nod to my blog (Bonkers about Perfume), and a statement of the obvious, hehe.
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I remember your Basenotes handle (though from your blog, I’ve never participated in the BN forum). And I love the rest of the story :)
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Every time I see BonkersVanessa I smile broadly. It’s hilarious and ONLY something you’d say of yourself.
Portia xx
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