Guerlain La Palette 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow (2 Tonka Impériale)

This is a real Little Black Dress of a compact: something everyone needs in their wardrobe. (And we wrote that before it dawned that coincidentally 'La Petite Robe Noire' is Guerlain's newest fragrance.) La Palette 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow (2 Tonka Impériale) is an ultra-classic line-up of five shades with a high glam-factor (reflected in the price) – but which we think you'll turn to time and again. There's a matte nude, for all-over. A glimmering ivory, for the brow-bone (and inner corner of eye, we recommend). There's a useful taupe (for socket-shading), but the deal-clincher is a deep, smokey brown that shares a pan with the most gleaming shadow of all – a copper tone.

One word of advice: the catch on this is fiendish – intuitively you want to press it to release, but it just lifts up to reveal the gorgeous shades inside.

There are several shades of La Palette 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow – a grey, a blue, a rosy-taupe – and we were frankly torn between this and the slightly more party-perfect 3 Coque d'Or which (as the name suggests) has a gorgeous gold.

2 Tonka Impériale, though, is the ultimate classic – and as such, we think once you've bagged it for your kit, it'll stay there for forever...

Guerlain La Palette 5 Couleurs Eyeshadow (2 Tonka Impériale)/£43 at johnlewis.com