Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

[itsfi]

Happy fall, BIC! 🍂🍁  Whether having a set of makeup products all picked out in advance makes it easier to get ready in the mornings or if you're looking for a fun way to use the new-to-you and tried-and-true products in your collection, welcome!! 👋 Please feel free to join in weekly or as a theme suits your style or piques your interests. We love seeing and being inspired by what beauties everyone is using. 💋

 

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 exactly. 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. This is about finding a set of makeup products that work for you and your lifestyle, whether already in your collection or waiting to be discovered (or, in some instances, re-discovered) by you. 

How Can / Do I Participate?  

There are several ways you can participate - You can post a photo of the products you use or tag and list them, as you like. You can give someone's post a heart and / or ask questions about products in someone's capsule. You can post a different capsule every week or once a month or every once in a while, when a theme grabs your interest or draws your attention. 

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  [Updated 10.5.2025]

Week 41 (October 6 - 12) - The Beauty Brands Supporting Mental Health Awareness Makeup Capsule and/or The Makeup Artist at Sephora Makeup Capsule

A few options for capsule themes this week. Curate a capsule made up of one or more product(s): 

(a) from a makeup brand that supports or promotes mental health awareness* (in honor of the first full week of October being established by Congress in 1990 as Mental Health Awareness Week); and/or

(b) from "'new and breakthrough brands from beauty experts" at Sephora**. See spoiler below for more details and disclosures pertaining to both prompts.

Spoiler

Makeup Brands Supporting Mental Health Awareness*
Maybelline entered into a 5-year partnership in 2024 with the WHO Foundation to expand access to mental health services across the globe.

Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez "donates 1% of sales to the Rare Impact Fund (also founded by Selena Gomez), which aims to raise $100 million over 10 years to increase access to mental health resources."

Urban Decay entered into a 3-year partnership with the Cybersmile Foundation in 2021 to introduce a new campaign to raise awareness about online bullying and promote digital wellness. It appears the partnership may have concluded last year and I was not able to locate information to confirm that the partnership had been extended. 

* The list was compiled based on an online article titled "10 Must-Know Beauty Brands That Empower Mental Health Initiatives" from Who What Wear, statements found on brand websites and information obtained through various online searches.  

The Makeup Artists Edit at Sephora**
Makeup | Sephora
Charlotte Tilbury

Ciele (Nikki DeRoest)
Danessa Myricks Beauty
Fara Homidi
Huda Beauty (Huda Kattan)
Hung Vanngo Beauty
Isamaya (Issamaya Ffrench)
LYS Beauty (Tisha Thompson)
Makeup by Mario (Mario Dedivanovic)
m.ph by Mary Phillips
One/Size by Patrick Starrr
Pat McGrath Labs
Patrick Ta
Refy (Jess Hunt and Jenna Meek)
Violette fr. (Violette Serrat)

Westman Atelier (Gucci Westman)

** On the Sephora page(s) for The Makeup Artist Edit, the brands Make Up For Ever and Natasha Denona are not listed, but Charlotte Tilbury is listed among the group. Based on that arrangement and in absence of any further information I could find, I have assumed "new and breakthrough brands" to mean beauty brands having been around for less than 12 years as of 2025 (Charlotte Tilbury was founded approximately 11 years and 6 months ago in 2025). Accordingly, I have also included Pat McGrath Labs in the list above as PML has been around since approximately 2015, or 10 years. 

 UPCOMING Makeup Capsule Themes: [Updated 10.5.2025]

Spoiler

Week 42 (October 13 - 19) - The Indigenous People's Day Makeup Capsule, The Canadian Thanksgiving Makeup Capsule, and/or The Samples 2.0 Makeup Capsule

A few options this week for makeup themes. To celebrate October 13's Canadian Thanksgiving Day and Indigenous People's Day, put together a look with one or more product(s) from a Canadian or Indigenous founded or owned makeup brand (see spoiler below for non-exhaustive list).

Spoiler

Canadian founded/owned makeup brands - brands with an asterisk (*) next to their name can be found at Sephora:

19/99 Beauty

Attitude

Birch Babe

Bite Beauty

* Cheekbone Beauty (Sephora Canada)

Elate Beauty

Evio Beauty

* Hung Vanngo Beauty (Sephora US & Sephora Canada)

* Ilia (Sephora US & Sephora Canada)

Jason Wu Beauty

Lise Watier

* MAC Cosmetics (Sephora Canada)

Marcelle

* Nudestix (Sephora US & Sephora Canada)

* The Ordinary (Sephora US & Sephora Canada)

Selfcare by Bloom

Tok Beauty

I don't know about you but I've got some makeup samples that could use my attention, both to keep my pile of samples more manageable and also to see if there might be something I'd like to pick up during the upcoming holiday / year end sales. Now's a good time to put those samples to use and maybe head on over to the Foil Challenge if you finish up a foil in the process. In the name of research! Always good to make an informed purchase, right?! Who knows, it could be Love At First Sample!!! 🥰!

For additional prompts, check out October Makeup Capsule Themes 

Previous Capsule Themes: [Updated: 10.5.2025]

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  

February 2025 Capsule Themes <Click on link ⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes>
6 - The "Black Founded/Owned Beauty Brand(s)" Makeup Capsule
7 - The "Dynamic Duo, Trusted Trio or Killer Combo" Makeup Capsule
8 - The "New York Fashion Week Inspired" Makeup Capsule and/or The "Celeb-Inspired" Makeup Capsule
9 - The Throwback Makeup Capsule

March 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes> 
10 - The "International Women Founded / Owned Beauty Brand" Makeup Capsule and/or The Palette(s) Makeup Capsule
11 - The Samples Makeup Capsule  and/or The "Attitude of Gratitude" Makeup Capsule
12 - The "Spring Is In The Air" Makeup Capsule
13 - The "Take 2" / Do Over" Makeup Capsule 

April 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes> 
14 - The Spring Sticks Makeup Capsule
15 - The Flush of Color Makeup Capsule 
16 - The Spring Refresh Makeup Capsule 
17 - The “Green” Makeup Capsule 
18 - The Makeup-Artist-Founded/Owned Brand Makeup Capsule 

May 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ‌‌⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes> 
19 - The  Asian American Pacific Islander Founded / Owned Beauty Brands Makeup Capsule
20 - The "Tailored For You" Makeup Capsule
21 - The Vacation Makeup Capsule
22 - The Musician Founded / Owned Beauty Brand Makeup Capsule

June 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ‌‌⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes> 
23 - The Love Is Love Makeup Capsule 
24 - The Sleeping Beauties Makeup Capsule and/or The "Shop My Stash Makeup Capsule
25 - The "Welcome, Summer!" Makeup Capsule
26 - The "My Best Self" Makeup Capsule

July 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ‌‌⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes> 
27 - The Indie Brands Makeup Capsule and/or The Canadian Founded/Owned Brands Makeup Capsule  
28 -  The Multi-Taskers / Repurposed Makeup Capsule and/or The "On The Go: Summer Edit" Makeup Capsule 
29 - The Sizzling Summer Samples Makeup Capsule
30 - The Pop of Color: Summer Edit Makeup Capsule

August 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ‌‌⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes>
31 - The (Lip)Sticks (aka Lips + Sticks) Makeup Capsule
32 - The Athlete Founded / Owned / Endorsed / Influenced Beauty Brand(s) Makeup Capsule
33 - The Savvy Savings and/or Spectacularly Splurge-y Makeup Capsule 
34 - The Gifts (With Purchase) Makeup Capsule and/or The Gift-Worthy Makeup Capsule
35 - The Palettes Makeup Capsule

September 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ‌‌⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes>
36 - The Workhorse(s) Makeup Capsule
37 - The "Summer Favorites" Makeup Capsule 
38 - The LatinX Founded/Owned Beauty Brands Makeup Capsule 
39 - The Runway / Red Carpet Inspired Makeup Capsule

October 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ‌‌⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes>
40 - The FALL into Color 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.

[peculiarzmakeup]

Week 2 (January 6 - 12) - The "Mocha Mousse" Inspired Makeup Capsule 

Mocha Mousse 2025 

I am so happy to be learning about Mocha Mousse. 
The collage above displays some of the swatches (not mine) of the products I’ve been using for this look 

Foundation

Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Soothing Serum Skin Tint Foundation with Peptides + Ceramides 2  

Concealer

Danessa Myricks Lift and Flex Concealer 2

Bronzer 

MERIT Bronze Balm Sheer Sculpting Bronzer Quince  

Blush 

Danessa Myricks Beauty Dewy Cheek & Lip Palette Dew It Undercover  

Highlighter 

MERIT Day Glow Dewy Highlighting Balm  

Facial Serum

Danessa Myricks Face Oil (gold) 

Lipstick 

Rokael Beauty Lip Crème 1111 (light beige) 

Rokael Beauty Lip Crème Dreame (Chocolate Carmel)

Eyeliner 

About face (brown) 

Danessa Myricks Beauty Linework Paintbrush Fluid Liquid Eyeliner 0.034 oz / 1 ml  

Eyeshadow

Danessa Myricks Beauty Groundwork: Defining Neutrals - Palette For Eyes, Brows, Face & Lips  

Pat McGrath Labs Smoke Pallete 

Eyebrows 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Pen Superfine Waterproof Detail Eyebrow Pen Medium Brown  

Powder

Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder - Tinted Primer & Foundation 2  

Eyelash 

Too Faced Better Than Sex Primer &amp; Mascara Duo 

Reflections

I found myself gravitating towards these shades by fall and winter when I think of mocha I think of soft and sweet. These have worked really well and been a staple in my routine. 

Would love to learn more about what the mousse aspect means? 

☕️❤️

[Mellmars1185]

@peculiarzmakeup Beautiful mocha mousse inspired capsule!

[ather]

@peculiarzmakeup  This looks like a perfect mocha inspired look!!! I bet this looks beautiful on you!

[peculiarzmakeup]

Thank you! I’m gonna try it on all together I’m on a fam visit so I couldn’t bring all my makeup on board but soon! I will try it! I appreciate your encouragement ❤️ @ather 

[itsfi]

These are lovely choices for this week’s capsule @peculiarzmakeup. Are the swatches from Danessa Myricks?

btw, super excited to see what you do with the Groundworks palette this year - excellent choice for a pan it! product. 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Thank you for the kindness and encouragement! I’m looking forward to my first pan it project 🙂 the bottom swatches are the Danessa Myricks Beauty Dewy Cheek & Lip Palette Dew It Undercover  and the other one is the Danessa Myricks Beauty Groundwork: Defining Neutrals - Palette For Eyes, Brows, Face & Lips  

The swatches on top are Rokael lip cremes which suprisingly have a strong resemblance to the other product palletes when I looked at them all together they fit quite nicely 🙂 @itsfi 

[itsfi]

They all create a beautiful color story @peculiarzmakeup, and one that you look smashing in. As someone who doesn't wear brown, nude lip shades often, I have been captivated by how well you wear them and it's made me dig into my stash more for them.

[peculiarzmakeup]

That is so kind I really appreciate it! It’s been such a fun journey playing around with shades! I bet they look spectacular on you, you always pair things beautifully. Thank you for making me smile this Sunday 🙂 always appreciate your encouragement and your creativity kindness and so much more ❤️ @itsfi 

[CynthieLu]

That's a beautiful collage @peculiarzmakeup. 👏 🤎

Ahh you've got a really enticing array of products here. I can see DM's defining neutrals palette really working well for this week's theme of creating you own Mocha Mousse looks.

I feel the theme is where ever the inspiration takes you. Even the way you described how Mocha inspires you as soft and sweet, that feels like it could really describe both. 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Thank you so much! I just reglanced at the collage and noticed how similar the shades are in each area it’s actually kinda neat fits in with the theme. I found these products have created the theme very well! Thanks for saying it’s a personal definition too I love that. I appreciate it ❤️ @CynthieLu 

[CynthieLu]

Yeah you really picked out a beautifully matching group here. @peculiarzmakeup they're are so cohesive. 🤎

I think the idea letting these new trends be your Muse and going where the inspiration takes you is kinda fun too. 😉 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Thank you! I think the word cohesive is a great way to look at this! I really enjoyed pairing these together! It’s fun to see how different inspirations lead into capsules I really enjoy that aspect 🙂 @CynthieLu 

[itsfi]

Week 2 (January 6 - 12) - The "Mocha Mousse" Inspired Makeup Capsule 

• Primer: Dr. Jart+ Mini Cicapair Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30 15 mL/ .50 fl oz  is good for reducing or just completely masking redness on my cheeks and around my nose. I also have just the little bit of GUERLAIN Parure Gold 24K Radiance Primer 1.2 oz / 35 mL  left to use up.

Spoiler

• Foundation: It's going to be a light coverage week, for the most part - I'll rotate between the Live Tinted Hueguard Tint Skin Tint SPF 50 and the Victoria Beckham by Augustinus Bader Priming Moisturizer (Golden)
• Concealer: DIOR Backstage Concealer 2N  
• Finishing Powder: Hourglass Ambient® Lighting Finishing Powder Dim Light  (part of my 2025 pan it! challenge)
• Setting Products: I'll switch between the Dior Forever Perfect Fix Setting Spray - this has a paired really well with the Guerlain primer and the SEPHORA COLLECTION Translucent Loose Setting Powder  (gratis)

Eyes:

Spoiler

• Primer: about-face Shadow Fix Eye Primer
• Eyeshadow: Cle de Peau Quad (discontinued)
• Eye Liner: Danessa Myricks Beauty Infinite Chrome Waterproof Micropencil Eyeliner Bronzite  (upper lashline) (from SEPHORiA 2024: ATL) and Makeup by Mario Master Mattes Brightening Pencil - Light 1 (discontinued) (waterline)
• Mascara: Cosnori Perfect Setting Mascara Waterproof Long & Curl

Cheeks:

Spoiler

• Blush: Ami Colé Desert Date Cream Blush & Lip Multistick Hibiscus  for some color. I love the monochromatic look but it doesn't always translate so well on me; I need a little color somewhere. This week, it'll be courtesy of my blush. This can also serve as a lippie if I tire of the neutral brown lip look.
• Highlight: Byredo Fluid Highlighter Stick Gilded Memoir
• Bronzer: Pixi On-the-Glow Bronze Stick - Soft Glow 

Spoiler

• Lip Balm: Sulwhasoo Glowing Lip Balm
• Lipstick: Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Fenty Icon The Fill Semi-Matte Refillable Lipstick She A CEO  - on its own it's a deep, dark brown. Paired with the Fenty gloss or Fenty lip oil and it gives off those mocha mousse vibes.
• Lip Gloss: Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer Champ Stamp Fantasy  
• Lip Oil: Pound Cake Cake Theory Lip Tone Equalizing Oil - this was generously gifted to me by a friend. I'm not sure about the "neutralizing" claims of this product but it feels super comfortable on and looks beautiful paired with the liners and the lipstick in this week's capsule.
• Lip Liner: It'll be a heavy lip liner + lip oil/gloss week 😍 with my lip liner options consisting of Merit Lip Liner (Bespoke) (this was part of a limited edition holiday set a few years ago, hoping it is made part of the permanent collection at some point - it's one of my favorite neutral brown lip liners - creamy and glides on beautifully). Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Lip Liner Love Trap  and Dominique Cosmetics lip liner (I think the shade is Crush; it was part of a holiday set a few years back; a lovely pinky- nude brown shade that is the ideal mix of those two color families for my lips.

The Weekend Edition of this week's capsule.

The Process: 

Spoiler

I have a few approaches to selecting the makeup products for each week's capsule. 

• The Focused Approach - For last week's capsule (New Year, New To You Makeup), I started by pulling out a couple of the on-theme products I wanted to use (namely, the Saie blush (gratis), the Dior lipstick Dazzle and the Aerin fragrance, which I'm blending with other fragrances at the moment to see what combo I like with it). I focused my other products around those with the idea that I wanted to incorporate at least one 2025 pan it! challenge item (Cle de Peau and YSL eyeshadow quad) and filled out the rest with a mix of products I've used before. I had 11 makeup items (did not count skincare or fragrance) - for this year, I'm aiming for most of my weekly capsules to fall within the 8-12 product range. Some weeks will have more items and some, less.

• The "Cast My Net Out Wide & Pare Down" Approach - Set aside what I think I'd like to use for the week's theme and then edit from there, trying to be as realistic as possbile with what I'll use as well as what I'll want for options. This is what I tried for this week's Mocha Mousse theme - as you can see, I leaned more into options. 😮🤣 More on how I arrived at all of this in the spoiler below.

• The "Keep It Simple (& Stunning) Approach - This is when I really want a well-edited capsule, but without sacrificing options. It usually means my capsule consists of 6-10 products, depending on whether or not I'm going for a full face of makeup.  

Week 2 Process: 
I made the mistake of filling the bag with whatever I could fit in the bag. 🙄 This is a very spacious bag, so whoops! 😬 I guess "paring it down" is all relative. lol.

What I started with ... again, very spacious bag. Ha!


I didn't realize just how spacious until I emptied the bag and placed all the products into groups - complexion - eyes - cheeks - lips. As well as skincare, skincare/makeup hybrids, and fragrance.



The cheek products were easy to decide on as there were only 3 and in different subcategories - blush, bronzer, highlight. We eventually arrived at this, which, while less than what we started with, looks like a lot ... because it is a lot. Eeeeek!!! I could have done better with paring down the lip and complexion products. Next time. 

Edited to add: Tags and swatches added to post. Will update post later today to tag products and include swatches.

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Amazing mocha mousse capsule! The Cle de Peau palette is perfect for this challenge. How do you like the CT liner shade? Even your bag goes with the theme! I love it 🤎

[ather]

@itsfi  Wow. Look at this capsule!! It is amazing. I love the bag it looks so spacious and perfect for a bigger capsule. I don’t think you picked out that many face products I mean you really need to have options and if the bag allows I think it’s a win win! That eye palette is gorgeous! I bet the looks you did with this capsule are stunning by!! 

[itsfi]

Awww, thank you @ather! Putting the capsule together makes me realize that I underestimate how much I have in my collection. 😬😂 All the eye products for this past week were a hit. The dark brown eyeliner is a tad darker than I usually wear but it can work if I use a light hand. They had all the shades at Sephoria 2024 to swatch and the lighter 2 shades were off in terms of their undertones or the shade itself. It is a sweet souvenir (and practical one, too) from the event. 

[CynthieLu]

Mocha Mousse just sounds like a delicious capsule @itsfi I feel like everything here really looks like it will pair together very well. The tones I'm seeing, even in your bag, are all so well in line with the theme. 👌🍫

[itsfi]

Thanks @CynthieLu! The eye products work superbly together and it’s been fun mixing and matching the lippies for some great combos. 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Beautiful capsule! I did some research on Pantone’s color of the year and it’s fascinating. I love how your capsule has gold toned products, that little bit of primer left goes so well with the theme this week! The swatches are beautiful, the tones and shades are so gorgeously paired with your product picks! The bronze, highlight, blush trio is so well paired. Love the lip shades, as you mentioned Bespoke being a part of your collection I am also glad they brought it back in 2025! I enjoyed reading about your approach to your capsules. Mocha Mousse is shining bright through your beautiful picks, photos, and process. Excellent capsule! Love seeing the swatches, I appreciate your exemplary display of what mocha mousse looks like for you ❤️ @itsfi 

[itsfi]

@peculiarzmakeup, I wish I reached for the Guerlain primer when I first picked up the sample - another reminder to use what I have sooner rather than later - so many lessons being learned, or relearned. 😆 

It’s great to see Merit making some of their limited edition shades permanent - makes me think it’s only a matter of time (and soon-ish perhaps) that we’ll see lip liners on the shelves from them. This one is creamy that it glides on smoothly. 👍🏼 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Reminders of learning are always helpful too the relearning is a great way to assess if something is a need! Always learning 😊 ah I need to try the lip oil for merit I have a lipstick I’ve loved everything so far maybe I can sample in store and yes it’s so neat when things become permanent or are brought back it’s always a new way to celebrate its merit haha @itsfi