Despite “What’s your sign?” being a question that I never thought I would hear outside of a bar (and 1975), here we are! And here I am, telling you that this Estée Lauder Zodiac Compact is my new favorite thing on my desk—not just because I have more than a passing fascination with astrology (if you haven’t read your horoscope lately, I highly recommend it), may or may not have an astrologer in my iPhone contacts, and am not totally unlike this bird, in that I love shiny, decorative things.

The locket-like compact is so shiny (and gold and is it holiday season yet??), about the size of a silver dollar, weighty in a good, substantive way, and is moulded into the zodiac motif of your choice (I’m a Gemini, and so I get the twins on mine). It comes with a little velvet pouch to protect it from your pockets/inside of your bag—which is where everything nice in my life goes to die—and it holds Estée Lauder's Lucidity pressed powder (it's translucent, fine, and goes on smooth for a non-cakey effect that subtly wakes up skin). Look, I'm not going to lie to you—I really never wear face powder, and I sometimes judge books by their covers (I always judge book covers, at least), but I would buy this one just for the case: it's collectible, forever refillable, and who hasn't once or twice found themselves absently wondering at dinner whether or not you have something in your teeth? This is literally the most sophisticated way I can think of to find out. Not to mention, the coolest way I can think of to answer that question I asked you at the top, without saying a word.

—Alessandra Codinha