Things I learned this weekend while reading The New York Times Magazine's'Who Made That?' design page: Pantone chips were created in the early 1960s by a man named Lawrence Herbert who “drove to work every day in a blue Cadillac with cherry-red seats'; Calvin Klein kept a Pantone chip in his kitchen to signal to his chef what color he wanted his coffee to be; the whole thing started with pantyhose (Herbert had to hand-mix the subtle beiges of each sample swatch for a display case); and, finally, other people have the same issues with cosmetic brands referring to a skin tone as “beige,” “golden beige,” or “light beige” that we do.

So, imagine my pleasure at receiving a handful of brow guru Anastasia’s Covet Waterproof Eyeliners, replete with Pantone-like color cards (yes, full iPhone 5-sized chips devoted to each eye-flattering shade). The liners are silky, pretty smudge-proof, self-sharpening, and have rubber grips—for, one can assume, a more precise lining experience (helpful, given the crayon's inability to smudge, come hell or eye-water). They also possess narrow points that can very easily be taken inside the waterline or up and inside your top lashes, which was all the mascara-less rage on the New York runways this season. Personally, I'm just thrilled to know that A) my eyeliner won’t be puddling around my lash-line in two minutes, B) that Vert is actually a subtle, smoky green; Azure is a royal blue that gets deeper when layered; and Steel actually matches my steel desk, and C) that somebody is using old Herbert’s awesome system. You go, Herbert.

—Alessandra Codinha

Photographs by Elizabeth Brockway.