Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

[itsfi]

Hi there, BIC and happy spring! Whether (a) you're spring cleaning, or (b) returning to the office and wanting to use the makeup you have (new and old) or will pick up along the way, or (c) interested in putting together a collection (big or small) of "go to" or Top Shelf product for every day, the season, a special event or occasions, or just in general, or (d) for any other reason, please join us here at the Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025. 

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 found by you. 

For me, I've found having a bag of makeup ready at the start of a week to be helpful in getting me out the door more efficiently, and feeling and looking put together. Some weeks my makeup bag has a minimalist look and feel; other weeks, the makeup capsule I've curated for use during the week resembles a more maximalist approach, with several products to choose from. There are weeks when I use the beauties in my capsule every day, and, there are weeks when I may add products into my existing bag of makeup during the week to meet my needs. 

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  

Week 21 (May 19 - 25) - The Vacation Makeup Capsule  

Alright, we're heading into Memorial Day weekend, often an informal kickoff to summer. Whether or not you're on vacay that week, assemble a capsule containing one or more of makeup products that are "must have" when packing for vacation.

Optional (month-long theme): May is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) National Heritage Month and to celebrate, we're bringing back the optional month-long theme in addition to the weekly themes. So, if you're up for the challenge, consider doing a tie-in of both, be it one product that fits both capsule themes, or one or more product from the then current weekly theme below and one or more product from an AAPI founded or owned beauty brand.

Spoiler

Below is a non-exhaustive list of makeup brands founded or co-founded / owned or co-owned by Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) - the brands listed are primarily ones that offer makeup / color cosmetics.  To the extent the founder's identify cannot be determined by the brand name, his/her/their name(s) will appear in parens next to the brand name. Brands with an asterisk (*) next to their name denotes that that brand is available at Sephora.

CLE Cosmetics (Lauren Jin)

CTZN Cosmetics (Aleena Khan, Aleezeh Khan, and Naseeha Khan)

Em Cosmetics (Michelle Phan)
Finding Ferdinand (Nhu Le)

* Glow Recipe (Christine Chang and Sarah Lee)

Jason Wu Beauty

Kimchi Chic Beauty (Kim Chi)

* Kulfi Beauty (Priyanka Ganjoo)

Live Tinted (Deepica Mutyala)

* Mango People (Sravya Adusumilli)

Meloway Makeup (Aiden Kim and Ash Kim)

* One/Size by Patrick Starrr

Orce Cosmetics (Yu-Chen Shih)

Ourself (Lauren Otsuki)

* Patrick Ta Beauty

Purlisse Beauty (Jennifer Yen)

Seraphine Botanicals (Sylvia Phann)

The Creme Shop (Theresa and Lawrence Kim)

* Tower 28 Beauty (Amy Liu)

U Beauty (Tina Craig)
* Velour Lashes (Mabel Lee)

* Wander Beauty (Divya Gugnani)

Yensa Beauty (Jennifer Yen)

UPCOMING Makeup Capsule Themes: [Updated 5.18.2025]

Spoiler

Week 22 (May 26 - June 1) - The Musician Founded / Owned Beauty Brand Makeup Capsule
We've got the American Music Awards (AMA) taking place on May 26. Use actual red carpet looks from this year or past years for inspiration when putting together a makeup capsule with one or more products that fit this week's prompt. Or, show us what product(s) you'd use if you were attending the AMAs. 🎶🎵🎶 Or, curate a capsue if one or more products from beauty brands (focusing primarily on makeup) that are founded or owned by a musician.

Spoiler

Below is a non-exhaustive list of brands founded or owned by a musician that have makeup products as a primary focus. Prodcts with an asterisk (*) after the brand name are available at Sephora. 

about-face (Halsey)
Fenty Beauty (Rihanna)*
GXVE by Gwen Stefani*
Haus Labs by Lady Gaga*
Kesha Rose Beauty
Keys Soulcare (Alicia Keys)
Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez*
R.E.M. Beauty (Ariana Grande)
Victoria Beckham Beauty

Capsule themes for June will be posted to the thread sometime during the Memorial Day weekend (most likely near the end of the long weekend).

Previous Capsule Themes: [Updated: 5.18.2025]

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

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]

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 

[itsfi]

@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!! 

[PrettyPaint]

@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. 🙂

[itsfi]

"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. 

[PrettyPaint]

@itsfi I'm on a search to find it. I organized my makeup a few weeks ago, but my organizational scheme may not have been very effective. I sorted things by product category, but I must have put this in a really weird place (maybe because it's multi-purpose) because I can't seem to find it. 

[itsfi]

I was just talking to another BIC'er about organizing and not being able to find things @PrettyPaint! It happens, a lot more than you think. Love that you organized by category but that can definitely make it a challenge when you have multi-purpose products, like the DM - is it a primer? A setting balm? Skincare? 

Impressed and inspired by you organizing your makeup. I need to do that - either to jump start the spring cleaning process for the year ... or perhaps to continue with the spring cleaning project of 2024?? Hahaha! In my mind, it is a big endeavor as I am hoping to declutter things; not just things that have already been open but also products I haven't even gotten to and don't foresee being able to anytime soon - they deserve a better home. 

[PrettyPaint]

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. 

[ather]

@PrettyPaint  Great capsule choice! 

[PrettyPaint]

@ather Thank you so much.

[peculiarzmakeup]

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  ❤️

[PrettyPaint]

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

[peculiarzmakeup]

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

[itsfi]

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?

[PrettyPaint]

@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 waterafter water

[itsfi]

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. 😍

[PrettyPaint]

@itsfi Thank you so much! I think they would be good to see in person if possible; I didn't realize the full shade range isn't carried in stores. From the online photos, I think some of the shades would probably be too pigmented for me. 

[danielledanielle]

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.

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

 

Also included fragrance

 

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 

[PrettyPaint]

@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! 

[danielledanielle]

@PrettyPaint, oof. I  tried finding it too 

It was a special release, part of the "Pull up for Change" movement, which I think the founder is still a part of, but I don't know if the brand is aligned with it anymore.  The Elaine lipstick is a part of it too, which I couldn't find again and I broke a tube 🥲

[PrettyPaint]

@danielledanielle Awww....that's too bad that it's no longer available. Sorry that your lipstick broke! 😢

[danielledanielle]

Awww, thank you.  The Uoma bullets are prone to this, so I did buy two thankfully.  If this one breaks, I'm smooshing it back together 🤣 @PrettyPaint