Buying the New Yorker 1986 - page 13

The French have a word for color: "Couleur."

(The Norwegians have a word for color: "Farg.")

Stendhal was the pen-name of Marie-Henri Beyle (January 23, 1783 – March 23, 1842). You can read what seems to be his most well known novel here (or go buy it (US UK)). Apparently, when Stendhal was travelling in Italy and visited Florence for the first time, his reaction was so severe that a medical syndrome was named after it. According to Wikipedia, Stenhal's Syndrome is:

a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly 'beautiful' or a large amount of art is in a single place. The term can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when shopping.

So if you are inclined to start hyperventilating when you walk into Bloomingdale's, this is the lipstick for you.