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Post in Makeup Is Life
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Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

Happy New Year, BIC! It's year 2 of the capsule makeup challenge. 
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What is this challenge about?
It's a mix of curating a group of products that are "must haves" for you and your lifestyle and shopping your stash by putting your beauties to use and seeing what, if anything, you need to declutter from your stash and/or to fill out your collection. 
 
How does this work?
To add a little bit of fun and creativity to curating a makeup capsule, there will be a weekly theme or prompt on which that week's group of beauty products will touch upon. There's no need to have every single product for the week fit the theme exactlay. All you need is one product. And, truth be told, how that product fits into the weekly theme is subject to interpretation. Yours, primarily. So, please  feel free to be creative. For example, last year for "green" week, there were a host of possibilities for what it means for a product to be "green" - capsules that included one or more products that were (a) green in color; (b) "clean"; (c) contained in green packaging or that (d) cost a lot of "green" 💸💸💸 fit the bill. 😉 For more examples, you might want to check out last year's thread - Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2024 to see what beauty products others in the Community have used and posted about. 
 
When and where are/will the weekly themes posted?
The weekly themes are (or will be) included in the original post - under the section titled "Current Makeup Capsule Theme" or "Upcoming Makeup Capsule Theme". Occasionally, I will post a link to a separate post with the monthly themes.
 
 
 CURRENT MAKEUP CAPSULE THEME 
Week 7 (February 10 - 16): The "Dynamic Duo, Trusted Trio or Killer Combo" Makeup Capsule -  
Are there certain product or shade pairings that just work beautifully for you? Let's build a makeup capsule around them. Here's your chance to shine a spotlight on the dynamic duos, trusted trios, or killer combos that are go-to's for your everyday and/or special occasion look(s).
 
Spoiler
This list is not exhaustive and for purposes of the optional monthly theme for the February makeup capsule challenges is limited to brands that are black founded / owned that are primarily a makeup brand, or that includes a few products that can be used as makeup.If I missed a brand, I apologize; kindly let me know. Products with asterisk (*) next to the brand are sold at Sephora, online, in store or through Sephora at Kohl's. To the extent it's not easily distinguishable who the founder / owner of the brand is, that information is noted in the parentheses next to the brand name.
 
AJ Crimson Beauty
Ami Cole* (Diarrha N'Diaye-Mbaye)
Balaeyon (RaeDawn)
Beauty Bakerie (Cashmere Nicole)
BLK/Opal (Desiree Rogers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack)
Bossy Cosmetics (Aishetu Fatima Dozie)
Cay Skin* (Winnie Harlow)
Cecred (Beyonce)
Damone Roberts
Danessa Myrick Beauty*
Dehiya Beauty (Dr. Mia Reddy)
D'Lashes (Dionne Phillips) 
Eadem* (Marie Kouadio Amouzame, co-founder)
Fashion Fair* (Eunice Johnson (original founder), Desiree Rodgers and Cheryl Mayberry McKissack)
Fenty Beauty* (Rihanna)
Gloshood (Sienna Brown)
Juvia's Place (Chichi Eburu)
Keys Soulcare (Alicia Keys)
Lamik Beauty (Kim Roxie)
LYS Beauty* (Tisha Thompson)
Marie Hunter Beauty
Mented Cosmetics (KJ Miller and Amanda E. Johnson)
Mintty Makeup (Junior Mintt)
Pat McGrath Labs*
Pound Cake (Camille Bell, co-founder)
Range Beauty* (Alicia Scott)
Relevant: Your Skin Seen (Nyakio Grieco)
The Lip Bar (Melissa Butler)
Topicals* (Olamide Olowe)
Uoma Beauty (Sharon Chuter)
WYN Beauty (Serena Williams)
 
UPCOMING Makeup Capsule Themes: [Updated 1.29.2025]
Spoiler
Capsule themes for the month of February can be found here - February 2025 Capsule Themes
Previous Capsule Challenge Themes: [Updated: 2.2.2025]
Spoiler
1 - The "New Year, New-To-You" Makeup Capsule  
2 - The "Mocha Mousse" Inspired Makeup Capsule
3 - The "Favorite Feature(s) Focus" Makeup Capsule  
4 - The "How Low Can I Go?" Makeup Capsule
5 - The "Lunar New Year 2025 Zodiac Sign Lucky Colors" Makeup Capsule  
6 - The "Black Founded/Owned Beauty Brand(s)" Makeup Capsule
 
Additional FAQs
Spoiler

Why weekly? 
Years ago, beauty & lifestyle blogger Serein Wu, did a weekly series (on her blog and YouTube channel), Makeup Bag Monday, where she rotated her makeup bag each week with new product launches and makeup already in her collection. Every Monday, she shared the products she selected for the upcoming week and provided detailed makeup reviews on the makeup she used for the previous week. My reviews here will likely not be as detailed, but I will at least try to include a few thoughts about the products at the end of the week or beginning of the next week.  If weekly works for you, great. If not, feel free to join in based on what works best for you. 

Having a weekly capsule at the ready at (or near) the beginning of the week has also been helpful with making getting ready in the morning easier and more efficient, and that, has made it more fun too. It's also a great way for me to see how well a product performs with other products and that makes the decision to keep, donate, re-home or toss an item a lot easier. Also want to note that if the makeup for the week's capsule is not something you want to use for the entire week, that's fine, too. I generally use the makeup in the week's capsule 4-6 days during the week, sometimes more, sometimes less. 

When are the weekly themes posted?
I generally try to post the themes for the next month about two weeks before the start of that next month (so around the 15th of each month, give or take a few days), except that, for this month, weekly themes for weeks 2 thru 5 for January will be posted by or before end of the day on January 2. Weekly themes are updated at the end of the then current week (e.g., Sunday). This year, I will plan to update the weekly themes the Sunday before the start of the next week's theme, around 9pm Pacific / 10pm Mountain / 11pm Central / 12midnight Eastern Time.

 

What if I don't have enough products to fit the theme for a full face?

There's need for your entire makeup capsule to fit the weekly theme(s). Just one item will do. And, even if you don't have one that fits squarely within a theme, feel free to post your makeup capsule. We'd love to see what you're using and hear your feedback on the products as you put them to use - are they a favorite or a potential favorite? Are they just 'meh'? Or, is it time to declutter the item(s) from your stash?

Is there anything else I should include in my capsule?
It's all up to you what to include in your capsule. Some weeks, my capsule consists of completely different items than the week before. Other weeks, I've swapped out just a few items or have included additional items in one category of products - some of us refer to this as giving us options for the week. 

You may see reference to "fits." That was creatively coined by our fabulous @danielledanielle and refers to the bag or component that will hold the week's makeup and, specifically, does all the makeup for the week's capsule fit into the bag / storage component. You ca also include the makeup brushes and tools you use for application, if you wish.

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

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Week 7: The Fenty Edit

The Dynamic Duos...At first I was focused on the lip liners and lip colors, but I included duos in multiple ways, like color ways (Riri the liner and gloss bomb, drama cla$$ as powder and cream, trophy wife in gloss bomb and highlighter) and the dynamic quartet of Riri Showstoppers (Riri LE gloss bomb, the showstopper lipstick case, invisimatte and diamond Bomb, Fenty glow cream blush and gloss bomb, hot chocolit gloss bomb and gloss bomb stick).  Also I have duo snap shadows, but I'm sticking with one for BALETTE ROYALE: Showdown of the Shadows The only non Fenty items are my brow pen (Uoma) and my eye primer (Nars), but I've used the Fenty versions of these.  The eye primer was decent, but I don't know if it's still available.  The brow pen has a cute little brush head instead of a spoolie, so I kept it for awhile after the pen ran out, but I went through it muuuuuchhhh too quickly.

 

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Fragrances are a repeat, but with DIOR J'adore L'Or Eau de Parfum added because Rihanna is the face of it

 

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The little circle things are cleansing cuffs, one of my face GWPs ever

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

Drum roll for Black Owned Beauty Brand please. I have way too many PMG palettes but I just pick a random one and make sure I used every single shades in the palette last week. I forgot how many PMG lipsticks I have. I think I still have about a dozen of brand new PMG lipsticks balm/gloss/lipsticks besides the ones I already used. Sigh 😮💨 

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Here are the swatches of my PMG lippies; from left to right (right is closest to my hand) Flesh 7, Executive Realness, Love Supreme, Rose Quartz Astro gloss, Soft Core, Rose Divine Rose gloss, 1995 top and Dream Scape gloss and the last one is just 1995+Dream Scape

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Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

Beautiful swatches @blackkitty2014! Which Pat McGrath eyeshadow palette is that one? The colors are lovely.

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

Thx you @itsfi . It’s mothership IIII Subversive. I bought it when she first came out with 3. And the rabbit hole keeps getting bigger and bigger and deeper and deeper 😘

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

It's so pretty, fuchsia and rose colored with a touch of gunmetal @blackkitty2014 

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

Thx you @danielledanielle ❤️

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

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Checking in early with my recap from this week's Black founded/owned beauty brand makeup capsule. 

 

Nothing was an absolute miss (just not my preference) but there are a couple of beauties I am on the fence about, as well as some fabulous standouts (see spoiler, below 👇). 
Spoiler
🙌  Yay: 🙌
 

 

  • Lip pairing 💋: I really enjoyed the color from sandwiching the Beauty Bakerie Lip Whip Matte - Versailles between layers of The Lip Bar Vegan Lip Gloss - Girl Boss👍 This dynamic duo will be one I continue to pair together moving forward. The pink tones in TLB Girl Boss keeps the mauve tones in Beauty Bakerie Versailles from leaning too grey on my lips, a plus. The BB Lip Whip i more hydrating than most liquid lipsticks but TLB gloss adds a little extra hydration and slip. 

 

  • Pat McGrath Labs Divine Blush + Bronze + Glow Trio - Fleurever Nude has been a palette I've been iffy about but I think I've gotten the hang of it, both in terms of when it works best for my skintone (cooler seasons and now, mid-to-late winter) and how to apply it best. I went back and forth on whether this stay or goes, but I've made a decision - it stays. 

Nay:
 
 
Meh, It's Ohhhhkay(?):
 
  • Beauty Bakerie Bite Size Lip Whip - Syruptitious - is pretty but leans more rust hued than I prefer. I have a couple other similarly situated lip colors in my stash. That said, this will be part of a rust-hued lip throwdown. 

 

  • LYS Beauty Lash Confidence Curling & Lengthening Clean Mascara Influential will also be part of a product batttle, focusing on non-waterproof mascara - this will be a longer-term battle as I'll want to put teh various mascaras through a couple of seasons. The product is fine and I am happy with how it performed when I set my oily eyelids with powder beforehand.I'm just not sure whether it stands out enough for me as someone who prefers waterproof mascara. I'll continue to use this one to test it, along with other similar products. 

Week 7 Makeup Capsule Theme and Cross Collab Challenge: 

This week's theme is about pairings or combos that you love or work beautifully for you. 

Week 7 (February 10 - 16): The "Dynamic Duo, Trusted Trio or Killer Combo" Makeup Capsule -  
Are there certain product or shade pairings that you love or that just work beautifully for you? Let's build a makeup capsule around them. Here's your chance to shine a spotlight on the dynamic duos, trusted trios, or killer combos that are go-to's for your everyday and/or special occasion look(s).
 
 
[OPTIONAL]: In addition to the Week 7 theme, if you are up for a cross-collab challenge, consider incorporating an eyeshadow palette in this week's capsule to weave together the look in the ... wait for it ...  BALETTE ROYALE: Showdown of the Shadows challenge. I've seen several phenomenal eye shadow palettes from folks in the last few weeks that I think would make fierce contenders in the shadow showdown! There are a few ways to take part in both challenges. Edited to add [2.10.2025] The Balette Royale theme is Nature. See thread (link above) for more details.
 
My plan is to try to incoporate an eyeshadow palette into my weekly capsules that also fit into the Balette Royale challenge. Some weeks it'll be seamless and other weeks, I my have a slightly different capsule that I'll use either on the weekend or one day during the week to do the Balette Royale challenge.
 
 
Ohhh, and remember, you can always post your beautiful faces and looks for the Community to see, including on any of the following threads:
 
and, of course, the Gallery! 📸  Or, if you have a head-to-toe look, be sure to stop on over to theThe Fit, The Fab and The Face: Outfit and Inspo Thread 

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

I really love the idea of the checkin at the end of the week. It was nice to read about what helps you determine if a product is a good fit for you or not and why. I think it’s so helpful to picture it and put in perspective of how it plays out in real time. Such a beautiful summary! And oo this weeks challenge is so neat I have an idea in my head about how to make it happen. Thanks for your honest input and reflections they are always appreciated ❤️ @itsfi 

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

@peculiarzmakeup, I love hearing about how people in the Community use their products. I fully appreciate that some pick up items as collectibles, but for those who use products regularly (or semi-regularly as I know that with a larger collection of treats it can be hard to use everything regularly), it's great to learn what works and doesn't work for folks. And it's also nice to see the looks created if/when those are posted. Sometimes a product might not perform well one way but when used another way, it's amazing!! 

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

@itsfi That's interesting that shade 3 of the yummy skin blurring balm works better for you than the universal shade. I think I've only tried the universal, and I never gave it a full chance to see how it performed. I think I still have it somewhere, so I need to look through my stash and see whether it's still ok to use (not sure how old it is). It seems like such a versatile product, but maybe so versatile that I'm not quite sure how to use it. 🙂

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

"It seems like such a versatile product, maybe so versatile that I'm not quite sure how to use it.

 

Yes @PrettyPaint; that is an excellent description. It took me a while to put it to use because I wasn't altogether sure how to start to go about it. It's so odd that the tinted version works so nicely for me, even as I still am not altogether sure how to best use the universal/clear version. I use the tint just like I would a foundation and voila, it works beautifully - I get a blurred / slightly air brushed look. I wonder if I've been applying a base product that doesn't pair well with the universal/clear version; hmmmm... an experiment to be done another day. If you have a chance at another time to try out the universal shade again, I'd be interested in your take on it. 

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

Week 6 (February 3 - 9): The "Black Founded/Owned" Beauty Brand(s) Makeup Capsule - 

 

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer Fuchsia Flex 

-I was inspired to buy this gloss based on posts here, and it's such a fun, pigmented shade. 

 

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Eaze Drop Stick Blur + Smooth Tint Stick Foundation 1 

-I've had this for a while, but I'm just now starting to use it. So far I like it, though I think my skin might be a little dry at the moment and may work better during the summer. I also purchased the wrong shade (it's much too light). 

 

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Fenty Cheeks Suede Waterproof Powder Blush Sundress Szn 

-I love the peachy shade of this blush, and it's nice and pigmented. 

 

PAT McGRATH LABS Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Blurring Under Eye Powder 

-Great brightening setting powder for under the eyes. 

 

I absolutely love Danessa Myricks palettes, though I can't tag them (they were limited edition, I believe). Pictured are her lightwork palettes in Volumes IV and V. I love their versatility, and they are just so enjoyable to use. 

 

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Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

Gorgeous capsule! Fenty beauty definatley makes great glosses I have to get around to trying some of her other products! Ah those palletes are so lovely! The variation of shades and colors and how she labels them with names is so neat! I love how you honor these products in your capsule they are all lovely! @PrettyPaint  ❤️

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

@peculiarzmakeup Thank you so much! I really love the DM palettes - they are just a joy to use. 🙂

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

Yes! So much variety and different looks that can be created it’s really so neat ❤️ @PrettyPaint 

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

Oh wow, what an amazing capsule @PrettyPaint😍 Danessa Myricks palette are so breathtakingly beautiful. I primarily play in the browns/nudes/neutrals sandbox but her eyeshadow shades are gorgeously vibrant and the sparkle are marvelous - in the pan and on the lids. I'm happy to hear your thoughts on the Fenty blush and the Pat McGrath eye powder. I've had my eyes on them for a while but haven't purchased, in part because I'm still working through some similar products and also I wanted to hear more feedback on them. Do you find the blush to be waterproof? Or water-resistant, longwearing?

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

@itsfi The Fenty blush is longwearing. I wouldn't say I tend to have trouble with blush fading throughout the day in general, but this one definitely is still visible when I remove my makeup at the end of the day. 

 

I wasn't sure how to answer your question about whether it's waterproof, so I gave it a try. I tried it on my arm, though, to avoid messing up the rest of my makeup. 🙂 I applied a pretty large amount with a brush, and then I put my arm under water for 20 seconds. It definitely looks like not too much came off, so I'd say it's quite water resistant! 

 

before waterbefore waterafter waterafter water

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

Ahhhhh!!! Thiiiis is incredible @PrettyPaint. Thank you so much for doing this and posting - above and beyond!! Appreciate it a lot! Now, the hard part - which shade to pick up; I do wish the stores carried the entire shade range. This color looks so pretty on you. 😍

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

Week 6: Uoma Beauty All in

No longer black owned 🥲, but forever founded (Sharon 🙌🏽), decided to break open some of my unused items alongside the tried and true.  No time like the present.

 

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The only thing I couldn't find was one of the other Sharon C products, which was the sister line at Walmart, and I must've used the blue mascara from the "Salute to the Sun" release as well as the afro.disiac liner

 

I also might have a lip from the Coming2America one.... But this is more than enough.

 

Uoma doesn't have a setting spray or an eye primer, so the concealer and setting powder are acting as eye primer and my TirTir/Skindinavia combo is still in effect

 

Since nothing's sold here, let me know if there's something you're curious about, because I'm not about listing all the names 🤣😭

 

The Fit

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Also included fragrance

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Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Fenty Eau de Parfum 

World of Chris Collins African Rooibos Eau de Parfum Travel Spray 0.3 oz / 7.5 ml eau de parfum spra... 

Older travel versions of World of Chris Collins Long Kiss Goodnight Eau de Parfum Travel Spray 0.3 oz/ 7.5 mL and World of Chris Collins Harlem Nights Eau de Parfum Travel Spray 0.34 oz / 10 ml 

Mini of Long Kiss Goodnight and Lost in Paradise

BROWN GIRL Jane Carnivale Eau de Parfum Travel Spray .34 oz / 10ml eau de parfum spray 

 

 

Re: Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

@danielledanielle I love the shades in the Freedom palette. I did a search, and it looks like it's sold out at most places unfortunately! 

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